History of Thought

The Evolution of the Book

How Medieval Scholars Shaped the Book as We Know It

Around the middle of the 12th century, a decisive change took place in the conception and use of books. The renowned Austrian thinker of Croatian origin, (1926–2002), identified a crucial moment in this process within the works of the French theologian (c. 1096–1141). Illich’s analysis begins with one of Hugh’s most important works, the Didascalicon, written around 1128, which was a synthesis of rhetoric, philosophy, and exegesis designed to serve as an elementary, encyclopaedic approach to theological study.

Ivan Illich, by Adrift Animal (source: , CC BY SA).

All books in the Middle Ages were handwritten. However, Illich stresses from the outset that the manuscripts produced up to the middle of the 12th century had a ‘contemplative’ meaning. It was this profound meaning of the book as an object, which was lost in favour of a completely different way of understanding the same object, that dramatically anticipated many aspects of the printing revolution.

Beatus Liébana, “Codex de Fernando I e Dna” (Codex of Ferdinand I and DNA) ( | p. 158 | public domain)

Before Hugh’s time, the pages were made of parchment rather than paper, decorated with elaborate handwriting…