Overview

This book takes the reader on an immersive journey through medieval manuscript production in the Latin Christian world. Each chapter opens with a lively vignette by a medieval narrator including a parchment maker, scribe, and illuminator introducing various aspects of manuscript production. Sara J. Charles poses the question 'What actually is a scriptorium?' and explores the development of the medieval scriptorium from its early Christian beginnings through to its eventual decline and the growth of the printing press. With the written word at the very heart of the Christian monastic movement, we see the immense amount of labour, planning, and networks needed to produce each manuscript. By tapping into these processes and procedures, The Medieval Scriptorium helps us to experience medieval life through the lens of a manuscript maker.

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9781789149166

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Reviews

"""In this compellingly written, fascinating must-read, Charles leads us on sensory journey of the tactile, unexpectedly smelly, excruciatingly painful, and divinely jubilant reality of manuscript-making in medieval Europe. A joyous page-turner!""--Elizabeth Savage, senior lecturer in book history and communications, Institute of English Studies, School of Advanced Study, University of London ""From squirrel hair brushes to scripts, Charles offers a comprehensive and engagingly accessible introduction to medieval book production. At times strikingly imaginative in form, this book brings together creative vignettes, intermittent chronologies, illustrations, and lucid prose to trace the contours of manuscript making in this period.""--Hannah Ryley, Balliol College, University of Oxford, and author of ""Re-using Manuscripts in Late Medieval England"" ""Glimpses of medieval belief and culture, trade, relationships with nature, and - most of all - individual medieval lives: Sara J. Charles's brilliant book reveals the world of the Middle Ages through the pages of its manuscripts.""--Catherine Clarke, director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and Community at the Institute of Historical Research, London ""The Medieval Scriptorium vividly recreates the techniques and processes that underlay the production of books over the thousand-year period of the Middle Ages. Charles's intimate grasp of her subject gives us a volume that is filled with delightful detail while offering a richly insightful overview of its compelling topic.""--Timothy Graham, distinguished professor of history, University of New Mexico, and coauthor of ""Introduction to Manuscript Studies"""

"""From squirrel hair brushes to scripts, Charles offers a comprehensive and engagingly accessible introduction to medieval book production. At times strikingly imaginative in form, this book brings together creative vignettes, intermittent chronologies, illustrations, and lucid prose to trace the contours of manuscript making in this period.""--Hannah Ryley, Balliol College, University of Oxford, and author of ""Re-using Manuscripts in Late Medieval England"" ""Glimpses of medieval belief and culture, trade, relationships with nature, and - most of all - individual medieval lives: Sara J. Charles's brilliant book reveals the world of the Middle Ages through the pages of its manuscripts.""--Catherine Clarke, director of the Centre for the History of People, Place and Community at the Institute of Historical Research, London"

"""Glimpses of medieval belief and culture, trade, relationships with nature, and - most of all - individual medieval lives: Sara J. Charles's brilliant book reveals the world of the Middle Ages through the pages of its manuscripts.""--Catherine Clarke, Institute of Historical Research, London"

Author Information

Sara J. Charles works and studies at Senate House, University of London. She has previously published on various aspects of the history of the book.

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