Involving Readers

Renske A. Hoff, PhD (2022, University of Groningen and KU Leuven) is Assistant Professor of Middle Dutch Literature at Utrecht University. She specialises in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century book history, with a particular focus on the use of religious manuscripts and early printed books.

Acknowledgements


List of Figures and Tables


Abbreviations


Note on Translations and Quotations





1 Introduction


 1 Bible Production in Antwerp, ca. 1500–1550


 2 Jacob van Liesvelt and Henrick Peetersen van Middelburch


 3 A History of Reading: Developments and Approaches


 4 Research Corpus and Scope


 5 Formative Spaces and Transformative Practices: Structure of the Study





Part 1: Formative Spaces: Paratext and the Construction of Meaning and Reading Practice


Introduction to Part 1





2 Constructive Paratext: Shaping an Active Reader and Framing the Text


 1 Blank Space: Flyleaves, Margins, and Indentations


 2 Title Pages


 3 Prologues


 4 Calendars and Almanacs


 5 Terminal Paratext


 6 Conclusion





3 Directive Paratext: Shaping Understandings and Facilitating Discontinuous Practices


 1 Printed Marginalia: Letters, Manicules, Cross-references, and Glosses


 2 Intertitles and Summaries


 3 Woodcuts and Maps


 4 Table of Contents


 5 Liturgical Reading Aids


 6 Topical Register


 7 Conclusion





Part 2: Transformative Practices: Readers’ Responses, Adjustments, and Traces


Introduction to Part 2





4 The Life of the Book: an Overview of Traces, Readers, and Owners


 1 A Categorisation of Traces of Reading, Use, and Ownership


 2 The Omnipresence of Traces


 3 A Sociography of Book Owners


 4 Conclusion





5 Dynamic Interactions with Text and Paratext


 1 Reflecting on Textual and Paratextual Content


 2 Accommodating Reading Practices


 3 Conclusion





6 Interacting with the Book as Object


 1 Assessing Identity


 2 Leaving Material Traces


 3 Conclusion





7 Conclusions





Appendix: Overview of Owners and Traces


Bibliography


Index