A scriptorium is a room for copying books, often found in medieval monastery libraries. They were used to produce multiple copies of desirable texts before the advent of printing. Christian monasteries had scriptoria or copying niches, and some made their living by copying written materials. In the thirteenth century, copy shops emerged in urban areas, making written materials more readily available. Scribes and copyists decorated their work, creating illuminated letters, illustrations, and lavish covers, making books and manuscripts works of art.
A scriptorium is a room set aside for the purpose of copying books. Most people use the term in the sense of a room attached to the library of a medieval monastery, in which monks copied books by hand. With the advent of printing, the scriptorium was no longer needed, as books could be mass-produced in print.
The history of scriptoria is probably as old as the history of the written world, because as long as people write documents, other people want to read them. Without multiple copies of a book, manuscript, or record, it would be difficult for people to access the material, as they would have to go to the site where it was archived. By hiring people to transcribe written materials, wealthy individuals and institutions could have their own copies of desirable texts.
In the 3rd century, Christian monasteries were built with scriptoria or copying niches, and structures without the space for a scriptorium encouraged monks to copy books in their cells. The evidence seems to suggest, in fact, that most monasteries did not have a complete scriptorium and that these structures were probably temporary, used at the time the library was built and then converted to other uses. Some monasteries, however, made their living by copying written materials, with a staff member known as an armarius supervising the duplication of written materials.
In the thirteenth century the scriptorium began to go beyond the Church. Century-old copy shops have emerged in some urban areas, with some freelance copyists working from home. This made written materials even more readily available to members of the general public who could read. Traveling copyists could also arrange to view written materials in libraries and private collections, staying until copies were completed and sometimes trading access to other books and manuscripts in commerce.
When every book was written by hand, copying a book took a significant amount of time. Scribes and copyists also decorated their work, creating illuminated letters, adding illustrations, and generating lavish covers to protect their finished pieces. Books and manuscripts developed into works of art in a scriptorium, with some monasteries and individual monks becoming known for the high quality of work they produced. Some very fine examples of manuscripts produced in the scriptoria can be seen on display in museums around the world.
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