The Early Years

The Early Years

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

1

C L AYThe first books ever found were

produced from dried out clay, in Mesopotamia, 3BC. The process

of writing and recording was done through symbols and glyphs, with calamus (a common reed by the banks of the river) used as a pen.

The largest records of clay tablets have been found in Nineveh (part of Mesopotamia at the time), with over 22,000 tablets were found, some of which dating back to 7th century BC. Almost the entire collection found were part of the archive and library of kings of Assyria, who had huge numbers of copyists and conservationists at their disposal.

Dried out clay dating back to 4 BC. Clay would be difficult to transport due to it’s weight and ability to shatter. The texture of clay would also limit it’s usage for communication, as detail would not be visible. This is why it worked best for pictograms instead of actual lettering.

The Early Years

2

Previously, writing using mnemonic symbols had been found. Clay tablets were the first recognised “book” as they were produced to record data for referencing, classification and organisation.Tablets have been found south of Baghdad that contain literary work, dictionaries, prayers and even astrological recordings. These were all created using symbols. The Egyptians were first to create a structured writing system, so therefore used clay tablets fully to their advantage.

Tablets were used right up until the 19th century all around the world, including Germany, Chile, and the Saharan Desert.

An Egyptian carving illustrating the production of clay tablets. The man on the right is using Calamus to etch into the wet clay.

Cuneiforms - The Earliest Form Of Writing

These would have been produced using a calamus, which is made obvious by the simplistic marks used. The impressions left by the stylus were wedge shaped, thus giving rise to the name cuneiform “wedge shaped”, from the Latin cuneus “wedge”.

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

P A P Y R U S

P apyrus was first manufactured in Egypt in 3BC. The English word ‘papyrus’ derives, thorough Latin,

from Greek ‘papuros’. The more specific term ‘biblos’, which finds its way into English in such words as ‘bibliography’ and ‘bible’, refers to the inner bark of the papyrus plant. Papyrus is also an earlier form of ‘paper’, a similar substance.

Papyrus is made from the stem of the papyrus plant, Cyperus papyrus. The outer rind is removed first, then the sticky fibrous pith insidde is cut into strips roughly 40cm long. The strips are then placed side by side with their edges slightly overlapping. Then another layer of strips is laid on top at a

right angle, in order to give the papyrus reinforced strength. The strips were left to soak in water until decomposition starts to happen, which helps to bind the sheets together. While still moist, the two layers are hammered together, mashing the layers into a single sheet. The sheet is then dried under pressure. After drying, the sheet is polished with some rounded object such as a stone or a rounded piece of hardwood.

To create different sizes, the sheets could be cut to fit the given size ,or glued together to create a longer roll. A wooden stick would be attached to the last sheet in a roll, making it easier to handle, and also to aid storage.

3

The Early Years

Development of Papyrus

One clear limitation Papyrus had (which could be said the same for clay) is that it was not pliable. Sheets could be carefully folded into scrolls, but folds couldn’t be achieved. Another disadvantage of Papyrus with data presented on a scroll was the fact that they if certain information was needed at the beginning of the scroll,

Papyrus had the advantage of being relatively cheap and easy to produce, but it was fragile and affected by both moisture and excessive dryness. Unless the papyrus was of perfect quality, the writing surface was irregular, and the range of media that could be used was also limited.

In Europe, where papyrus was less accessable, parchment and vellum replaced papyrus. By the 11th Century, papyrus became virtually unused. The last known formal document to be produced in papyurs was a ‘papal decree’, in 1057, a letter written by the Pope of the time. Its use in Egypt continued until it was replaced by more inexpensive paper introduced by Arabs by the 12th century.

From the 12th Century onwards, codices became the main method of communication, which will become apparent on the next page.

Development from Papyrus

the entire scroll would have to be unraveled.

The codex was a huge development in the history of the book, and is much closer to what we would call a book today. A codex was originally a selection of cut sheets of papyrus, combined using a simple binding method that did not involve folding the papyrus.

The Book of the Dead

- used from 1550 BC to around 50 BC. The content consisted of magic spells that supposingly assisted the deceased through the underworld. These were all written on papyrus scrolls.

4

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

C O D I C E SThe Codex (plural codices) were a huge development in

the organisation of books, and revolutionised the way in which information could be stored. The most significant

advancement in the codex was the change in stock from papyrus to parchment and vellum (produced from bleached animal skin).

The codex all together transformed the shape of the book itself and offered a form that lasted for centuries. The spread of the codex is often associated with the rise of Christianity, which adopted the format for the Bible early on.

This page shows codices throughout Europe between the 8th and .... century, the next page will show development of the book in Rome and Greece earlier (5th and 6th Century)

Abrogans

The oldest extant book written in the German language. It consists of manuscript dictionary of synonyms from Latin into Old High German dating from the 8th century (765–775). Several copies were made, but only one has survived to the present, that in the library of St. Gallen.

Carmina Burana

The Carmina Burana Latin is a codex consisting of 254 poems and dramatic texts. This was supposingly the first publication produced of it’s type, as most produced from this time were produced to show religious devotion. The codex was produced in 1230, by different scribes.(Left) An extract from the Carmina Burana Codex, with a poem entitiled ‘The Wheel of Fortune’

5

The Early Years

The codex has considerable practical advantages over scrolls or other formats. These include compactness, sturdiness & ease of reference (any page of a codex can be accessed easily, whereas a scroll is entire sequential.

Technically modern paperbacks are codices, the term is now used only for manuscript (hand-written) books which were produced from Late antiquity (2nd to 8th Century) until the Middle Ages (5th to 15 Century).

Codex Amiatinus

The Codex Amiatinus, designated by Siglum, is the earliest surviving manuscript of the nearly complete Bible in the Latin Vulgate version (a late 4th Century Latin translation). It was produced in Northumbria as a gift for the Pope, and dates to the start of the 8th century.

Compared to a publication today, the Codex Amiatinus is huge. It measures 49cm x 35 cm, is 18cm thick and weighs 34kg.

6

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

G R E E C E & R O M E

GreeceUnfortunately, very little information to do with Ancient Greek Books survive, however (unlike the Egpytians) there is a large collection of locations in Greece that were dedicated to both the sale and catagorisation of books.The reason why the Greek’s held vast collections of literature is explained by their love of knowledge and respect for Philosphers, such as Aristotle and Plato.The largest collections of literature were in the following three locations in Greece:

The Library of Alexandria - created by Ptolemy Soter. It contained 540,900 volumes. However, a consideravle amount were destroyed in 47 BC.

The Library at Pergamon - created by Attalus. it contained 200,000 volumes. The library was partially destroyed in 391, and the last books disappeared in 641 by invading the Arabs.

The Ptolemaion (Athens) - a small library which gained importance after the Library of Alexandria was completely destroyed.

7

The Early Years

RomeBook production developed in Rome during 1 BC, due to literature beinf influenced by Greek work. Similarly to the Greeks, Roman literature was produced by known individual philosphers such as Damascius. Just like many Greek pieces of literature, work by Damascius has been lost through time, such as his commenties on Plato’s ‘Timaeus’ and Aristotle’s ‘de Coelo’.

Due to the last mass of the Roman Empire, the book business and it’s cateragorisation extended through the Roman Empire. One example is a bookstore found in Lyon, France. The placement of these libraries influenced language, with many people in Spain and Africa learning Latin through literature. Unlike libraries today, the publications could only be viewed and read by a select few, with most being strictly private, with libraries showing a political prestige.

In the year 377, there were 28 libraries in Rome, but with many more smaller libraries scattered around the empire. Despite this large spread of books, historians and scientists struggle to find many collections of Roman literature.

Aristotle and Plato

The two Greek Philosphers who produced and influenced literature for both the Greeks and Romans.

8

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

I L L U M I N A T E D M A N U S C R I P T SAn illuminated manuscript is a

manuscript in which the text is enhanced by the addition

of decoration or illustration, such as decorated initials, & borders. Some historians will only refer to something as an ‘illuminated manuscript’ if it is decorated with gold or silver.Illuminated manuscripts became popular during the Medi - Evil period

in Europe (5th to the 15th Century). The development of the manuscript came in correlation with the use of parchment and vellum during the early Middle Ages. In the later stage of the Middle ages, paper began to be used, meaning much more detail could be achieved within the book, due to a much smoother surface to work on.

Despite most Illuminated Transcripts being used for religious reasons, the map above shows that they were also used for

documentation. It is also made apparent that illustrators themselves developed a huge talent, shown by the sheer detail illustrated.

9

The Early Years

I L L U M I N A T E D M A N U S C R I P T S

These manuscripts have had huge importance in history. As previously mentioned, very little literary works have been found during Greek and Roman times. However, due to the abundance of illuminated transcripts, much more information has been found about the time period.

Most illuminated transcripts were produced out of religious devotion, and in particular, Christianity. The work was ofter produced in monasteries, in a room called a ‘Scriptorium’, and would often take an entire lifetime for the scribe to finish. The body text was produced with just pen and ink, then often handed over to an illustrator, who would normally have pre - existing sketches ready and developed on a wax tablet (the sketchbook of the Medi - Evil era).

Due to the time scale in which these manuscripts would take to produce, they would often sell for extremely vast sums of money. By buying a manuscript, it was considered a devout way of showing your faith. You would expect manuscripts to seem rare, but they are in fact one of the most common artifacts found from the Middle Ages.

Miniature of Vincent of Beauvais writing in a manuscript of the Speculum Historiale in French, Bruges (1478-1480).

10

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

Production of Manuscripts

Similarly to books today, the production of illuminated transcripts began with the text being written. The script written depended on local customs and tastes, with much variation. Roman letters from the early

Middle Ages gradually gave way to Uncial script (see below), especially in the British Isles. Thick, richly textured blackletter was first seen around the 13th century and was particularly popular in the later Middle Ages.

The Book of Kells - 800 AD

A manuscript lettered in a script known as "insular majuscule", a variety of uncial script that originated in Ireland.

Blackletter

Blackletter (also known as Gothic script, Gothic minuscule, or Textura), was used from approximately 1150 to well into the 17th century. It continued to be used for the German language until the 20th century.

11

The Early Years

One iconic element of the illuminated transcript design is the use of guilding, which created strikingly bold pages, making them seem ‘illuminated’. The use of gold also shows how lavish the books were supposed to look.

This mainly relates to the content of the book being religious. Gold was used to represent something holy, with gold often highlighting Saints in illustrations. In early illuminated transcripts, the illustrations were often composed entirely of gold foil. Scribes at the time considered themselves to be praising God with their use of gold . However, due to gold becoming cheaper, and the extent it was used within transcripts, the value of it’s aesthetic dropped. Use of foiling became much more subtle.

Book of Hours - 1460 AD

This ‘Book of Hours’ (more information on the next page) was produced in North France. Gilding has clearly been used to highlight illustrations, but done in a subtle way.

12

The

Ear

ly Y

ears

B O O K O F H O U R SA Book of Hours is the most common type of surviving illuminated manuscript.

Each Book of Hours is unique, but all contain a collection of texts, prayers and psalms, along with appropriate illustrations, expressing Christian

worship and devotion. The Books of Hours were composed for use by lay people who wished to incorporate elements of monasticism into their devotional life. The Book of Hours would normally be recited, and psalms were sung.

Book of Hours - Limbourg Brothers

This 15th Century book was produced for the Duc de Berry, and is the most famous ‘Book of Hours’

13

The Early Years

More Page Illustrations

Left: Les Tres belles Heures du Duc de Berry, right: Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry.

As Medieval Europe moved closer to the industrial revolution, these beautiful hand crafted books gave way to new technology, the printing press. The change was gradual and although the beauty of the illuminated manuscripts was lost another beauty came to replace it: The mastery of the grid and of type.

14

The

Ear

ly Y

ears