This Western University researcher used to work for Google, now she peels back the pages of medieval classics

A former tech worker employed by the likes of Google, Microsoft and Meta has found a new passion, literally peeling away the layers of medieval books to uncover their hidden secrets. 

"Someone sat at their table for hours and hours delicately writing each letter, and here we are hundreds of years later still looking at what they wrote," said fourth-year classical studies student Stephanie Leith.

I got to look at manuscripts no one has seen for four to five hundred years- Stephanie Leith

Prior to pursuing a life in academia, Leith was a contractor for several years working for Silicon Valley giants at the cutting edge of technology. However, the desire to focus on a life of research was a lifelong goal for her, and she traded web pages for the real thing. She now assists with research in the Archives and Special Collections of the DB Weldon Library at Western University.

Materials in the books tell new stories

Leith's work now focuses on analyzing the spines of medieval-era books to look for clues about life and literature at that time. As printing press technology was becoming more popular, bookbinders would use materials from older, parchment books and paste them along the spines of printed books to reinforce their strength. An example of this is a 500-year-old  copy of The Canterbury Tales which contains fragments of older books contained in its spine.

• Origami mystery unfolding at Western University Libraries

"You might not be able to see the manuscripts but they're in there," Leith said. "Sometimes it's wild to think that just because this book began to age and its bindings began to fray, I got to look at manuscripts that no one has seen for four to five hundred years." 

Leith still uses technology despite leaving her old career in the high-tech space behind. She uses micro CT scanners to help differentiate between the layers and a colonoscopy camera allows her to peer in between the most delicate pages. She also uses databases to compare fragments from her collection with those observed by other researchers. 

"It's not necessarily as far away from tech as you would think," she said.

WATCH: Researcher uses technology to uncover secrets in medieval books.

Western researcher discovers medieval secrets behind the pages of classic manuscripts

1 month ago

Duration 2:06

Pages from older books were often used to reinforce the spines of books written in the 16th century as the use of the printing press became more widespread. Stephanie Leith studies those materials to gain insights into the literature of the time.

Bringing it all together

There are several digital initiatives that have been started globally with the aim of collecting and analyzing similar fragments to the ones that Leith studies. Deborah Meert-Williston is a special collections librarian at the archives. She said that the long-term goal of these initiatives is to reconstruct medieval manuscripts that have been taken apart. One such project is called Fragmentarium, a digital library based out of Switzerland at the University of Fribourg. 

• The text message of WWI: Western University history class sends wartime postcards to original addresses

Meert-Williston said the archive plans to contribute their findings to Fragmentarium and similar databases. 

"We want our material to be accessed by everyone in the world," she said.

LISTEN: From the web to medieval texts, Stephanie Leith uncovers secrets from classic books

Afternoon Drive6:52Western researcher uses technology to age manuscripts

Host Matt Allen meets with Western researcher Stephanie Leith, a fourth year classics student who is using her background in technology to study the spines of classic manuscripts.