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Eyal Poleg. A Material History of the Bible: England 1200–1553. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2020. Hardcover or ebook, xxxiv, 227p. £67.00/US$90.00 (ISBN 978-0-19-726671-7). Reviewed by Jonathan Lawler.
Studying the intersection of book materiality, culture, religion, politics, and commerce is a valuable endeavor for special collections librarians and archivists. Each era’s unique amalgam of political intrigue, cultural transformation, religious beliefs, and commercial dealings is reflected in book production. The materiality of the book provides insight into a particular time and place. Eyal Poleg in A Material History of the Bible: England 1200–1553 investigates how Bibles served as mirrors “for technological innovation and religious reform” (xiii). Both the creation and use of Bibles in England between 1200–1553 aids understanding the broader religious, political, and cultural issues and movements of the period. Poleg’s research process itself, addressed throughout the volume, includes information important to current librarianship and archival practice.
Poleg employs clear chapter arrangement and helpful supplements. The book consists of five chapters that are arranged chronologically with each chapter exploring “a distinct type of Bible and its period” (xiv). The chronological arrangement does not imply equal attention to each era, however. Rather, Poleg perceives a need to commit a larger portion of his treatment to the era 1535–1553. Chapter 1 addresses the Late Medieval Bible while chapter 2 looks at Wycliffite Bibles. These two chapters cover a period of two hundred years (1230s–1430s). The next three chapters cover only a period of 18 years (1535–1553) and address the first printed English Bible (chapter 3), the Great Bible (chapter 4), and the Bibles of Edward VI (chapter 5). The rise and adoption of print technology in these 18 years brought about an “ever-faster pace in the material history of the Bible in England” (191).
The author also effectively conveys information through front matter and appendices. The front matter includes a list of abbreviations, a list of figures, a preface, acknowledgments, conventions, a glossary, and an introduction. The glossary is particularly helpful for readers unfamiliar with the terminology surrounding book production and religious practice in the late medieval to early modern period. The list of abbreviations includes abbreviations for the libraries Poleg consulted while conducting his research. Libraries include the British Library London (BL), the Bodleian Library Oxford (Bodl.), and Cambridge University Library Cambridge (CUL). Such abbreviations appear throughout the volume for citation purposes, often in relation to photographs or scans of manuscripts. Three appendices provide further information about the Bibles Poleg studies. These include Late Medieval Bibles (Appendix 1), Great Bibles produced during the reign of Henry VIII (Appendix 2), and single-volume Bibles printed during the reign of Edward VI (Appendix 3). Each appendix consists of a detailed chart that includes basic information about these Bibles and tracks their similarities and differences. The appendices provide further detail into aspects of Bible production which Poleg skillfully introduces with illustrations.
The 47 illustrations included within the volume are a strong point of the book. The hardcover edition is printed on semi-gloss paper and includes full-color photographs of manuscripts. Such photographs of sources are vital guides to the reader. One notable example is Poleg’s use of high-quality reproductions of Great Bibles (123–129).
The title pages of the selected Great Bibles provide evidence for understanding the shifting political winds during Henry VIII’s reign. The title page design clearly shows the change in Thomas Cromwell’s status in the eyes of Henry VIII. An image of Cromwell, including his coat of arms, is placed in a prominent location in the first edition of the Great Bible (123). After Cromwell’s execution in July 1540, the producers of the Great Bible changed the title page to remove the image of the “traitor.” Due to the prohibitive costs of replacing the entire woodcut, they simply erased Cromwell’s coat of arms, leaving an empty circle in a prominent location on the page (128). Poleg notes that this served to remind “readers of the fate of those who oppose Henry” (127). The book’s content is reinforced through the wise choice of such illustrations. These illustrations also help reveal the craft of Bible production between 1200–1553.
The author employs a winsome writing style throughout the book. He facilitates a connection between the reader and the selected Bibles by making modern comparisons. Referring to word processor font size helps readers grasp the size text used in Late Medieval Bibles (4). Comparing the costs of the Great Bible to an average salary puts the prohibitive cost of the Great Bible for most lay people into perspective (130). He also refers to the Glossa ordinaria as “akin to a medieval coffee-table book” (16), likens the embrace of simplicity by the stationers of the Late Medieval Bible to Apple designs (17), and notes how the lives of “crooks” intersected with Scripture (90, 113). Poleg also makes insightful connections between the material addressed in different chapters. His extensive research is evident throughout the text.
Of particular interest to special collections librarians and archivists is Poleg’s interaction with library staff. Such interaction is clearly seen in Poleg’s study of annotations. Annotations and glosses are an important aspect of the materiality of the Bible during the late medieval to early modern period. They often reflect the cultural, religious, and political shifts addressed in the volume. While the craftsmen producing the Great Bible erased Cromwell in later editions for political purposes, owners of Bibles would also eliminate material for similar reasons. An example is the Matthew Bible which included notes (original to publication) from a reformist perspective. A 1537 copy of a Matthew Bible includes evidence of alteration by a later owner. The owner “systematically obliterated all the notes with brown paint” (119). This action allows one to glean insight into the owner’s theological perspective—one at odds with a reformist view.
Poleg’s attention to annotations provides librarians and archivists an opportunity to consider how such research interests relate to their reference services. During the author’s research, he analyzed a Berthelet Bible which appeared to be a copy with almost no annotations. However, he noticed that a full sheet was pasted over the verso of the title page to hide a previous owner’s annotations. With the assistance of a professor of 3D x-ray imaging at Queen Mary University of London, Poleg used “backlight and long exposures … in bringing the annotations to view, which were then digitally subtracted from the printed text” (108). The most striking and valuable illustrations of the book are photographs documenting this process (109–114). Librarians and archivists should consider this author’s discoveries and be open to similar research in their repositories. The example of an x-ray imaging expert using technology to assist a library patron alerts librarians and archivists to the importance of productive partnerships with other, at times unexpected, professions or departments.
Illustrations, such as those revealing an innovative use of technology, are generally a strength of the book. At times, however, the quality of photographs is insufficient. Poleg references Figure 1.1 to identify an element of Late Medieval Bibles that spans across both pages (8). However, only one page in Figure 1.1 is in focus. The blurred effect produced on the opposite page hinders the reader’s ability to see what is referred to within the text (2). Additions to some illustrations would better aid the reader. At times, figures are used to compare sizes between different Bibles (Figures 2.1, 5.3, and 5.4). A standard unit of measure (such as a ruler) included within the image itself would provide a helpful baseline for comparing sizes.
An additional weakness pertaining to illustrations is the author’s, at times, confusing reference to figures. When analyzing Grafton’s 1553 Bible, Poleg draws the reader’s attention to Figure 5.7 noting the running title and marginal notes. The next sentence, however, provides an example of a passage (1 Samuel 14) that is different than the passage of Figure 5.7 (Genesis 25-26). While Genesis 25-26 is referenced on the next page, uniting the initial in-text example with that of the figure directly above would have provided clarity (178-179).
The inclusion of permalinks for citations would also strengthen the work. Web addresses are cited throughout the book but do not include permalinks for long-term access, possibly because they were not available to Poleg. The lack of permalinks places stumbling blocks in the path of readers who desire to access cited material. The author cites a link for Huntington Library’s MS HM 26061 (29), but the item is no longer hosted at the cited web address. The absence of permalinks highlights a pressing issue affecting most libraries. Librarians should consider how researchers like Poleg would benefit from an agreed upon method of providing access to important library material via permalinks. Libraries can support users in this area by promoting and supporting projects such as Perma.cc or other avenues intended to provide stable links.
While the title may suggest otherwise, this book will not effectively support research projects focusing on the theology of the covered era, as theology is only tangentially addressed. Researchers interested in the years 1200-1534 may similarly be disappointed in this text. They will not find the depth of information that this book brings to the narrower era of 1535-1553. That said, however, the experienced researcher of the era of English history covered by this book, especially 1535-1553, will gain from Poleg’s systematic analysis. However, the readers who will benefit most are undergraduate and graduate students studying the medieval to early modern period. Librarians who serve these students will also derive significant benefit from Poleg’s work.
A Material History of the Bible: England 1200–1553 helps all readers grasp how the materiality of books reveals aspects of an era’s culture, politics, religion, commerce, and technology. Layout, artwork, size, notes, and annotations shed light on aspects of late medieval to early modern history in England. Throughout his work, Poleg draws attention to “conflicting forces of reform and tradition, of innovation and technological limitations, [which] all came to the fore in the development of Bibles” (117).
Librarians’ and archivists’ careful study of this book will produce better informed professionals. Not only does the book provide information pertinent to Bibles but it also includes analysis applicable to the broader context of manuscript creation in England between 1200–1553. The technology used in Bible production may reflect that used in the creation of other books with which library professionals regularly work. Librarians and archivists must also consider this work’s contributions to the study of annotations and the use of technologies to discover hidden qualities of all types of books. A Material History of the Bible: England 1200–1553 will edify special collections librarians and archivists whether or not they regularly engage with the specific material addressed. This volume deserves a place on the bookshelf of librarians and archivists.
—Jonathan Lawler, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary