The concept of the professional writer has changed wildly over the years, and are indeed still changing to this day. What this texts is going to focus on specificity is the invention of the printing press in Europe, and what that meant for the world of the written word, both socially, cultural and economically.
The manuscript and the ideal text
The ideal text is a concept within many fields of research, and has number of different connotations. In this text we are interested in the concept in therms of literary and writing history. The concept of the ideal text in this context is a text that is as close to the authors original intent or “original text”. In order to create these ideal texts are usually many different translations and editions used, to see which parts and passages that seems to correlate the best with each other. From these different editions is a so called Ideal text created. This text would then work as a basis, or a reference point for further studies.
One good example of such an ideal text would be certain plays made by Shakespeare, of which we only have second hand notes and recordings off. Plays being a personal property of the theatre troupe, and never shared outside the company, was the only way to acquire other theatres plays, to sit in the audience and try to record it line for line.
To understand the cultures of the medieval scribe work, and how the printing press changed it, one must first understand the concept of the Manuscript. The Manuscript of the medieval European scribes, and their coupes across the world is in and of themselves unique items. Each and every one of them created by a person, at a specific point in time. Things like spelling and grammar errors, translations errors, as well as corrections to these errors, al leads to the further differentiation of a text. Furthermore were many scribes not just tasked with creating an item of functionality, but also of creating an articulacy of value and beauty.
One of the results of this is the fact that we need to conciser that, unlike a published and printed book, was these manuscripts made for a specific individual, or a small collection of individuals rather then for a public.
Many manuscripts were made for specific nobility or other inportant individuals, and it was not uncommon for historical or religious texts to be custom tailored to collaborate the stories and features of the ancestors of the chosen patron. These texts were, and still are considered great works of art for a very good reason, as many features large masterfully made artworks, as well as pretentious and rare materials, such as gold and rare pigments.
The medieval scribe
The image most have of the medieval scribe is of an elderly monk sitting hunches over his text books and slowly tracing the words and images of his predecessors. The work of the medieval scribe was indeed a lot mover involved then that, and often included correcting spelling errors or factual problems that the author has left in, (and accordantly creating their own errors from time to time). The work for the scribe was often seen to be of just as an inportant and vital task as the original author, and the two were seen as co creators for each work. It was indeed a common practice for the scribe to make themselves a small portrait in the manuscripts themselves.
The creation of each and every manuscript was as a result a unique and one of a time production, and each object that was created in this was was as well, a unique artefact. This will be put in to contrast of the mass produced series of identical texts possible with the invention of the printing press.
The printing press and the question of ownership
The concept of copy rite and ownership relay came to a head when the printing press and its use became more and more widespread. It became more and more easy to copy, redistribute and acquire the written word. This did do a lot of good for he spread of art, culture and science, as well as differing political ideals. One group that was both gained from, and suffers at the hands of the printing press was the authors of these new texts.
The authors of the renaissance had a vast new audience of hungry readers, but no clear way of safety monetizing said market. It was not uncommon to acquire books form other printers, and then undersell them by producing cheaper copies. These infringements was mostly done over national borders, and a few duchies of the holy Roman empire was nutritious for these bootlegging printers. They acquired books form across the border, and then managed to make significantly cheaper copies, due to them not needing to pay the original author.
The difficulty of the author, and publishers to properly monetize their products lead to the invention of more clear and universal copy write law. In order to properly push their newfound claims. To be able to properly make these claims, a new image of the author had to be created.
Copywriting and the idea of the author
The idea of the author of a author as a a unique genius, that springs original concepts from their very essence is a relatively new one as well, one which origin can be argued to be traced to (at least in Europe) the invention and refinement of the printing press.
In order to protect the writers livelihood in this new environment, was an image of the proses of writing, and the author was needed. German authors in particular was hurt by the introduction of the printing press, and its consequences for their ability to protect their economic safety. The concepts of a writer living solely on sales of reprints of their books are a relatively new concept in Europe. Before was writers usually paid on commissions, or even more often, by patronage of a noble or other rich individual. This new writers found themselves completely without any sort of safety net. In order to make sure these writers could protect their income and works, would they need to reinvent the very role of the author (Woodsmansee 1994). I will here present two different definitions of the author, and how it relates to the medieval manuscript.
The inspired craftsman
The renaissance, and pre printing press idea of the writer, was mainly that of a craftsman. An individual that has learned a trade, and applies heir tools, experience and the knowlage of previous craftsmen to create new works out of existing myths, stories and narratives. Much like a carpenter works with already existing wood, so does the writer work with pre existing themes and ideas. (Woodsmansee 1994)
When a writer seemingly created a completely new topic or concept, this was not attributed to the individual themself, but rather to some sort of divine or supernaturally inspirational force, be it a deity or a creatures such as a muse. Note that this puts the professional writer, in the position of a vessel for other ideas and beings, rather then being the originator of said ideas themselves. (Woodsmansee 1994)
The lone artist
After the introduction of the printing press, and the coming of the enlightenment, did another concept of the writer, the artist. This individual worked towards unevenness and individuality, they were the sole source of their work, and as a result the sole owner of it as well. Their inspiration came from within, lacking any mundane or supernatural force of inspiration. Because the writer is the single originator of the text, they also held the single credit and responsibility for the text, and as a result, also the single monetary and intellectual rights to it. (Woodsmansee 1994)
The influences of craftsmanship also disappeared gradually, and was instead replaced by the concept of solitary artistry. A similar trend could be found in al of the disciplines that would later be known as the “fine arts”. These being dance, theatre, paining, sculpting and writing. In al these disciple was there a clear move made to make a distinction between the crafts and the arts, as well as elevating the later over the former.
Conclusions
What I have tried to present here is a n introduction is a shift in mentality and reality of both the author and the book as an item when the printing press was fully introduced in Europe. With the artefact created going from a physical unique item, to the ethereal idea of the Text, so did the image of the writer go from the craftsman scribe, to the artist writer.
Sources
P.F.F. (2006). Manuscript, not Print: Scribal Culture in the Edo Period. The Journal of Japanese Studies 32(1), 23-52. doi:10.1353/jjs.2006.0016.
Woodmansee, Martha (1994). The author, art, and the market: rereading the history of aesthetics. New York: Columbia University Press
An Unused Frequency 