Books before print – manuscripts – were modified continuously throughout the medieval period. Focusing on the ninth and twelfth centuries, this volume explores such material changes as well as the varying circumstances under which handwritten books were produced, used and collected. An important theme is the relationship between the physical book and its users. Can we reflect on reading practices through an examination of the layout of a text? To what extent can we use the contents of libraries to understand the culture of the book? The volume explores such issues by focusing on a broad palette of texts and through a detailed analysis of manuscripts from all corners of Europe.
Erik Kwakkel teaches at Leiden University, where he directs the research project ‘Turning over a New Leaf: Manuscript Innovation in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance’.
Contents
Preface
List of Figures and Plates
Abbreviations
Gerard Isaac Lieftinck
Introduction: Gerard Isaac Lieftinck
Glossaries and Other Innovations in Carolingian Book Production
Biting, Kissing and the Treatment of Feet: The Transitional Script of the Long Twelfth Century
Appendix
The Place of Germany in theTwelfth-Century Renaissance: Books, Scriptoria and Libraries
Appendix
Bibliography
Notes on the Authors
Colour Plates
Graphs
Index of Manuscripts
General Index
Reviews and Features
"an outstanding contribution to the field of medieval codicology" -- Steven Vanderputten, professor Medieval History, University Ghent
|"these essays do indeed ‘turn over a new leaf’ in the development of the history of the book" -- Marco Mostert, professor Medieval Literacy, University Utrecht)