Non-SCA activities of interest

In the NYC area...

Our digest of concerts that we think might interest SCA types

Now open:

• Through June 26: The Washington Haggadah (1478): Medieval Jewish Art in Context, at the Met
• Through August 28: Bellini's St. Francis in the Desert (c. 1475-78), at the Frick
• Through Sept. 4: Illuminating Fashion: Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands, at the Morgan
• Through Oct. 30: Thinking Outside the Box: European Cabinets, Caskets, and Cases 1500-1900, at the Met

Coming soon:

• Oct. 21, 2011-Jan. 29, 2012: Treasures of Islamic Manuscript Painting, at the Morgan
• Nov. 15, 2011-April 22, 2012: The Game of Kings: Medieval Ivory Chessmen from the Isle of Lewis, at the Cloisters
• Dec. 21, 2011-March 18, 2012: The Renaissance Portrait from Donatello to Bellini, at the Met

The Delacorte Theater

puts on free theatre productions in Central Park, often Shakespeare.

The Christmas Revels

a show every December at Symphony Space; often with a medieval or Renaissance theme. A number of Østgarðrians are usually involved, either on stage or in the costume shop.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

including the Cloisters, the medieval-art annex building which is itself built largely from pieces of medieval European buildings.

The Pierpont Morgan Library

J.P. Morgan, in addition to being a famous financier, also collected lots of antique books (including three Gutenberg Bibles) and medieval and Renaissance works of art. The Morgan library, acting as both a museum and a center for scholarly research, displays these items as well as travelling exhibitions. See CORSAIR, the Library's awesome on-line research resource.

At the moment, the Morgan is displaying the Hours of Catherine of Cleves (through May 2, 2010).

Lincoln Center

which sometimes produces concerts of early music.

American Museum of Natural History

occasionally has something of particular interest to SCA types, e.g. the "Nature of Diamonds" exhibit and the recent showing of a Leonardo da Vinci scientific manuscript

The Frick Collection

which sometimes has exhibits of interest to medievalists; see Past Exhibitions at the Frick for some examples.

The New York Public Library, which is not only one of the top research libraries in the world (see Renier's article on the research collections), but also sometimes has museum-style exhibitions of interest to medievalists.

Metropolitan Transit Authority

how you're going to get to many of these things

Roads of Greater New York City

the other way you might get to many of these things (includes information on roads that were proposed but never built).

Not in the NYC area

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology

in Philadelphia. Some of the programs and exhibitions are medieval, and others may interest you anyway.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art

has an impressive collection of medieval art and architectural details, displayed in a manner that'll remind you of the Cloisters. And check out the gargoyles on the outside of the building.

The Higgins Armory Museum in Worcester, MA

specializes in the history of arms and armor.

The Walters Art Gallery

in Baltimore, MD. The Walters has an internationally renowned collection of medieval art and sculpture.

The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, DC

frequently has interesting exhibits about 16th-century life.

The Library of Congress

in Washington, DC. Sometimes has exhibits of interest to SCAdians, like one on Dance Instruction Manuals ca. 1490-1920.

The British Library: Treasures of the British Library

Some items, like the Beowulf ms, are available only on CD-ROM; others, like the Lindisfarne Gospels and the Luttrell Psalter, can be read page by page, with zoom and commentary, from touch-screens at the Library; and a few are available page by page on the Web (requires ShockWave).

Mechanical Marvels: Invention in the Age of Leonardo

Drawings, working models, and interactive computer animations of many of the inventions of Brunelleschi (including the winches and hoists he invented to build his famous Dome), Leonardo da Vinci, and their contemporaries.

Leonardo's Codex Leicester

A manuscript in Leonardo da Vinci's hand, largely on topics we would now call civil or mechanical engineering.

The Nature of Diamonds

Diamonds don't seem to have been used much in medieval Europe, but this exhibit included a few fine examples, as well as splendid artifacts from the Renaissance through the 20th century.

The Getty Museum in California

... has scanned in pictures of a number of their artifacts, paintings, manuscripts, etc.