Description
Book SynopsisBetween roughly 1350 and 1500, the English vernacular became established as a language of literary, bureaucratic, devotional and controversial writing; metropolitan artisans formed guilds for the production and sale of books for the first time; and Gutenberg's and eventually Caxton's printed books reached their first English consumers. This book gathers the best work on manuscript books in England made during this crucial but neglected period. Its authors survey existing research, gather intensive new evidence and develop new approaches to key topics. The chapters cover the material conditions and economy of the book trade; amateur production both lay and religious; the effects of censorship; and the impact on English book production of manuscripts and artisans from elsewhere in the British Isles and Europe. A wide-ranging and innovative series of essays, this volume is a major contribution to the history of the book in medieval England.
Trade Review'The chapters that form The Production of Books in England, 1350–1500 are consistently high quality essays that create a well-integrated unit. Gillespie and Wakelin have taken care to envision the overarching purpose of the text and to solicit chapters that further the purpose - historicizing the creation of manuscript texts at the beginning of the print revolution. If their challenges are accepted, we can look forward to more varied and vital productions in history of the book.' Linda Englade, Rare Books Newsletter
'This volume will have a wide audience, since all the essays make an important contribution to the field of late medieval manuscript studies...an excellent and well-produced book that should quickly become the standard work for later medieval book history.' Elaine Treharne, The Review of English Studies
Table of ContentsForeword Derek Pearsall; Introduction Alexandra Gillespie and Daniel Wakelin; 1. Materials Orietta Da Rold; 2. Writing the words Daniel Wakelin; 3. Mapping the words Simon Horobin; 4. Designing the page Stephen Partridge; 5. Decorating and illustrating the page Martha Driver and Michael Orr; 6. Compiling the book Margaret Connolly; 7. Bookbinding Alexandra Gillespie; 8. Commercial organization and innovation Erik Kwakkel; 9. Vernacular literary manuscripts and their scribes Linne R. Mooney; 10. Book production outside commercial contexts Jean-Pascal Pouzet; 11. Censorship Fiona Somerset; 12. Books beyond England John Thompson; 13. English books and the Continent David Rundle; Afterword: the book in culture Wendy Scase; Bibliography; Manuscript index; Index.
