From Manuscript to Print: the Evolution of the Medieval Book

 

Palimpsests
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Manuscripts that have been written upon more than once are known as palimpsests (from the Greek palimpsestos, "scraped again"). The ink of the original text has been scraped away to make room for the new text, yet a dim after-image of the original remains. A careful look at the margins will reveal a cursive script, apparently in a vernacular language rather than in Latin, although the words are too faint to identify the text accurately. Ultraviolet light can sometimes help to bring out an underlying text.

Purchased in 1885 for A. D. White.

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Pliny the Elder. Natural History. Italy (?), fifteenth century.
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Introduction
the Sacred Word
Churchbooks
Private Prayer
Letterforms
Leather and Chains
Medieval Music
Schoolbooks
How the Classics Survived
Manuscripts in the Age of Print
Evolution of the Book
Appetite for Destruction
Manuscript Facsimiles
Cornell's Medieval Books
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