Parchment and Paper: Manuscript Culture 1100-1500

• With the evolution of the codex came an evolution of the roles of the scribes. Most of the writing still occurred on parchment, and for religious purposes. Most scribes were paid clerks, who chose a career or copying these texts. Monks praised these pages of scripture, as well as their writers. Furthermore, Nuns began to take the role as scribes in the twelfth century.  Humanists believed in a different form for the book, which was simpler and contained a lowercase text. This dated the gothic style books, while reinvigorating classic culture in these books.

• Vernacular began to appear in books in Iceland and in Italy. Dante believed that anything that could be expressed in Latin, could also be expressed in Italian (just as eloquently). However, he also argued that in order to live up to Latin, these books must be very ornamented and illustrated. This was made apparent in his stories as well as the French romances in the thirteenth century.

• Books also gained in popularity for professional purposes. Law books began to circulate, to which people would comment in (called a “gloss”). Dominican friars took over the roles of monks, but their primary mission was conversion. Because of this, they needed many small books to consult, not necessarily for liturgy. They created single-volume, pocket-sized books used for missionary purposes.

Comment: I think it’s interesting that during this time books began to take root in the purposes we use them for today. These early uses of books show us that before this time, professional information was very much oral.

Question: How does the manuscript culture differ from scroll/ wax tablet culture? How do social systems, the role of men and women, and socioeconomic status play into who participated in these cultures and who didn’t?