New Directions in Medieval Manuscript Studies and Reading Practices - by Kathryn Kerby-Fulton & John J Thompson & Sarah Baechle (Hardcover)

About the Book

This is a volume of essays showcases new research and complexities in interdisciplinary manuscript studies in honor of Derek Pearsall.

Book Synopsis

This volume gathers the contributions of senior and junior scholars--all indebted to the pathbreaking work of Derek Pearsall--to showcase new research prompted by his rich and ongoing legacy as a literary critic, editor, and seminal founder of Middle English manuscript studies. The contributors aim both to honor Pearsall's work in the field he established and to introduce the complexities of interdisciplinary manuscript studies to students already familiar with medieval literature.

The contributors explore a range of issues, from the study of medieval literary manuscripts to the history of medieval books, libraries, literacy, censorship, and the social classes who used the books and manuscripts--nobles, children, schoolmasters, priests, merchants, and more. In addressing reading practices, essays provide a wealth of information on marginal commentaries, images and interpretive methods, international transmission, and early print and editorial methods.

Contributors: Sarah Baechle, Julia Boffey, Peter Brown, Katie Ann-Marie Bugyis, Christopher Cannon, A. I. Doyle, Martha W. Driver, Siân Echard, Nicole Eddy, A. S. G. Edwards, Hilary E. Fox, Karrie Fuller, Maura Giles-Watson, Phillipa Hardman, Kathryn Kerby-Fulton, Jill Mann, William Marx, Sarah McNamer, Carol M. Meale, Linne Mooney, Melinda Nielsen, Theresa O'Byrne, Stephen Partridge, Oliver Pickering, Susan Powell, Elizabeth Scala, A. C. Spearing, John J. Thompson, Edward Wheatley, Jocelyn Wogan-Browne, Hannah Zdansky, Nicolette Zeeman.

Review Quotes

"New Directions in Medieval Manuscript Studies and Reading Practices marks the heritage of the distinguished scholar Derek Pearsall while highlighting his continuing influence on medieval manuscript studies. Buoyed by fine work of senior scholars, the collection also introduces readers to stimulating work by an upcoming generation of more recent practitioners, all of whom address crucial issues in the field: the particulars of individual manuscripts, including scribal practice, marginal commentary, and audience reception. The result is a fine collection at once canonical in some respects and innovative in others." --Paul H. Strohm, Anna S. Garbedian Professor Emeritus of the Humanities, Columbia University

"The range of topics covered in this impressive collection--manuscript studies, Lydgate, Chaucer, Gower, Hoccleve, Langland, and romance--attests to the wide-ranging influence Derek Pearsall has exerted on the field of medieval studies. It is hard to think of a scholar since the inception of English studies who has had a greater effect on so many fields of Middle English literature. The lively contributions in this volume come from Derek's colleagues, admirers, students, and students of his students, demonstrating that 'Pearsallian reading practices' will live on long into the future." --Michael Johnston, Purdue University

"This volume is an impressive tribute to Derek Pearsall's legacy and an important resource for anyone interested in manuscripts, scribes, annotators, and readers. It offers resounding evidence of the many ways that manuscript studies is a necessity for understanding medieval literary texts and textual production." --Misty Schieberle, University of Kansas

"As a tribute to a distinguished scholar, this volume of essays could hardly be finer. Assembled from contributions presented in London at the 2011 conference in honour of the 80th birthday of Derek Pearsall, the range and diversity of subjects covered are as absorbing as the work of the man himself." --The Review of English Studies

"On balance, this [is] a finely produced collection with many accomplished contributions. It will reward readers' exploration." --Modern Philology

About the Author

Kathryn Kerby-Fulton is professor emerita of English at the University of Notre Dame. She is the author and editor of a number of books, including Books under Suspicion: Censorship and Tolerance of Revelatory Writing in Late Medieval England (University of Notre Dame Press, 2006).