Scribes and Scholars: A Guide to the Transmission of Greek and Latin Literature 4th Edition by Reynolds & Wilson (2014) Paperback | Ancient Text Study, Classical Literature Research, Academic Resource for Historians

Scribes & Scolars (2013) describes the ways and means by which classical literature has come down to modern times, beginning with a brief description of classical literacy and literary culture, materials of writing and distribution of literature, followed by the consequences of the collapse of the classical world for literary traditions. A description of the low point of the dark ages is followed by the beginnings of retrieval during the Carolingian renaissance, the 11th and 12th centuries, the Renaissance and the early modern era of first editions. A final chapter looks are current methods of criticism. // Especially interesting was to read about the inexorible decline of culture at the end of the classical age, in particular the already profound diminishing caused by the crisis of the third age CE, and also the decline of production in Greece following Roman occupation. The decline then under the early Christians is described well, and memorable also is the impact of the fall of Constantinople, which must have been an unimaginable disaster for those involved. // Some special points: (1) A description of the difficulty of retrieving errors in the era of manuscripts: Cicero had apparently written to his publisher asking to have a passage changed, but some of the unedited versions had already been sold, and all surfiving texts feature the unchanged text. It was only through the discovery of the letter asking for the change, almost 2000 years later, that Cicero's wish was finally realized. (2) An interesting description of the prehumanists of Padua, of whom I knew nothing. (3) P171 describes how Sir Henry Savile (1549-1622) published an edition of a churchfather founded on 16.000 pages of preparatory notes. The work occupied him so that his wife was brought to remard: "Sir Henry, I would I were a book too, and then you would a little more respect me". (4) P200 refers to a lately discoverd essay by Galen, "On avoiding grief" which, in addition to its subject matter, apparently discibes his personal library and his own habits.