Myrrour of the Worlde

I didn't get any pamphlets from this exhibition, as I was there at closing time, but I managed to take some interesting photographs - not of the items on display of course - but of a mural they had on the wall behind plastic. It was difficult to get good photos because of all the glare, but they were interesting so I had to try. One of them was an image of a book with a chain on it, which I assume is from the days when you used to have to be on a waiting list and use a coupon to get into the library; before the times you could borrow books they were chained to the tables. Although it could also be one of the King James bibles which were said to be of such value that they were secured to church pulpits with chains.

If you can't make the "Mirror of the World" exhibition in person, the State Library of Victoria has put together a website with images and information at www.mirroroftheworld.com.au.

The title of the exhibition comes from one of the first illustrated books to be published in England, 'Myrrour of the worlde', by William Caxton in 1490, (although Encyclopedia Britannica dates it back to 1481).

In the section that describes the works to follow as 'Books that changed the world' they have Nicolaus Copernicus' Astronomia instaurata (1617), which was originally published in 1543 as 'De revolutionibus orbium coelestium' ('on the revolutions of celestial spheres'). The inquisition put this book on the Index of Prohibited books in 1616 because Copernicus' discovery of a heliocentric solar system (in which the planets rotate around the sun) contradicted church's belief that God's Earth was the centre of the universe.

Similarly, Galileo's 1632 work 'Dialogo sopra i due massimi sistemi del mondo' (Dialogue concerning the two chief world systems) was also banned and he was accused of heresy.

Martin Luther's German translation of the Bible from 1528, which inspired his friend William Tyndale's translation of the Bible into English are both featured in the exhibition. Tyndale thought that every believer should be able to read the Bible in their own language, but church authorities in England prevented him from translating the bible there. He was eventually captured in Belgium, his work was banned and he was burned at the stake along with his supporters.

The first authorised translation of the Bible into English was printed by Robert Barker in 1611. King James I of England appointed 54 of the best religious scholars and linguists to establish the most accurate English translation yet. A second edition of this bible from 1613 can also be seen at the Mirror of the World exhibition.

I also learnt something interesting about the Encyclopedia whilst browsing over the works of Denis Diderot and the like. The word 'Encyclopedia' derives from the notion of a circle and conveys the desire for 'all round' education or knowledge of the world.

Word Meaning and History
1530s, enkyklios paideia taken as "general education," but lit. "training in a circle," the essentials of a liberal education, from enkyklios "circular," also "general" (from en- "in" + kyklos "circle") + paideia "education".

 Here are some of the photographs I took of the wall feature, of moveable type and men in a printing workshop. (I don't really understand the purpose of the skeletal bodies in the first picture).

RESEARCH STRATEGIES/PROBLEMS
Some of the dates and information from the exhibition, when I looked it up on Encyclopedia Britannica, conflicted a little bit and that can be confusing.

At this exhibition my time was cut short because it was the last exhibition I went to that day and I didn't realise how fast time was flying, I was politely kicked out by the security guard on the dot of 5pm and didn't get to finish all my notes. Although maybe that's a good thing because then I would just have more to write about and I already write too many words as it is.


SOURCES
Information gathered and interpreted and photographs taken from my visit to the Mirror of the World exhibition at the State Library of Victoria. They are my own words and work. Some information taken from plaques at the aforementioned exhibition, but also put into my own words.

State Library of Victoria 2010, Mirror of the World, viewed 30 April 2012, <www.mirroroftheworld.com.au>

State Library of Victoria 2012, Events : Mirror of the World, viewed 30 April 2012, <www.slv.vic.gov.au/event/mirror-world>

Encyclopedia Britannica Online 2012, William Caxton, viewed 30 April 2012, <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/100766/William-Caxton>

Encyclopedia Britannica Online 2012, William Tyndale, viewed 30 April 2012, <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/611569/William-Tyndale>

King James Bible Online 2012, 400th Year Anniversary of the King James Bible, viewed 30 April 2012, <http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/400th-Year-Anniversary.php>

Dictionary.com 2012, Encyclopedia, viewed 30 April 2012, <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/encyclopedia>