Curator Tour: Newly Acquired Noëls Manuscript

A Noëls Manuscript was recently added to the collection in honor of William Noel, former long-time Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts at the Walters, who passed away suddenly in April 2024. This work documents 69 songs with musical notation and playful decoration that were sung by families during Advent and Christmas in Normandy, France, capturing an important oral tradition that would otherwise have been lost 400 years ago. Join Lynley Anne Herbert, Robert and Nancy Hall Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts, in exploring this unique manuscript, which, in the most literal sense, has Will’s name written all over it, as nearly every page begins with “Noel.”