Organizing the Written Word

by Marco Mostert

The ways in which we today find information can be quite different from the ways late antique and early medieval literates searched their manuscripts for the information they needed. At some stage in the development of western literacy the need for quickly finding written information led to the invention and propagation of consultation aids we now take for granted (e.g. page numbering, indices, cross-references etc.). What are the differences and similarities between early and late medieval ways of finding written information? How and why were the manuscript page and the organization of written texts changed? How and why did 'consultation literacy' as we now know it develop? These are some of the questions addressed in the contributions to these conference proceedings. They form a valuable contribution to our understanding of an important aspect of medieval literacy and of the Western literate mentality. Contributors include Peter Gumbert, David Ganz, Raymond Kottje, Teresa Webber, Hans-Werner Goetz and Michael Clanchy.

328 pages, Hardcover

First published July 30, 2011