Involving Readers

Practices of Reading, Use, and Interaction in Early Modern Dutch Bibles (1522–1546)

Series: 

Author:
Renske A. Hoff
This volume explores how and by whom early modern Dutch Bibles were used. Through a detailed analysis of paratextual features and readers’ traces in over 180 surviving Bible copies, Renske Hoff shows how individuals manifested their faith in owning, reading, and personalising the Bible, in a period characterised by religious turmoil.
From nuns and countesses to tailors and merchants: Bibles were read by a diverse public. Printer-publishers shaped the contents and paratextual features of their Bible editions to suit the varied wishes of the reading public. Readers themselves added marginalia, corrected the text, or pasted texts and images in their books, displaying their creativity as users as well as stressing the malleability of the material Bible.
Copyright Year:
2025
E-Book (PDF)
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69652-5
Publication:
19 Aug 2024
Hardback
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Published
ISBN:
978-90-04-69651-8
Publication:
23 Sep 2024
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About MyBook
Renske A. Hoff, PhD (2022, University of Groningen and KU Leuven) is Assistant Professor of Middle Dutch Literature at Utrecht University. She specialises in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century book history, with a particular focus on the use of religious manuscripts and early printed books.
Acknowledgements
List of Figures and Tables
Abbreviations
Note on Translations and Quotations

1 Introduction
 1 Bible Production in Antwerp, ca. 1500–1550
 2 Jacob van Liesvelt and Henrick Peetersen van Middelburch
 3 A History of Reading: Developments and Approaches
 4 Research Corpus and Scope
 5 Formative Spaces and Transformative Practices: Structure of the Study

Part 1: Formative Spaces: Paratext and the Construction of Meaning and Reading Practice


Introduction to Part 1

2 Constructive Paratext: Shaping an Active Reader and Framing the Text
 1 Blank Space: Flyleaves, Margins, and Indentations
 2 Title Pages
 3 Prologues
 4 Calendars and Almanacs
 5 Terminal Paratext
 6 Conclusion

3 Directive Paratext: Shaping Understandings and Facilitating Discontinuous Practices
 1 Printed Marginalia: Letters, Manicules, Cross-references, and Glosses
 2 Intertitles and Summaries
 3 Woodcuts and Maps
 4 Table of Contents
 5 Liturgical Reading Aids
 6 Topical Register
 7 Conclusion

Part 2: Transformative Practices: Readers’ Responses, Adjustments, and Traces


Introduction to Part 2

4 The Life of the Book: an Overview of Traces, Readers, and Owners
 1 A Categorisation of Traces of Reading, Use, and Ownership
 2 The Omnipresence of Traces
 3 A Sociography of Book Owners
 4 Conclusion

5 Dynamic Interactions with Text and Paratext
 1 Reflecting on Textual and Paratextual Content
 2 Accommodating Reading Practices
 3 Conclusion

6 Interacting with the Book as Object
 1 Assessing Identity
 2 Leaving Material Traces
 3 Conclusion

7 Conclusions

Appendix: Overview of Owners and Traces
Bibliography
Index
This book will be of particular interest to academics interested in early printed books, religious history, biblical studies, or the reformation, as well as to anyone interested in the material (early modern) book.
Keywords: Book history; history of reading; Dutch language and culture; readers; Bible reading; marginalia; readers’ traces; paratext; history of religion; history of Christianity; early modern Christianity; reformation; sixteenth century; Low Countries; Jacob van Liesvelt; Henrick Peetersen van Middelburch; early modern printing; post-incunables; publishers; vernacular religion; early modern Protestantism; early modern Catholicism; renaissance; woodcuts; Antwerp; materiality of the book.
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