CG S6 LIG (copy) pour fanny

   What are scrolls? When did they develop? What were they made of?

A scroll is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. It was very heavy and had to be enrolled => =/ very practical

Date?

What are codices? When did they develop? What were they made of?

Codices developed at the same time as Christianity

• 1st= for quick notes and drafts

• = leaves bound together

The materials codixes are made with are their support, and include papyrus, parchment and paper

How were codices made in the Middle Ages?

by sewing pamphlets together?

Why were codices an important innovation in terms of how intellectual work is conducted?

• a different way to approach the object => a different way to think

• easier to navigate between the elements, to read and take notes at the same time (only possible thanks to the object because with Scrolls it’s impossible)

• easier to store

  What is the insular script?

A medieval script system.

• used to refer to a diverse family of scripts used for different functions

After the Roman Empire collapsed, Written words lost importance => Use of Big initial letters, specificities (ligatures)

What is the Carolingian minuscule? In what ways is it innovative? Why does it matter?

Charlemagne decided that it was important that people in his Empire could read texts. He invented with Alwin, the Carolingian/Caroline minuscule. It developed as a standard.

Innovative because:

• words are now separated

• =/ very decorative because the aim is to be readable

What changes in reading practices did the use of codices entail?

In classical time, reading out loud = the same as speaking

New approach because, it’s no longer only through hearing but through reading the words. It only makes sense if you look at the words.

New technics to make the analysis easier:

• isolating words in Latin

• using capital letters

• use of different scripts for quotes

• use of punctuation (new signs invented)

• intro of annotation and glossaire

Describe monastic reading practices and their evolution in the Middle Ages.

Until 10th: literature culture = by the Church + in Latin

But then people learnt more and more how to read => ability to read alone

Were literacy and orality connected in the Middle Ages? In what contexts? In what ways?

Strong theory by J. Goody and I. Watt →

Weak theory by D H Green and R.Finnegan (+ common today)

The main difference is that Goody and Watt treat literacy as a major historical break that transforms thinking and social organization, while Ruth Finnegan treats literacy and orality as overlapping practices on a continuum rather than two separate worlds. Goody and Watt emphasize the cognitive and social effects of writing; Finnegan emphasizes variation, mixture, and the persistence of oral forms within literate societies

Goody and Watt

Goody and Watt argue that writing, especially alphabetic writing, changes how language can be stored, examined, and compared, which in turn encourages more abstract, critical, and cumulative thought. In their view, oral cultures rely more on immediate social context, memory, and performance, while literacy makes discourse visible and more easily analyzed.

Finnegan

Finnegan rejects a sharp “great divide” between oral and literate cultures and instead argues for an oral-written continuum, where people and texts often combine both modes. Her approach stresses that orality does not disappear with literacy, and that real societies usually involve interaction, overlap, and hybrid forms.