To show the organization of the course that includes this module, follow this link:  Course organization

Learning outcomes

The main goal of this course is to introduce students to the basic codicological and cultural tools needed to study and analyse the paratextual tradition in mediaeval manuscripts and ancient books, until the XVIth century.

At the end of the course, students should be able to:
1) Realise the meaning and the uselfullness of paratexts
2) Examine the efficiency of the paratexts and the editorial strategies of the ancient books
3) Recognize the main types of manuscripts and printed book
4) Discuss about the differences between shapes and dimensions of books, especially in relation to their texts and to the evolution in book production
5) Recognize materials and manufacturing techniques employed in book production
6) Describe the organization of a scriptorium and of a printer
7) Recognize the economic and cultural context behind the creation of an ancient book
8) Argue and analyze the ways of the circulation of books
9) Identify and consider the diversity of paratexts and, consequently, the editorial strategies of modern

Program

Topics

During the course, the following topics will be covered:
a) Disciplines for the study of rare books
b) Mediaeval manuscripts: history, morphology, materials
c) Printed books of XVth and XVIth centuries: history, materials, techniques
d) The professions linked to book production
e) Analysis of internal and external elements of the books and their importance in the editorial strategies
f) Book commerce
g) Paratext in the modern book
h) Valorisation of manuscripts and rare books collections; main description and cataloguing methods.

Bibliography:
- Il paratesto, a cura di Cristina Demaria e Riccardo Fedriga, pp. 5-22
- Furio Brugnolo, Testo e paratesto: la presentazione del testo fra Medioevo e Rinascimento, in Intorno al testo. Tipologie del corredo esegetico e soluzioni editoriali, Atti del Convegno di Urbino 1-3 ottobre 2001, Roma, Salerno ed., 2003, pp. 41-60
- Mariangela Regoliosi, Il paratesto dei manoscritti, «Paratesto», 3 (2006), pp. 9–33
- Giorgio Montecchi, La disposizione del testo nel libro antico, in I dintorni del testo. Approcci alle periferie del testo, atti del convegno internazionale, Roma, 15-17 novembre 2004, Bologna, 18-19 novembre 2004 , a cura di Marco Santoro, Maria Gioia Tavoni, Roma, Edizioni dell'Ateneo, 2005 (Biblioteca di Paratesto, 1), pp. 191-205
- Marilena Maniaci, «La serva padrona». Interazioni fra testo e glossa sulla pagina del manoscritto, in Talking to the text. Marginalia from papyri to print, Proceedings of a Conference held at Erice, 26 September - 3 October 1998, as the 12th Course of international school for the study of written records, edited by Vincenzo Fera, Giacomo Ferraù, Silvia Rizzo, Messina : Centro interdipartimentale di studi umanistici, 2002 (Percorsi dei classici, 4), pp. 5-35

Additional books and articles will be proposed during the course.

The course will consist of:
a) Lectures;
b) Visits to the Archivio Diocesano Tridentino (Trento). These visits will provide a good opportunity to analyse some mediaeval manuscripts and to discuss about the topics already covered in class.

Students will be required not only to study, but also to put in practice what will be discussed during the lectures: during the course, each student will be given a manuscript to analyse. A detailed report of said manuscript will be a part of the final exam.

Examination Methods

The exam will be oral and will consist of:
I) An exposition of the report on the assigned manuscript;
II) A discussion about the topics covered during the lectures.
The exam will not only evaluate the student general knowledge of the subject, but also the ability to use the specific technical language and, above all, the ability to use the topic discussed during the lectures in the final report.