Special Collections, UCC Library is delighted to welcome students engaging with our collections. We in Special Collections consider that an online exhibition contributes to our mission of ‘connecting people with ideas.’ This exhibition, presented as a series of blog posts using the Civitates orbis terrarum map of Cork as a starting point, emerges from the HI6091 module (2016/2017) co-taught by Dr Małgorzata Krasnodębska-D’Aughton and Ms Elaine Harrington, among others.
For the students creating this online exhibition, a wider variety of skills including critical analysis of texts, awareness of copyright restrictions, object handling, teamwork and communication are developed. For History students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, Special Collections represent research facilities that provide specialised support and access to stimulating resources.
UCC Library considers the end results of exhibits that celebrate campus scholarship to be invaluable. This online exhibition is the third digital output created as part of the MA in Medieval History and is presented as a series of blog posts. The exhibition celebrates the on-going collaboration between the School of History and UCC Special Collections, building on the University’s rich tradition of medieval scholarship and through the online output reaches beyond the walls of UCC. More importantly, the project has been completed during the COVID-19 crisis and its completion is a great testimony to the value of teamwork and collegiality, and the commitment of the MA students to produce high quality research during challenging times.
All involved in the project wish to acknowledge the generosity of the National Library of Ireland, Trinity College Dublin’s Digital Collections, the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society, the Library of Congress and the University of Utrecht for allowing us to use their images of MS 700, the Hardiman Atlas, Blackrock Castle and both editions of Civitiates Orbis Terrarum respectively.