Title Immaterial texts in late medieval England : making English literary manuscripts, 1400-1500 / Daniel Wakelin

Published Cambridge, United Kingdom ; New York , NY : Cambridge University Press, 2022 ©2022

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Description 1 online resource (xv, 284 pages) : illustrations Contents Prologue : materials, making and manuscripts -- 'Hele alle maner of schabbis' : imagining perfect parchment -- 'Who by prudence Rule him shal' : controlling the layout -- 'Þe leef torned' : turning beyond the page -- 'Rede ... and ze may se' : reading plain text -- 'This is the copy' : reproducing the immaterial -- Conclusions : more than materials Summary "Daniel Wakelin introduces and reinterprets the misunderstood and overlooked craft practices, cultural conventions and literary attitudes involved in making some of the most important manuscripts in late medieval English literature. In doing so he overturns how we view the role of scribes, showing how they ignored or concealed irregular and damaged parchment; ruled pages from habit and convention more than necessity; decorated the division of the text into pages or worried that it would harm reading; abandoned annotations to poetry, focusing on the poem itself; and copied English poems meticulously, in reverence for an abstract idea of the text. Scribes' interest in immaterial ideas and texts suggests their subtle thinking as craftspeople, in ways that contrast and extend current interpretations of late medieval literary culture, 'material texts' and the power of materials. For students, researchers and librarians, this book offers revelatory perspectives on the activities of late medieval scribes"-- Provided by publisher Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on May 24, 2022) Subject Manuscripts, Medieval -- England Manuscript design -- England -- History -- To 1500 English literature -- Middle English, 1100-1500 -- Manuscripts English literature -- Middle English, 1100-1500 -- Criticism, Textual Scribes -- England -- History -- To 1500 Transmission of texts. LITERARY CRITICISM / European / English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh. English literature -- Middle English English literature -- Middle English -- Manuscripts Manuscript design Manuscripts, Medieval Scribes Transmission of texts England Genre/Form Criticism, interpretation, etc. History Form Electronic book LC no. 2021055377 ISBN 9781009119313 1009119311

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