Scriptorium

Miniature of Vincent of Beauvais writing in a manuscript of the Speculum Historiale in French, Bruges, c. 1478–1480, British Library Royal 14 E. i, vol. 1, f. 3, probably representing the library of the Dukes of Burgundy.

A scriptorium (/skrɪpˈtɔːriəm/ ⓘ)[1] was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes.[2][3]

The term has perhaps been over-used—only some monasteries had special rooms set aside for scribes. Often they worked in the monastery library or in their own rooms. Most medieval images of scribing show single figures in well-appointed studies, although these are generally author portraits of well-known authors or translators. Increasingly, lay scribes and illuminators from outside the monastery also assisted the clerical scribes.[2] By the later Middle Ages secular manuscript workshops were common, and many monasteries bought in more books than they produced themselves.

  1. ^ "scriptorium". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/OED/3383765628. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
  2. ^ a b Kauffmann, Martin (2003). "Scriptorium". Grove Art Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gao/9781884446054.article.t077202. ISBN 978-1-884446-05-4.
  3. ^ Stones, Alison (2014-06-01). "Scriptorium: The term and its history". Perspective (1): 113–120. doi:10.4000/perspective.4401. ISSN 1777-7852.