Medievalist

Erica Cialella, 2020–2022 Belle da Costa Greene Fellow: Greene specialized in the study of medieval illuminated manuscripts and made one of her most significant acquisitions in this field in 1916. While the First World War raged in Europe, she traveled to England to acquire one of the Morgan’s most famous medieval objects, a thirteenth-century French manuscript with stunning miniatures illustrating the Old Testament. In a surviving letter, Belle Greene reported back to Jack Morgan about her trip: “I purchased … the finest example of French art of the period in private hands. If I had been able to stay here several weeks longer I know I could have bought every important manuscript in private hands in England.”

During Greene’s tenure, the west room vault was the primary home for medieval manuscripts and highly valuable collection items. Made from solid steel and glass shelves, the vault was not constructed with wood in order to protect from fire. Originally Greene and the other librarians would use a long ladder to access the higher shelves, but a stairwell and additional level were added later.

Kept in the safety of this room were some of Greene’s greatest medieval manuscript acquisitions, such as the tenth-century Commentary on the Apocalypse by the Spanish monk Beatus. It is one of the earliest surviving illuminated manuscripts in the Spanish tradition. Before the 2003 Renzo Piano addition to the Morgan’s campus, a velvet curtain covered the doorway so curators could retrieve material while the museum was open to the public.

Greene was a prominent figure in the world of medieval studies and left an indelible legacy. She was the second woman to be elected as a Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, which annually awards the Belle da Costa Greene prize to a medievalist of color to support their research in the field.