The Written Word, the Printed Word, the Screen Word

John Bromyard reading in the Initial "P"

From John Bromyard, Summa praedicantium

15th century

Dijon - BM - inc. 20410, f. 001

Public Library, Dijon

John Bromyard (d. c. 1352) was an influential English Dominican friar and prolific compiler of preaching aids. His output of the written word on parchment and in print was prolific and influential

He lived at the Dominican priory at Hereford in England

His Summa Predicantium was  first printed about 1484 in Basel and went through several editions, the last in 1627 in Antwerp. 

Extracts are here

And now we are in the throes of another Information Revolution.

E-books and their progeny look as if they may replace ( in large part) the printed word on paper

In an article in the Financial Times, Julian  Baggini reflected on "Screen Culture"

He wrote:

"Choosing books to take on holiday has got more difficult in recent years. Now it is a question not just of what to read but how – on paper, tablet, e-reader, or perhaps even a phone – and people have strong opinions on which is best. But is there any more to the decision than cost and convenience? On this question, the answer suggested by numerous studies into the neuroscience and psychology of reading in different formats is an emphatic yes."