A Brief Look At Manuscript Culture Of The Middle Ages

By:


In a recent university course I took about the earliest literature produced in Great Britain--from the beginning of civilization on the Isles to the year 1500 A.D--we not only discussed varying genres popular throughout the infamous Dark Ages, but we discussed the techniques which brought the literature to life.

You see, whenever we visit a local bookstore, we take for granted all the mass-market paperbacks which we can pick up for a mere five or six dollars and be on our way. Until the last few centuries, producing literature was a very difficult task, which is why so little of it has been preserved from ancient times.

That is also why much of the literature that comes to us from the early days of Great Britain are strictly Christian texts because with the effort it took to record anything, it was thought that such effort should only be expended upon that which was sacred. Furthermore, few were literate enough to write, with the exception of monks, who lived in communities known as monasteries.

"Manuscript culture," is what preceded what is called "print culture," which is still alive today (though it is being rapidly overtaken by the internet culture); culture, in this case, refers mostly to how information and literature are transmitted.

Manuscripts were created out of parchment, which is not paper as we know it today--far from it, actually. Parchment was produced through the slaughter of a farm animal--typically a goat. The skin had all of the hair scraped off, and it was dried, so in some ways, it was much like leather. It was very durable, and many parchment manuscripts survive today.

It is during the era of manuscript culture that illuminated books were produced. Much like the reverence for the sacred, it was believed that if a book were to be produced, it should be very visually as well as intellectually and spiritually appealing. As a result, it could sometimes take years to produce a single book--especially the Bible!

So why am I sharing all this with you? Well, first, I have a powerful goal to instill in everyone a greater appreciation for the ease of accessibility to books of all kinds. Perhaps it didn't take six months or a year to produce your favorite novel. But that means you should cherish it all the more!

Second, I think we can all be pioneers in the creation of literature. It doesn't take so much effort to write things down anymore, or to keep a regular journal. So that means we should try to write our own stories, even if it's just the story of our life. Who knows what it will tell future generations about the way we lived?

About the Author:
Leather Keepsakes (http://www.leatherkeepsakes.com/)is a product of handmade leather journals, handmade leather photo albums and handmade leather gifts on the market. Art Gib is a freelance.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags:

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent UnCategorized Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.