Books Before Print

by Erik Kwakkel

This beautifully illustrated book provides an accessible introduction to the medieval manuscript and what it can tell us about the world in which it was made and used. Captured in the materiality of manuscripts are the data enabling us to make sense of the preferences and habits of the individuals who made up medieval society. With short chapters grouped under thematic headings, Books Before Print shows how we may tap into the evidence and explores how manuscripts can act as a vibrant and versatile tool to understand the deep historical roots of human interaction with written information. It highlights extraordinary continuities between medieval book culture and modern-world communication, as witnessed in medieval pop-up books, posters, speech bubbles, book advertisements, and even sticky notes.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Paperback

Published October 19, 2018

About the author

I am Principal Investigator of 'Turning Over a New Leaf: Manuscript Innovation in the Twelfth-Century Renaissance', a five-year project funded through the Vidi-scheme of the Dutch Organization of Scientific Research (NWO). The project studies manuscripts produced between 1075 and 1225 across Europe. The four participating researchers are interested in their development in codicological and paleographical sense; as well as in the relationship between their physical appearance on the one hand, and their settings of use and contents on the other. My principal research is in medieval paleography and codicology, but I have spoken at conferences devoted to medieval literature and history, digital humanities and book design. I am currently working on a book project about the twelfth-century manuscript and its context of production and use (with Rodney M. Thomson), a book-size study of the oldest manuscript of Constantine the African's Pantegni (with Francis Newton), and a monograph on the development of the book in the long twelfth century.

To spark a broader interest in the medieval book among a non-academic audience I frequently blog, report on our project's progress via Twitter (@erik_kwakkel), and have made movies for YouTube. During the first two years of the project various discoveries were reported on national radio and in television programs (including a TV-item on the NOS national evening news); local, regional and national newspapers (including Trouw and NRC); as well as in popular and opinion magazines (including Elsevier Weekblad and Quest: Braintainment). Four times per year I organize a public lecture series about manuscripts in the Leiden University Library, I frequently speak for the public at large myself, and am currently building, with other members of De Jonge Akademie, a national online platform for the distribution of public lectures, called 'De Akademie of Straat'.

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a complete newcomer to the history of the book, I found "Books Before Print" to be an extremely helpful, clear, and even fun read. Dr. Erik Kwakkel examines topics such as the material medieval manuscripts were composed of, the design features of medieval manuscripts, and the economics around the medieval book trade. My own interest varied from topic to topic but the brevity of the chapters ensured topics didn't drag on. He includes many fascinating and enjoyable images of medieval books along the way and offers humourous and witty remarks that keeps the discussion lively. I most appreciated how the author draws connections between medieval book culture to the present; for instance, a pointing hand in the margins of a medieval book indicated the text being pointed to was important and when we stop at the crosswalk, there is often a similar image of a hand advising us to push the crosswalk button.

[Andria · Rating 5 out of 5]

A completely enjoyable textbook, read for LIBR 548F: History of the Book - yes, Professor Kwakkel assigned his own book as the course text, which I support as it is as delightful to read as he is to learn from. Also, I fully support the anthropomorphization of medieval manuscripts.

[Eavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genuinely a great read, and not even a bit scary or dense considering the subject matter. I read this in tandem with one of Dr. Kwakkel's classes and it's one of my favourite "textbooks" I've been assigned so far in my 6+ years of college. Many colourful and high-resolution images to learn from, and it's written in a casual enough tone to basically be casual reading. I've had to tread the waters into medieval paleographic/manuscript books for essays these past few months and this is the most accessible one there is. I'm a lucky kid!

[Corpruga · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I'm looking for ways to incorporate manuscripts into my medieval world literature class this fall--the students were really into them this past spring, and so I want to do a better job of integrating discussions of manuscripts into the class as a whole rather than simply doing an introductory mini-unit on them and not coming back to them again. I read this for teaching purposes, and in that sense, I don't know how useful it will be--it's mostly focused on book production in medieval Europe, so I think I'll have to look elsewhere for the book in China, medieval Iraq, etc., but I thought it would be great for a class on manuscripts. You'd want something that goes more in depth with, like, paleography later in the class, but this gives a good, readable introduction to a lot of aspects of book history, and it's thoroughly illustrated with examples from manuscripts, which is so helpful.

I have a few quibbles--I think it could have used another pass with a copy-editor, because there are some confusing sentences and, at least in the ebook version I read, there's this weird error in the bibliography where some of Christopher de Hamel's books are attributed to John Haines (right in front of him alphabetically). I also think Kwakkel could have explained his definition of 'book' in the introduction a little more, because why would it be intuitive or readily apparent that in order to be a "real book" something would need to be "built from double-leaves: sheets that are folded and set together into gatherings or “quires”"? But overall, it was a pretty fun read, and I think it would be really good for an introductory class on book history.

[Karen Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lovely introduction to medieval manuscripts (mostly European): the development of bookmaking over centuries, and the ways form follows function. Lots of full-color images and references. Intended both for introductory-level academic use, and for “non-experts outside academia” – hey, that’s me! Very enjoyable reading.

FMI see my blog post at A Just Recompense.

[Mignon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gave me more joy than any book I've ever read. I've been interested in medieval manuscripts for years and didn't know how to start learning about them. This book was the perfect introduction.

[Karalee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great jumping off point for anyone who has an interest in medieval manuscripts. You don't need to be in academia to read and enjoy this textbook (I'm not). It covers everything from bookbinding to bookmarks and it does it in short easy to read chapters with gorgeous pictures.

[Rachel Bernstein · Rating 4 out of 5]

read for HIST 201

good for learning how to read the average manuscript before books became a thing.

[Rachael]

Read for class with Dr. Kwakkel, but easily something I could have picked up and enjoyed on my own. Informative, very readable, and interesting!

[Lulu]

Check his other works