In this episode of the Library Treasures Podcast, our Archivist Ciara Joyce and Library Assistant David Rinehart interview associate professor of Creative Writing at the University of Leeds, and poet Dr. Kimberly Campanello. We discuss her work, such as MOTHERBABYHOME, and the work she is doing with the Pearse Hutchinson Archive at Maynooth University’s Special Collections and Archives.
Music By: bensound.com
Author: Special Collections
The Superpower of words: a word’s power is derived from its meaning
by Catherine Ahearne, Senior Library Assistant, Special Collections and Archives
“Handle them carefully, for words have more power than atom bombs.” -Pearl Strachan Hurd but when your weapon of choice is words you need to know and understand their meaning to derive the full effect from them. This is where dictionaries come to play an important role.
A dictionary is a record of popular culture at the time of publication. Language is not inert, it is constantly changing and evolving, slang becomes mainstream, words become obsolete. So, when words fall out of fashion they are removed from dictionary a practice that still occurs today.
Samuel Johnson bravely undertook to produce the first English Dictionary on the scale of his continental contemporaries, it was a nine-year process and involved heavy editing. It surpassed its predecessors through careful definitions of words and its richness of literary quotations. It is not simply a monumental dictionary but a living literary and critical text. Here in the Russell Library we have a copy of the A dictionary of the English language. 11th ed. corrected and revised / with considerable additions from the eighth edition of the original.
DeMaria “A definition is the only way whereby the meaning of words can be known without leaving room for contest about it”. Our use and understanding of definitions change over time. I am going to examine some changes from the definitions laid down in the early dictionaries.
When searching the pamphlets in the collection of the Russell Library you will often come across the word Apology in the title:
- An apology for the system of public and classical education
- An apology for a work entitled Contrasts : being a defence of the assertions advanced in that publication against the various attacks lately made upon it
- An apology for the system of Wesleyan Methodism : being a reply to Mr. Mark Robinson’s Observations on the same subject
Today we would associate this word as an act of saying that you are sorry for a wrong that you have done. But in 1799 it was a defense or excuse, so each of the pamphlets is a defense of the topic in question.
Weird is not in the 1799 edition of the dictionary. In modern English this word is known to mean strange, unusual, or not natural. In special collections there is a title “ The Weird of the ‘Silken Thomas : an episode of Anglo-Irish history, (1900) Weird is in fact a word of Scottish origin, and means “a person’s destiny”. Therefore, the title of the book means “The Destiny of the Silken Thomas.”
Infatuated is a word that we are all familiar having a very strong feeling of love or attraction for someone or something that is short lived. Johnson’s dictionary defines the meaning as “to strike with folly; to deprive understanding”. Here is a 1680 sheet that uses infatuate in the way that Johnson understood it. The sick may have advice for nothing. Though the world is daily pester’d by unskilful pretenders to physick, who infatuate the people with their printed papers, wherein they pretend to perform matters beyond reason.
Womanise we know to mean a person who has temporary relationships with women, womanise in 1799 had a very different connotation, it meant to emasculate; to effeminate; to soften.
We can recognize the word livid to be associated with anger and temper. But in the 18th century it meant to discolour with a blow; black and blue. While not identical in meaning you can associate one meaning with the emotion and the other with the action of the emotion described.
There are also words that cannot help but incite an emotional reaction Excise for example Johnson describes as “A hateful tax levied upon commodities and adjudged not by the common judges of property, but wretches hired by those to whom excise is paid”.
A word’s power is derived from its meaning and what the reader understands each word to mean. So, as we go about our lives, we need to be mindful of the words we use.
“Be careful with your words. Once they are said, they can be only forgiven, not forgotten.” -Unknown
Interview with Poet Dr. Kimberly Campanello Pt. 1
In this episode of the Library Treasures Podcast, our Archivist Ciara Joyce and Library Assistant David Rinehart interview Associate Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Leeds, and poet Dr. Kimberly Campanello. We discuss her work, such as MOTHERBABYHOME, and the work she is doing with the Pearse Hutchinson Archive at Maynooth University’s Special Collections and Archives.
Music By: bensound.com
Conserving an Unusually Hairy Book
By Gretchen Allen, Library Conservator
The Red Book of Rath Cormac, or Leabhar Rúa Rathchormaic, is a 19th century Gaelic Revival manuscript written by the scribe Pól O’Longháin. It is a collection of Irish myths, histories, and genealogies transcribed from earlier sources and compiled together to form the finished volume. It is part of the St. Colman’s College Fermoy collection of 19th and 20th century Irish manuscripts, which is on long-term loan to Maynooth University.
The most striking feature of the Red Book of Rath Cormac is not, however, its historical content, but the unusually hairy leather used to bind it. This type of binding is rare, and not much is known about who bound books this way and for what reason. There are several other hairy books in the collections of the Russell Library, but it is unclear why the hairy leather would have been chosen for them. The combination of the hairy leather and the beautiful Gaelic script of the text make the Red Book of Rathcormac one of the most unique items in the Russell Library, and it is often used as a talking point for presentations and exhibitions.
However, the condition of the book was dire. The hairy leather remained structurally intact, but had developed multiple bald patches over time. The sewing structure had completely disintegrated over the years, leaving a barely-attached stack of pages inside. The spine was completely exposed when the book was open, showing that any historical spine linings were now either missing or partially detached. While the book was a favourite showpiece of the collection, it was sadly not in any condition to be consulted by readers.
In order to address this, the Red Book was selected for interventive conservation treatment. The first step was to use codicological evidence to determine the original sewing structure; a fairly typical 19th century all-along sewing structure supported by three linen cords, which were supposed to give the sewing more strength. Remnants of the original cords were visible in the board, which confirmed this theory. A model was made using modern materials in order to practise the structure before work began on the book itself.
The conservation treatment involved carefully removing the remaining spine linings from the book and using a poultice treatment to remove remnants of leather and glue from the spine. The pages were then individually cleaned and any damaged pages were repaired. The pages were resewn using the original sewing holes and new cords, and the finished textblock was relined and pressed in order to fit it back into its original case.
A new endband was made and was dyed purple to match the original. The textblock was then re-inserted into the case and attached using the new cords and overhanging cloth spine linings, before the endpapers were reattached to the case. The final book will now be available to readers in the Russell library who wish to study the text, as long as they don’t mind a little bit of shedding!
The Learning Garden: Interview with Niamh Bhreathnach Pt. 1
The Froebel Department at Maynooth University reached out to us to facilitate, aid, and collaborate on the start of their new Podcast the Learning Garden. The first episode is part one of a three-part interview with the formidable former Labour Minister of Education Niamh Bhreathnach. Click here to follow the Learning Garden on Spotify (also available on all major platforms) for the upcoming parts 2 and 3 of this fantastic interview and all future episodes.
The Maynooth Montaigne
By Guest writer Prof John O’Brien Emeritus Professor of Durham University
Never judge a book by its cover! This age-old advice is never truer than in the case of the Maynooth copy of the Essais by the French writer, Michel de Montaigne (1533-1592). Externally, the book is a mid-to late 19th-century ‘Spanish pattern’ binding. Its real value lies within. It is, for a start, a printing of the first posthumous edition of the Essais overseen by Montaigne’s adoptive daughter, Marie de Gournay (1565-1645). Only a few hundred of these were printed in 1595, so the copy has some rarity value. Yet there are three other characteristics of the Maynooth Montaigne which make it a truly exceptional copy.
In the first place, this copy was a gift from Gournay to an acquaintance of hers, Henri de Beringhen (1603-92), whose aunt ran a literary salon that Gournay attended in the 1620s. Her dedication to Beringhen is shown in the illustration [011]. Although partly cropped, it is perfectly legible. We have almost no other copies of the 1595 edition with dedications by Gournay, so this in itself is valuable evidence of her circle of friends.
Secondly, the Maynooth Montaigne contains a number of ink corrections. About 17 of these are to be found in most copies of the 1595 printing and will have been done either by Gournay or by the printshop as the sheets came off the press. Over and above these, however, there are additional corrections in Gournay’s own hand, one of which is illustrated here [053]. In fact, the Maynooth Montaigne is second only to a copy now in Antwerp in having such a large number of corrections by Gournay herself. They constitute extremely important proof of the time and effort she continued to expend on getting the text of the Essais right.
One set of corrections, however, is without precedent in any other copy of the 1595 Essais. A passage at the end of chapter 17 of book 2 contains Montaigne’s praise of Gournay. For reasons which are unclear, but may be related to her own ascent as a writer, Gournay cut down this passage. Her alterations are shown on the Maynooth Essais [452]. They correspond to the text of the Essais printed in 1625, so we can be sure that it was around that date that she gave this presentation copy to Beringhen.
Finally, the Maynooth Montaigne contains reset sheets on pp. 63 and 64. Late in the printing cycle, it was discovered that text had been omitted. It was quickly added in some copies. This is an exceedingly rare feature found to date in only three other copies worldwide.
If just one of these features were present in the Maynooth Montaigne, that would make it of great interest. But having three such pushes it into the exceptional category, of outstanding value to scholars of Montaigne and of the history of printing.
Further reading: John O’Brien, ‘Gournay’s Gift: A Special Presentation Copy of the 1595 Essais of Montaigne’, The Seventeenth Century, 29/4 (2014), pp. 317-36.
Exploring Special Collections through Virtual Reality
By Dr Heidi Campbell, Digital Engagement Curator at Maynooth University
My name is Heidi Campbell and I am the Digital Engagement Curator at Maynooth University Library. I was already familiar with the breath-taking Russell Library when I first joined Maynooth University (MU) in January 2022. It was therefore a wonderful opportunity for me to develop my skills and knowledge of virtual tours by making the first one for MU and St Patrick’s Pontifical University (SPPU) of the Russell Library.
In the last 3 years virtual spaces have been at the forefront of development for most public venues, from museums, libraries and state buildings to hotels, recreation centres and residential properties. Virtual tours of exhibitions were already a developing phenomenon by the time the pandemic hit and so institutions who had systems in place were able to remain active and virtually open to the public.
Culture Night and the first virtual tour
While attendance numbers of in-person events improved significantly throughout 2022, hybrid events remained the most popular, allowing those who were unable or unwilling to travel to still feel part of the event. And so, Culture Night and the Russell Library’s exhibition, “Home and Husbandry” provided the first chance to test out our equipment and platform.
Please view the tour here: https://app.cloudpano.com/tours/5rZjnmORm
With this initial tour I established a welcome area starting on the ground floor where I described the Conservation lab and the King George III statue and provided a general introduction to the Russell Library and St Patrick’s Pontifical University. Moving into the exhibition proper I used a blend of text information stops and directional bubbles. The limits of the platform meant we had to choose between text and image for each object; or text and a link to the collection for each object and so we went with the latter for this tour.
Testing the Style – the second virtual tour
I approached the next virtual tour with a developed sense of style and process. We decided that images and text would be better for the collection as the exhibition cabinets and the type of camera do not lend themselves to viewing the objects clearly online. Learning much from the previous tour it became clear that experiencing the virtual space, and viewing the objects clearly, are the most important features of a virtual exhibition. So, for the next exhibition; ‘The Second Reformation and Catholic–Protestant Relations in Pre-Famine Ireland: Bicentennial Perspectives,’ I changed several features. This time I began the tour directly in the Russell Library reading room, facing the bust of James Warren Doyle. Each object in the cases were photographed by Special Collections and Archives staff and I was able to add these images to the software to display them alongside the text labels. This display allows the audience a close and detailed image of the object alongside a full description of the item.
You can view this tour here.
Virtual Christmas Advent Experience
With the Christmas season fast approaching, I was involved in another project, the MU Library advent calendar. For several years staff had worked on making an interactive advent calendar but difficulties in software and hosting meant the project had never been completed. I proposed the idea of using our virtual tour equipment and platform. I suggested using the information points as “advent windows” in a 3D virtual space as an alternative form of calendar.
You can explore the experience here: https://app.cloudpano.com/tours/Sw_VcP402
The experience consists of multiple information spots around one point in the room. The viewer needs to turn, using their mouse or finger (depending on your device) to view the entire virtual space and find the correct day.
Behind each number is an image and text connected with the specific theme. For 2022 we decided to focus on the beautiful collections of St Patrick’s Pontifical University. With almost 800 views to date, the advent experience has proved a great success and a very proud moment of inspiration.
What is Next?
Looking to the future, exploring the collections through virtual reality is a method that will continue to grow and develop. We plan to create virtual tours of all exhibitions in the Russell library allowing anyone from anywhere in the world to experience these events. All tours and experiences will then be kept in perpetuity on our website to continue to aid research and development. I have ideas and goals for other virtual experiences to promote engagement with our collections, so stay tuned to the MU Library Treasures Blog and our social media channels to see what we have in store!
A King’s Confessor: Henry Essex Edgeworth, 20th January 1793.
By Ruairi Nolan, Library Assistant, formerly of MU Library
While conducting research in the Russell Library I came across a book which caught my interest. It was the Memoires de M.L’Abbé Edgeworth de Firmont dernier Confesseur de Louis XVI by C. Sneyd Edgeworth, translated into English by Edmund Burke, and published in 1815 in Paris. Henry Essex Edgeworth, (1745-1807) was known also as Abbé Edgeworth in France, where he had lived most of his life from an early age.
Edgeworth was the final confessor to King Louis XVI, the French monarch who fell victim to the guillotine during the French Revolution. The King sent for Edgeworth personally – Edgeworth had developed a friendship with Princess Elizabeth, the King’s sister in the late 1780s-90s and came highly recommended.
The book is one of many in the collections that is directly linked to the history of the foundation of the College. The effects of the French Revolution influenced the establishment of St. Patrick’s College. A number of French professors came to teach in the aftermath of the Revolution. L’Abbe Edgeworth was offered the presidency of the College in 1795 which he turned down.
In Edgeworth’s account, we are told the narrative of events which brought the Abbé to King Louis on the night of 20-21 January 1793 and we are introduced to the gut-wrenching first moment of when the two are alone. Edgeworth, thus far composed and in control of his emotions loses strength and begins to weep, prompting the King to follow suit:
‘Forgive me, sir…for a long time, I have lived among my enemies, and habit has in some degree familiarised me to them; but when I behold a faithful subject…a different language reaches my heart, and in spite of my utmost efforts, I am melted’.
From this we receive a detailed retelling of the evening spent with the monarch right through to the morning, he speaks of Louis’ final hour with his family where ‘Not only tears were shed, and sobs were heard, but piercing cries’. In the morning, the two were constantly bothered by paranoid officials and officers worried that the monarch would take his own life to avoid the shame of execution to which the king responded: ‘These people see daggers and poison everywhere; they fear that I shall destroy myself…they little know me! To kill myself would indeed be weakness’.
At 8 o’clock on the morning of 21 January 1793, the King was brought to the Place de la Révolution. The streets of Paris were so crowded with silent spectators that it took two hours to reach the site of execution. Once they arrived, the gendarmes attempted to bind the King’s hands and chop off his hair to which he exclaimed: ‘do what you have been ordered, but you shall never bind me’. (Fig 2)
Edgeworth claims that the King looked to him in that moment as if seeking guidance, at which time he reassured him that this final humiliation served only to bring him closer to Christ in that he is suffering the same humilities as the son of God. Edgeworth is noted to have proclaimed ‘Fils de St Louis, Montez au ciel! / Son of St Louis, ascend to heaven!’ – though when asked himself about it, he could not recall having said anything.
A footnote to the memoirs highlight that the King was astonished that the Abbé chose to accompany him to the scaffold – he had assumed he would give flight once the night had passed. When the execution took place Edgeworth did become acutely aware of his position and feared he was next for the guillotine and he ‘thought it time to quit the scaffold…I saw myself invested by 20 or 30,000 men at arms…all eyes upon me’. Edgeworth had managed to blend in with the crowd, he simply looked like another spectator once he made it deeper into the crowd. (Fig 3)
France remained a dangerous place for him, he became known as King Louis’ final confessor and he noted in his memoir that a confidant expressed a dire warning: ‘Fly, my dear sir, from this land of tigers that are now let loose in it…it is not Paris alone, but France itself you must leave. For you I do not see a safe place in it’. (Fig 4)
Edgeworth remained in France for the next three years, evading arrest and hiding away. He eventually left to rejoin the then-exiled royal family, spending much time in Germany and Russia. He had refused a pension from the British Government. He died in Mittau, Russia (now in Latvia) while ministering for French prisoners of war on 22 May 1807. He was cared for in his dying days by the daughter of Louis XVI, further highlighting the close relationship he had with the family.
Sources:
Liam Swords, The Green Cockade (Dublin, 1989).
Letters from the Abbé Edgeworth to his friends, written between the years 1777 and 1807; with memoirs of his life (London, 1818).
Charles Sneyd Edgeworth, Mémoires de m. l’abbé Edgeworth de Firmont : dernier confesseur de Louis XVI (Paris, 1815).
Interview with Dr. Ciarán McCabe
Dr. Ciarán Mac Cabe is a social historian of Ireland and Britain in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. His interests are in the history of poverty and welfare, women’s history, and urban history. He was awarded his Ph.D. in 2015 from Maynooth University for his thesis, examining perceptions of and responses to begging and alms-giving in pre-Famine and Famine Ireland, with particular focus on charities and religious denominations. His monograph (Begging, Charity and Religion in Pre-Famine Ireland) was published in Liverpool University Press’s ‘Reappraisals in Irish History’ series in 2018 and received a Special Commendation Award in the NUI Publication Prize in Irish History 2019. His latest publication – Dublin and the Great Irish Famine was co-edited by Emily Mark-FitzGerald, Ciarán McCabe & Ciarán Reilly and published by UCD Press.
He is currently working in Queen’s University Belfast.
A Seventeenth Century Camera: Johann Zahn and the study of optics
by Alexandra Caccamo Special Collections Librarian
Digitisation is an important part of our work in the library. It increases access to our collections and helps us make them available online to a greater number of people. With the development of our Digitisation Suite and the arrival of the scanner to the library, it is interesting to look at our collection for early descriptions of the camera.
MU Digital Library: “Something is happening in the @library_MU Scanning Suite! #NewTech #ExcitingThingsOnTheWay https://t.co/m13Ay37nZI” / Twitter
The Russell Library holds a number of books that deal with the study of optics. One such item is by Johann Zahn (1641-1707) Zahn was the canon of the Premonstratensian monastery of Oberzell near Würzburg. He had an interest in natural philosophy and published several works, with the most notable being ‘Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus Sive Telescopium‘ or The Long Distance Artificial Eye or Telescope. This work was published in 1685 in Würzburg.
The book is a treatise on optical instruments and their uses. It describes magic lanterns, telescopes, microscopes and other projection types. Zahn also outlines and illustrates the first portable camera obscura. A camera obscura consists of an entire darkened room with a small hole at one end through which an image is projected. It should be noted that he was not the first to describe a camera-like device. The Han Chinese philosopher, Mozi (c. 470 – 291 BC) described the principle behind the camera obscura and detailed how light travels in straight lines from its source thus inverting an image when projected through a small hole. However, Zahn was the first to publish a design for a portable mirror-reflex camera, which you can see here. Although it is still relatively large, and perhaps not what we would think of as portable today, it was innovative at the time. This design did not become a reality until almost 140 years later.
‘Oculus Artificialis Teledioptricus…’ has 190 pages. The title page is printed in black and red ink, with an additional richly engraved title page facing the printed title page. This engraving depicts an oculus artifci, literally artificial eye or a telescope. The book is illustrated throughout and contains 8 double-page tables, 30 engraved plates and numerous engraved and woodcut illustrations. Many of the plates are quite elaborate including one examining optics and the structure of the eye.
There are also a number of plates which depict the refraction of light.
Although, cameras have come a long way since the seventeenth century, we are still developing new ways of capturing images. In the New Year, we hope to be able to image, digitise and share more of our collections online.
MU Library Treasures 
