Reading between the lines

So, I was just meandering around online, looking at pretty examples of Hebrew micrography. [The nerdy backdrop: traditionally, there's no ornamentation in Torah scrolls, but when Torah is in book form, scribes often got playful, writing out the Masorah [critical notes] in teeny-tiny writing swirled into decorative borders or miniature menageries of fantastic beasts or hounds chasing rabbits, or a deer grazing on some fine leaves...


A picture that you can literally read. Okay, here endeth the lesson.]

Anyhoo, there I was, reading some guy's conference paper on some book [keen eye for detail, me] and I thought: That book description sounds familiar. I know that book. I used to take care of that book. I knew it as 'The Seville Bible' - an elegant Torah manuscript with borders full of elaborate micrographic designs - just scrummy. And you couldn't look at it without this sense of heartbreaking poignancy, because it was completed in 1468, and within a decade the Jewish population were expelled (or worse) from Seville. And not only did this manuscript feature in this man's paper, but at the end, in the Thanks, Couldn't Have Done This Without The Help Of... section, is my name.

Now, I'm off to think a little about names and scholarly conversations (or find a photo of the guy), but in the meantime: you know those 'Did I miss a meeting?' moments. This is one of mine.