Libraries and Books in Medieval England: The Role of Libraries in a Changing Book Economy

For too many years and in too many articles, books, and classrooms, the European medieval period was thought of as a time and place where learning, books, intellectualism, and scientific study were all left on the trash heap of history because people viewed them as insignificant in the closed-off, benighted society of this period. It was supposedly a time of darkness and a time of just trying to survive. Richard Sharpe, who unfortunately passed away before the publishing of this book, wanted to shine a light on the world of medieval England and continue the process of breaking out of this line of out-of-date thinking by showing the reader the rich, vibrant book economy and culture of the England of this period. This is the main goal at the heart of Libraries and Books in Medieval England: The Role of Libraries in a Changing Book Economy.Across the 132 pages of text and 39 pages of notes of this book (which started out as a Lyell Lectures series delivered by Sharpe between 2018 and 2019), Sharpe uses a strong combination of primary and secondary sources to show that England really did have a vigorous and rich book economy roughly between the years 1000 and 1550. Sharpe, a former professor of diplomatic at the University of Oxford, was one of the United Kingdom’s and the world’s great experts on medieval books and the culture associated with them. Sharpe spent decades dealing with and examining this history. From his numerous writings to the thirty years he spent managing the Corpus of British Medieval Library Catalogues, Sharpe was a master of book history, and it shows in Libraries and Books in Medieval England.From his use of works from scholars such as Neil Ker and sources such as the ongoing project Medieval Libraries in Great Britain and the Registrum Anglie, Sharpe shows how libraries, whether located in religious institutions like monasteries or in royal palaces or private residences, were available to be used, and were used, by each institution’s chosen community. Sharpe’s strong use of sources, both primary and secondary, and graphs, charts, and other pieces of information allow the reader to appreciate the abundance of evidence reflecting the strength and vitality of the book economy in medieval England. The author thus amply proves his argument that people used books as he reveals how books played a key role in English culture, trade, religion, and government during the period. His considerable research, along with his upfront writing style, makes Libraries and Books in Medieval England an extremely informative book and a dexterous blend of sources and prose.The strengths of this book are easy to see. The source use is highly skilled, and the writing is lucid, almost conversational, even as the author explains complex catalogs and other specialized topics. It is a book that carries the field forward by building off the works of others, including M. R. James, Christopher Cheney, and many more. He does this by using the primary sources that he has spent his career studying, managing, and sharing with others to show that medieval England wasn’t a dark and closed-off information space but rather a space rich with stories and evidence of those stories. If knowledge and knowledge production are like a relay race, this is a baton pass in the running of laps toward higher levels of knowledge. All this makes it a worthwhile book for those in the fields of library and book history or graduate students looking to gain admission to these fields.According to Sharpe, libraries and librarians come and go, but the information they hold and protect always will be there in one form or the other. Like librarians and libraries, Sharpe’s Libraries and Books in Medieval England will always be around and always be a memorable part of the great relay race that is academia. For that and more, it should be read, treasured, and thought about for many years to come.