This comprehensive introduction to the history of books, readers and reading in the Greek-speaking Byzantine Empire explores the relationships of author and audience, manuscript and textual transmission, and orality and literacy within their wider social and political context. It targets students of Classics, Byzantine studies, and Medieval Europe.
"Offering a comprehensive introduction to the history of books, readers and reading in the Byzantine Empire and its sphere of influence, this volume addresses a paradox. Advanced literacy was rare among imperial citizens, being restricted by gender and class. Yet the state's economic, religious and political institutions insisted on the fundamental importance of the written record. Starting from the materiality of codices, documents and inscriptions, the volume's contributors draw attention to the evidence for a range of interactions with texts"--