Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
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Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
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Re: Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
#2>> In a monastic community like Engelberg, the production of books was
subject to the superior’s permission and approval. For each volume, singular
provision had to be made, a capable workforce assembled, tasks
assigned, materials resourced, time carved out from the daily routine, and
licence granted, typically on a case-by-case basis. The Rule of St Benedict
stipulates that monks must not be given writing or bookmaking implements
without abbatial permission, ‘no book, no wax tablets, no stylus, nothing
whatsoever’ (‘neque codicem, neque tabulas, neque graphium, sed nihil
omnino’), at the same time as obliging the abbot to keep a list of whatever is
distributed and allocated with his authorisation
Interesting to compare this with a modern enterprise
>> the picture that emerges with increasing clarity is one of relatively free and open access to books facilitated by large transinstitutional networks and publishing communities.
Re: Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
#3>> In a monastic community like Engelberg, the production of books was subject to the superior’s permission and approval. For each volume, singular provision had to be made, a capable workforce assembled, tasks assigned, materials resourced, time carved out from the daily routine, and licence granted, typically on a case-by-case basis. The Rule of St Benedict stipulates that monks must not be given writing or bookmak…
The Protestant Reformation was in many ways a publishing revolution, where we went from the medieval production style to the modern one, courtesy of the Gutenberg printing press. I think the Internet is basically doing the same thing, albeit a little faster.
Re: Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
#4Highly recommend playing Pentiment. Good mystery adventure set in the backdrop of medieval Bavaria. Large part of the story happens in a monastery (and the surrounding town).
Re: Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
#5Highly recommend playing Pentiment. Good mystery adventure set in the backdrop of medieval Bavaria. Large part of the story happens in a monastery (and the surrounding town).
See also:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Name_of_the_Rose
(it's a mystery, so careful reading too much about it before picking up the book...)
and
Re: Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
#6Those interested in this topic may also want to read Stephen Greenblatt‘s The Swerve.
Re: Publishing in a Medieval Monastery
#7>> In a monastic community like Engelberg, the production of books was subject to the superior’s permission and approval. For each volume, singular provision had to be made, a capable workforce assembled, tasks assigned, materials resourced, time carved out from the daily routine, and licence granted, typically on a case-by-case basis. The Rule of St Benedict stipulates that monks must not be given writing or bookmak…
Information warfare starts at the level of controlling access to the ability to multiply information, such as presses, copying machines, internet routers and apparently medieval monks.