The Quiet Mind
Tags: oral, visual, medium, silent, transformation
In modern day society we consider reading to be a silent and solitary activity whereas, in ancient times reading was considered to be an oral activity. People read aloud, in groups, or sometimes even individually, in a muffled voice. The format of the manuscript evolved throughout the years, resulting in a change in writing style and the development of word spacing. These changes led to the shift in reading practices during the fifteenth century. Yet, why are these changes said to be so significant? They marked “the transformation from oral culture to visual culture.” I will assess all of these changes and determine if they were a positive or negative aspect of the manuscript.
Before this transformation word separation was not seen as an important aspect of the manuscript because as a reader you were to separate the words individually. Saenger argues that the shift from oral to silent was brought on by the adoption of word spacing. (Paul Saenger, 1100-1400) Before this, letters and orations were meant to be spoken aloud. “Books of the ancient Romans were highly unsuited to visual reading and study because they did not contain punctuation, distinction between upper and lowercase letter, and no word separation.” (Viator,13) This evidence suggests silent reading was uncommon. The separation of words originated in manuscripts copied by Irish scribes in the 7th and 8th centuries. In the late 10th century this technique spread into Europe. At this time, scholars attempted to master new technical, philosophical and scientific classical texts, which essentially increased reading speed and began the process of rapid print copying. (Elspeth Jajdelska,1700)
Reading styles and techniques were also linked to religion. An example of this is shown through Christian scriptures. They relied more on “the written text of scripture rather than the verbal.” (Paul Saenger, 374) Some authors like The Roman Plutarch and Cicero praised the practice of reading aloud. They considered this practice to be an aid in memorization, along with the possession of multiple other benefits. Spiritual literature in the 14th century was meant to be read alone, it was used as a form of meditation. So, in this case reading was used as a silent and oral medium.
Once reading became silent, the construction of the library changed. Libraries relocated to central halls and evolved with fully furnished rooms. Services within the library also changed. Lending periods grew and reference books were left at the library, opposed to people being able to take them home. Books that were meant to be read silently differed from those meant to be read aloud because they were seen as a more visual complex medium. All of these changes marked, “the transformation from oral culture to visual culture.” (James Fenton, 2006) Now, not only did this shift in culture affect libraries but it also affected university structure. In the 13th century students had access to books therefore, they could follow along in the text during their university lectures. Essentially, this evolves reading as speaking to reading as hearing. (Cavallo,1999) This evolution made education more appealing to students, resulting in an increase of educated people and an increase of the publication of books.
With an increase of the publication of books people as individuals had their own reading to do therefore communities began to read silently. Thus, the development of culture became much more independent. This made it easier to cultivate individual opinions and subversive thoughts; it allowed people to be more private. “Instead of identifying with the writer as a speaker of his/her words, the reader becomes an internal hearer of the writers words.”(Aebersold, Jo Ann and Field M.L, 1997) Silent reading creates a different relationship between the writer and reader. Nietzsche notes he would read to himself, “in a loud voice.” He would use variations of tone and tempo. “If you put your ears away in a drawer you will miss the point of classical prose style, and your writing will lack substance.” (Friedrich Nietzsche, section 247) So, was the switch a positive or negative addition to society?