The framework for our semester will be:1. Oral to written culture2. Scroll or roll to codex3. Manuscript volume to printing press4. Printed book to electronic book (brief examination only)

Rapsode reciting. Early 5th century BCEAthenian amphora. British Museum.

Image of the cover of the famous Codex Aureus of Sankt Emmeram. Made in ca. 870, one of very few surviving treasure bindings of this date. (Public domain)

Course Syllabus (still being refined) 1. Sept. 13   INTRODUCTIONAn overview of what we hope to do and how, including class website;

class use of Pinterest.Introduction to theories of book history and theories of literacy.Concepts about major changes in book materials and formats 

throughout European history.Explore the basic question: What IS a “book”?Introduction to “oral culture”

2. Sept. 20              2500 bce to 300 ce Explore two transitions: oral to written culture; scroll to codex. Brief excursion into the history of written language (cuneiform, hieroglyphics).Consider ancient and current use of pictograms.Meet papyrus, scrolls and rolls. Wax tablets and their evolution into the codex.

3. Sept. 27          200 to 900.  Rise of monasticismEarly Christianity and its use of the codex.Meet parchment; YouTube parchment videoBeginnings of iconography (catacombs)Constantine; Jerome; Benedict; Augustine. Decline of Roman Empire; Gothic invasionsRoman > Byzantine split. Iconoclasm.Class survey.  

4. Oct. 4 600 to 1100. Beginning of the Middle AgesImages of books as “icons” in artMissions to Ireland: Kells, Codex Aureus, Codex Amiatus > video.   Book of Kells (and its iPad app)Charlemagne: political uses of religion. Monastic, cloistered traditions.Explain nature of missals, psalters, breviaries.

5. Oct. 11      1200–1400.  Books as authority; books as political treasure.Arrival of PAPERPhysical making of manuscript books; chained books. Rise of universities; increasing commerce. Latin: increasing literacy.Books of Hours: symbols of piety and wealth. Sister Wendy video. Xylography : Biblia Pauperum.In art: dawning of perspective & greater realism.Use of images in lieu of literacy.

6. Oct. 18        1300–1453 Late Gothic / Early Renaissance: recovery of classical texts.Travel. Plaque. Flanders > Italy. Birth of Franciscan order. Consider the role of the Crusades and encounters with Islam.Impact of the Fall of ConstantinopleJohn Wycliffe: rise of vernacular language. 

Oct. 25 Fall break: NO class

7. Nov. 1        1450–1550    High RenaissancePRINT! Johannes Gutenberg.Spread of printing from Germany to Venice. Why Venice?Early printed books and their imitation of manuscript books.Tension between Medici (Florence) and Venetians; Savoranola as first user of print for propaganda.Bible in vernacular. Tyndale. Henry VIII and Anglicanism. Destruction of monastic resources.

8. Nov. 8     Visit Rubenstein Rare Book Room. Compare manuscript volumes and incunabula, both parchment and paper; possibly papyri.Invite class to write & e-mail blog posts about their visit.

9. Nov. 15     Janet Seiz class on the St. John Bible project: (an 11-year project using medieval technology) (parchment, quills, illustration) to make a modern book of great beauty. Implications for the future of the book. We might include comparisons of Bible in Kindle editions

10. Nov. 29     Final class: wrap-up and review. Optional 16th-century topics if time permits: Luther and the Reformation. Cranach / Durer. More iconoclasm; the continuing impact of print. Review e-mail blog postsConsiderations of electronic books: their relative strengths & weaknesses. Look to the future symbolism of screens / tweets. Role of consolidators?

Exploring European Book Cultures: Changing forms of the book, from ancient Greece to Gutenberg

Barbara Williams Ellertson.After 40 years in book publishing, I retired to concentrate on an independent study of images of books in Renaissance art. That led us to set up the BASIRA Project, and led me to all the background reading that inspired this course. If you’re curious about the BASIRA Project, check us out at: https://basiraproject.wordpress.com

from Colantonio, St. Jerome and the Lion, 1445