Module: Robert Curzon
This manuscript entitled „Libraries of the Levant“ (dated Jan. 5, 1837) was a description of manuscripts Curzon had seen or acquired on his travels, which preceded his soon-to-be bestseller travel account, Visits to Monasteries in the Levant (1849). It was sent to his friend Sir Thomas Phillipps.
The Grolier Club of New York graciously digitized the document for us, which you can read and annotate with Hypothes.is . You can also see a transcription of it in , Appendix B, 170FF (direct link to page 170).
See also the record in the Grolier Club finding aid or in WorldCat.
- Read Curzon’s description in his Visits to Monasteries in the Levant, 84-89. The story continues on 102-104. (You can also compare his portrayal of the monks’ attitudes toward manuscripts in his account of his visit to Mt. Athos, esp. 381-382 and 422-424.) How does he describe the monks? In which manner is their relationship to the manuscripts depicted? How does he describe the manuscripts? If you have extra time, read the whole book and see with the questions above in mind.
- Who was Sir Thomas Phillipps, and what was his relation to Curzon?
- On how Phillipps and Curzon met, see pages 122–136 of
- Also take a look at the project conducted on Phillipps dispersed manuscript collection: Project blog, Visualization of the project’s results, Final project report.
- Compare the manuscript „Libraries of the Levant“ by Curzon to his published travel account. How are the contents and emphases different?
- In his letter to Phillipps (pg. 21–22), Curzon mentions Burckhardt’s description of the Sinai library , where some of the same manuscripts are mentioned. (See also Curzon’s Visits, 350–351.) Compare these descriptions. Can you find the same manuscripts in each? What do the descriptions tell you about the attitude and expertise of each of the hunters?
Respond to one or more of the above questions by creating a student project as a new page describing your findings and linking to the relevant documents or passages. Optionally, you can tag relevant passages using Hypothes.is.