The production of books in England 1350-1500

Between roughly 1350 and 1500, the English vernacular became established as a language of literary, bureaucratic, devotional and controversial writing; metropolitan artisans formed guilds for the production and sale of books for the first time; and Gutenberg's and eventually Caxton's printed books reached their first English consumers. This book gathers the best work on manuscript books in England made during this crucial but neglected period. Its authors survey existing research, gather intensive new evidence and develop new approaches to key topics. The chapters cover the material conditions and economy of the book trade; amateur production both lay and religious; the effects of censorship; and the impact on English book production of manuscripts and artisans from elsewhere in the British Isles and Europe. A wide-ranging and innovative series of essays, this volume is a major contribution to the history of the book in medieval England.

• List of illustrations p. vii
• List of contributors p. xii
• Foreword p. xv Derek Pearsall
• Acknowledgements p. xvii
• List of abbreviations p. xviii
• Introduction p. 1 Alexandra Gillespie and Daniel Wakelin
• 1 Materials p. 12 Orietta Da Rold
• 2 Writing the words p. 34 Daniel Wakelin
• 3 Mapping the words p. 59 Simon Horobin
• 4 Designing the page p. 79 Stephen Partridge
• 5 Decorating and illustrating the page p. 104 Martha Driver and Michael Orr
• 6 Compiling the book p. 129 Margaret Connolly
• 7 Bookbinding p. 150 Alexandra Gillespie
• 8 Commercial organization and economic innovation p. 173 Erik Kwakkel
• 9 Vernacular literary manuscripts and their scribes p. 192 Linne R. Mooney
• 10 Book production outside commercial contexts p. 212 Jean-Pascal Pouzet
• 11 Censorship p. 239 Fiona Somerset
• 12 Books beyond England p. 259 John J. Thompson
• 13 English books and the continent p. 276 David Rundle
• Afterword: the book in culture p. 292 Wendy Scase
• Bibliography p. 299
• Index of manuscripts p. 351
• General Index p. 358