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Medieval monasteries : san millán de la cogolla (la rioja).
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During the Spanish Middle Ages, the monasteries took a very important role in the political-social and cultural life.During the Reconquest, different monasteries were real organizers of the space, owning and managing large areas, with the aim of strengthening the territory recovered against the Muslims.
Here we want to talk about the cultural role of monasteries, true centers of learning, which helped save and extend the knowledge that saved their libraries. The monks were the keepers of culture. Monasteries were the only establishments where all or most of its members could read and write.
They were responsible for writing deeds, take note of all the important events that happened in the day to day, check that every farmer pay taxes ... in the end, they were the archives of all the activities that happened on their land. Medieval monasteries collected all the great works that had hitherto been written, philosophy, science, religion, history ... All of them gathered over Europe, in each and every one of the existing monasteries.
The main customers of the scriptorium were, indeed, other monastic centers. Mainly copies of books were made to be taken to other places where they were copied, thus spreading the various works all over Europe. Arabic and Oriental works were copied and spread through Europe thanks to the arrival of the Muslims.
Until the discovery of printing , these books were hand copied, which meant a huge job. The monks had to copy each document letter by letter, and this is why they were called scribes.
The material: from papyrus to parchment It comes from the skin of animals, mainly sheep The skin is cleaned with water with lime It is brushed with pumice stone to remove all impurities Finally, the skin is tightened in large racks Subsequently they cut the skin into large sheets that are bent to form booklets, joined together with wooden covers.
