Exeter College alumnus Theodor Dunkelgrün awarded two European history prizes

Exeter College alumnus Theodor Dunkelgrün, Director of the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp, has been awarded two major international prizes recognising his scholarship in European History and the History of the Book: the 2026 Arenberg European History Prize and the 2026 Menno Hertzberger Prize. Both prizes commend his recent book, The Multiplicity of Scripture: The Making of the Antwerp Polyglot Bible (2025). 

The Arenberg European History Prize recognises outstanding historical scholarship that sheds new light on Europe’s history or inspires debate about its present and future. Dunkelgrün’s book was praised for its account of Renaissance scholarship and its exploration of how scholars of different religious traditions navigated their differences during a period of religious bloodshed and political upheaval. The prize will be presented on 4 December 2026 in Brussels during the Arenberg Foundation’s History Prize Symposium. 

Dr Dunkelgrün has also been awarded the Menno Hertzberger Prize, presented every three or four years for scholarship on the History of the Book in the Low Countries. The award ceremony will take place on 12 November 2026 at the National Library of the Netherlands in The Hague. 

The Multiplicity of Scripture is a study of the monumental Polyglot Bible printed in Antwerp by Christopher Plantin between 1568 and 1573, which brought together biblical texts in Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Aramaic and Syriac along with numerous resources to study them. Dunkelgrün’s book explores the complex editorial and printing processes behind the publication, highlighting the collaboration between scholars as well as the precarious negotiations between the printer, two Popes, the King of Spain and his intrepid chaplain, to tell a story of how the comparative and historical study of ancient texts reshaped European thought about the collection of books that make up the Christian Bible.  

Dr Dunkelgrün undertook research for the book during his time as a visiting postgraduate student in History at Exeter in 2008, working with Joanna Weinberg, then lecturer in Hebrew at Exeter and now Professor emerita of Hebrew and Jewish Studies. 

For further information, visit the Arenberg European History Prize and Menno Hertzberger Prize announcements.