CS100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Woodblock Printing, Ahold, Neil Postman
Document Summary
8th century ad in china (block printing) 15th century ad in europe (printing press) Majority of writing done scriptorium, almost always located in montessori by monks. One big elaborate drawn letter, graphic margin, and illustration. Knowledge is precious and not available to everyone. Monks may have only looked at 3 books in their lifetime that they had to copy. Books as an internal entity, without guidance to provenance. Known via a half oral half literature culture that has no precise counterpart today". Very hard to get ahold of books, were not open to public, no public libraries. One monk may have access to a book and will read aloud to others (thats what she means by half oral, half literature) The very earliest printing of books by the printing press - 1 in every 10 had illustrations. Letters are more standardized/less differentiation because they are letters that are used on a printing press rather than monks.
