Scriptor ( Latin scriptorium from scriptor - “scribe, copyist”) - a workshop for the correspondence of manuscripts , mainly in monasteries . The first scriptoria arose in the 6th — 7th centuries in southern Italy, France, Ireland, and Spain. The greatest fame in the era of Charlemagne enjoyed the scriptorium of the Tours Monastery of St. Martin , whose abbot was Alcuin .
Initially, the book (as in the times of late antiquity) was written under dictation, holding material for writing on his lap. There were no tables. Then, probably in the VII century, tables appeared in the workshops. In any case, the iconographic images of calligraphers sitting at the tables belong to this very time. From VIII — IX centuries, such images became the norm. In the XIII century, the scriptoria fell into decay, urban artisans began to engage in book production.
Bibliography
- Dobiash-Christmas O.A. Workshop letters at the dawn of the western Middle Ages and their treasures in Leningrad. L., 1930.
- Dobiash-Christmas O.A. from the life of masterful letters (mainly in the French north) // Medieval way of life. Sat articles. L., 1928.
- Kiseleva L.I. What medieval manuscripts tell. L., 1978.
- Lyublinskaya A.D. Latin paleography. M., 1969.