Where the Middle Ages Begin
These arguments suggest that the number of manuscripts and printed books produced in a given society are complex measures of economic performance and societal capabilities, and are therefore a valuable guide to the study of long-term economic change.
The Byzantine Empire supported literary life at a time when many other parts of the western world were in a state of literary darkness.
Of course, literacy, reading, and writing are also overlapping and interdependent cultural forms and practices, and no historical treatment can study one in isolation from the others. Yet because they are not exactly the same things, so too scholars have tended to concentrate upon one or the other.
This project investigates what paratextual material—specifically marginalia—can tell us about the way medieval Icelandic readers felt about their books, and how they participated in the creation of the reading experience for future readers through the marks they left on the page.
Hidden Wisdom and Unseen Treasure: Revisiting Cataloging in Medieval Libraries By Beth M. Russell Cataloging and Classification Quarterly, Vol. 26, no. 3 (1998) Abstract: Scholars working in the fields of medieval history and cultural history have recognized that understanding the cataloging and accessioning of books is central to understanding the transmission of ideas. This view […]
The Medieval Girdle Book Project By Margit Smith and Jim Bloxam International Journal of the Book, Vol.3:4 (2005/6) Abstract: The study of girdle books in their historical context will add to our understanding of late medieval social history in some European countries. Since little has been written on the subject, and no comprehensive resource exists […]
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