Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- The roles of books
- Book production
- 3 The format of books – books, booklets and rolls
- 4 Layout and presentation of the text
- 5 Technology of production of the manuscript book
- 6 Handwriting in English books
- 7 Monastic and cathedral book production
- 8 Urban production of manuscript books and the role of the university towns
- Readership, libraries, texts and contexts
- List of abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Photo credits
- General index
- Index of manuscripts
- Plates 1
- Plates 2
- References
8 - Urban production of manuscript books and the role of the university towns
from Book production
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 November 2008
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Preface
- The roles of books
- Book production
- 3 The format of books – books, booklets and rolls
- 4 Layout and presentation of the text
- 5 Technology of production of the manuscript book
- 6 Handwriting in English books
- 7 Monastic and cathedral book production
- 8 Urban production of manuscript books and the role of the university towns
- Readership, libraries, texts and contexts
- List of abbreviations
- Bibliography
- Photo credits
- General index
- Index of manuscripts
- Plates 1
- Plates 2
- References
Summary
Each medieval book is an individual creation, and a surprising number of artisans trained in a variety of skills and belonging to different trades contributed to its making. The writing and decoration required mineral, vegetable and animal constituents which, in some cases, had to be imported from distant places only dreamed of by those who used them. Thus, an illuminated book often shows evidence of the fullest extent of international trade in the Middle Ages, while its written and pictorial content represent a sophisticated summary of the cultural heritage of the society which produced it.
A great many texts were essential to the everyday functioning of society: legal books were required for the administration of justice and the study of law, liturgical books were required and used in every church and chapel, books for the university curriculum and study Bibles were needed at universities and colleges, and vernacular poetry and literature was widely read or listened to by wealthy and aristocratic lay persons. Books were required for a diversity of reasons for both secular and religious audiences whose needs and interests sometimes overlapped. Many texts had multiple functions. Books of Hours and Psalters made for the laity served as teaching aids for instructing children in the alphabet and reading at their first stage of education, and often incorporated pictorial narratives and devotional images as well as the liturgical calendar of the year. Moreover books were considered valuable gifts and played a central role in the act of gift-giving throughout the Middle Ages.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge History of the Book in Britain , pp. 168 - 194Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
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