What is a Medieval Bestseller?

One of the most common, special objects that we have at Les Enluminures is the Book of Hours. Often, the Book of Hours is called the medieval “bestseller.” But what, exactly, does that mean? What determines if a book was “popular” or “best-selling” in the medieval world? How can we possibly know what was made most frequently in the Middle Ages? Find out answers to these questions today on the Les Enluminures Podcast.

 

Resources: 

On the success of Latin texts in the Middle Ages

http://fama.irht.cnrs.fr/en/en/more 

Pascale Bourgain and Laura Light, Bestsellers, Primer 4, Les Enluminures, 2014.

Lerner, Robert E. “New Light on ‘The Mirror of Simple Souls.’” Speculum 85, no. 1 (2010): 91–116.