reading practices in Europe, part 2
Ancient Rome
Recently I got interested in different issues devoted to reading strategies people have been using throughout history. When they started to read, how and what they read, when they began to read silently, etc. So I started a series of posts devoted to reading practices in different epochs in Europe. The first post was about Ancient Greece, you can read it here. In this post, I will explore the specifics of reading practices in Ancient Rome.
Ancient Rome
(753 BC — 476 AD)
Who reads books?
In the first centuries of Rome’s existence, the written culture was spread only among the members of the religious colleges and patrician families — i. e., among those whose responsibility was to keep the basic of knowledge about religion, manage justice, tell the time and remember the sequence of the important events. The texts which could be conditionally defined as literature existed only in the inner circle of the ruling class and were connected with their specific lifestyle. Those were epitaphs, master’s reports they were writing at the end of their tenure and city’s annals [1].
Reading in Ancient Rome was considered to adorn traditionally educated social classes, which sought to imitate aristocrats in this regard.
Home library testified to the status of its owner — each wealthy man was supposed to have it, even if he was not enough educated and could barely read. Since then books and reading have become one of the characteristics of belonging to the highest levels of society.
The new reader of the early period of the Roman Empire* was the reader who was not obliged to read by his position as an educated person/teacher/student or military man. He read for pleasure, out of habit and out of respect for culture [1].
*The Roman Empire was the post-Republican state of ancient Rome (27 BC — 476 AD).
The number of readers in the period of Empire increased greatly and as a result mass literature appeared, the literature which aimed to entertain. Mass literature of that time was represented in such genres as poetry of dreams, translations of famous epic works, small culinary books and books with physical exercises, essays on how to spend free time, works on magic, etc. Different groups of readers read practically the same texts, and the difference was in the ways they read, the depth of their comprehension and their ability to evaluate the text [1].
During the period of Empire also more and more women learnt to read and write. Although the entry of women into the world of reading was difficult. The public opinion of Romans which was shared by some writers was that it would be better if a woman understood nothing of what she read, because there was nothing more intolerable than an educated woman.
How people read?
Before II — III BC the expression «to read a book» meant «to read a scroll». The scroll was to be held in the right hand, while the reader would gradually unwind it with the left. The left hand was supposed to fold the part which has already been read. In order to support the scroll one could use a pupitre. It would be either laid on the knees (when reading seated) or set on its high-leg. Thanks to Roman iconography we know, that at that period, just like now, reading was a free activity both in terms of time and place and in terms of choice of the posture. Roman iconography captured the reader alone with a book, in front of an audience of listeners, it captured a traveler that would read sitting in a carriage, a man reading a scroll during his meal and a girl reading in a portico, etc [1].
The most common way to read (not regarding the content of the text) was reading aloud — just like in Ancient Greece. People used the verb cantare for describing the process of reading of poetical texts. Cantare means «to sing». They used it, because these texts required expressive reading accompanied by modulations of voice, tone and rhythm [1].
The voice of the reader was a part of the written texts on all stages of its existence.
By the way, the medicine of that epoch considered reading to be one of the exercisers useful for health! Because reading required considerable physical effort — not only the uttering of the text as such, but also the active gesticulation of head, arms and chest [1].
Reading texts was often public. Authors were reading their texts aloud in public places, clubs, theatres and halls for meetings. These events were called recitatio (reading of your text aloud). These readings turned into literary and social ritual and this attracted a diverse contingent of people. Due to this authors could share their new texts with a much wider range of people, than his actual readership [1].
In the I century B. C. Romans gained a habit of reading alone. This happened due to the emergence of the phenomenon of private life in Roman culture. By that time reading of Greek authors has already been quiet common among the members of the Roman ruling class. People read at home on their own or with the help of slaves or home readers. Silent reading existed, although it was much less widespread [1].
In Antiquity, unlike today, the ability to read silently was not considered to be a sign of good reading skills. It was rather a result of free choice, caused by various factors, including the mood of the reader.
I. e., many of those who read silently could under certain circumstances read aloud as well.
Which problems ancient Romans faced when reading?
Except professionals and people who had good reading skills, others read slowly and with difficulty. This happened due to several reasons.
First, the font. There were 3 types of font: calligraphic, semi-italic and italic. People who could read one of these fonts did not necessarily know all the others [1].
Secondly, continuous writing. In other words, writing without spaces between words, just like in Ancient Greece. This difficulty did not allow an untrained reader quickly define words’ boundaries [1].
It was exactly for understanding the continuous writing that ancient readers needed their voice. Because when the graphic structure is deciphered, hearing better than vision captures the sequence of words and the meaning of the phrase.
That is why good reading required not only good practical and intellectual skills, but also the preliminary preparation. One needed to separate the words from each other beforehand, mark the places where the pause or interrogative intonation (intonation of question) was needed and split poetic text into verses [1].
Did libraries exist at that time?
The first Roman private libraries were composed of trophy books. Libraries of Greek scholars would be considered samples for them. But even before the libraries as such appeared there existed residences, patrician villas which were conceived as places where people could spend leisure time with books and friends. These places were kind of a decoration which served as a background for the educated elites when their members were reading. These private libraries were opened for outsiders (but only to those who belonged to the «higher caste»). This indicated, that society’s demand for reading was much higher, than in the recent past. But the private libraries could not satisfy it, because the level of the books’ production was low [1].
How the reading patterns influenced the creation of books?
The Age of Empire saw the spread of «literature for literate», which was slightly different from the traditional literature addressed to more educated readers. The reading environment has become more complex and diverse, and authors were trying to make their texts not only captivating, but also convenient for the readers [1].
For example, code books appeared at that time. A code book is a book with pages — this differs the code from the scroll. They are easier and faster to produce, they save space (because you can write on both sides of the paper), and the code also costs less than a scroll. Finally, the reader’s second hand is freed (because he does not need to hold the scroll anymore) and that is also convenient [1].
Another change is associated with the advent of the code: the code combined several texts, which could be interconnected (if there were several works by one author in ode code — a collection of stories, for example), or could be completely unrelated. Because of this, the book ceased to be associated with one story. Several texts could be placed in one book as an object, the quality and volume of which were not dictated by the technical conditions of production. Finishing a book now meant reading the entire code, even if it consisted of several texts. It was the emergence of codes that led to the intensive use of publishing techniques: different fonts decorated with ornaments and highlighted colors, formulas — «the book ends» and «the book begins» (to indicate the boundary between the end of one text and the beginning of another), etc [1].
Reading fiction for rest was replaced by reading which implied interpretation of the text and reflection on what was read.
Previously (in the early imperial period) there were many texts which were distributed among readers of various levels. The code restructured reading patterns towards a small number of works (primarily biblical and legal), which were read, reread, divided into quotations, and learned by heart. In late Antiquity, any authority relied on these texts, that is, on the book and reading. And they were personified by the code [1].
Illiteracy which became noticeable already in the IV century only began to worsen further. By the V century, the habit of reading remained only among church ministers.
That is how it worked in Ancient Rome. The next post in this series will be about the Middle Ages, stay tuned!
P.
Literature:
- Cavallo G., Chartier R. Hitoire de la lecture dans le monde occidental. Moscow, 2008. 544 p.
