Rachel Koopmans has received a highly competitive award from the British Academy for six months of research as a Visiting Fellow in the UK.
The abstract for the award is as follows: “Rachel Koopmans’ research is focused on the eight ‘miracle windows’ of Canterbury Cathedral, a magnificent series of stained glass windows (dating ca. 1200) that showcase the miracles of Thomas Becket. From late June-December 2018, Koop
mans will partner with Leonie Seliger of Canterbury’s Conservation Studios, Cressida Williams of the Cathedral’s Archives, and colleagues at the host institution, the University of Kent’s Centre for Medieval and Early Modern Studies, in the first full-scale examination of one of the windows. Its panels will be removed for analysis and high resolution photography, work which will enable accurate assessment of the window’s restoration history and medieval iconography. Koopmans will disseminate the results of this innovative pilot project in scholarly publications and public forums and head the effort to put together a major grant application to fund similar examination of the remaining miracle windows.”
Rachel reports that the work is progressing apace, with even better results than she had anticipated.