History in Flames: The Destruction and Survival of Medieval Manuscripts

To what extent does our knowledge of the past rely upon written sources? And what happens when these sources are destroyed? Focusing on the manuscripts of the Middle Ages, History in Flames explores cases in which large volumes of written material were destroyed during a single day. This destruction didn't occur by accident of fire or flood but by human forces such as arson, shelling and bombing. This book examines the political and military events that preceded the moment of destruction, from the Franco-Prussian War and the Irish Civil War to the complexities of World War II; it analyses the material lost and how it came to be where it was. At the same time, it discusses the heroic efforts made by scholars and archivists to preserve these manuscripts, even partially. History in Flames reminds us that historical knowledge rests on material remains, and that these remains are vulnerable. Copyright_page Contents Preface Our_Knowledge_of_the_Past Libraries_and_Archives What_Has_Been_Lost A_Narrow_Escape_Beowulf Away_with_the_Learning_of_the_Clerks Strasbourg_24_August_1870_The_Garden_of_Delights Dublin_30_June_1922_The_Public_Record_Office_of_Ireland Naples_30_September_1943_The_State_Archive Hanover_9_October_1943_The_Ebstorf_Map Chartres_26_May_1944_The_Municipal_Library Conclusion Figures Abbreviations Notes Index