Of Grace and Redundancy: Collecting Biblical Texts in 15th-Century England

Join TCB for our March 2026 seminar:  Of Grace and Redundancy: Collecting Biblical Texts in 15th-Century England with Dr Elizabeth Solopova. 

The seminar will run 5:00 - 6:00pm in Trinity Long Room Hub on 25 March 2026. 

This talk focuses on medieval compilations that combined diverse materials to produce what can be described as an 'approximation' of the complete Bible in English. Assembling such compilations was a standard practice of medieval bookmakers that continued to exist even when a full, scholarly translation, the Wycliffite Bible, became available. Recognising this common strategy helps to interpret the contents and structure of books that at first sight appear puzzling and lacking organisation. In addition, the study of such compilations helps to understand the readers' perception of what constituted the vernacular Bible before full printed versions became common in the 16th century. The paper also addresses the concept of collecting in the Middle Ages as an expression of an individual's or a group's vision, and how this vision may become recognizable across cultural barriers.
Dr Elizabeth Solopova is a Research Fellow at the English Faculty and lecturer at Harris Manchester College, University of Oxford. She teaches Old and Middle English literature and has published widely on medieval literature, language, manuscripts and the fiction of J.R.R Tolkien. Her current research focuses on the Wycliffite Bible, the first complete translation of the Bible in English. She has acted as Principal Investigator on several major research projects, including ‘Towards a New Edition of the Wycliffite Bible’, funded by the UK's Arts and Humanities Research Council (2016-2020), and 'Medieval Vernacular Bibles as Unity, Diversity and Conflict' (2024-2027), funded by the UK-German Funding Initiative in the Humanities (AHRC and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft). She is the 2026 Trinity Centre for the Book-affiliated TLRH Visiting Research Fellow.
This event is part of the Trinity Centre for the Book Research Seminar Series. The monthly seminars take place on the last Wednesday of the month at 5pm in the Neil Lecture theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub. For more about the activities of the Centre for the Book see www.tcd.ie/thebook.

Please indicate if you have any access requirements, such as ISL/English interpreting, so that we can facilitate you in attending this event.