Page - 21 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

Materiality of Religious Books | 21www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 13–32 The new technique was able to provide “stable” texts,10 which, taken from manuscripts with corrupted texts, were not always the best choice possible, initially. And the printers could produce far more copies. But they were not yet able to reproduce the illuminations and decorative elements that ap- peared in manuscripts (fig. 5); such elements were added by hand following the printing process. The result was a long-term and dramatic reduction of book illumination. The new technology also had considerable impact on the non-textual mul- tiverse of religious books. The quality of the materials used by the printers tended to decrease, since printing houses had to survive economically. Ini- tially parchment was used as a carrier for the printing ink – a sumptuous practice which soon was reserved for extraordinary, expensive and high-sta- tus commissions.11 In this context, the material was again suited to signalling societal distinction, but this durable writing surface, so appreciated for many hundreds of years, fell out of use for the vast majority of printed books. As the new technique of printing replaced hand-writing, short-lived paper also replaced parchment. 10 This development also marks the beginnings of religious, political and ideological censorship on a large scale. 11 E. g. the first edition of the Theuerdank, Emperor Maximilian I’s autobiography of 1517, see Renhart 2020, 63–70. Fig. 5: Birds in the marginal arabesques of a luxuriously decorated manuscript (University Library Graz, ms. 48). Such opulence could not be produced by book printing for centuries, meaning that ancient books written and illuminated by hand remained exclusive and even exotic. (Photo: E. Renhart)