Turning over a New Leaf

Books before print - manuscripts - were modified continuously throughout the medieval period. New scripts and materials were introduced and scribes crafted new tools that helped the reader find his way in the book, such as running titles and chapter numbers. In the ninth and twelfth centuries such changes are pronounced and perhaps more evident then in other times. This volume explores such changes as well as the varying circumstances under which handwritten books from the ninth and twelfth centuries were produced, used and collected. An important theme that runs through this volume is the relationship between the physical book and its users. Can we reflect on readers and reading practices through an examination of the layout of a text? How and to what extent can we use the contents of libraries to understand the culture of the book? The volume explores such issues by focusing on a broad palette of texts and through a detailed analysis of manuscripts from all corners of Europe.