THE ART OF READING IN THE MIDDLE AGES
Welcome to the ARMA PROJECT.
The project ‘The Art of Reading in the Middle Ages’ will show the importance of medieval reading culture as a European movement by bringing together (digitised) manuscripts produced between c. 500 and c. 1550 from across Europe, unlocking their educational potential by curational and editorial enrichment, using innovative ways for displaying and handling digital objects in an educational context.
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Cicero’s legacy in medieval western Europe
Rhetorical and philosophical teaching of Marcus Tullius Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BCE) was one of the most notable figures in Roman history. As a contemporary of Caesar, Cato and Pompey, Cicero witnessed the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the career of Octavian, later the first ‘emperor’ Augustus. His gruesome death was directly linked to the political turmoil of his time.
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Monastic vs scholastic reading habits
Differences in medieval readers approaches
With the establishment of universities, the 13th century saw a major change of reading habits amongst the literate (that is, those who could read Latin) elite.
Amongst the medieval literate elite, there were two major methods of reading: monastic and scholastic, each divided into three ‘levels’. Monastic reading consisted of lectio / meditatio / contemplatio - that is: reading / meditation / contemplation.
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Large to small
Books in 13th century
A diverse array of readerships existed over the span of the approximately 1000 years that makes up the Middle Ages. Manuscripts show how the needs of the readership (their reading habits) influence the way books were made. One of the more radical and notable changes occurred in the 13th century : that is, the increasingly frequent production of small format books.
8
ARMA
PARTNERS
20.000
MEDIEVAL
OBJECTS
1
ONLINE
EXHIBITION
7
EUROPEAN
COUNTRIES
7
COLLECTIONS
1M
VISITORS
