Project Summary
This project is hosted by: Warburg Institute
- Research interests:
- Classics, Digital resources, Early Modern, Education, History, History of art, History of the book, Language and Literature (French), Language and Literature (German), Language and Literature (Italian), Literatures in a modern language, Philosophy
- Regions:
- England, England, Europe, Europe
- Project period:
- 18-Jan-2027 - 17-Jan-2029
- Project categories:
- Digital grant, Events grant, Network grant, Research project
- Project summary:
THE MANY LIVES OF A BOOK: MULTILINGUAL AND VISUAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF COMENIUS' ORBIS SENSUALIUM PICTUS, 1658-1758
This project is funded by a BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant (SRG26\260709).
Jan Amos Comenius’ Orbis sensualium pictus (1658) is a pioneering multilingual illustrated children’s book which systematically combined vernacular and Latin text with images to teach language and knowledge through sensory experience. Through hundreds of editions, translations, and adaptations, the Orbis pictus quickly became a foundational text in early-modern education, influencing thinkers such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Its pathways of transmission, however, remain surprisingly understudied. Focusing on the first century of its reception (1658–1758), this project examines how the Orbis pictus was reshaped through both visual and multilingual reconfiguration, and what these changes reveal about the impact and adaptation of Comenius’ pedagogical, philosophical, and theological ideas in diverse contexts. Resulting in a digital bibliography, collaborative workshops, and a co-authored
publication, the project will also serve as the springboard for further research on multilingualism, visual education, and the circulation of knowledge in early-modern Europe.
Management Details
Lead researcher & project contact:
| Name | Position | Institute | Organisation | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dr Sara Miglietti | Sara.Miglietti@sas.ac.uk |