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Material Texts: Eyal Poleg (Queen Mary, University of London), “The Limits of Book Technologies: The Messy Implementation of Novel Features in English Bibles, 1200-1600”

  • Monday, March 26, 2018 - 5:15pm to 7:00pm

Class of 1978 Pavilion in the Kislak Center
6th Floor of Van-Pelt Library


We will be welcoming Eyal Poleg for a talk entitled: “The Limits of Book Technologies: The Messy Implementation of Novel Features in English Bibles, 1200-1600.”Eyal writes:

The early thirteenth century saw the introduction of a truly novel book. The Late Medieval Bible revolutionised Bibles in size, aids, textual divisions and reading strategies. However, a closer look at the longue durée evolution of the Bible reveals just how hesitant was this transformation, in some instances taking over three centuries for changes to take effect. This paper will follow the materiality of Bibles and their use across print and reformations to question teleological undercurrents in religious- and book-histories.

Eyal Poleg is a senior lecturer in material history at Queen Mary University of London. He is currently writing a book on the materiality of the Bible in England, 1200-1600, the last installment in a trilogy on the medieval and early modern Bible.