The Anglo-Norman Historical Canon
Publishing and Manuscript Culture

Contributes to the debate on what it meant to publish a book in manuscript through case-studies of twelfth-century Anglo-Norman historians. This Element is also available as Open Access.

Jaakko Tahkokallio (Author)

9781108713771, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 6 June 2019

75 pages
17.6 x 12.6 x 0.6 cm, 0.11 kg

This Element is a contribution to the ongoing debate on what it meant to publish a book in manuscript. It offers case-studies of three twelfth-century Anglo-Norman historians: William of Malmesbury, Henry of Huntingdon, and Geoffrey of Monmouth. It argues that the contemporary success and rapid attainment of canonical authority for their histories was in significant measure the result of successfully conducted publishing activities. These activities are analysed using the concept of a 'publishing circle'. This concept, it is suggested, may have wider utility in the study of authorial publishing in a manuscript culture. This Element is also available as Open Access.

1. Introduction
2. William of Malmesbury
3. Henry of Huntingdon
4. Geoffrey of Monmouth
5. Conclusions.

Subject Areas: Publishing industry & book trade [KNTP], Social & cultural history [HBTB], Medieval history [HBLC1], European history [HBJD], Prose: non-fiction [DN]