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CSMC

CSMCCentre for the Study of
Manuscript Cultures

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Photo: CSMC

Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures

The Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) brings together an international and cross-disciplinary research community to study written artefacts at Universität Hamburg.

csmc labs

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Cluster of Excellence 'Understanding Written Artefacts'

CSMC is home to the Cluster of Excellence 'Understanding Written Artefacts'. Funded by the DFG, it comprises over 50 research projects from 36 academic disciplines.

UWA Conference 2023

Photo: Karsten Helmholz

Call for Papers

Studying Written Artefacts: Challenges and Perspectives

From 27-29 September 2023, the Cluster of Excellence will host a major international conference on ‘Studying Written Artefacts: Challenges and Perspectives’. The Call for Papers is now open. We welcome proposals for panels, papers, and posters. 

Deadline for submissions is 1 June.

Conference Website
AoM 16

Photo: Suzanne Reitz/Arnamagnæan Institute, Copenhagen

Artefact of the Month

A Clash of Traditions? – Codex runicus

In 1728, a fire destroyed much of Copenhagen, including the University Library. Árni Magnússon barely saved his invaluable manuscript collection. One of the manuscripts did not originally belong in the collection; to this day, it is not clear how it got there. The manuscript itself is as mysterious: while having the form of a medieval codex, it is written in runes. Why were such different writing traditions combined in one written artefact?

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Logbook: The CSMC Blog

‘If that works, it will be like winning a gold medal’

Pondicherry’s palm-leaf manuscripts have been included in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Register, but the origin of many of them is still unclear. Giovanni Ciotti, head of the 'Palm-Leaf Manuscript Profiling Initiative', intends to discover the story behind them in the new Container Lab.

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PLMPI

Photo: Karsten Helmholz

Artists in Residence

Photo: Axel Malik

Artists in Residence

'Increasing Countdown' by Axel Malik

Leading up to the international conference ‘Studying Written Artefacts: Challenges and Perspectives’, Axel Malik, Artist in Residence at CSMC, has launched the ‘Increasing Countdown’. This unique sequence of script-like characters will be extended day by day – for 756 days, until 27 September 2023.

Increasing Countdown
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Contact
Universität Hamburg
Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures
Warburgstraße 26
20354 Hamburg