Medieval book production: Manufacturing Manuscripts

The sheer amount of extant medieval manuscripts shows that although in medieval society only a small fraction of the population had access to written texts (and was capable of reading them), the Middle Ages were not without written culture. As a matter of fact, the flourishing medieval book trade was a driving force for cultural transmission. Written text had value and authority, and reading was not only visual but oral. Text could also be enjoyed through the gestures it inspired, its decoration and its vibrant illuminations. In fact, the "Dark" Middle Ages were not dark at all. During this age, the transmission and preservation of ancient and medieval knowledge was ensured through time.

Up until the invention of the movable type printing press in the 1450's by German inventor Johann Gutenberg, all books were manuscripts, that is, written by hand. From early monastic scriptoria that produced the sacred scriptures that monks and clerics could meditate over, passing through 12th century urban workshops laden with academic texts for university students, to courtly literature for the education and amusement of 14th century aristocratic bibliophiles, methods and techniques of manuscript production were perfected throughout a period of about fifteen hundred years, and well into the era of the printed book.

The medieval manuscript took on as many forms as its users required, modifying its appearance as well as its conditions of manufacture and trade. A handwritten book required the participation of a series of skills which included: preparing the writing support, laying out the page, copying the text, revising it, decorating and illustrating it, sewing together the quires and binding them. With time and growing demand, this long and meticulous process went from being exclusively the stuff of monks and monasteries to becoming a well-organized secular trade, giving rise to dedicated professions, guilds and regulations.