For a modern person, a book or newspaper is a common occurrence. But at the dawn of its appearance, manuscripts and books were the greatest value for people. They contained not only religious texts, but also prescriptions for medicines and other important information. The number of books and scrolls was small. Typography arose only in the 13th century, and before that, all the valuable information was manually rewritten in scriptories.
History of occurrence
Definition of history, what is a scriptorium found in school books in the Middle Ages. It reads as follows: "This is a workshop for the correspondence of manuscripts in monasteries." Such premises appeared in the VI century BC. e. in Europe. Of particular note are southern Italy, France and Spain. The famous center was the Italian monastery of Vivarium. A school was established in it for the training of scribes.
In the early period of the Middle Ages, almost all ancient libraries disappeared: either burned in the fire, or collapsed due to military operations and unrest. Various factors, the heyday of Christianity did not condone the preservation of ancient values. But religious literature was necessary. Therefore, in monasteries, books entered the ranks of the most important requisites. In those days, ministers of the church first saw what a scriptorium was, doing in them the rewriting of various works.
Script founder
In the Middle Ages, clergy were the most literate and knowledgeable people who were subject to the ability to read and write, in contrast to the lower classes.
The monks had a positive attitude to classical literature, copied and maintained the safety of scrolls, accumulating vast book depositories. Such guardians included Cassiodor, who founded the Vivarium Monastery in southern Italy. This statesman was one of the first to know what a scriptorium was, which he established in the new monastery along with the library.
In addition to Christian, the repository also contained manuscripts with texts of Latin and Greek authors. In his treatise, he teaches the art of handling books - transcribing, correcting mistakes and restoring.
Features of the work of scribes
The art of manuscript in the Middle Ages reached perfection. Many manuscripts are valuable as excellent examples of writing and illustration.
What is a scriptorium was well known to the ministers of the church. Such classes were respected and revered. Sometimes the rewriting was carried out according to a special vow, in other cases it was an ordinary work of competent novices.
As a rule, the most literate person read the work publicly, while others copied it. There was also a separation of duties: someone copied particularly significant books in calligraphic handwriting, while the rest were copying the text.
Every day, the monks copied no more than six pages, as it was a very time-consuming process, because of which vision often deteriorated and the back and the whole body ached.
Initially, the manuscript was written under dictation on his knees. Tables appeared, apparently, only in the VI century. This is evidenced by the first drawings of Krasnopisists working at tables that have come down from those times to the present day.
Until the end of the XI century, manuscripts were made out on parchment made from the skins of domestic animals. Then they began to use paper, which was cheaper.
In the XIII century. with the invention of the printing press, the scriptorium loses its significance, since the mass production of books by the secular population begins.
Interesting Facts
Until the thirteenth century, the rewriting of books was the work of only monks. Then ordinary members of the church were involved in this lesson. To create one manuscript creation, a variety of masters were required: from scribes and translators to jewelers. Over time, every resident of medieval Europe already knew what a scriptorium is. Some especially valuable tomes were decorated with embossed or precious gems. Such magnificent manuscripts were very expensive. For example, a very noble nobleman bought one precious book, giving it a whole settlement.
To save the most valuable tomes from theft, often weighing more than 10 kg due to the abundance of precious stones, they were attached to tables with heavy chains. It is noteworthy that all work (even polishing the skin) was carried out silently. It is also important that all works that have survived to this day have been rewritten and stored in monasteries.