The Basic Tools of Writing: A Historical Perspective
The Renaissance period in the 15th century Europe was a movement of intellectuals. These were the writers who grappled with defining their age through writing outside of the Middle Age thinking. These were the times when books and studies played a major part and were accorded much attention. Writing books and studying them was about philosophical problems; that is reasoning things based on understanding not according to established truth divinely rolled out in the Bible but pure reasoning which is called humanist. This was a definitely a departure from the Middle Ages, the period where men prayed to the heavens.
We should do well to remember the peculiar rarity of the tools of writing in this period. The peculiar difficulties which these men of letters were faced with: First there was the relative severe shortage of raw materials (paper, and books). Second there was shortage of ink or if you have the ink there was still the risk of it freezing in the inkwell.
But most importantly these writers were faced with a problem of expressing themselves through language. The language of letters that time was Latin. The Latin language was just grammar that was finding its feet – confused syntax, tenses all mixed up, that left the writer to be slow in coming to the point, long winding in developing a point that is still the legacy today of university writers/professors. It was because you have to use many words to explain some basic points so that you can be understood. For a writer there is no better reflection of mind than through language and the 15th century Latin reflects rawness and insufficiency.
The great task of renaissance writers was to turn people from a distant and rather unsuccessful beholder of reason into a person who lives, forges, walks and guided by reason.
So there you can see that historically just to get the basics right for the writing processes it was not that easy. First you have to search long and hard for the paper. Secondly because before you write obviously you will need to study books around the topic you were writing in order to develop proper perspectives, finding books was not that easy. Thirdly you have to get some ink which was hard to obtain and once you have obtained it there was a high very possible risk that when you wake up one day you might find your hard earned ink frozen and no more useful but to be disposed.
Then there was the difficulty of expression. Latin, the language of intellectuals, of writers was still in its infancy with clumsy tenses and confused syntax. Expressing yourself through Latin by all probabilities meant that your thoughts as a writer will be lost in expression. Then lastly there was discomfort in venturing out on philosophy alone – this bordered on loneliness and discomfort that you have gotten yourself out of God’s hands and that developed into suicidal feelings because of guilt. It was because of this, of the pursuit of pure philosophy outside the realms of the Supernatural Spirit Being (God) that left Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche in the 18th century insane.
About the Author
Dr Chris Kanyane has Ph.D (History) obtained from Central Western University, Arlington, Texas (US). Is a Board Member for International Journal of Peace and Development Studies. He is also the author of two historical biographical books; Turfloop and Eugen Weber Greatest Historian Of Our Times: Lessons of Greatness To The Future.
Dr Chris Kanyane will work long and hard in helping you to dig your life story out of your spiritual reservoir with a mixture of encouragement and research – for more details contactwww.globalresearchcentre.org
Sci-Fi author Stuart J. Byrne phone interview with publisher Jean Marie Stine – PART 1
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