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Title: Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature by L.D. Reynolds, N.G. Wilson ISBN: 0-19-872146-3 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: 01 April, 1991 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $47.50

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Average Customer Rating: 4.4 (5 reviews)

Rating: 4
Summary: Could use more zip
Comment: This is an informative book on a subject which, as others have pointed out, is not well covered outside the scholarly world of textual criticism. It's a dry read, though, and would have benefited from more colorful detail and anecdote, such as the story of the humanist who rushed to the cathedral library in his nightgown and slippers when he heard of the discovery of a trove of ancient manuscripts. Leo Duel's Testaments of Time: The Search for Lost Manuscripts and Records covers some of the same ground is a much more vivid style.

Rating: 5
Summary: A classic textbook
Comment: "Scribes and Scholars" has become a classic. Now in the 3rd edition, it is a standard university textbook. It has also been translated into French with an additional bibliography by the great French scholar Pierre Petitmengin.

This books sets out to tell the story of how ancient literature travelled down the ages from the original authors to arrive in printed form in our hands. The focus is on the era to 1500, when printing takes over.

Everyone knows that before printing was invented, the only books were individually hand-copied. Reynolds and Wilson discuss the book trade of antiquity. The materials available - papyrus, parchment, leather and eventually paper - affect the story. The types of bookhand available in each era are discussed. When the Roman empire in the West collapsed, with it went not merely its military and political structures, but in fact every area of society, including the language itself. In the Greek East the picture was different, as Greek progressed on the long journey from Pericles to Papadopulous. Syriac and Arabic manuscripts are also mentioned. Each chapter has an interesting bibliography in the form of additional notes, which acts as a gateway into the literature.

The renaissance rediscovery is covered, in the only decent account in English.

Limitations? It would be very nice to have yet more footnotes. However this is hardly a criticism. Almost any section could easily be twice the length. I admit that I hanker for a longer book - yet this would probably be much less useful to most people.

One thing that becomes very quickly apparent is just how little material there is in English on this subject. The reader who seeks further information will find himself faced with non-English journals fairly quickly.

This book is essential reading for anyone who wants to get a real idea of just how our ancient heritage survived. Its easy reading too! Unreservedly recommended.

Rating: 5
Summary: Great intro to the history of classical scholarship
Comment: Informative and invaluable, Scribes and Scholars lends itself to the curiosity of the litterati as well as it does to the serious inquiry of beginning scholars. From the viable book trade of ancient Greece, through the centuries of forgotten scholarship and preservation, to the impetus of modern textual criticism, Scribes and Scholars is informing, engaging, and worth the cost.

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