Rachel Madden

LIS 711
Spring 2017
Week 2 Assignment

In the readings from this week, authors present varying interpretations of how materiality
can be used to study and understand the history of texts. For example, some authors study
materiality in an attempt to define what a book is, while others examine the use of language
and the physical composition of texts in the context of the societal values of the time. These
different interpretations have many commonalities, but they also tend to diverge depending upon
the time period and type of text the author in question is studying.

Robson, for one, looks at the earliest known forms of texts (cuneiform tablets from the
4th-1st millennium BCE) and uses their materiality as a method to argue whether or not these
texts actually constitute books. She defines book as a means of recording and transmitting
in writing a cultures intellectual traditions, (Robson, 67) and then samples clay tablets from
this time period to see whether or not they fit this definition of book. In the case study of
House F, for example, Robson examines at the shape, size, and text of different tablets to
understand what they were used for. In determining that these tablets were mainly used by
students practicing rote transcription, she discounts them as poorly-fitting her definition of
book. In the case of later clay tablet collections, such as Ashurbanipals Library, the presence
of original writing and inheritance texts, as well as the sheer size of the collection show that
Ashurbanipal was using his library as a way to hold intellectual power over the region, thereby
better fitting Robsons definition of book. Ultimately, all of these material factorsthe size of
the collection, the modification of text over various generations of scribes, and the shape and
function of tabletsplay a key role in defining clay tablet text as book or not-book for Robson.

Roemer, on the other hand, is more focused on relating papyrus rolls to Egyptian, Greek,
and Roman culture. She argues that the mere continued physical existence of a papyrus scroll
tells us something about its history. Papyrus was the writing material par excellence for texts
meant to be read time and again, and for those whose continuing preservation had a legal force
(Roemer, 85). The fact that an author chose to write a text on papyrus rather than on a more
ephemeral wooden tablet immediately signifies that the text is likely important for legal, cultural,
religious, and/or social reasons. (A later example of the physical material of a text holding its
own intrinsic significance is Rouse and Rouses description of the complex relationship between
scrolls and codices in the medieval era.)

Like Robsons example of Ashurbanipal using his library as a display of power, a

continued theme through Roemers writing is the idea that the physical existence of a book or a
library holds intrinsic power and status in the pre-printing era. One example that Roemer gives is
the fact that there is art from the 4th and 5th century BCE that depicts the wealthy reading, but no
art that depicts scribes writing during this time period (as scribing was considered lowly work
until the advent of Christianity and the Bible). In another piece of art, a husband is shown
reading a papyrus scroll while his wife holds a wooden tablet, thus showing his intellectual
superiority over her. In this case, the physical book is inseparably intertwined with the societal
ideals of the time.
 Similarly, according to Roemer, when the codex was commonly utilized in the medieval
era and people began consolidating the literary canon to reflect the religious and moral values of
society, reading the Bible became the central scholarly ideal. The introduction of illumination
and illustrations in medieval Bibles provides us with tangible proof of the texts elevated and
sacred status in the culture of the day.

Broland takes this idea even further and uses the illustrations in a medieval manuscript as
a way to better understand the generations of people who owned the book. Instead of focusing on
the original scholars who transcribed and illustrated the work, Broland studies the people who
defaced the illustrations in The Passion of Saint Margaret. By examining how readers interacted
with and changed the manuscript over time, Broland is able to better understand the religious
sentiments of the time, as well as the everyday lives of the people who read this text. As Broland
says, when we touch the book today, we not only connect to the books moment of creation, but
also are reminded of the 800 years of readers, viewers, and handlers (Broland, 114). Had the
defacement not occurred, this connection to the original readers of the manuscript would not
exist.

Noegel takes a slightly different approach from the others; examining the power of
language and images in early writing and how that impacts the materiality of the text. In
Mesopotamian society, for example, the word clay is tied to linguistic concepts of birth and
new life. The fact that clay is the material used for writing means that the act of writing itself is
therefore affiliated with creation. Additionally, the fact that the number seven is sacred in the
Mesopotamian spiritual tradition influenced the arrangement of the Mesopotamian creation story
onto seven tablets. In these cases, we see the text itself influencing the physical aspects of the
book. This is a reversal from Robson and Roemer, who mainly look at how the physical aspects
of the book influence our interpretation of its text. Noegel ultimately uses this unique perspective
to suggest ways that we can better relate the physical aspects of ancient texts to our modern day
media, so that we understand not only the history of the book, but also the way the books history
shapes the present.