Graffiti in Medieval and Early Modern Societies

Graffiti is increasingly being recognised as an important historical source that can provide first-hand information on the written cultures of past societies. This book presents a wide variety of approaches to the how and why of graffiti production in medieval and early modern societies. Geographically, the book ranges from Italy to Russia, by way of the insular and Nordic worlds, and beyond, to the Holy Land and early medieval Nubia. Attention is given to information which will lead to the development of the historical criticism of graffiti, including the best practices for photography. A bibliography of the publications on medieval graffiti which have come out since 2000 is hoped to further the development of future scholarship.

While there is extensive scholarship on graffiti in classical Antiquity, other historical graffiti remains understudied. This volume provides an overview of studies on graffiti for medieval and early modern cultures as well as a platform for future research.

Preface

By Way of an Introduction: Some Thoughts on Graffiti as a Historical Source
CARLO TEDESCHI

Graffiti, Margins, and Palimpsests
VÉRONIQUE PLESCH

At the Margins of Graffiti: ‘Fixed’ Writings in Pilgrimage Sites in the Holy Land
CLÉMENT DUSSART and ESTELLE INGRAND-VARENNE

Inscriptions and Graffiti from the Courtyard of the Armenian Monastery of Sts. James in Jerusalem
KHACHIK HARUTYUNYAN

Devotional Graffiti in Christian Nubia (Based on the Material from the So-Called North Church within the Monastery on Kom H in Dongala)
ADAM ŁAJTAR

From the Pillar to the Page: Historic Graffiti in British Churches and Medieval Graphic Practice
WENDY SCASE

Memorial Graffiti and Libri vitae: An Intersection?
LAURA PANI

Graffiti and the History of the Italian Language: Some Case Studies from "Italia Mediana"
ALICE DI COCCO

Connections between the ‘Global’ and the ‘Local’: Exploring Marginality through Late Fourteenth-Century Graffiti near Verona
GIULIA SACCOMANI

Cavernae solertes inquisitores: Graffiti on a Sixteenth-Century Speleological Exploration in Martina Franca
CRISTINA COMASIA ANCONA and ROBERTO ROTONDO

Digital Photographic Reproduction Techniques for Studying Graffiti
ROCCO D’ERRICO

"Thorgrim Owns Me": Runic Graffiti of Lydvaloftet, a Medieval Farmhouse at Voss, Norway
KRISTEL ZILMER

The Place of Graffiti in the Graphic Environment of Medieval Rus
JOS SCHAEKEN

Graffiti in Medieval Written Culture and in the Graphosphere
MARCO MOSTERT

After Kraack and Lingens: An Additional Bibliography on Medieval Graffiti
MARCO MOSTERT

Notes on Contributors