Special collections...again! :)

Part of our homework for class this week was to register with special collections and actually look at a book(in the library--rare books aren't allowed out) that is semi-relevant to what we are studying. I found an edition of the epistles of Hildegard of Bingen--it's a 1566 edition (Hildegarde was alive in the 12th century), but still really cool. Unfortunately, it's in Latin, so I couldn't understand much of it, though I got the gist of the layout. Pretty cool, though. For those who don't know who Hildegard is, here's an excerpt from Wikipedia (not the greatest source, I know, but still, it gives an idea of who she was):

"Hildegard of Bingen (German: Hildegard von Bingen; Latin: Hildegardis Bingensis; 1098 – 17 September 1179), also known as Blessed Hildegard and Saint Hildegard, was a German magistra who later founded (Rupertsberg in 1150 and Eibingen in 1165) in the third quarter of the 12th century.
Hildegard of Bingen was an abbess, artist, author, counselor, linguist, naturalist, scientist, philosopher, physician, herbalist, poet, activist, visionary, and composer. She is the first composer for whom a biography exists and one of her works, the Ordo Virtutum is the first form, and possible origination, of opera."

So the book I was looking at is a collection of letters from her to other people (and their letters, too, I think). It also gave a history of her life at the back. Just as a side note, there are CDs out there of her music being performed; they aren't very difficult to find.

I also looked at the King James Bible again--the first edition one. I couldn't resist. Even though the King James is horrible as far as translations going (if you're actually going to study the text for a religion course or something), it it written in beautiful prose...and this edition is HUGE! Like, it definitely takes to hands to lift it. Perhaps two arms. It is probably a foot and half long by a foot wide, and maybe half a foot thick. Big enough for you?

One interesting I noticed it included the Apocrypha, which is unusual for Protestant bibles (though, it is a Church of England edition, which at that time, really wasn't that different from Catholicism). Also, it put Esther in the Apocrypha, which has changed now...also interesting.

So I spent the day with old texts! Nothing like old books to get an English major all excited. :)