Remember the Hand: Manuscription in Early Medieval Iberia

Remember the Hand explores a corpus of articulate manuscript books from northern Iberia in the tenth and eleventh centuries, revealing scribes' understanding of reading as a powerful, intimate encounter between authors, scribes, patrons, and readers. It emphasizes the labor of writing and the material object known as the book, reminding us of the scribes' directive to remember the hand.

Format: Hardback
Length: 368 pages
Publication date: 25 April 2023
Publisher: Fordham University Press

The Hand delves into a collection of meticulously written and beautifully illuminated manuscript books originating from the Christian monasteries in northern Iberia during the tenth and eleventh centuries. These remarkable codices share a remarkable sense of scribal presence, with scribes not only identifying themselves but also describing their roles and even showcasing their portraits within the pages. While marginal notes and even biographical details are common features in medieval manuscripts, it is rare for scribes to reveal themselves so fully. These writers engage directly with the reader, seeking prayers of intercession and sharing personal anecdotes. They invite the reader to join them in recognizing the arduous process of writing, comparing it to agricultural work or textile production, nurturing a garden of knowledge and weaving a text out of words. By exploring this corpus of articulate codices, which is known within a specialized community of Iberian codicologists but remains largely overlooked outside of it, Catherine Brown aims to recover the scribes' understanding of reading as a profound and intimate encounter between multiple parties. These parties include authors and their texts, scribes and their pens, patrons and their art-objects, and readers and the words and images before their eyes. The material object known as the book acts as a mediator in this intricate relationship, facilitating the exchange of ideas and emotions. By highlighting the mediation process and emphasizing the labor that precedes it, the scribes extend a timeless directive to us: Remember the hand.
Through her meticulous research and analysis, Brown brings to light the significance of the scribes' contributions to the preservation and transmission of knowledge during the medieval period. The Hand offers a valuable insight into the social, cultural, and intellectual context of the time, shedding light on the role of the scribe as a mediator and the transformative power of written words. This work is a testament to the enduring legacy of medieval literature and the enduring value of human creativity and craftsmanship.
Remember the Hand is an open-access publication, making it accessible to a wide audience and promoting the dissemination of knowledge. By making this resource freely available, the publisher aims to foster a deeper understanding of history, culture, and the arts, and to encourage interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780823298914