The Uses of Script and Print, 1300–1700

This2003volumebuildsuponthewideninginterestintheconnectionsbetweencultureandcommunicationinmedievalandearlymodernEurope.FocusingonEngland,ittakesacriticallookatthescholarlyparadigmoftheshiftfromscripttoprint,exploringthepossibilitiesandlimitationsofthesemediaasvehiclesofinformationandmeaning.Theessaysexaminehowpenandthepresswereusedinthespheresofreligion,law,scholarship,andpolitics.Theyassessscribalactivitybothbeforeandaftertheadventofprinting,illuminatingitsroleinrecordingandtransmittingpolemical,literary,antiquarianandutilitariantexts.Theyalsoinvestigatescriptandprintinrelationtothespokenword,emphasisingtheconstantinteractionandsymbiosisofthesethreemedia.Insum,thiscollectionhelpedtorefinetheboundariesbetweenculturesofspeech,manuscriptandprint,andtoreconsiderthehistoricalfissureswhichtheyhavecometorepresent.