Ray, AJ; (2016) The pecia system and its use in the cultural milieu of Paris c1250 to 1330. Doctoral thesis , UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

This thesis is an examination of the pecia system in operation at the University of Paris from c1250 to 1330, and its use in the cultural milieu of the city during this period. An appendix (1) lists the manuscripts with user notes on which the thesis is primarily based. As the university community rose as a leading force in theology and philosophy, so too did the book trade that supported this network. The pecia system of book production mass-produced texts efficiently and at a low cost to its users, mainly university masters, students, preachers, and visitors to the Paris cultural community. Users interacted with pecia manuscripts by leaving a wide range of marginalia in works. Marginalia are classified according to a devised user typology scheme and include ownership marks, passage summaries, and comments on the main text. We have two further surviving sources for the Paris system: bookseller lists of pecia-produced works from 1275 and 1304. Chapters 1 to 10 examine separate genres of texts available on the pecia lists, theological and philosophical works as well as preaching aids. That Paris pecia manuscripts were used in action as preaching aids is one of the conclusions the user notes help to establish. Another is that Paris pecia manuscripts were important in English intellectual life (Chapter 11). The codicological and textual examinations of individual manuscripts and user notes present within reveal the function and intended audience of each genre as a whole, providing unique insight into the workings of the medieval cultural community at Paris in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

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