Call Number:

Ms. Coll. 1743

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

• 11.3 linear feet
• 12 box(es)

Language Note:

Most of the collection is in English, with copies of medieval manuscripts in Latin.

Preferred Citation:

Barbara A. Shailor papers, 1965 - 2025, Ms. Coll. 1743, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1965-2025 (inclusive)

Creator:

Shailor, Barbara A., 1948-

Form:

Codices (bound manuscripts) and Drafts (documents)

Abstract:

Barbara A. Shailor (1948 -), a scholar of Latin paleography and codicology and a specialist in Visigothic manuscripts, was the Director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (2001 – 2003) and Deputy Provost for the Arts (2003-2012) at Yale University. This collection consists of 11.3 linear feet of material, mostly paper records and photographs with some digital files, which document Shailor's scholarly career in manuscript studies.

Barbara A. Shailor (1948 -), a scholar of Latin paleography and codicology and a specialist in Visigothic manuscripts, was the Director of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (2001 – 2003) and Deputy Provost for the Arts (2003-2012) at Yale University in New Haven, CT.

Born in Connecticut in 1948, Shailor attended Hamden High School in Hamden, CT, and graduated with honors from Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA, in 1969 with a major in Latin and Greek. She received her MA in 1971 and her PhD in 1975, in Classical Philology from the University of Cincinnati. She was a faculty member and administrator at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA (1975–1996), then Dean of Douglass College and Professor of Classics at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ, (1996–2001) before moving to Yale. Shailor retired as Deputy Provost for the Arts at Yale in 2012 and retired from teaching in 2020. In addition to her university appointments, Shailor taught paleography and the medieval book in seminars and Rare Book School courses from the late 1980s to the mid 2010s.

Shailor had research interests in the scriptoria of northern Spain, Visigothic script, American biblioclast Otto Ege, and the manuscript tradition of Beatus's Commentary on the Apocalypse. In addition to articles, her publications include The Medieval Book and Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library (3 vols.). Shailor was also the co-principal investigator on a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, "Digitally Enabled Scholarship and Medieval Manuscripts at Yale University". She was elected to the Comité internationale de paléographie latine in 2000 and a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America in 2006.

Sources: Yale University Department of Classics faculty page (https://classics.yale.edu/people/barbara-shailor)viewed on 4/17/2026 and CV in the collection (box 1, folder 6).

This collection consists of 11.3 linear feet of material, mostly paper records and photographs with some digital files, which document Shailor's scholarly career as a paleographer, codicologist, and expert in manuscript studies. The collection is divided into ten series starting with biographical and personal material, then correspondence, then the files for several major projects, then general subject files, notes, photographs, and digital media.

Series I, biographical, includes materials documenting milestones in her career, including clippings, diplomas, CVs, and awards. Series II, correspondence, contains correspondence filed as such, although other series also contain correspondence related to particular subjects. Series III, Beatus manuscript research, pulls together material from a series of projects related to manuscript copies of Beatus's Commentary on the Apocalypse, arranged by the specific manuscript studied. Series IV documents Shailor's work on the American biblioclast Otto Ege. Series V, Mellon Grant, includes planning material, notes from meetings, and reports on "Digitally Enabled Scholarship with Medieval Manuscripts", a 2012 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Series VI: Teaching includes Shailor's course materials on medieval Latin paleography and codicology, including courses given at the Rare Book School in Charlottesville, VA. Series VII: Subject Files is the largest part of the collection and includes material documenting the development of Shailor's dissertation, The Scriptorium of San Pedro de Berlangas, work on the Yale Gower manuscript, and other articles, books, and talks. It also contains articles by other scholars and documentation of professional association activities. Series VIII: Notes consists of loose notes, student and research notebooks, nearly all related to research on Visigothic manuscripts, and a box of index cards containing bibliographical references. These are well-labeled with the repository and shelf mark of manuscripts consulted. Series IX: Photographs of Manuscripts contains prints with some negatives, photocopies, slides, facsimiles, microfilm, other reproduction formats, and lists of photographs. Most photographs are labeled with the shelf mark of the manuscript and organized by city and repository. Many photographs are 8" x 10" or similarly sized black and white prints, although there are a few packets of small prints. This series also contains several volumes of published paleographical facsimiles. Series X: Digital Media contains the restricted physical carriers of digital files that will be integrated into the other series as appropriate based on their content.