The Book of Memory: A Study Of Memory In Medieval Culture (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature) 2nd Edition

by Mary Carruthers (Author)

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ISBN-13: 978-0521716314

ISBN-10: 0521716314

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Mary Carruthers's classic study of the training and uses of memory for a variety of purposes in European cultures during the Middle Ages has fundamentally changed the way scholars understand medieval culture. This fully revised and updated second edition considers afresh all the material and conclusions of the first. While responding to new directions in research inspired by the original, this new edition devotes much more attention to the role of trained memory in composition, whether of literature, music, architecture, or manuscript books. The new edition will reignite the debate on memory in medieval studies and, like the first, will be essential reading for scholars of history, music, the arts and literature, as well as those interested in issues of orality and literacy (anthropology), in the working and design of memory (both neuropsychology and artificial memory), and in the disciplines of meditation (religion).

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Book Description

Mary Carruthers's classic study of the training and uses of memory in European cultures during the Middle Ages has fundamentally changed the way scholars understand medieval culture. This fully revised and updated second edition considers afresh all the material and conclusions of the first.

About the Author

Mary Carruthers is the author of The Craft of Thought (Cambridge University Press, 1998) and The Medieval Craft of Memory (2002) as well as of The Book of Memory (1990 and 2008). She divides her time between New York City and Oxford, where she holds the positions of Remarque Professor of Literature at New York University and Fellow of All Souls College.

Series: Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature (Book 70)
Paperback: 540 pages
Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (June 2, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0521716314
ISBN-13: 978-0521716314
Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.1 inches
Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 11 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #914,806 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1158 in Medieval Literary Criticism (Books)
- #1655 in English Literature
- #1820 in British & Irish Literary Criticism (Books)

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Profe1967

Brilliant, but not for the faint of heart

April 23, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

A dense read, but a good one. Carruthers helps us understand how seemingly mechanical mnemotechnics were really the cornerstone of a whole way of approaching thought, imagination, and creativity. If the past is a foreign country, then this book is a guided tour through an exotic landscape.

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You'll Never Know

All books by Mary Carruthers are great overviews of the topic and show a few techniques ...

October 19, 2014

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All books by Mary Carruthers are great overviews of the topic and show a few techniques at memorization. The purpose of the book is not to teach the methods but rather place it in a cultural and historical perspective.

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Christopher Caldwell

Great book for serious memory palace students!!!!!

April 12, 2016

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Great book for serious memory palace students!!!!!

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I high recommend this book

September 4, 2013

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This book is very useful, but "the craft of thought" is much better! Reading this book is a pleasure.
Imagination really depends on memory!

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holdtyte

Five Stars

February 8, 2016

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just what I needed

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Phillip Imel

Five Stars

July 26, 2014

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A great book about the history of memory training- comprehensive!

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Ikke

Lovely book, a bit academic

January 9, 2011

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I found the book very thorough and academic. However, that is what I wanted. It gives a great introduction to memory-techniques in medieval culture. And memory in general.
I would recommend to read this book first and than The Art of Memory. For I found that book a bit to difficult to start with.

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...

Outstanding Work on Medieval Mnemonics

November 26, 2008

Format: Hardcover

In this review, I intend to describe what the book is, who it is for, and its pluses and shortcomings. Then, I'd like to recommend a few companion volumes. Finally, I want to answer the complaint of one reviewer who claimed that Frances Yates book "On Memory" is better.

Mary Carruthers did the world a tremendous service by writing the book. What she does is investigate the world of pre-modern memory in 500 pages beginning with the Ancients and then using that background as a base from which to cover medieval mnemonics-which both borrowed from and added to ancient systems of memory. She also discusses the role of memory as an art and a part of virtue, how the medievals perceived it, a brief set of theories on how memory works, memory's effects on composition and books, and the like, mnemonic-architectonics (I'll explain this term in a following section), and, finally, the "end" of memory as an art. Some of the work is conjecture, but most of it is simply solid historical material, which Mrs. Carruthers carefully documents and references. The work is, for the most part, divided according to subject rather than time period. Three appendices and two indices, one general and one of the manuscripts referenced, are included as well. Several black and white plates are included as well which are generally reproductions historical examples that are examined. As for the work's physical characteristics, I have a paperbound edition, but it is still quite sturdy.

This book is useful for a variety of people. Obviously, the student of medieval thought is one target. However, for those wishing to educate themselves about a well-nigh forgotten area of knowledge, which was was considered absolutely vital, this work is a godsend. Additionally, for the person who wants to learn how to memorize things systematically, the book provides descriptions of several methods for doing so and breaks down the various systems into their common components. Of especial interest is the system of mnemonic-architectonics, in which one memorizes a physical place, such as a building (or "builds" an imaginary one in one's mind ["castles in the air", anyone?])and uses it as a place to store information in an orderly fashion. The systems described are not simple mnemonic tricks but are extraordinarily useful tools that were vital in an age before the printing press and were (and could still be) invaluable aids in composition. The authoress gives an extended description of how this was done. The copious references also make it possible to go directly to the primary sources, which is a tremendous help.

As for the work's shortcomings, there are very few, in my opinion. The biggest problem is that it is rather dry. However, this is to be expected as it is academic. However, it manages to stay on subject well and deliver a great deal of information. A few digressions into literary theory may or may not interest the reader and some of the conclusions she draws using modern literary theory are debatable. The only other difficulty is that some may disagree with a few of the conjectures of the authoress regarding memory and the medieval mind. Nevertheless, the presence of conjecture in a field that is relatively unexplored is inevitable. Other than that, it is a solid, well-documented work.

There are several works that may work as valuable accompaniments to this book. A translation of some of the primary sources referenced is available in a companion volume The Medieval Craft of Memory: An Anthology of Texts and Pictures (Material Texts) and another volume, The Craft of Thought: Meditation, Rhetoric, and the Making of Images, 400-1200 (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Literature) discusses the role of memory (in detail) in medieval rhetoric, meditation, and other areas of life, particularly in the religious communities. Frances Yates's book on memory is also useful as a sort of broad overview.

Finally, I wish to answer an unfair comparison. One previous reviewer claimed that Frances Yates's book, "The Art of Memory" is superior. It is superior only in the sense that it is more readable, at least for the majority of the work. That book is written with a broader audience in mind and has more of a conversational style for recreational reading. However, Yates's specialty in writing tends to lean towards the history of occult movements and the like, and as such, she focuses on these aspects of the history of memory and the medievals don't get all that much space, and, in the end, memory gets pushed off the the side as well. Instead, the thrust of the work is ultimately towards the history of science with a focus on modern science's gnostic and occult roots (she theorizes about the philosopher's stone being the memory, etc, etc). In the last few chapters, the work becomes nearly wholly absorbed in discussions on the hermetic tradition, occultism, and various proto-modern scientists. Yes, it's readable, but readability is not a criterion for excellence save in thrillers and yellow journalism. I didn't find the information to be nearly as valuable or as useful or even as structured as "The Book of Memory". It's not a bad book, but it is much inferior to Mary Carruther's seminal work.

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