The dark side of the medieval book: some reflections on recent projects for the description of incunabula

Abstract

The paper presents a methodological focus on recent projects related to the description of incunabula, which started in 2015 in Sicily, in Syracuse, and then landed in other Italian regions and even across the border, in San Marino and Nova Gorica. The praxis applied addresses the study and description of incunabula with a codicological method, an approach that is not considered more scientific than others, but – according to those who practice it – is the one that allows one to observe details of both textual and material nature with greater attention, and also to highlight certain descriptive difficulties. One could perhaps speak, therefore, of an experimental methodology for describing incunabula– although almost ten years have already passed since its first application – which looks back to the manuscript model, but points forward to the description of the ancient printed book.