Late Medieval and Early Modern Libraries as Knowledge Repositories, Guardians of Tradition and Catalysts of Change (LaMeMoLi)
Main funder
Funds granted by main funder (€)
Funding program
Project timetable
Project start date: 01/09/2017
Project end date: 31/12/2021
Summary
Libraries are an important factor not only in preserving and transmitting knowledge but also as collections of materials the very contiguity of which may push readers into new ways of thinking. This international book historical project will address the double function of the library between the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern Period (c. 1300-c. 1700), a period of intense mediatic, cultural, religious and political change. The project will a) reconstruct seven important but hitherto poorly studied collections of the considered (geographical coverage: from Italy to N. Europe) b) examine the preserved volumes for annotations and other reader reactions, placed in their cultural context and c) study available (near-)contemporaneous metatexts (library histories, mentions of a given library in texts produced by readers, etc.) on the collections, in order to assess the role of the seven collections in preserving knowledge and catalysing change. The international research team of this book historical project approaches the collections from a multidisciplinary point of view, combining the study of material characteristics (writing support, script, manuscript vs. print, format, readers' annotations in the volumes , etc.) and contents (texts transmitted, references in metatexts, etc.), building on the methodology and findings of the book historical projects Books in transition (AoF, 2008-2011) and Tralmar (AoF - U. of Jyväskylä 2013-2017).
