Edited by:
Michele Cammarosano
Across the most diverse societies, the reuse of writing surfaces in
contexts such as learning to write, note-taking, literary creation, and
bookkeeping has been not only desirable but essential to optimising
resources. In these contexts, it has been typical to use erasable media
of various kinds – a practice which in turn has had important
implications for palaeography, literary creation, and virtually every
aspect related to writing. Manuscript cultures addressed the quest for
rewritability through using permanently recyclable materials such as
clay and wax tablets, special technologies such as erasable coatings,
and ingenious strategies for reusing papyrus, parchment, paper, wood,
and more. This volume systematically explores the fascinating
intersection between the potential ephemerality of the written word and
the reusability of its supports. It combines a theoretical framework on
‘rewritability’ with case studies on materials, related technologies and
their interplay with competing techniques, spanning from ancient
Mesopotamia to present-day Nigeria, from Egypt to Japan, from Greece and
Rome to the Arab world. In doing so, the volume illuminates a crucial
aspect of cultural history relevant to anyone studying the written word.
eBook ISBN:
9783111682983Hardcover ISBN:
9783111682730Audience(s) for this book
Scholars of literary, Islamic, classical, medieval, manuscript studies, Egyptology, history, codicology
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10785 Berlin
Open Access
V Michele Cammarosano
Open Access
1 Marilena Maniaci
Open Access
63 Clay and Wax
Carmen Gütschow
Open Access
75 Jon Taylor
Open Access
115 Cécile Michel
Open Access
161 Jamie Novotny
Open Access
191 Anna Willi
Open Access
217 Serena Ammirati
Open Access
255 Georgios Boudalis
Open Access
263 aims Witeth
Open Access
309 Papyrus, Parchment, Paper, and Wood
Elena L. Hertel
Open Access
335 Paola Buzi
Open Access
357 Sarah Fani
Open Access
373 Claudia Colini, Giuseppe Marotta, Sowmeya Sathiyamani, Valentina Yañez Langner, Annie Muller, Katerina Grigoriadou and Chen Yu
Open Access
411 Andrea Brigaglia and Dahir Against Mu’az
Open Access
439 Antonio Manieri
Open Access
