George Haven Putnam’s Books and Their Makers During the Middle Ages traces the history of the making and distribution of books from the fall of Rome through the early period of printing. Putnam examines the work of monastic scribes, the rise of the universities and their book trade, and the conditions of authorship and publishing before and after the printing press.
The book illuminates how knowledge was preserved, copied, and circulated in the medieval world, and how the institutions and economics of the book developed over the centuries. Putnam, himself a publisher, writes with expertise and clarity. For readers interested in the history of books, libraries, the universities, and the transmission of learning, it offers a detailed and authoritative account of a fascinating subject.