Libraries and Books in Medieval England: The Role of Libraries in a Changing Book Economy

(Hardback)

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Description

Medieval England was full of books, but when the countrys monasteries were suppressed by King Henry VIII their libraries were scattered and lost. Twentieth-century scholarship has been enterprising in establishing what survives and in discovering what libraries once held. This volume, by the countrys leading expert in the field, paints a new picture of the history of books and libraries in medieval England from the totality of the available evidence.

To be able to reconstruct the transmission of culture in the Middle Ages, we need to understand and employ with care the evidence of the surviving books on the one hand and medieval library catalogues on the other.

Libraries and Books in Medieval England seeks to move away from the modern conceptualisation of the monastic library as the only venue for medieval book provision, broadening awareness of the wider book economy, including private ownership and the birth of the book trade. The result, based on the authors Lyell Lectures in the University of Oxford, is a work that offers an unparalleled view of the field.

Author Bio

RICHARD SHARPE (19542020) was Professor of Diplomatic in the University of Oxford and Fellow of Wadham College. As well as being one of the countrys leading experts on medieval books and libraries, he was also a foremost critic and editor of medieval Latin texts and charters. JAMES WILLOUGHBY is Research Fellow in Medieval History at New College, Oxford, and a long-term collaborator of Professor Sharpe's.