Full storyDirty pages of centuries-old books have revealed the fears, desires and humanity of medieval Europeans, suggesting that they were as self-interested and afraid of illness as people are today.
Kathryn Rudy, lecturer in the School of Art History at the University of St Andrews, analyzed a number of 15th- and early 16th-century European prayer books to reconstruct the reading habits of people who lived in medieval times.
The book turned out to be a kind of forensic analysis of what interested people of the time. She soon realized that the darkness of thumbed pages correlated to the intensity of their use and handling. The dirtiest pages were most likely also the most read, while relatively clean pages were probably neglected.
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Dirty Books Reveal Medieval Reading Habits
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Rowan
- Bibliophile
- Posts: 1462
- Joined: August 2008
- Interest in HF: I love history, but it's boring in school. Historical fiction brings it alive for me.
- Preferred HF: Iron-Age Britain, Roman Britain, Medieval Britain
- Location: New Orleans
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