Congratulations to CMS Community Faculty, Students, and Alumni, who have been in the news
U of T's Old Books New Science lab's Head of Research, Jessica Lockhart, with Massey College Assistant Librarian and Rare Books Specialist Chana Algarvio, have uncovered a scrap of medieval parchment, now identified as a 15th‑century letter fragment drafted from "Spider King" Louis XI. Using the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library's Multispectral Imaging System for the Humanities and Archives (MISHA), Mark Andrews Postdoctoral Fellow Stephanie Lahey uncovered new details in the fragment, such as ink patterns and folds. With these new details, Professor Sebastian Sobecki was able to identify the language, and eventually, the origins of the parchment.
Read the U of T articles for all the exciting details!
U of T News: Signed, sealed, rediscovered
A & S News: Hidden in plain sight
Go deeper with the Massey fragment and explore A Letter from the Spider King, an interactive website that goes deeper into the discovery.
The Old Books New Science lab was founded by Alexandra Gillsepie, Vice-President and Principal, UTM, and CMS Faculty
Jessica Lockhart, Head of OBNS, earned her PhD from CMS in 2017.
Andrews Postdoctoral Fellow Stephanie Lahey performed research at CMS as a SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow from 2021-2023.
Sebastian Sobecki is Professor at the Centre for Medieval Studies and the Department of English.
CMS Student Morgan Moore, and recent graduates Bard Swallow and Alexandra Atiya are contributors to projects at the Old Books New Science Lab