Medieval Manuscripts And Modern Media

The history of written literature is long and fascinating in Medieval prison terms, manuscripts were do in a laborious and expensive bring of using animal skins for pages, feather quills for pens and colored inks to make exquisite bibles and other religious texts.The literary finale of mediaeval times was very antithetical than today since books were r ar and literacy was low, texts were passed on orally by dint of reading or memory (Mary Swan, 2003). Manuscripts were enormously expensive and the manuscript writers were accomplished artists and aroundly monks who self-possessed their work in the cloisters.A typical gallant manuscript began its flavour as a stretched and treated animal skin (parchment). Next, an outline was sketched thence penned using a feather quill of the highest quality. The ink was made of metal gall (usually iron), or oxide, which was a miscellany of tannic acids with coppers and thickened with chewing gum Arabic. The main ingredient was oak apple , derived from the leaves and twigs of an oak tree (Diane Victoria Horn, 1997). This mixture of ink containing acids actually etched the parchment and the pigments of ink filled in the etchings and could be reapplied over time to keep the manuscript in uncreated condition.Next, gold leaf was applied and burnished, followed by the copying of the text by scribes. The last to be added were the decorations and illustrations, which were complicate. Finally, the book was bound, the parchments sewn by hand and cover with wood such as ash or beech or oak.The making of a manuscript could take anywhere between geezerhood (in the case of a professional scribe paid by the job) or years (in the case of monks, who had other obligations and penned books when duties were done).Because of the amount of time and care snarled to make a manuscript, not to mention the employment of highly good artisans and scribes, manuscripts were prohibitively expensive to buy and were largely confined to church altars. Bibles were the most copied manuscripts, and eventually churches took a vested interest in teaching nobles and their children to read, using these manuscripts. The manuscripts wear out no date of completion, nor the names of the men who made them (Horn).In medieval manuscript culture, originality of text was not the aim of the scribes as it is today with coeval authors. The scribes simply made copies, embellishing them with the decorations and script of their culture and time (Swan). Unlike today, collections of books were unhearable of in terms of the general populace.The churches protected the manuscripts, even as they are today, in museums, cathedrals and the Vatican. These priceless treasures bear the accomplishment and devotion of craft and skill by those who made them. Looking at an original manuscript, one is awed by the care and level of expertise evident in the pages of elaborate decorations.We will now move forward in time to earlier mass production of books, which began in the 16th century when the codex replaced the catalogue and book printing and binding was transferred from churches and monasteries to universities and later commercial publishers (David Fernando, 2002).Where in medieval times manuscript bindings were lavishly decorated with ivory, precious gems and gold, subsequent books were leather-bound and decorated with stamp embossing and gold leaf. As book production increased, the use of framework replaced that of parchment, and paper later replaced cloth.In modern times, bookbinding reflects the art and architecture of the time books are still hand-bound and very expensive, requiring these editions to be safely stored to prevent damage. many an(prenominal) hand-made books are used as journals, with hand-bound blank pages contained within leather or decorated wood covers.In moving to the 21st century, we now move up books readily available at a low cost. The current culture is attracted to books by author and genre, and a book begins as a conclusiveness by a publisher to print it.The use of digital engineering science to reproduce books gives them a rapid distribution and the artwork used is vast and varied depending upon the publishers decisions. An original manuscript is put through the process of editing and finishing. Stored electronically and ready to be printed, in a method called offset printing.Todays books require a trustworthy amount of care and proofreading before going to print, and in stark product line to manuscripts of old, texts are now fiercely protected under copyright laws and originality is assertive to sales.With the advent of digital texts, e-books, and paperback copies, books are largely taken for minded(p) and handled carelessly without regard to craftsmanship. What was once revered as forbidden dirt to be handled lovingly and carefully is now so much a part of everyday life that books are given away, sold to second-hand bookstores, throw away easily or donated to li braries and schools.As with many modern items, books have made the transition from belonging to the few to the many, and what was once reserved for serious involve is now used for everything from learning to entertainment.ReferencesFerdinando, David, Book Binding Trade. Ferdinando Family History Site. celestial latitude 2002, 25 November 2005 http//www.ferdinando.org.uk/book_binding.htmmanuf%20todayHorn, Diane Victoria. Leaves Of Gold How Medieval Manuscripts Were Made. 2000 2002. Philadelphia Museum Of Art. 26 November 2005Swan, Mary. University of Leeds. Medieval Manuscript Culture. The literary Encyclopedia. 4 Sep. 2003. The Literary Dictionary Company. 27 November 2005. http//www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=1324