History of the Book group talk: 'The many crafts of paper’

Speaker: Professor Orietta Da Rold (Professor of Medieval Literature and Manuscript Studies and Fellow of St John’s College, University of Cambridge) 

“The many crafts of paper”

Scholars of paper technology have shown that paper played a vital, multifaceted role in shaping pre-modern Europe's intellectual, economic, social, and cultural life. Its growing availability from the late Middle Ages had widespread impact, promoting sustainable practices and reuse. Papermaking relied on a complex network of resource management, craftsmanship, and expertise to transform rags into paper. While much is known about papermaking processes, the tools used remain elusive but are essential to understanding the craft. This talk will consider their significance.

Professor Da Rold has published on medieval literature and texts, with a particular focus on the social and cultural context of the circulation and transmission of medieval texts and books, and the codicology and palaeography of medieval manuscripts. She is the author of Paper in Medieval England: From Pulp to Fictions and co-editor, with Elaine Treharne, of The Cambridge Companion of Medieval Manuscripts. 

She is the co-director of the ‘Thinking Paper’ project at the University of Cambridge.

Attendees will have the opportunity to view medieval works on paper from the Merton Library and Archives.

The talk will be followed by refreshments.

All are welcome, and we would appreciate an RSVP to julia.walworth@merton.ox.ac.uk