This book explores the interactions between medieval manuscripts and their users in late medieval Europe, where touching held significant religious and social charge. In contrast to previous scholarship on medieval manuscripts, this book ignores pristine, untouched manuscripts and concentrates instead on those bearing the marks of frequent handling. The underlying argument is that studying marks of wear reveals the functions of books, and to some degree, their owners’ habits and emotions.
The study dissects the curative and communal aspects of touching, historically rooted in the veneration of relics, which could transmit divine power through proximity and belief. This reverence for touch extended to manuscripts, especially Gospel books, which were considered conduits of divine power. Such manuscripts functioned as practical tools integral to social rituals and community cohesion.
Volume 1 established the divinity of the book-object and its role in Christian rituals, while the current volume expands on the social dynamics of touched manuscripts. Volume 2 highlights three themes: the use of images to enhance public speaking, the moralizing role of the speaker, and the pivotal role of touch in fostering community through books. Volume 2 refines the taxonomy, introduced in Vol. 1, to differentiate between inadvertent from targeted wear and to further identify habits of touch under the latter category. These include intentional interactions with the text and images, such as wet-touching, dramatically gesturing with the finger, aggressive poking, and wiping with a cloth, each revealing the intentions and emotions behind the contact. The method—use-wear analysis—infers the specific gestures based on the marks made on manuscripts, which, whether through wet-touching or dramatic pointing, signify different forms of interaction and intention. The study considers the impact of these practices on the manuscripts themselves, which, when touched, kissed, or manipulated, not only served their utilitarian purpose but also became actors in the rituals they facilitated.
Manuscripts were adapted to serve as instruments of social cohesion. The study explores the taxonomy of touching, where manuscripts in various forms - from charters to codices - were used in educational settings, courtly environments, and religious communities to establish identity, authority, and communal bonds through deliberate touch and handling.
