University of Stirling
This project explores how a specific cluster of books printed between the mid-fifteenth century and 1560 (primarily works of scholarship and classical texts) were read and studied in early-sixteenth century Scotland. Using palaeographical methods to recognize writing and identify particular readers, and focusing on marginalia and other manuscript annotations, the project will transform our understanding of humanism and learned culture in early modern Scotland. Through this palaeographical approach, its findings will shed new light on levels of literacy and education, provide precious information on contemporary reading practices, and document the evolution of handwriting, especially the emergence of the humanistic italic hand.
