>> In a monastic community like Engelberg, the production of books was
subject to the superior’s permission and approval. For each volume, singular
provision had to be made, a capable workforce assembled, tasks
assigned, materials resourced, time carved out from the daily routine, and
licence granted, typically on a case-by-case basis. The Rule of St Benedict
stipulates that monks must not be given writing or bookmaking implements
without abbatial permission, ‘no book, no wax tablets, no stylus, nothing
whatsoever’ (‘neque codicem, neque tabulas, neque graphium, sed nihil
omnino’), at the same time as obliging the abbot to keep a list of whatever is
distributed and allocated with his authorisation
Interesting to compare this with a modern enterprise
>> the picture that emerges with increasing clarity
is one of relatively free and open access to books facilitated by large transinstitutional
networks and publishing communities.
The Protestant Reformation was in many ways a publishing revolution, where we went from the medieval production style to the modern one, courtesy of the Gutenberg printing press. I think the Internet is basically doing the same thing, albeit a little faster.
Information warfare starts at the level of controlling access to the ability to multiply information, such as presses, copying machines, internet routers and apparently medieval monks.
Highly recommend playing Pentiment. Good mystery adventure set in the backdrop of medieval Bavaria. Large part of the story happens in a monastery (and the surrounding town).
Interesting to compare this with a modern enterprise
>> the picture that emerges with increasing clarity is one of relatively free and open access to books facilitated by large transinstitutional networks and publishing communities.