From the Research Desk

Pal·imp·sest
ˈ/paləm(p)ˌsest/

From the Greek “palímpsestos,” to scrape again.
This was the ultimate in recycling. Roman writers Catullus, Cicero, and Plutarch all told of the practice of making palimpsesti  on papyrus and wax tablets. (Avrin. p. 168)  After the fall of the Roman Empire the practice continued, manuscripts which were no longer useful or contained material considered pagan would have their pages cleaned so they could be reused. This would save time and money since parchment was expensive. Why is this important?  Ink containing iron  leaves a ‘ghost’ in the substrate which can be obvious, or might require special techniques such as spectral imaging to discern. So it is possible to see the original work, even under two or three layers.  Sometimes these are previously unknown texts, or works that we know existed but no copies have been found, such as the Archimedes Palimpsest. Sometimes they are works which are earlier versions of known works, which then can show how a particular text has evolved.

Avrin, Leila.  Scribes. Scripts, and Books: the book arts from antiquity to the Renaissance.  ALA, 1991

Noel, Will.  Restoring the Archimedes Palimpsest

Palimpsests: The Art of Medieval Recycling: http://blogs.bl.uk/digitisedmanuscripts/2016/09/palimpsests-the-art-of-medieval-recycling.html

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/physics/inside-archimedes-palimpsest.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palimpsest

Detail of the Archimedes Palimpsest

Detail from the Lindisfarne Gospels

This book belongs to none but me
For there’s my name inside to see.
To steal this book, if you should try,
It’s by the throat that you will hang high.
And ravens then will gather ‘bout
To find your eyes and pull them out.
And when you’re screaming “oh, oh, oh!”
Remember, you deserved this woe.
–Anonymous German scribe.

Before printing was invented, every clay tablet, scroll or book (manuscript) had to be written or copied out by hand. In order to protect such valuable and laboriously created materials, scribes would often include a few lines intended to prevent theft or damage, or even to curse those who might alter the text. These book curses often invoked the wrath of the gods, included inventive punishments or, by the Medieval period, excommunication or even anathema to discourage any would-be thief.

The oldest known book curse comes down to us from the ancient Assyrians:

The palace of Ashur-bani-pal, king of hosts, king of Assyria, who putteth his trust in the gods Asher and Belit…I have transcribed upon tablets the noble products of the work of the scribe which none of the kings who had gone before me had learned, together with the wisdom of Nabu insofar as it existeth [in writing]. I have arranged them in classes, I have revised them and I have placed them in my palace, that even I, the ruler who knoweth the light of Ashur, the king of the gods, may read them.  Whosoever shall carry off this tablet, or shall inscribe his name on it, side by side with mine own, may Ashur and Belit overthrow him in wrath and anger, and may they destroy his name and posterity in the land.

More Medieval examples:
Book of [the Abbey of] Saints Mary and Nicholas of Arnstein: If anyone take away this book, let him die the death; let him be fried in a pan; let the falling sickness and fever seize him; let him be broken on the wheel, and hanged. Amen.
From: British Museum, Ms. Harley 2798, folio 235 verso.

Whoever steals this Book of Prayer
May he be ripped apart by swine,
His heart be splintered, this I swear,
And his body dragged along the Rhine.

May he who steals you then be sent

A blow upon his fundament.

Twenty-first century librarians have to be content with applying a sticker in the back cover of every book, taken from the Michigan Compiled Laws: 750.364 Larceny from Libraries.

Book Curse. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_curse
Drogin, Marc. Anathema!: medieval scribes and the history of book curses. Allanheld, Osmun & Co. Publishers, 1983
Reitz, Joan. Dictionary for Library and Information Science. Libraries Unlimited, 2004. p.788

It’s the one of the most notorious dates in history; the day Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 B.C.

It’s been immortalized by Shakespeare:

Soothsayer: “Beware the Ides of March.” Act 1 Scene 2

Caesar: (To the Soothsayer) “The Ides of March are come.
Soothsayer: “Ay Caesar, but not gone.
Julius Caesar: Act 3 Scene 1 http://shakespeare.mit.edu/julius_caesar/full.html
Almost everyone has heard the phrase “Beware the Ides of March” and they know it means certain doom, but where does all of this come from?  What are Ides anyway?

Ides refer to the days in the ancient Roman calendar that mark the middle of the month. Since it was a lunar calendar, this marked the full moon.  For most months this was the 13th, but the 15th for the longest months.  March would also have been the beginning of  the Roman  New Year.  In addition to the usual sacrifices, other celebrations were observed during this time–such as the feast of Anna Perenna: the goddess of the circle, or ring, of the year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ides_of_March

But what about the rest of it? How do we know about Julius Caesar’s assassination?

One source comes down to us from Plutarch.  In his Parallel Lives, beginning at chapter 63, all the signs point to a bad end:  http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Lives/Caesar*.html

Another is Suetonius’ The Twelve Caesars, written about A.D. 121 http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/Julius*.html

For articles on the Ides of March see JStor: http://www.jstor.org/

It turns out other unfortunate things have happened on March 15th http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/top-ten-reasons-to-beware-the-ides-of-march-8664107/

Go for a walk and get your blood moving again, or, if the weather is nasty (its spring in Michigan after all), get away from it all for an hour or two with a movie. You can check the catalog for your favorites, or you can browse by entering “feature film” in the keyword search box. Pick a comedy or a fantasy, watch it with your friends. Taking a little break from studying will help your eyes uncross, and your brain won’t feel so overloaded.  Good luck on all your finals!