Innovation and Inertia:
The End of Medieval Scribes
(THEEND)
Project at the Faculty of Arts of Charles University in Prague
supported by the Czech Ministry of Education within the ERC CZ scheme
Scope: 2-year fixed-term contract, October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2026
Project summary:
Among the many ways of defining the end of the Middle Ages, the introduction of the printing press is significant: it initiated a cultural transformation, similar to the current transition to the digital. Print reduced the costs and the time needed for textual production. Yet, scribes continued to copy in unprecedented intensity until the end of the 15th century and long after. Whereas most historians have explored the growing diffusion of print, this project analyses the work of scribes c. 1450–1500 to explain the process that eventually brought a well-established practice to an end.
The basic question that this research seeks to answer is: Why do we stick to doing things the way we are used to doing them even when there are easier, faster and more efficient ways to achieve the same goals? Applying a variety of approaches (including data analysis and digital humanities), the project attempts to conceptualize, model and test the wider applicability of inertia (without its usual a priori negative evaluation). The persistence of manuscript culture at the end of the medieval era will be compared to the enduring of present day publication practices, i.e. the current boom in printing, in spite of the digital revolution.
This project will not only bring forth a model for the complex reasons behind the perseverance of ingrained behaviour in the face of more advantageous alternatives. It will also reshape the discussion on ways of exploring, grasping and communicating processes of change.
Qualifications:
Essential qualifications (applicable to all positions):
- Demonstrable competence in English
- High reading ability in Latin
- Willingness to work in an interdisciplinary team
- Willingness to participate in training and development activities
Desirable qualifications (applicable to all positions):
- Working knowledge of Medieval Latin philology and/or palaeography
- Experience in editing, DH, of working with manuscripts and manuscript libraries
- Competence in other medieval and modern languages
Eleven positions advertised:
1. Two “Pre-PhDs” (either have received M.A. degree or to receive it by 09/2025)
Research on core themes in the project. The task is to prepare a PhD project on theme relevant to THEEND, apply with it to Charles University PhD program in Medieval Latin Studies in April 2025, and begin to study in PhD program at Charles in October 2025. The preparation phase and the first year of study will be funded by the project, the three subsequent years of PhD study will be funded by the university.
The first 12 months (10/2024-09/2025) as “pre-PhD” with 0,5 FTE (20,000 CZK, i.e. ca. 800 EUR/month), the second 12 months (10/2025-09/2026) as a PhD student at 1,0 FTE (46,000 CZK, i.e. ca. 1,840 EUR/month). During the three subsequent years of the PhD studies, the students should receive scholarships of min. 36,000 CZK (i.e. ca. 1,440 EUR/month) – subject to approval of the PhD reform in Cezch Republic.
Research themes:
a) Late medieval graphomania (Who were the late medieval scribes?)
The PhD project will focus on exceptionally active individuals, rather than professional scribes, in an in-depth study of scribes such as Gallus Kemli (1417 – ca. 1481, St. Gallen, CH). In what contexts did scribes keep copying by hand? Is it possible to define reasons for their choice of the manuscript medium? What are the aspects that various late medieval scribes share?
b) The Manuscript Page c. 1450–1500 (What and How did the scribes copy?)
Unlike the later introduction of print, the complexity of late medieval manuscript culture frequently presented the text as not linear and straightforward, with inconsistencies and ambiguities. As a whole, the resulting page is difficult for an outsider to penetrate. It is a reflection of a process rather than a product; With the marginal glosses and other layers and interactions of later readers, it is open-ended, deprives the reader of a neat sense of closure.
The material aspects as well as contents of manuscripts produced during 1450–1500 will be surveyed and scrutinized in this project from multiple perspectives, including genre (e.g., theological, medical, culinary, or school texts), date of origin, denomination, language (especially Latin versus vernacular), style, length, layout and design, but also reception (cost, ownership, traces of readers, etc.), asking What was copied by hand, and how? What are the implications of the choice of the medium? Is there any change over time? Is reception and dissemination measurable? It is possible that the specific materiality of these texts played a crucial role in scribal inertia – i.e., that these manuscripts were difficult or impossible to be replicated in print?
2. Three Postdocs (Ph.D. degree required)
Postdocs will work with the PhDs as well as with the research assistants (that is why the descriptions partly overlap) but their task is to offer a larger perspective on the material and work more independently.
a) Scribes and Inertia: the project will focus on patterns in scribes’ strategies. Is it appropriate to speak of their behaviour in terms of inertia? (0,6 FTE = 37,200 CZK, i.e. ca. 1,490 EUR/month, full position negotiable)
b) Manuscripts and Inertia: the project will explore what types of texts tended to be reproduced through the manuscript medium between c. 1450 and 1500, with special emphasis on school texts, sermons, and devotional texts – i.e. those that were manifestly copied by hand in substantial quantity. Is it possible to conceptualize the continuity of medium as inertia? (0,4 FTE = 24,800 CZK, i.e. ca. 990 EUR/month, palaeography necessary, DH skills welcome, full position negotiable)
c) Modelling and Estimating Medieval Scribes’ Inertia: The project aims to offer multiple models for conceptualising media transformation, with special emphasis on the role of inertia. Rather than arriving at a perfect model, its aim is to explore the potential and limitations of various models, with gradual fine-tuning as the amount of gathered data grows. (1,0 FTE = 62,000 CZK, i.e. ca. 2,480 EUR/month, data scientist needed)
3. Six research assistants (typically current M.A. students but open to anyone interested)
Help with creating Heurist database of scribes and their copies in Europe between c. 1450 and 1500, with bibliography, and other research tasks. More advanced students will be encouraged to conduct research subprojects falling into the general theme and co-author publications. (10,000 CZK, i.e. ca. 400 EUR/month each)
This is an exploratory project – creativity is most welcome and the content of the positions may be moved based on particular skills and suggestions of the applicants (while preserving the general theme of the project). Thus, do not hesitate to share your ideas!
Please send your:
- CV (including education, degrees and publication list, where relevant)
- Letter of motivation (max. 800 words)
- Names and contact details of two researchers who are willing to provide reference (no need to send letters of reference at this stage)
by August 15, 2024 to lucie.dolezalova@ff.cuni.cz and barbora.kosikova@ff.cuni.cz. Shortlisted candidates will be interviewed in person or virtually by the end of August. Final decisions will be made by September 6.
The abovementioned salaries are gross figures. In addition, there are travel allowances, meal tickets, free language courses and other employees’ benefits. Should you be interested in a different size of the position, please, mention it in the application.
Please, note that all foreigners who will have other source(s) of income at the time of employment by Charles University will need to get A1 form and sort their taxes, health insurance and social security between the countries, which includes quite some paperwork (but we will help).
The project’s PI, Lucie Doležalová at lucie.dolezalova@ff.cuni.cz will be very happy to answer any questions you might have.
