Everyone knows that paintings, sculpture,
and architecture are considered are
works of art. But how many of us have ever considered a book to be a work of art?
These days it seems we are drowning in
printed material of all kinds. Books and
magazines are both affordable and accessible. They can be purchased in new
bookstores, used bookstores, online web sites, through book club memberships,
and more recently, even downloaded to your personal computer as e-matter. But
this degree of availability was not always the case with books.
Prior to the technological wonder of the
printing press, book ownership during the
Middle Ages was quite different. Books (manuscripts) were highly valued not only
for their content, but also for the laborious process of their production-each book
was hand made using animal skin (vellum) and a quill. Whether by monks or by
laymen every letter and decoration had to be carefully placed on the page. Even
though booksellers often utilized several scribes and artists (illuminators) to create
their books, the production process was extremely slow.
Medieval books were also incredibly expensive,
exceptionally meaningful, and at
times, deeply personal. It is important to keep in mind that the medieval population
was not surrounded by images as we are now. As a result, each image and written
word was special to the owner alone.
1. The Number
