Book-borrowing in the early Middle Ages: a case study of Servatus Lupus (c. 805–862)

Abstract

During the so-called ‘Carolingian Renaissance’, books circulated fluidly through networks that linked monasteries, schools, and private libraries. Some manuscripts were transported in order to serve as exemplars to copy and verify corrupted texts. Through complex social mechanisms, manuscripts were exchanged between scholars in the ninth century. The letters of Servatus Lupus, also called Lupus of Ferrières, suggest that the practice of lending was a social process primarily based on trust, reputation, and mutual obligation between scholars. This paper proposes a new understanding of the social mechanisms involved in the circulation of manuscripts during the peak of book production in the Carolingian period.