Looking at Medieval Books: Learning to See (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781836243434)

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.

Author: Ralph Hanna
ISBN-10: 183624343X
ISBN-13: 9781836243434
Publisher: Liverpool University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/04/2025
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.56lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.38d