Historical Considerations
Cultural Recycling and Ordering Knowledge in the French Library From the Seventeenth to the Nineteenth Century
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Alix Mazuet
This paper analyzes the process of ordering knowledge in the French library, from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century, within the discourse of cultural recycling. As Silvestra Mariniello explains, recycling consists in reestablishing the epistemological models of the order that are or have been threatened. "The discourse of recycling participates, among other functions, in reestablishing order.” Viewed from this standpoint, the manner in which the space of knowledge is delineated at a given time helps implement a specific ideology or mode of thought—be it new (French republican ideology after monarchism) or not (eruditio in face of eloquence françoise)—by making certain texts more readily available to readers than others. In this sense, the epistemological reordering of knowledge enables power structures in place in the library to shape, if only in part, the cultural heritage so that it can represent a specific system of values and beliefs.
Early Modern Print Publishings
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session John Roger Paas
In the early modern period popular prints were produced for a mass market and tell us much about the historical and cultural context at the time. Regrettably, much of this important visual material has been lost, so that frequently we have only a handful of prints from publishers who were active for decades. An exception is the publishing firm of the Altzenbachs, who were at the center of the print trade in Cologne from roughly 1609 to 1680. I have been able to locate over 600 prints that they published, and these reveal the depth and breadth of their activities. They help to bring us closer to understanding the business practices of early print publishers, men who had to be shrewd businessmen in a very competitive market. My talk will be illustrated with numerous images.
From Manuscript to Print: The Case of Maestro Martino's "Libro de Arte Coquinaria"
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Lino Mioni
Maestro Martino's "Libro de Arte coquinaria" - composed in the second half of the fifteenth century - is considered pivotal in the transition from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance in terms of culinary and gustatory taste and will lead to the sixteenth century monumental culinary treatises of the Italian tradition: Messisbugo’s Banchetti (1549) and Scappi’s Opera (1570). This presentation focuses on the appropriations in print of Maestro Martino’s work: Platina’s "De Honesta Voluptade et Valedutine"(1474), the "Opera Nova Chiamata Epulario" (1516), and the "Opera Dignissima" (1530). Platina’s work is situated within a humanistic perspective in which order and misura should govern and organize human life: his De Honesta Voluptade et Valetudine, the first printed book with instructions for food preparations, was an extraordinary editorial success translated in French, vernacular Italian, and German. On the other hand, The "Opera Nova Chiamata Epulario" and the "Opera Dignissima" represent a new attitude towards recipe collections. In their introductions, both works define the goal of the publication: for the first time, a cookbook has a specific declared function. A detailed bibliographical analysis of the editorial history of these printed works reveals how printers and editors helped define the cookbook as a literary and editorial genre.
