Crowdfunding for medieval book

The prayer book of duchess Maria van Gerle is one of the few medieval books which have been saved. The monk Helmich de Lewe made the book which is already 600 years old. It has 1200 pages and the velum pages have very detailed illustrations. Professor Johan Oosterman (historic Dutch literature at the Radboud University in Nijmegen) was able to hold the book for a while and saw that some of the pages are in very bad shape. The book is currently stored in the Staatsbibiliothek zu Berlin in Berlin. Oosterman is of the opinion that the book needs to be restored. The cost for that will be 150,000 euro, including research into the historical value of the book. Oosterman is now trying to get crowdfunding for 25,000 Euro to start the restoration. The research is also designed to show how the book was made and what kind of materials were used. If it all goes according to plan the book will eventually be exhibited at the Valkhof museum in Nijmegen.

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