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Where do they find the time?

Article Excerpt
In 1492, while Christopher Columbus was exploring the Atlantic Ocean in search of the Indies, Johannes Trithemius, the Abbot of Sponheim in western Germany, was struggling against the disruptive impact of the printing press. Johannes Gutenberg had invented movable type around 1439, making it possible to print a book faster than a person could read the book. This famously ushered in a new age of literacy and a transformation of society that included the Protestant Reformation. But, 50 years after its introduction, Abbott Trithemius was facing the concrete effects of the printing press on the monks and scribes whose sole mission in life was to transcribe appropriate materials for the reading public.

For 50 years both methods of book production had existed in parallel, but it was becoming increasingly obvious that the life and mission of the scribe was being eliminated one book at a time. Trithemius finally resorted to writing a treatise on the importance of maintaining the life of the scribe in society. He produced De Laude Scriptorum ("In Praise of Scribes"), in which he laid out the values and virtues of the scribal tradition. He described four benefits that accrue from writing books versus printing them: 1) the precious time of human life is valuably spent; 2) the scribe's understanding is enlightened as he writes; 3) his heart is kindled with devotion through his writing; and 4) after this life,...

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