Pause and Effect: An Introduction to the History of Punctuation in the West

Pause and Effect offers an introduction to the history of punctuation in the West, identifying some of the broader circumstances which have influenced its development; for example, the practices of the early scribes, changing attitudes to the written word and the impact of printing. The core of the book comprises examples and plates taken from a wide range of manuscripts from different periods and languages; by focusing on evidence of the practice itself the reader is able to compare usages of different periods and to test the author's observations.

Author: M. B. Parkes
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 09/10/1992
Pages: 344
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 2.29lbs
Size: 10.94h x 8.58w x 0.94d
ISBN: 9780859677424

About the Author
M.B. Parkes (1930 - 2103) was Professor Emeritus of Palaeography in the University of Oxford, and Fellow emeritus of Keble College. He was a Senior Fellow of the British Academy, a Corresponding Fellow of the Medieval Academy of America, and had been Visiting Professor at the University of Konstanz (1974 and 1980), James T. Hill Visiting Professor at the University of Minnesota (1991), and Visiting Professor of Latin at Harvard University (1997). He is the author of Their Hands Before Our Eyes: A Closer Look at Scribes and his previous publications include English Cursive Book Hands, both also published by Ashgate.