The Medieval Manuscript Book: Cultural Approaches (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature, Series Number 94)

Traditional Scholarship On Manuscripts Has Tended To Focus On Issues Concerning Their Production And Has Shown Comparatively Little Interest In The Cultural Contexts Of The Manuscript Book. The Medieval Manuscript Book Redresses This By Focusing On Aspects Of The Medieval Book In Its Cultural Situations. Written By Experts In The Study Of The Handmade Book Before Print, This Volume Combines Bibliographical Expertise With Broader Insights Into The Theory And Praxis Of Manuscript Study In Areas From Bibliography To Social Context, Linguistics To Location, And Archaeology To Conservation. The Focus Of The Contributions Ranges Widely, From Authorship To Miscellaneity, And From Vernacularity To Digital Facsimiles Of Manuscripts. Taken As A Whole, These Essays Make The Case That To Understand The Manuscript Book It Must Be Analyzed In All Its Cultural Complexity, From Production To Transmission To Its Continued Adaptation-- Introduction: Manuscripts And Cultural History / Michael Johnston And Michael Van Dussen -- Bibliographical Theory And The Textuality Of The Codex : Towards A History Of The Premodern Book / Seth Lerer -- What Is A Manuscript Culture? : Technologies Of The Manuscript Matrix / Stephen G. Nichols -- Decoding The Material Book : Cultural Residue In Medieval Manuscripts / Erik Kwakkel -- Organizing Manuscript And Print : From Compilatio To Compilation / Jeffrey Todd Knight -- Containing The Book : The Institutional Afterlives Of Medieval Manuscripts / Siân Echard -- Medieval Manuscripts: Media Archaeology And The Digital Incunable / Martin K. Foys -- The Circulation Of Texts In Manuscript Culture / Pascale Bourgain -- Multilingualism And Late Medieval Manuscript Culture / Lucie Doležalová -- Miscellaneity And Variance In The Medieval Book / Arthur Bahr -- Vernacular Authorship And The Control Of Manuscript Production / Andrew Taylor -- Medieval French And Italian Literature: Towards A Manuscript History / Keith Busby And Christopher Kleinhenz -- Afterword: Social History Of The Book And Beyond: Originalia, Medieval Literary Theory, And The Aesthetics Of Paleography / Kathryn Kerby-fulton. Edited By Michael Johnston And Michael Van Dussen. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Cover 1 Half-title 3 Series information 4 Title page 5 Copyright information 6 Table of contents 7 List of illustrations 9 List of contributors 12 Acknowledgments 14 1 Introduction: manuscripts and cultural history 15 Thesis #1: The manuscript is a process as much as it is a product, resulting in absolute numerical uniqueness 18 Thesis #2: Because the manuscript as process resulted in its continued and constant evolution, we must focus on a manuscript’s ... 20 Thesis #3: The manuscript as process combined with the manuscript’s dynamic life cycle resulted in decentralized forms of ... 23 Notes 26 2 Bibliographical theory and the textuality of the codex: toward a history of the premodern book 31 The compilation and the idea of the book 35 A little book and its 3,000 copies 38 Notes 45 3 What is a manuscript culture? 48 Notes 71 4 Decoding the material book: cultural residue in medieval manuscripts 74 Reading the scribe 75 Reading the reader 79 Determining the manuscript’s use 84 Notes 87 5 Organizing manuscript and print: from compilatio to compilation 91 Representing manuscript and print 95 From compilation to compilatio 99 Notes 105 6 Containing the book: the institutional afterlives of medieval manuscripts 110 Notes 129 7 Medieval manuscripts: media archaeology and the digital incunable 133 Cotton Tiberius B.v: media history 134 Cotton Tiberius B.v: media archaeology 136 Printed Tiberius 138 Digital Tiberius 139 The Cotton Map: a mini-excavation 140 Digital resources today and the future of manuscript study 145 Notes 150 8 The circulation of texts in manuscript culture 154 Stationary and traveling texts 154 Influence of each exemplar 156 Circulation of the book-object 158 Textual tradition 162 The role of the author and editors 165 The success of a text 169 Notes 171 9 Multilingualism and late medieval manuscript culture 174 Multilingualism as reflected in manuscripts 178 A group of codices from a specific time and place 178 One scribe in different manuscripts 181 One codex 181 No overlapping (individual texts in different languages) 181 Overlapping due to reception 182 Designed overlapping 182 Interpreting language choice 189 Notes 190 10 Miscellaneity and variance in the medieval book 195 Notes 209 11 Vernacular authorship and the control of manuscript production 213 From authorized text to authorized manuscript 217 Performing and presenting the manuscript 219 Semi-authorization 221 Conclusion 224 Notes 224 12 Medieval French and Italian literature: towards a manuscript history 229 French 231 Italian 240 Notes 249 13 Afterword: social history of the book and beyond 257 An aesthetics of paleography 257 Book history in medieval Oxford: a social and intellectual history from ordinatio to originalia 260 Originalia and pre-humanist concern for textual authenticity: a neglected medieval theory of the author’s original oeuvre 263 Beyond the object: the intellectual history of the book’s life after death 265 Notes 266 Bibliography 269 Index 309 Content: 1. Introduction: manuscripts and cultural history / Michael Johnston and Michael Van Dussen -- 2. Bibliographical theory and the textuality of the codex: towards a history of the pre-modern book / Seth Lerer -- 3. What is a manuscript culture? Technologies of the manuscript matrix / Stephen G. Nichols -- 4. Decoding the material book: cultural residue in medieval manuscripts / Erik Kwakkel -- 5. Organizing manuscript and print: from Compilatio to compilation / Jeffrey Todd Knight -- 6. Containing the book: the institutional afterlives of medieval manuscripts / Siân Echard -- 7. Medieval manuscripts: media archaeology and the digital incunable / Martin K. Foys -- 8. The circulation of texts in manuscript culture / Pascale Bourgain -- 9. Multilingualism and late medieval manuscript culture / Lucie Doležalová -- 10. Miscellaneity and variance in the medieval book / Arthur Bahr -- 11. Vernacular authorship and the control of manuscript production / Andrew Taylor -- 12. Medieval French and Italian literature: towards a manuscript history / Keith Busby and Christopher Kleinhenz -- 13. Afterword: social history of the book and beyond / Kathryn Kerby-Fulton. An important collection of essays by expert scholars in the field that explores the impact of the recent shift towards cultural approaches to manuscript studies. It offers practical and theoretical analysis of the medieval manuscript book in its cultural contexts, from production to transmission to its continued adaptation.