Key research themes
1. How do Spanish Hebrew biblical manuscripts contribute to understanding Iberian biblical scholarship and liturgical text transmission?
This research area investigates the characteristics, origins, and usage of Hebrew biblical manuscripts preserved in major Spanish libraries like the National Library of Spain, the Monastery of El Escorial, and Complutensian University. The focus is to understand their role in biblical scholarship, their influence on seminal Polyglot Bibles such as the Complutensian and Antwerp editions, and to address the need for updated cataloguing to support further study.
2. What can the analysis of Old Hispanic musical notation and liturgical manuscripts reveal about regional liturgical practices and transmission in medieval Spain and Portugal?
This theme explores Old Hispanic (Mozarabic) chant notation manuscripts, focusing on their paleography, regional variants (Toledo versus northern peninsular styles), chronology, and their persistence amid liturgical reforms favoring Gregorian usage. It incorporates newly discovered Portuguese fragments and examines indications of scribal mobility and local liturgical diversity prior to the late medieval transition.
3. How are digital methodologies and interdisciplinary frameworks reshaping the study of Iberian medieval liturgical manuscripts?
This area focuses on the methodological advances facilitated by digitization, material studies, and interdisciplinary collaboration in the analysis of Spanish liturgical manuscripts. It critiques traditional frameworks and advocates for fresh approaches that integrate codicology, paleography, digital humanities, and art historical perspectives to provide richer contextualizations and foster innovative scholarship.
