MAC 105: BOOK PUBLISHING
LECTURE TWO: EMERGENCE OF WRITING, BOOK
PUBLISHING AND BOOK TRADE
Introduction
Writing, publishing and book trade passed through several
processes to arrive at their present forms. In this unit you shall
see all of the unrefined processes used in the ancient time to
their transition to modern times.
Objectives
At the end of this unit you should be able to explain the following
concepts;
Explain the emergence of writing
Explain the emergence of publishing and book trade
The Emergence of writing
Various forms of writing emerged at different times among
different societies. In this unit we are going to highlight the
emergence of writing systems at different times in the human
history.
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The earliest known form of writing developed among Sumerians
in Mesopotamia, between the river Tigris and Euphrates in the
present-day Iraq around 3200 BC. It is called Cuneiform from
Latin cuneus (wedge) because it was written by creating wedge-
shaped forms on wet clay tablets. Drawing is the origin of writing
all over the world. So most of the early writing systems were
pictograph in origin, in which an image or picture is used to
represent items and ideas. Inspired by the invention of writing
in Mesopotamia, the Egyptians around 3000BC also invented
their system of writing in form of Hieroglyphic system of writing,
though the signs of the two writing systems did not resemble
one another (Goody & Watt, 1963). Similarly, the Chinese
invented their system of writing along the Yellow River before
1200 BC. The Mesoamerican form of writing emerged in
Guatemala and Southern Mexico a little after 500 BC. Around the
same period, the North Semitic Phoenician writing system
emerged among Phoenicians along the eastern Mediterranean
cost. It is widely believed the Phoenicians system of writing is
the first attempt to use alphabets, where basic sounds of the
language were represented with a sign images to represent
objects or related concept. Thus, the writing is considered as the
mother of most modern writing systems including, Arabic and
English. In North Africa also, Libyan script was used around the
same period (Quellec, 2013).
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Most of these early systems of writing were used for centuries
or even millennia before they languished. Nevertheless, there
were other systems of writing that developed among human
cultures, some are yet to decipher or discover. Chinese writing
system is the only one of the earliest systems of writing still in
use. However, the North Semitic Phoenician writing system
became more influential than any other. Phoenicians were the
first to invent consonant letters or alphabet thus, the writing is
considered as the ancestor of most modern writing systems,
including Greek, Latin, Cyrillic, Arabic, Hebrew and probably also
the large number of Brahms-derived scripts in South and South-
East Asia. Phoenician writing may ultimately descend from
Egyptian writing, but this is uncertain.
It is important to note that, the modern alphabets in form of
consonants and vowels were invented by Greeks from
Phoenician writing about 750 BC. The Romans adapted the
system on Latin language that later became writing system of
the European countries. The system was transported to different
parts of the world through activities of the European imperialists
and later colonialists. Moreover, punctuations were used in very
erratic way until 15th century, before it was perfected by Italians
(Finkeistein & Alistrair, 2005 and Quellec, 2013).
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However, it is important to note that, early writings developed
around Egypt and Mesopotamia were regarded with scared and
divinely attributes. So, they were confined to temple rituals and
palace administrations (Finkeistein & Alistrair, 2005). Later the
Greeks amid of intense criticism employed the use of writing in
recording knowledge and literature (Ong, 2002). In addition, it
is believed that, until after the Renaissance in the16th century
writing skill and knowledge of writing were confined to the elite
social groups such as, the court, the law, monk and priest.
(Finkeistein & Alistrair, 2005).
In sub-Saharan Africa, different types of writing were invented
after the region had encounter with written cultures – the Arabs
or the Europeans. All the writing systems invented from 19th
century onward were either to accommodate or disrupt the
colonial domination (Quellec, 2013). However, various media
were used for writing. The ancient Sumerians used clay tablets,
the Egyptians used papyrus, the Greeks and Romans adopted
papyrus and later invented parchment and vellum. Paper was
invented in China in 800 AD and adopted by the Arabs. The
technology arrived at Europe and perfected from 12th to 16th
centuries.
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The Emergence of Publishing and Book Trade
After the invention of writing in Mesopotamia and Egypt around
3200BC, it took long time to be used as means of social
communication through which culture could be transmitted to
the subsequent generations. In Mesopotamia as in the Indus
river civilizations, writing was used to record commercial
transactions and account as well as rituals. But in Egypt and
China, writing was regarded as more scared art, so it was only
used in the temples to write divine words. As a result, it
transformed into the means of cultural transmission earlier in
Mesopotamia than in Egypt (Ong, 2002).
As the level of literacy increased is Mesopotamia, writing came
to be used in writing literature. Around 2000BC, Gilgamesh epic
(poem) that portrays story of Sumerian legendary hero that had
been told orally for generations was first recorded in cuneiform
writing. However, the tradition could not be sustain or further
develop. Literary writing could only spring up again during the
Greek civilization. The earliest literary works during this period
were the Homeric epics of Iliad and Odyssey. These works were
composed orally before the existence of the Greek alphabet, the
epics were not written down until sometime in the sixth century
BC. The Homeric Epics influenced the mentality of the Greeks in
thinking about war and what it means to be a hero. The Homeric
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epics were about the Trojan War, and became a source of
common values that all Greeks held dear. It was the foundation
of Greek education in the ancient periods and best source of their
history and values. Subsequently, many historians emerged, who
became famous in their historical writing. In addition, stage
dramas had also been put into writing (Berger, Parkinson, Isreal,
Reeves, Miller, & Williams, n.d.).
The Greeks love of wisdom against the background of free
thought and inquiry paved way to philosophical intellectualism
around 500s BC. The period produced great philosophers such
as Socrates (469-399BC) and Plato (429-347BC). Although
Socrates couldn’t put his wisdom into writing, rather he objected
to committing wisdom into writing. He was cautious about the
deleterious nature of writing. His disciple Plato was quite liberal
on putting his ideas into writing. Plato’s student Aristotle (384-
322) was so prominent in his intellectual writing. He wrote
treatises (books) on enormous number of subjects including,
ethics, logic, politics, poetry, astronomy, geology, biology and
physics. This period marks the beginning of manuscript culture
that culminated into book writing (Berger et al., n.d.).
During Hellenistic Period (323 – 146 BCE), the Greek world
witnessed a flourishing literary activities. The rulers of the period
favoured and subsidized literary activities. The period also saw a
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great outpouring of historical and biographical writing. It is
important to note that, the foundation of modern education was
laid down in the writing of the Greeks. These writings are
considered to be the classical literature of the world.
Unfortunately, many of the works could never survive the war
and destruction that followed with the rise of Roman civilization.
Later, Romans adopted Greek styles to write Latin literature from
the third century BCE onward. Romans composed their literary
works to express their lives mostly in form of poems and prose
(Berger et al., n.d.).
One of the major features of the Greek and Roman civilizations
is the book collecting activities. A lot of literary, historical and
scientific works were produced. The emergence of Christianity
couple with adaptation of writing to spread its messages
culminated in the birth of another genre of written works. These
works were preserved in libraries such as the Great Library of
Alexandria. Many philosophers and Roman generals had private
collections. With the collapse of the Roman Empire the written
works of the Greeks and Romans find their place in the newly
flourishing Muslim World (Berger et al., n.d).
The Abbasid Caliph, Haroun Al-Rasheed who reigned for 23
years from 786-809 with capital in Baghdad completed a
magnificent Scientific Academy (Majma' ‘Ilmi) which housed a
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huge bookstore (Khizanat Kutub) containing manuscripts about
various subjects in the Arts and the Sciences and in different
languages. The successor of Haroun Al-Rasheed, Al-Ma'moun
extended the project to be known as truly Dar Al-Hikma (House
of Wisdom). The House of Wisdom in Baghdad became the
centre for intellectual activities and book collecting of the period.
Translators, scientists, scribes, authors, men of letters, writers,
copyists and others used to meet every day for translation,
reading, writing, scribing, discourse, dialogue and discussion.
Many manuscripts in various scientific subjects and philosophical
concepts and ideas, and in different languages more especially
Greek were translated and preserved in Arabic language. The
caliphs pay a lucrative amount for book translation and
production. To increase the vigour of bookmaking in Baghdad
the paper milling factory, a technology brought from China was
first established in the 8th century. Based on the Baghdad model,
other Houses of Wisdom sprang up in major Muslims cities such
as Cordoba and Toledo in Al-Andalus (Spain) under the Umayyad
dynasty, Mosul, Basra, Shiraz, Rayy and Cairo under Fatimid’s
dynasty(Al-azzawi, 2018).
It is important to note that, in addition to the state-own book
collecting activities there were private book collectors who
gathered large number of manuscripts for their private use.
There were also schools of different sizes attached to mosque
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where book collecting activities were carried on. These activities
served as the conduit for recorded knowledge from the ancient
world to the Western Europe.
By the 11th century, Muslims influence was noticeable in many
European cities. This brought the manuscript culture to the
region. With the collapse of the Muslims empires most of the
manuscript holdings more especially from Al-Andalus, Cardoba
and Toledo escaped to Western Europe. Prior to that time, book
collecting activities in Western Europe were carried out and
controlled by monasteries. Most of the monasteries maintained
scriptoria where scribes copy manuscripts mostly of the Christian
theology. Few secular texts were produced. The manuscripts
were produced on parchment and vellum; if multiple copies need
to be produced the work had to be shared among a group of
scribes. So, the work was tedious and laborious requiring long
time to be completed as the copying could only be done on the
daylight (Al-azzawi, 2018).
The arrival of the manuscripts to Western Europe from the
Muslims world also met a boiling desire to read Greek secular or
pagan literature. So, this ignited intensive phase of translation
of the Greek philosophy and its commentaries as well as the
original work of the Muslims thinkers from Arabic language into
Western European languages. The text or script and other
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physical properties of writing as well as the book continued to
be perfected, so many innovations in book writing originated
from this period (Kwakkel, 2012 and McKitterick, 2012).
Interestingly, paper making technology also arrived at West
Europe in the 12th century. This was followed by the increase in
literacy level and the emergence of universities. These
developments converged to give rise for commercial scriptoria
that later satisfied the need for luxury reading. Till the end of the
14th century, manuscripts were copied by hands, so could only
be acquired by the wealthy (Muslim Heritage, 2018).
The need for text to satisfy religious and general readers led to
the Gutenberg invention of movable printing in the 15th century
transformed the book production and distribution. Now, there is
consistency and accuracy in text appearance. Books can be
produce in large quantities. The development brought speed in
the propagation of ideas on a much wider scope. Emergence of
print allowed for the emergence of more scriptoria, schools and
learning centers more especially during the renaissance from
14th to 16th centuries (Berger et al., n.d.). It is important to
note that, increase in the book production accelerated literacy
and in return further surge for the need of books again. Now the
book trade is created.
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The upsurge for books to read coupled with the introduction of
mechanical means of book production resulted in making the
book trade a more viable business. Book distribution networks
were established with points in commercial centres and cities
rather than universities and monasteries. International book fairs
were created and served as the centres for book collecting
activities. After a ferry boat and wagon were used to transport
books to various locations. However, until the 15th century, book
production, distribution and retail could be handled by a single
entity. But, towards the end of the 16th century, the scope of
book production and distribution could no longer be handled by
a single individual or company. This brought specialization along
the production and distribution line. Consolidation of the book
trade after the 17th century compelled the segmentation of the
book production and distribution process and set the stage for
the emergence of modern publishing industry. Now there are
many players in the book trade, publishers, printers, suppliers,
shippers, different set of agents, retailers, wholesalers and so on
and so forth. The period also witnessed the emergence of
newspapers as another genre of books. (Finkeistein & Alistrair,
2005). Publishers now prepare their stock list as publishers
catalogue. Aldus of France issued the first publishers catalogue
in 1498 (Berger, et al., n.d.).
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Nevertheless, development of manuscripts to printed book was
never a smooth progression. Print met with resistance especially
from the monks and clergymen. They opined that, print might
give way for the propagation of immoral and dangerous text that
might corrupt the mind. There was an argument that, common
man need not to see text directly. However, the human need to
satisfy his curiosity as well as the need to emancipate human
from the bondage of ignorance triumphed (Finlelstein &
McCleery, 2005).
Book production in form of manuscript started in earnest during
the Greek civilization. The tradition was still adopted during the
Roman civilization. The fall of the Roman civilization coincided
with the emergence of Islam which became the conduit of the
manuscript culture to the renaissance Europe. The manuscript
culture continued to be refined in the European continent.
Around the 15th century, printing machine was invented in the
continent, which served as cornerstone that transformed the
manuscript culture into print. Consequently, invention of print
led to the emergence of commercial scriptoria in European cities.
The development culminated in the birth of modern publishing
and book trade.
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Conclusion
Writing was invented gradually from Mnemonic not necessarily
with the intention to revolutionize human history. However, it
ultimately emerged as the tool that impacted the human fate.
Writing has become an important channel of communication,
preservation of human ideas, knowledge, beliefs, history,
technological development and societal transformation. In the
case of book production, it started in earnest during the Greek
civilization. The tradition was still adopted during the Roman
civilization. The fall of the Roman civilization coincided with the
emergence of Islam which became the conduit of the manuscript
culture to the renaissance Europe. The manuscript culture
continued to be refined in European continent. Around the 15th
century, printing machine was invented in the continent, which
served as cornerstone that transformed the manuscript culture
into print. Consequently, invention of print led to the emergence
of commercial scriptoria in European cities. The development
culminated in the birth of modern publishing and book trade.
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