{"id":6672,"date":"2017-07-10T11:26:07","date_gmt":"2017-07-10T15:26:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6672"},"modified":"2017-10-02T11:59:53","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T15:59:53","slug":"travel-series-the-british-isles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6672","title":{"rendered":"Travel Series: The British Isles"},"content":{"rendered":"

The British Isles – made up of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (including England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland – are some of the most traveled and beautiful countries in the world. Though not officially considered a part of the British Isles by their own government, Ireland is often associated with this group of nations, and is equally stunning and rich in culture in its own right. For our summer exhibit \u201cAround the World in (Almost) 80 Days<\/a>,\u201d we here at Special Collections Research Center\u00a0wanted to ensure that one exhibit case was dedicated to those lovely islands across the pond, with as much representation from its various countries as possible.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Our exhibit case dedicated to materials about or from the British Isles.<\/p><\/div>\n

Perhaps the most fascinating object in our British Isles case is the rubbing of a 13th century brass engraving. Seemingly made with butcher paper and a waxy crayon, this rubbing from the <\/span>Bernard Brenner brass rubbings collection<\/span><\/a> depicts a knight dressed completely in armor, a sword at his hip, with his loyal companion – a dog – sitting at his feet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Close-up of Brass Rubbing of a Knight in the British Isles exhibit case.<\/p><\/div>\n

Rubbings of brass, stone, or other materials have been practiced for centuries, beginning in China in the 7th century when this method was used to make copies of inscribed stone records.*<\/span>\u00a0Perhaps the most well-known usage of rubbings today is gravestone rubbing (though somewhat controversial.) No matter the object, time period, or individual, the idea is essentially the same – to transfer information that the object provides into a more portable format, whether to collect, use later for study, or simply to admire. When it comes to British brass rubbings specifically, our finding aid on the Brenner collection offers some crucial information on this practice:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBrass rubbing is a technique to reproduce exactly the engraving on a monumental brass. Rubbings are made by carefully pressing paper onto a carved or incised surface so that the paper conforms to features to be copied. The paper is then blacked and the projecting areas of the surface become dark, while indented areas remain white. In Europe the technique of rubbing is almost exclusively applied to monumental brasses. Monumental brasses are usually figures, inscriptions, shields or other devices, engraved in plate brass and laid as memorials. Brasses originated in Europe where they first appeared in the thirteenth century. Brasses in churches are an important source of heraldic information. It was formerly a custom to put a brass over the grave slab, and on this would be shown a figure of the deceased with his armorial bearings.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

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Detail of Brass Rubbing of a Knight.<\/p><\/div>\n

Besides the image of a knight, the Brenner collection also contains some other fascinating figures. One such image is that of a clergyman, cut from its original paper and set against cloth. Gowned in flowing liturgical robes, this priest is clearly of a high rank. With his scepter, beautifully woven chasuble<\/span> and stole**,<\/span> prominent hat, and his fingers in the sign of benediction, he cuts an imposing figure.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Brass Rubbing of a Catholic Priest.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Brass Rubbing of a 13th Century British Man.<\/p><\/div>\n

Another notable rubbing within this collection is petite in stature, but by no means in interest. This rubbing depicts a gentleman in regal attire, with a significant amount of fur draped around his shoulders. The man also boasts a high, lavish collar, a full beard, and holds a book in his hand, likely bound in wood and leather, with leather thong clasps and metal bosses on the cover.***<\/span><\/p>\n

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Detail of Book.<\/p><\/div>\n

These rubbings as a whole provide snapshots of what life was like in the late Middle Ages, and as evidenced provide invaluable insight into British life during the 13th century.<\/span><\/p>\n

*\u00a0http:\/\/www.lib.berkeley.edu\/EAL\/stone\/rubbings.html<\/em><\/p>\n

**The outermost liturgical vestment for a Catholic priest, usually decorated\/embroidered. A\u00a0liturgical vestment made of cloth, worn around the neck.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

***Thanks to our Research Services Coordinator Rebecca Bramlett for helping identify the book\u2019s composition.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our summer exhibition “Around the World in (Almost) 80 Days” runs through August 2017.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Follow SCRC on Social Media and\u00a0look out for future posts in our Travel Series\u00a0on our\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0accounts. \u00a0To search the collections\u00a0held at Special Collections Research Center, go to our\u00a0website<\/a>\u00a0and browse the finding aids by subject or title. You may also e-mail\u00a0us at\u00a0speccoll@gmu.edu<\/a>\u00a0or call 703-993-2220 if you would like to\u00a0schedule an appointment, request materials, or if you have questions. Appointments are not necessary to request and view collections.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The British Isles – made up of the United Kingdom of Great Britain (including England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland – are some of the most traveled and beautiful countries in the world. Though not officially considered a part of the British Isles by their own government, Ireland is often associated with this group […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101014,"featured_media":6684,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,272,506],"tags":[509,507,511,512,22,446,510,408,508,515,514,485,513],"class_list":["post-6672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exhibits","category-gmu-fairfax-campus","category-travel-series","tag-brass-rubbings","tag-britain","tag-british-isles","tag-england","tag-exhibits","tag-ireland","tag-knights","tag-medieval","tag-middle-ages","tag-northern-ireland","tag-scotland","tag-travel","tag-wales"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/IMG_9330-e1498763515969.jpg?fit=2448%2C3264&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ep5i-1JC","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5377,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=5377","url_meta":{"origin":6672,"position":0},"title":"Two New Exhibitions in SC&A Feature Items from Collection of Rare Books by Jan Morris and Oliver Atkins Photographs","author":"Bob Vay","date":"October 28, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"SC&A has completed two new exhibits of materials from its holdings. \u00a0On exhibit displays a group of books by historian and travel writer, Jan Morris, while the other features photographs from photographer, Oliver Atkins. Both exhibitions run through December 2015. \"Excerpts from a Life Well Traveled: The University Libraries' Jan\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"Jan Morris, as photographed in 1974. ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/janmorris_headshot_f423aeb0ce-238x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":6783,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6783","url_meta":{"origin":6672,"position":1},"title":"Travel Series: Hi’iaka","author":"Amanda Menjivar","date":"August 23, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Hello all! Amanda here. I was one of the curators of Special Collection Research Center\u2019s summer exhibition \u201cAround the World in (Almost) 80 Days,\u201d which although now closed, lingers on in this last Travel Series post. During the curation and building of this exhibit, my co-curator Brittney Falter and I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/IMG_0007-e1503501278748.jpg?fit=900%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6547,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6547","url_meta":{"origin":6672,"position":2},"title":"Around the World in (Almost) Eighty Days","author":"admin","date":"May 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Summer is approaching and travel plans have been made! Special Collections Research Center holds many images and books that represent great travel destinations in the United States and around the world. That is why we have planned a new exhibit - \"Around the World in (Almost) Eighty Days: Traveling the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TravelExhibit2017.px645.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TravelExhibit2017.px645.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/05\/TravelExhibit2017.px645.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9089,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=9089","url_meta":{"origin":6672,"position":3},"title":"Marchives Madness","author":"admin","date":"March 2, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 It is that time of year and SCRC is having another Marchives Madness contest. Our current exhibition is called \u201cShowing Us Our Own Face\u201d: Performing Arts and the Human Experience. All of the items have been digitized to replicate the physical exhibit as shown. To view all the items\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "exhibits"","block_context":{"text":"exhibits","link":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?cat=22"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MARCHIVESMadnessWatchParty.Insta_.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MARCHIVESMadnessWatchParty.Insta_.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MARCHIVESMadnessWatchParty.Insta_.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MARCHIVESMadnessWatchParty.Insta_.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/vault217.gmu.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/MARCHIVESMadnessWatchParty.Insta_.jpg?fit=1080%2C1080&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6750,"url":"https:\/\/vault217.gmu.edu\/?p=6750","url_meta":{"origin":6672,"position":4},"title":"Travel Series: Africa","author":"admin","date":"August 9, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"This post was written by Tiffany Kajer Wright, research services assistant. In the fourth installation of our blog series in conjunction with the Around the World in (Almost) 80 Days exhibit, we\u2019re examining historical travel in Africa. 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As it turns out--the stacks are full of magic! Fairies jump out from the pages of our rare book collection. 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