
Paper in Medieval England
From Pulp to Fictions
Orietta Da Rold(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 3. November 2022
Book
Paperback/Softback
296 pages
978-1-108-81428-7 (ISBN)
Description
Orietta Da Rold provides a detailed analysis of the coming of paper to medieval England, and its influence on the literary and non-literary culture of the period. Looking beyond book production, Da Rold maps out the uses of paper and explains the success of this technology in medieval culture, considering how people interacted with it and how it affected their lives. Offering a nuanced understanding of how affordance influenced societal choices, Paper in Medieval England draws on a multilingual array of sources to investigate how paper circulated, was written upon, and was deployed by people across medieval society, from kings to merchants, to bishops, to clerks and to poets, contributing to an understanding of how medieval paper changed communication and shaped modernity.
Reviews / Votes
'Paper in Medieval England is a learned and judicious book, underpinned by Da Rold's deep and broad reading. While its argument offers several thoughtful interventions that will invite paleographers, cultural historians, and literary scholars to revisit some of their assumptions about paper, the real value of this monograph is more fundamental still: Da Rold's study restores paper to its rightful place in literary history.' Sebastian Sobecki, Speculum 'This is the great merit of Da Rold's book: it is a truly interdisciplinary study of paper in medieval England.' Joan A. Holladay, Manuscript StudiesMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 16 mm
Weight
399 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-108-81428-7 (9781108814287)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Book
10/2020
Cambridge University Press
€105.50
Shipment within 15-20 days

E-Book
09/2020
Cambridge University Press
€31.49
Available for download
Person
Dr Orietta Da Rold is Lecturer in Literature and Material Text, 1100 to 1500 at the University of Cambridge. She is the Co-Director (with Elaine Treharne) of the successful AHRC-funded project and e-book, English Manuscripts 1060 to 1220 and is currently editing the Cambridge Companion to British Manuscripts with Elaine Treharne.
Content
Paper and culture in medieval England: an introduction; 1. Paper stories; 2. The economics of paper; 3. Writing on paper; 4. The character of paper and its use in medieval books; 5. Paper in the medieval literary imagination; 6. Epilogue: the age of paper.