When monastic institutes arose at the beginning of the 6th century (the first European monastic writing dates back to 517), they defined European literary culture and selectively preserved the literary history of the West. The monks copied the Latin Bible of Jerome, as well as the comments and letters of the early Fathers of the Church for missionary purposes and for use in the monastery. Work in scriptoria is not an easy craft, a whole art. In romance countries, it is considered part of the Catholic religious heritage.
What is a scriptorium: definition
What is it? The scriptorium is a special workshop in which masters (usually monks) were involved in rewriting manuscripts. During the census, there was usually a division of labor between the monks who prepared the parchment for copying by smoothing and highlighting the surface, those who directly wrote the text on it, as well as those who held a candle over the parchment to ensure proper lighting. Sometimes one monk did all this work on his own.
What is a history scriptorium
In Byzantium or the Eastern Roman Empire, education, unlike the rest of Europe at that time, still retained its importance, and numerous monastic scriptories were engaged in almost serial production of biblical and gospel illuminations. Workshops were also organized throughout the empire that copied numerous classical and Hellenistic works. Historical evidence proves that Mount Athos was one of these monastic communities, which contained many luminous manuscripts and ultimately accumulated more than 10,000 books.
Western Europe
Cassiodor’s contemporary, Benedict Nursky, allowed his monks to read the great works of pagans (ancient philosophers) in the monastery, which he founded in Monte Cassino in 529. The creation of the library here marked the beginning of the tradition of Benedictine scriptories - these were whole rooms in which even pagan converts had the opportunity to work on rewriting sacred texts. Saint Jerome once declared that the scriptorium’s written work could become a source of income for the monastic community, but Benedict warned him: “If there are skilled workers in the monastery, let them work on their art with humility.” Thus, the workshop workers were denied the right to income.
Benedictines
The so-called "Benedictine Plan of St. Gall" is a sketch of an idealized monastery dating from 819 - 826, which depicts a scriptorium and library attached to the northeast corner of the main building of the church of the aforementioned saint. Although the purpose of this plan is unknown, it clearly shows the intention of monks and church hierarchs to build scriptories in the 9th century.
Cistercians
There is evidence that at the end of the 13th century, Cistercians allowed some monks to write in a small chamber that could not accommodate more than one person. These premises were called scriptoria due to the fact that written copying of manuscripts was also carried out there, although their main function was not copying, but creating new written masterpieces.
Cartesians
The Carthusians saw the copying of religious texts as their missionary duty to the Great Church. The strict asceticism of the Cartesian order required that the manual work of the monks be carried out in separate rooms, so many of them were engaged in transcribing texts. In fact, every cell in their monasteries was equipped, like a copy room, with parchment, feather, inkwell and ruler. The scriptorium is, in essence, not only the place of work, but also the place of life of many Cartesians in the old days.