How many medieval and early modern manuscripts were copied by female scribes? A bibliometric analysis based on colophons

How many medieval and early modern manuscripts were copied by female scribes? A bibliometric analysis based on colophons

A monk at his desk, copying a manuscript, is a typical image associated with the Middle Ages, but what about the women? According to a recent estimate more than 10 million hand-written manuscripts were produced in the Latin West (the Roman Catholic part of Europe) between 400 and 1500 CE with around 750000 still preserved. Despite this abundance no attempt has been made up till now to quantify women’s contribution to manuscript production. Here …