Scavenger Hunt: Get to know Secrets of Craft and Nature

Browse the online Edition of Ms. Fr. 640: Secrets of Craft and Nature.

Explore each menu item.

Complete the scavenger hunt of the Edition

• Pick three of the following terms (or another term of your choosing), and use the search bar to search the manuscript: 
  • “mercury,”
  • “bread,”
  • “rat,”
  • “dog,”
  • “cuttlefish,”
  • “saliva,”
  • “garlic,”
  • “blood,”
  • “rosemary,”
  • “milk,”
  • “horse,”
  • “earwax”
• Browse the results and select one of the occurrences in the manuscript that you find interesting. Please note the page number (e.g., fol. 76v) and URL (e.g., https://edition640.makingandknowing.org/#/folios/76v/f/76v/tl) from which you viewed the recipe or entry containing the term. Keep notes for discussion.
• What is the recipe for? Is it a recipe at all? If not, how would you characterize it? How is the relevant object/material/animal used in the recipe? Was this use or the material surprising to you? How does this manuscript entry relate to the study of material culture, art history, or the history of science? Could you reconstruct this object/material?
• Is there an essay associated with this entry in the manuscript (click on the beaker icon on the right of the entry)? Does it provide new insights or answer your questions about this recipe?

Teaching Resources

For an account of how the Making and Knowing Project created the edition through courses and workshops:

• Explore the Making and Knowing Project Website, especially the tab “Project Components.”
• Read Pamela H. Smith, “Making the Edition,” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France.

For more context on Ms. Fr. 640, see Pamela H. Smith, “An Introduction to Ms. Fr. 640 and its Author-Practitioner,” in Secrets of Craft and Nature in Renaissance France.

Explore the syllabi, student projects, and assignments for hands-on activities on

• The Sandbox
  • See the sections “Syllabi” and “Course Projects,” particularly those for the course, GU4962: Hands-on History (2021- ).
  • You’ll find lesson plans for hands-on activities at the subheading, Activity Sheets, Assignments, and Reconstruction Protocols

In the future, this material will be found (better organized) on the Project’s Research and Teaching Companion.

The Making and Knowing Project is very interested in your user experience of the Edition and Sandbox, and how you integrate them into your own research and teaching. Please send any feedback or suggestions to Pamela Smith at ps2270@columbia.edu.