Following up on key themes in The Word in the Wilderness, this new podcast welcomes you into the world of manuscript production, popular piety, and spiritual culture in early German Pennsylvania and beyond.

Episodes will be posted on Monday mornings beginning on June 22nd.

Episode 1: The History of Studying Pennsylvania Germans and Their Illuminated Manuscripts

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Ein Unpartheyisches Gesang-Buch… (Lancaster, PA: Johann Albrecht, 1804). M2116 M54. Courtesy of The Winterthur Library, Winterthur, DE.

Episode 2: What is "Fraktur"? Type, Script, and Art

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Michael Baurenfeind, Volkommene Wieder-Herstellung, der bischer Fehr in Verfall gekommenen gründlich-u: Zierlichen Schreib-Kunst… (Nuremberg: s.n., 1716), Z43 B35 F. Courtesy of The Winterthur Library, Winterthur, DE.

Episode 3: Who Were the Pennsylvania Germans, and Why do They Matter?

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Johann Arndt, Sechs Bücher vom Wahren Christenthum… (Philadelphia: Georg W. Mentz und Sohn, 1834). BR120 A74w. Courtesy of The Winterthur Library, Winterthur, DE.

Episode 4: What is "Manuscript Culture"? Reframing Pennsylvania German Manuscript Studies as a Sub-field of Book History

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German children’s picture dictionary (untitled). Germany: s.n., ca. 1836. AG27 G37. Courtesy of The Winterthur Library, Winterthur, DE.

Coming soon!

Episode 5: Manuscript Culture Beyond Pennsylvania: Traditions in Asia, the Islamic World, Early Modern Europe, Great Britain, and the Americas

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Ioseph de Casanova, Primera Parte del Arte de Escrivir Todas Formas de Letras. Escrito, y Tallado por el Maestro Ioseph de Casanova, Notario Apostolico, y Examinador de los Maestros del dicho Arte en la villa de Madrid, Corte de su Maestad, y natural de la villa de Magallon, Arçobispando de Zaragoça. Madrid: Diego Diaz de la Carrera, 1650, page 54. 11 3/4" H x 8 1/4" W. Z 43 C33 cep 3. Courtesy of the Hispanic Society of America, New York, NY.

Coming soon!

Episode 6: "The Root of Wisdom is to Fear the Lord": Wisdom Literature and Pennsylvania German Manuscript Culture

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Hoch-Deutsches Reformirtes ABC- und Namen-Büchlein für Kinder welche anfangen zu lernen. Verbesserte Ausgabe. Philadelphia: Conrad Zentler, 1816. PF3114 H68. Courtesy of The Winterthur Library, Winterthur, DE.

Coming soon!

Episode 7: Eines Christen Reise: Origins of The Word in the Wilderness

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Joh. Bunian (John Bunyan), Eines Christen Reise nach der seeligen Ewigkeit… (Ephrata, PA: Drucks und Verlags der Brüderschafft, 1754). EL2 .B942p. GE 754. Courtesy The Rosenbach, Philadelphia.

Coming soon!
Cloister Talk theme music is an adaptation of Anabaptist leader Menno Simons's famous hymn "We Are People of God's Peace," arranged and performed by the podcaster on harp and recorded specifically for Cloister Talk.  Sound effects graciously provided by BBC Sound Effects, http://bbcsfx.acropolis.org.uk/, ​© 2020 BBC.