Evolution of the Medieval Book

Introduction

The rise of Western universities from the 11th century onwards stimulated the market for a growing number of secular texts, a development that led to greater diversity in writing styles and a proliferation of books. When printing came on the scene in the 1450s, early printers closely imitated the look of medieval manuscripts, modeling their letterforms and page layouts after those of professional scribes. It took the rise of Italian humanism, with its revival of roman letterforms and its emphasis on scholarly presentation of classical knowledge, to transform the book into the modern format we know today.