08/05/2025
Coming in October 2025, ‘Textiles in Manuscripts: A Local and Global History of the Book,’ edited by Melissa Moreton and Suzanne Conklin Akbari, is a breathtaking journey into the hidden world of manuscripts where silk, linen, and sacred cloths intertwine with ink and parchment—unveiling how threads of fabric stitched together the global trade routes and cultural traditions of Europe, Asia, and Africa from late antiquity to the early modern age, transforming books into objects of art, devotion, and cross-cultural exchange.
Book Summary:
“Preserved between the covers of books, textiles offer a remarkable glimpse into how the local production of books was connected to vibrant global trade networks from late antiquity through the early modern period.
Textiles appear in manuscripts in many forms: as a delicate overlay used to adorn or protect a precious painted illumination; as silk robes wrapping sacred texts; as the sturdy fabric that supports an intricately sewn binding; as a repurposed bit of cloth, taken from a liturgical vestment, concealed within the volume to convey sacrality.
This volume brings together a range of experts to unpack the vivid and surprising history of textiles in manuscripts, ranging from practical uses to the ornamental and beyond.
The historical account they offer is both local and global: local, in that each chapter is tightly focused on a single tradition, or even a single book; global, in that together these chapters illuminate the rich web of interconnections that link the cultural and craft centers of Europe, Asia, and Africa.
• New research on Syriac, Armenian, Byzantine, Ethiopian, Chinese, Mongolian, Islamic, and Hebrew manuscripts from late antiquity through the early modern period.
• Production, trade, and exchange of books in a global perspective.
• With contributions of book historians, textile scholars, conservators, art historians, and codicologists.”
Available:
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/isbn/9783689240011/html
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