The Book of Memory
A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture
The standard study of what memory meant in the Middle Ages, when it was a discipline rather than a faculty.
Carruthers shows that memory in the Middle Ages was a trained craft rather than a natural faculty, central to reading, composition and piety, and that the medieval word for genius belonged to those with the best memories. The standard study of the subject.
Recommended by 1 Person
Joshua Foer
This is the best study of the role that memory plays in medieval culture. We reserve the term genius for people who are creative, who are innovators, who think in ways that are entirely new. In the Middle Ages, the term genius was reserved for people with the best memories. That is telling.
Interview · October 2012
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