If you will excuse the slightly garish title, it is very much a reflection of how things are moving here at Estoria HQ. Alongside the final stages of our electronic edition of the Estoria, we are also heading an exciting initiative to bring the historiography of Alfonso X to the public.
The first arm of our impact project will be a series of exhibitions across Spain. This will be the display of the Estoria de Espanna manuscripts across libraries in Madrid, Santander, Salamanca. Visitors to these exhibits will be able to appreciate the rich manuscript tradition that developed from Alfonso’s history-writing exploits.
In addition to physical exhibitions, we will also be producing a virtual exhibition. In doing so, the public will be able to enjoy the exhibits from the comfort of their own swivel chairs. The virtual exhibit will include a transcription desk, allowing visitors to have go at palaeography and transcription.
Finally, Alfonso X is heading back to school. We will be providing Spanish secondary schools with structured sessions and resource packs, helping young people explore the cultural heritage of the Wise King. Learners will be able to investigate such themes as history of language, social history, gender issues in Medieval Spain, and much more.
We feel that by bringing Alfonso’s work to the public, we will be keeping true to the scholar-king’s project of advancement and education. Who would have guessed that over seven hundred years later, his writings would take the giant leap from vellum to virtual…