090111 PS Manuscripts, papyri and 30,000 visitors (2025S)

This course accompanies the preparation of the special exhibition in the Papyrus Museum of the Austrian National Library (ÖNB) in 2026/27, which will be dedicated to the theme of ‘fragments’ of Greek papyri and manuscripts and will be curated by the course instructors. This exhibition will take place in the context of the 25th International Congress of Byzantine Studies. The students will deal with all phases of the conception and realisation of such an exhibition, from content targeting to object selection and catalogue descriptions. The conceptualisation of the exhibition by the course instructors is well advanced; nevertheless, the students have the rare opportunity to participate directly in the preparation process.
Historical research necessarily always deals with fragments. The people of past times, their deeds and values, their feelings and their knowledge, are only ever accessible to us in fragments. Which of these fragments have come down to us is the result of a complex interplay of chance and conscious selection. This exhibition is dedicated to the fragment in the transmission of texts and written media as the most eloquent source: How did people or events find a way into the written record? How were books and other written media handed down - what climatic, economic, social and cultural conditions played a role? And how can the history of an entire epoch and culture be reconstructed on the basis of such fragments? Greek-language written testimonies on papyrus, parchment and paper from the 4th to the 16th century form the basis for an examination of the fragment as an opportunity and challenge for our understanding of past cultures and our knowledge of Byzantine culture.
After an introduction to the topic and a theoretical discussion of the concept of fragment, we will spend a session in the Papyrus Museum to familiarise ourselves with the exhibition venue. Students will explore the topic of fragment and fragmentation from three perspectives: 1) fragments of books, 2) fragments of texts, and 3) individual documents as fragments of history. We will then discuss the selection of objects on the basis of conceptual and practical requirements. We will also study some original manuscripts in the special reading room of the ÖNB. Finally, we will practise writing descriptions for the display cases and the catalogue.