Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network
Host: Jen Hoyer
Guest: Suzette van Haaren, author of The Digital Medieval Manuscript: Material Approaches to Digital Codicology (Brill, 2025)
Date: December 22, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of the New Books Network's Library Science Channel features an in-depth discussion between host Jen Hoyer and author Suzette van Haaren about van Haaren's new book, The Digital Medieval Manuscript. They explore how the digitization of medieval manuscripts not only transforms these artifacts but also shapes our understanding of them, urging listeners to recognize digital facsimiles as material objects embedded in technological, cultural, and historical contexts. The conversation traces the evolution of digital codicology and examines the complex interplay between digital and physical manuscripts through rich case studies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Suzette van Haaren's Background and Approach

[02:29 – 06:54]

• Suzette describes her “in-betweenness” as a scholar: rooted in traditional art history and medieval studies, but interrogates digitization from a humanist, not strictly digital, lens.
  • “In the preface, I call myself the anti digital humanist, which sounds very negative. I am not against digital humanities...I’ve always kind of felt this kind of in betweenness when it comes to, like, positioning myself in certain disciplines.” (03:09)
• She situates digitization within a long historical tradition, not as an abrupt rupture:
  • “I explicitly do not want to position digitization as something totally new and totally like, kind of apart from everything else that happened before, but place it within a longer tradition of studying and working with and reproducing, preserving medieval manuscripts.” (05:44)

2. Defining Digital Codicology

[06:54 – 11:13]

• Codicology: Study of the codex, i.e., handwritten books/manuscripts (typically medieval).
• Digital codicology: Can refer to using digital tools to study manuscripts, but van Haaren’s focus is a meta-analysis of the digital manuscript as a distinct, material object.
  • Credits scholars like Bridget Whearty and Dot Porter.
  • “The central argument of my book is the digital manuscript is also an object. It’s really there. We’re really dealing with it. It’s really material. It’s real.” (10:25)
• Argues that scholars increasingly engage more with digital surrogates than with physical manuscripts.

3. Why is Digital Materiality Important?

[11:13 – 15:45]

• Early research often treated “the digital” as immaterial; that view is now outdated.
• Physicality of the digital: energy use, data centers, cyberattacks (e.g., the British Library hack), and the material consequences for access and preservation.
  • “Are we really sure that the digital is not material? … All of our digital data, queries, searches, the Zoom call that we’re doing right now is inscribed somewhere on a disk on a server. And this has very material and very real results.” (12:23)
  • The British Library cyber-attack showed the very real fragility of digital infrastructures.
• Sensory experiences differ, but digital interfaces still constitute material encounters, shaped by environment, interface, and context.

Memorable Moment:
The difference between the pleasure of smelling a newly printed art book at work (15:45) and the less apparent but still “material” contact one has with a new digital database.

4. Case Study 1: The Bury Bible and the Shaping of Digital Manuscripts

[17:01 – 22:56]

• Manuscripts, whether physical or digital, are shaped by institutional, technological, and economic contexts.
  • “It is created for a specific purpose by a specific institution, often by people and within the context of available technologies...Most importantly, often within specific financial context.” (17:11)
• The Parker on the Web project (Bury Bible digitization) is discussed as an early (2004–2009) and complex initiative.
  • Humane practicalities surface: high-res images could be ruined by vibrations if a student walked past during filming.
  • “If someone would walk by like a student, the whole photo would have to be taken again, honestly, there's super interesting stories to be told by the digitizers there.” (19:29)
• Choices in equipment, technique, and image style—e.g., the use of bone weights to hold pages—leave visible traces in the digital surrogates, revealing their creation’s time and circumstance.

5. Case Study 2: Der Naturen Bloeme and Digital Fragmentation

[25:33 – 33:55]

• Digitization inherently fragments manuscripts: photographing each leaf separates a unified codex into isolated images.
  • “Dot Porter describes the act of digitization as kind of fundamentally fragmenting a medieval book. Just the simple act of photographing it and putting that online...” (26:11)
• But fragmentation also reflects long traditions—medieval manuscripts were frequently altered or physically cut up.
• Der Naturen Bloeme’s images are particularly notable:
  • The Dutch National Library’s digital facsimile places individual images on Wikimedia Commons, facilitating further fragmentation and recontextualization (e.g., memes).
  • "The Angry Oyster" meme exemplifies how these fragments circulate in popular culture:
    • “Memes are funny and strange and we all love them ... but they are actually, I think, important cultural objects ... an important kind of continuation of how we think about medieval manuscripts.” (29:29)
• Digital dissemination multiplies interpretive contexts and contemporary meanings—the “medieval” is used to comedic or illustrative effect, often divorced from original context.

6. Case Study 3: The Prayer Book of Mary of Gelders—Preservation and Digital Fragility

[33:55 – 42:13]

• Digitization as preservation: creating digital surrogates provides access without risking fragile originals.
  • “Digitization is often seen as a step in conservation and preservation ... the digital object means ... the parchment book does not really need to be used anymore, because people can say, if you want to see the book, you can go online.” (35:06)
• But digital objects are fragile in different ways:
  • They require ongoing maintenance, updates, and cultural attention; otherwise, they vanish.
  • “Hands are dangerous to manuscripts ... They are not dangerous to digital objects. Like hands are not dangerous to digital objects. They are actually helpful. It's kind of the opposite. The digital objects actually need to be used to stay accessible.” (37:24)
  • The average digital surrogate may only “live” for 20 years; interface changes, loss of hosting, and data decay are typical threats.
  • Documentation (e.g., via the Internet Archive) is crucial.
• Preservation is thus a dual responsibility: protecting tangible manuscripts and taking the digital surrogate seriously as heritage requiring stewardship.

7. Future Directions and Open Questions

[42:13 – 48:21]

• Digitization isn’t a linear endpoint, but part of a complex ecosystem of heritage, use, and meaning.
• Van Haaren hopes for further reflective, nuanced research—not just “how” but “why” digitization methods are used, and how these changes alter perceptions of the Middle Ages.
• New technologies (visualization tools like "VisColl," virtual reality, AI/machine learning) are emerging frontiers.
  • “I'm also keeping a close eye on developments in machine learning and artificial intelligence. ... How does an AI imagine a manuscript?” (45:24)
  • Notes experimental projects that “compose” new medieval music by feeding digitized manuscripts to machine learning.
• Advocates for interdisciplinary collaboration and creative experimentation in both technological and critical approaches to digital codicology.

8. Current Work and Final Reflections

[48:42 – 51:24]

• Van Haaren is currently involved in the Virtual Worlds research center at University Bochum. Her project, Virtuales Mittelalter, explores how digital methods/tools change both research practices and perceptions of the Middle Ages across disciplines.
  • “My project is called Virtuales Mitteralter or Virtual Middle Ages... I'm actually researching how medievalists, medieval historians use digital methods and digital tools, digital objects, and how that then affects not only them and their research, but also the way that they think about the Middle Ages.” (49:25)
• Going forward, she's interested in broadening her work into collection management, libraries, and the wider field of digital information management—not only medieval studies.
  • “I love being a medievalist, but maybe I love being a digital media scholar more.” (51:18)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Interdisciplinary Perspectives:
  “I’ve always kind of felt this kind of in betweenness when it comes to, like, positioning myself in certain disciplines.” (03:18, Suzette)

• On the Materiality of the Digital:
  “All of our digital data, queries, searches, the Zoom call that we’re doing right now is inscribed somewhere on a disk on a server. And this has very material and very real results.” (12:43, Suzette)

• On the Choices in Digitization Projects:
  “Choices in equipment, technique, and image style—e.g., the use of bone weights to hold pages—leave visible traces in the digital surrogates, revealing their creation’s time and circumstance.” (19:29, Suzette)

• On Fragmentation, Memes, and Cultural Narratives:
  “Memes are funny and strange and we all love them ... but they are actually, I think, important cultural objects ... an important kind of continuation of how we think about medieval manuscripts.” (29:29, Suzette)

• On Preservation and Digital Fragility:
  “Digital objects are not really valued in the way that physical heritage objects are. They're often seen as troublesome to keep up. It's a lot of work. And then on the other hand, there's also kind of this throwaway attitude. It's kind of a daily object that we just use. And when we don't use it anymore, why don't we just get a new one?” (39:36, Suzette)

• On the Need for More Research:
  “I'm hoping to see more of kind of this kind of reflective and nuanced quality in the research. So not only how do we digitize and how are we using these digital methods, but also why and what does it actually mean? Like, what do these changes in methods and techniques in research mean for understanding medieval material and for understanding the Middle Ages in general?” (47:40, Suzette)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction of Suzette van Haaren and her approach: 02:29 – 06:54
• Defining digital codicology: 06:54 – 11:13
• On digital materiality: 11:13 – 15:45
• Case Study 1 (Bury Bible): 17:01 – 22:56
• Case Study 2 (Der Naturen Bloeme): 25:33 – 33:55
• Case Study 3 (Prayer Book of Mary of Gelders): 33:55 – 42:13
• Future of digital codicology and open questions: 42:13 – 48:21
• Current work and closing reflections: 48:42 – 51:24

Tone and Style

The conversation is thoughtful, reflective, and enthusiastic. Suzette van Haaren balances technical details with accessible explanations and personal anecdotes, often drawing on her own experiences and the broader scholarly community. The tone is collegial and inviting, especially in calls for further research and collaboration.

For listeners seeking new ways to think about medieval manuscripts in the digital age, this episode is both deep and approachable—highlighting how every digital page is shaped by hands, machines, and choices, and how those choices echo through scholarly, institutional, and even meme cultures.