In the Vineyard of the Text: A Commentary to Hugh's Didascalicon

About this book

In a work with profound implications for the electronic age Ivan Illich explores how revolutions in technology affect the way we read and understand text. Examining the Didascalicon of Hugh of St. Victor Illich celebrates the culture of the book from the twelfth century to the present. Hughs work at once an encyclopedia and guide to the art of reading reveals a twelfth-century revolution as sweeping as that brought about by the invention of the printing press and equal in magnitude only to the changes of the computer agethe transition from reading as a vocal activity done in the monastery to reading as a predominantly silent activity performed by and for individuals.