Books by Brian (University of Leeds) Richardson

This book is a detailed treatment of the continuing use of scribal transmission in Renaissance Italy and offers both an abundance of new material on the circulation of texts and a model for how to study the cultures of manuscript and print in early modern Europe.

The spread of printing to Renaissance Italy had a huge impact in Italy and across Europe: works were diffused more widely and cheaply, reading became more popular and writers had to adapt to new technologies. This is the first full-length study of printing, writing and reading at this crucial period.

The emergence of print gave new importance to editors, who determined the form and context in which texts would be read. Brian Richardson examines the Renaissance production and reception of works by Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio and others, and explores the impact of new printing and editing methods on Renaissance culture.