Page - 26 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 07/01

26 | Erich Renhart www.jrfm.eu 2021, 7/1, 13–32 A considerable democratisation of the private prayer book would set in only centuries later, in the baroque period, reaching its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries. The material character of those subsequent books for private spirituality was neither exclusive nor exquisite. Destruction of Books Brief mention can be made here of the destruction and degradation of reli- gious books, highlighting three particular circumstances. The Palimpsestation of Books The disassembling of a book made of parchment and construction of a new one from the debris was a common practice (fig. 7). For this purpose, book makers effaced the text and prepared the leaves for re-writing (palimpsest).18 18 Renhart 2015, esp. 46–47, and Renhart 2020, 17–27. Fig. 7: Detail of a palimpsested folium. The previous writing layer – remnants of the first book – is easily discerned (University Library Graz, ms. 2058/2). (Photo: E. Renhart)