Hidden in Plain Sight: Historical and Scientific Analysis of Premodern Sacred Books

大多数宗教的核心是他们的圣典。古往古来，圣书一直受到尊敬，但也被大量使用，甚至被修改以适应新的宗教文化和敏感性。佛教经文被插入雕塑中，而古兰经经文被密封在西非的护身符中，永远不能打开。《圣经》被珍藏和展示，但也被毁坏，其中的文字和图像被改革者或反对宗教的成员涂抹或用刀砍伤。人们对前现代圣书的转变知之甚少，学者和广大读者往往没有注意到这一点。该项目将通过部署一系列在历史研究中很少使用的创新技术，帮助解决这一知识匮乏问题。复杂的技术成像、3D显微镜、Micro-CT扫描、DNA分析和一系列光谱方法将揭示迄今为止未被注意到的圣典和护身符的使用、修改和崇拜方式的痕迹。该项目团队在分析亨利八世的《大圣经》的展示副本时，已经证明了在古籍研究中使用这种技术的价值。例如，通过显微镜和光镜，我们可以发现，托马斯·克伦威尔（Thomas Cromwell）是如何将自己的肖像小心翼翼地贴在《圣经》的扉页上，从而改变了图像的政治含义。该项目将进一步推动这些发现，将历史学家和科学家聚集在一起，研究前现代的圣书和物品，同时为这种合作工作制定方法和协议。探索经书的变迁，推进科学研究方法在历史分析中的应用。每个项目的三个部分探索不同类型的圣书或物体，提出自己的问题，需要不同的分析方法。“改革”将着眼于作为宗教改革的一部分而被改造的书籍，将残废作为积极参与有争议的过去的历史证据。“犹太/基督教书籍”将遵循圣书，因为它们是为了适应新的宗教环境而制作的，解决了这些转变中的转换角色，同时将它们与驱逐和大屠杀联系起来。“护身符的使用”将着眼于非欧洲的神圣经文，这些经文被用作复杂仪式的一部分，并嵌入到法规和护身符中。该项目由伦敦玛丽女王大学和剑桥大学图书馆、剑桥考古与人类学博物馆、威尔士国家图书馆和其他主要图书馆合作，将分析知名和不知名的书籍和物品。它将汇集历史学家、遗产科学家、图书管理员、管理员、技术人员和策展人，为跨学科的工作提供一个模型，同时为圣书的转变提供新的视角。因为这些书过去是，现在仍然是神圣的东西，信仰团体将帮助组织我们的研究并协助其传播。该项目将吸引公众和学术观众、宗教团体和学校参与。近500年来，亨利八世和托马斯·克伦威尔的兄弟本《圣经》将首次公开展出。该项目还将带来一系列关于都铎肖像的学术出版物、教学资源、研讨会和公开讲座。网络资源将利用创新的数字界面整合不同层次的科学和历史分析。

At the heart of most religions are their sacred texts. Across the ages, sacred books have been venerated, but also heavily used, and even modified to accommodate new religious cultures and sensitivities. Buddhist sutras were inserted into sculptures, while Qur'anic verses were sealed into West-African amulets, never to be opened. Bibles have been treasured and displayed, but also mutilated, with texts and images blotted or knifed by reformers or members of opposing religions. Little is known about the transformations of premodern sacred books, which have often gone unnoticed by scholars and wider audiences alike. The project will help address this lack of knowledge by deploying a range of innovative technologies, rarely used within historical studies. Complex technical imaging, 3D microscopy, Micro-CT scanning, DNA analysis and a range of spectroscopic methods will reveal hitherto unnoticed traces of the way sacred books and talismans were used, modified, and venerated. The project team has demonstrated the value of using such technologies in the study of ancient books when analysing Henry VIII's presentation copy of the Great Bible. Using a microscope and raking light we were able to reveal, for example, how Thomas Cromwell had his portrait carefully pasted onto the Bible's title page, changing the political meaning of the image. The project will further these discoveries, bringing together historians and scientists to examine premodern sacred books and objects, while developing methodologies and protocols for such collaborative work. We will explore the transformation of sacred books, while advancing the use of scientific research methods within historical analysis. Each of the project's three strands explores different types of sacred books or objects, posing their own questions and requiring different means of analysis. 'Reformations' will look at books transformed as part of religious reforms, employing mutilation as historical evidence for active engagement with a contested past. 'Jewish/Christian Books' will follow sacred books as they were made to accommodate new religious environments, addressing the role of converts in these transformations, while linking them to expulsions and pogroms. 'Talismanic Use' will look at non-European sacred scriptures which were used as parts of complex rituals and embedded into statutes and amulets. A collaboration between Queen Mary University of London and Cambridge University Library, as well as the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the National Library of Wales and other leading libraries, the project will analyse both renowned and little-known books and objects. It will bring together historians, heritage scientists, librarians, conservators, technicians and curators, presenting a model for inter- and cross-disciplinary work while shedding new light on the transformations of sacred books. As these books were, and still are, sacred objects, faith groups will help structure our research and assist in its dissemination.The project will engage both public and academic audiences, faith groups and schools. A public display will bring together, for the first time in nearly 500 years, Henry VIII's and Thomas Cromwell's sibling copies of the Great Bible. The project will also lead to a range of academic publications, teaching resources on Tudor Portraits, workshops and public lectures. A web resource will integrate the different layers of scientific and historical analyses using an innovative digital interface.