Hidden in Plain Sight: Historical and Scientific Analysis of Premodern Sacred Books

At the heart of most religions are their sacred texts. Across the ages, sacred books have been venerated, but also heavily used, and even modified to accommodate new religious cultures and sensitivities. Buddhist sutras were inserted into sculptures, while Qur'anic verses were sealed into West-African amulets, never to be opened. Bibles have been treasured and displayed, but also mutilated, with texts and images blotted or knifed by reformers or members of opposing religions. Little is known about the transformations of premodern sacred books, which have often gone unnoticed by scholars and wider audiences alike.

The project will help address this lack of knowledge by deploying a range of innovative technologies, rarely used within historical studies. Complex technical imaging, 3D microscopy, Micro-CT scanning, DNA analysis and a range of spectroscopic methods will reveal hitherto unnoticed traces of the way sacred books and talismans were used, modified, and venerated. The project team has demonstrated the value of using such technologies in the study of ancient books when analysing Henry VIII's presentation copy of the Great Bible. Using a microscope and raking light we were able to reveal, for example, how Thomas Cromwell had his portrait carefully pasted onto the Bible's title page, changing the political meaning of the image. The project will further these discoveries, bringing together historians and scientists to examine premodern sacred books and objects, while developing methodologies and protocols for such collaborative work. We will explore the transformation of sacred books, while advancing the use of scientific research methods within historical analysis.

Each of the project's three strands explores different types of sacred books or objects, posing their own questions and requiring different means of analysis. 'Reformations' will look at books transformed as part of religious reforms, employing mutilation as historical evidence for active engagement with a contested past. 'Jewish/Christian Books' will follow sacred books as they were made to accommodate new religious environments, addressing the role of converts in these transformations, while linking them to expulsions and pogroms. 'Talismanic Use' will look at non-European sacred scriptures which were used as parts of complex rituals and embedded into statutes and amulets.

A collaboration between Queen Mary University of London and Cambridge University Library, as well as the Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, the National Library of Wales and other leading libraries, the project will analyse both renowned and little-known books and objects. It will bring together historians, heritage scientists, librarians, conservators, technicians and curators, presenting a model for inter- and cross-disciplinary work while shedding new light on the transformations of sacred books. As these books were, and still are, sacred objects, faith groups will help structure our research and assist in its dissemination.

The project will engage both public and academic audiences, faith groups and schools. A public display will bring together, for the first time in nearly 500 years, Henry VIII's and Thomas Cromwell's sibling copies of the Great Bible. The project will also lead to a range of academic publications, teaching resources on Tudor Portraits, workshops and public lectures. A web resource will integrate the different layers of scientific and historical analyses using an innovative digital interface.