The Bible in the Latin West

"The Bible in the Latin West" is the first volume in a series that addresses the codicology of texts. In considering how and why the appearance of a manuscript changes over the centuries, Margaret T. Gibson introduces students to the study of manuscripts and to the wider range of information and expertise that can be brought to bear on the study of manuscripts as historical objects as well as texts. Here Gibson surveys the changes in the most important book in the western world, the Latin Bible. She begins the survey in late antiquity, discussing the volumes of the great senatorial houses of the 4th century and how they influenced the early great Bibles of northern Europe. The discussion then moves through the Carolingian period, with its increased interest in commentary to early vernacular versions, and goes on to reveal how in the 11th and 12th centuries the growing numbers of monastic and university readers made new demands on the texts which led to the inclusion of glosses and other scholarly apparatus. Later, the combined influences of increased literacy and growing wealth among the population called for vernacular translations and devotional aids such as Books of Hours. Gibson completes the survey with a look at early printed Bibles. A useful volume for anyone being introduced to the firsthand study of texts and their transmission, as well as for graduate students in history, English, modern languages, classics, and religious studies. "The Bible in the Latin West" contains an introductory survey.