Marginalia in Parisian Historical Publications of the Second Half of the 16th Century in Russian and Franch Libraries

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of reader’s practices related to the several centuries of existence of French historical books of the second half of the 16th century, the books’ place in people’s lives and attitude to them. The study’s source base is represented by a body of identified book marginalia from the copies of Parisian publications stored in the National Library of France and the Rare Books Department (Book Museum) of the Russian State Library. The handwritten notes (396 marginalia have been identified and are being introduced into scientific circulation) that are dated belong to the second half of the 16th—20th centuries inclusive. In the second half of the 16th century, printed books in France became the determinant source of intellectual thought, and their role in the lives of educated people increased significantly. The spread of printed books, their influence on the minds of ordinary people and their authority in society contributed to the appearance of a large number of handwritten notes made by readers at different times and on different occasions.The author offers his own content-based classification of the body of marginalia identified by him and gives a detailed description of the studied material. There are three main groups of the marginalia: the records related to the content of the book, the records related to the book itself, and the records not related to the book. The first group consists of 2 types of records: textual records and comments. The second group is divided into 3 types: library records, owner’s records, and other informational records related to the content of the book. A separate group consists of the informational records that are not related to the book.The analysis made it possible to assess the information value and potential of marginalia as historical and psychological sources that allow (in combination with other sources) to study, in a historical context, the cultural and mental characteristics of people of different eras, the existence of books in society, and the book and library traditions of different regions of Europe.