The Manuscript Wall:

So this is, in this instance at least, a metaphorical wall. I didn't know there was a manuscript wall, but there is. I've been in the British Library for the last few days reading 14th and 15th century sermons (so cool by the way) or trying to read them. See, handwriting back in the day left something to be desired. I can't really blame a scribe for abbreviating everything so he didn't have to write as much. Nor can I fault him for his bad handwriting, everyone has their own style. But the thing is, the later Middle Ages have less legible handwriting than the early medieval period and that's, well, a bit annoying. It's also frustrating because my paleographical skills are not as good as I'd like them to be. Ultimately it just takes practice, which I'm doing, and time, which I'm giving, so one day this will be easy, right?!

Anyhoo. I've been cruising along even though it's difficult to read (yes, the English is more difficult than the Latin, go figure) because I've been so freaking excited that I'm handling actual manuscripts! Real ones! It's like a scavenger hunt or a sudoku puzzle. It's all coded and I have to figure it out. The problem, I've just realized in the last 15 minutes, is that it is actually a brain workout and after 6 hours in the library now, my brain has given up. It's hit the manuscript wall and I can't seem to climb over it. It's foggy by this wall too, by the way. I think the fog is the eye strain.

The good news is, that when I make it over this wall (which I will, do not worry yourselves) I will have some pretty cool stuff to say. I look forward to that. It's been so good the last few days to actually like, nay, love what I'm doing. I love it. I really do. I've been smiling for like 48 hours straight. It's awesome.

Ok...enough of the break. Time to start scaling this wall...

Love to all,
Elizabeth