Scribes, Script, and Books

by Leila Avrin

In this detailed overview of the history of the handmade book, Avrin looks at the development of scripts and styles of illumination, the making of manuscripts, and the technological processes involved in paper-making and book-binding.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Books About Books, Renaissance, Medieval

392 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 1991

Reviews

[Ron Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

If I was (were?) Jeff Bezos-level rich I would collect ancient manuscripts, books, and coins.

I came across this reference while reading Stephen Greenblatt’s book (https://is.gd/1u02JC) about the Renaissance rediscovery of the ancient Latin manuscript of Lucretius’ De Rerum Natura (On the Nature of Things). It sounded interesting, and it was!

This is, basically, a history of all things written for public consumption. It starts with the invention of writing and the evolution of alphabets and ends on the eve of the introduction of printing presses. It centers on Europe and the Middle East, with a brief excursion to Asia for the origin of paper, but excludes, for instance, such things as the Mayan Codices.

I liked reading about how papyri and parchments are made, the history and spread of papermaking to the Middle East and Europe, the history of bookbinding, and the earliest steps in the block printing of books. Because of the excellent chapter on book illustration, it's a shame that all the pictures are black and white.

A fun bit was reading about the marginal notes (basically graffiti) and colophons (concluding comments left at the end of manuscripts) left in manuscripts by Medieval monks, e.g., “Thank God, it will soon be dark” (monks didn’t write at night), or “Now I’ve written the whole thing: for Christ’s sake give me a drink.” Also, some of the curses (anathemas) against book thieves: “Let bookworms gnaw his entrails in token of the Worm that dieth not.”

This last bit led me – it never ends! – to another reference to chase down. Marc Drogin (1983) Anathema! Medieval Scribes and the History of Book Curses (https://is.gd/HIqMZ2).

[Judyta Szacillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that I would normally - and probably like most other readers - use for flicking through, consulting when needed, looking up specific information. But it so happened that I was in the right mood to read it cover to cover, and I'm absolutely delighted with it. It's not flawless, of course - the parts on early Middle Ages have been made concise at the expense of accuracy, so I suspect that historians specialising in other periods might be inclined to say the same about the other parts of the book relevant to their respective research fields. But that's always the downside of such wide-ranging compendia. This book is, nevertheless, a very impressive collection of knowledge on the history of writing and book-production throughout the ages, wonderfully illustrated with photographs of various relics and many script samples. As far as I know, it's the most comprehensive compendium on the subject published to date.

[Fawn Hexe · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my textbooks this semester, for History of Books and Libraries, is a wonderful addition to my own collection. Aside from the topic alone, it has great images and is very interesting reading; well written without the usual academic feel. I am realizing how much experience I have with exploring early manuscripts and documents from ancient times... mainly in the content. Analyzing the production of these papyrus scrolls, cuneiform tablets, and later the illuminations of medieval manuscripts, my appreciation for them has only increased.
I find it especially ironic that in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian civilizations wrote so much important information on the very expensive papyrus, whilst receipts, titles, and other legal documentation tended towards the highly preservable clay. We know more about these societies not because of their mythologies or artwork, but by the garbage and record keeping.

[HeyT · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this up because it was assigned reading for a class I'm taking on the history of books and libraries. Essentially it covers the period of writing from its inception to the advent of printing with movable type. Avrin goes into great detail about the specifics of the topics she covers but it does get a little bit too technical for my tastes in a few sections. Overall, a great reference tool for pre-type bookmaking.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really informative with lots of great photos and illustrations! This is one of my more favorite books I’ve ever been assigned in school. One complaint is that this is a book about the history of books and writing, and this is such an unbelievably ugly book - I’m surprised a little more thought didn’t go into the design of it. So ironic. Also, for the unbelievably high price, its pretty frustrating that all the photos are in black and white, especially when the color is an important element. It was especially irritating when Avrin would write about the vivid colors or the gold leaf or whatever, and it obviously wasn’t visible in the book, so I’d have to go to the internet to look up a color version of the photo.

[Raina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Textbook for library course. There was a lot of great information but I felt like sometimes it would have been better to see a diagram or infographic instead of pages on the same topic. A bit dated in that way. Also would have appreciated color for the pictures of the books. It would have added a lot.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I admit I am prejudiced. Fifty years ago I took a course on the history of the book taught by Dr Arvin. It was outstanding. She past away relatively young, at only 64.

[Ruth Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Encyclopedic" is right. This is an exhaustive (possibly exhausting) history of the processes employed over two millennia for making books by hand. The flood of detail is a little overwhelming. Avrin is an interesting writer most of the time, it's just that there's an awful lot to absorb. The major omission in my mind is that that writing in China and the rest of the Far East is not given much attention. But she does discuss, at great length, the development of scripts and the writing and information-preserving practices of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Israel and the Jewish diaspora, Greece, the Roman Empire, the Islamic world, and medieval Europe up to Gutenberg. There are also chapters focusing on papermaking and bookbinding practices as these developed in medieval Europe: papermaking was new, replacing papyrus and parchment, and bindings were becoming fabulously decorated and embellished.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of the history of the book, from it's roots in Sumerian culture ending with the inventing of the printing press by Gutenberg. Avrin includes many pictures (although they are in black and white) of the ancient books she discusses, which strengthen her commentary on these artifacts. It is a rather general book on book history, so I wouldn't recommend it to anyone with prior knowledge about the ancient book as it would probably be boring.

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 4 out of 5]

An impressive compilation of communication and information storage techniques and tools from the very (known) beginning. The main drawback I see is that none of the illustrations are in color. (Yes, I know that cuts down on production costs. But still.)

[Meredith · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best history of the book before printing available, and the most authoritative source on pre-codex formats.

[Aaron]

Just about to start reading this one for a course on the History of Books.

[Wagrobanite · Rating 2 out of 5]

Typical history book. Very interesting facts about printing and book history but OMG! The thing was dry as dirt! Couldn't they have made it more exciting?