Looking at Medieval Books: Learning to See

Author:   Ralph Hanna, III (Keble College (United Kingdom))
Publisher:   Liverpool University Press
ISBN:  

9781802078572


Pages:   176
Publication Date:   21 July 2023
Format:   Hardback
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
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Looking at Medieval Books: Learning to See


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Overview

Unlike books familiar to us from print culture, every medieval book is unique, the product of individual circumstances of planning, execution, and history. This is a fundamental difficulty for study, particularly for those beginning the investigation of texts in manuscript. There are two conventional ways of approaching this difficulty: explaining the series of processes by which a manuscript book is constructed and explaining how to construct a professional description of a manuscript book. Neither addresses a problem fundamental for beginners: what happens when a librarian presents you with a manuscript? How should you proceed? Fundamentally, this is a problem of visual examination, and taking its procedure from the grand M. R. James and M. B. Parkes, this book attempts to stimulate the visual and experiential. It attempts, in a heavily exemplified account, to explain what might be there in a manuscript to perceive and what it might mean. The argument follows a process of examination that begins with the physical bulk of what's in front of you (and its cover, or binding) and ends with traces of the book's history.

Full Product Details

Author:   Ralph Hanna, III (Keble College (United Kingdom))
Publisher:   Liverpool University Press
Imprint:   Liverpool University Press
ISBN:  

9781802078572


ISBN 10:   1802078576
Pages:   176
Publication Date:   21 July 2023
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Professional and scholarly ,  Tertiary & Higher Education ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print   Availability explained
This item will be ordered in for you from one of our suppliers. Upon receipt, we will promptly dispatch it out to you. For in store availability, please contact us.

Table of Contents

Preface What's in front of you?  What's its shape? How big is it? The closed book: what do you see first? Opening the book: what's it made of? Membrane Paper Where's the first leaf? What does the first leaf look like? How come it looks so neat? How does the scribe write? What texts does it contain? How's it been put together? Are there other discontinuities? Where's it been all this time?  Looking at Cambridge, Queens' College, MS 10

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Author Information

Ralph Hanna is Professor of Palaeography (Emeritus) and Emeritus Fellow at Keble College, Oxford. He is a former Guggenheim Fellow, former Fellow of the Radcliffe Institute (Harvard University), and winner of the British Academy Sir Israel Gollancz Prize for English Language 2015. His many books with Liverpool University Press include Robert Holcot, exegete (2021), Malachy the Irishman, On Poison (2020), Richard Rolle: Unprinted Latin Writings (2019) and Editing Medieval Texts (2015).

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