extending the dimensions of the private author in space and 
time. But to the student of manuscript culture, as Goldschmidt 
says (p. 88): “One thing is immediately obvious: before 1500 
or thereabouts people did not attach the same importance to 
ascertaining the precise identity of the author of a book they 
were reading or quoting as we do now. We very rarely find them 
discussing such points.”

     Oddly enough, it is a consumer-oriented culture that is 
concerned about authors and labels of authenticity. Manuscript 
culture was producer-oriented, almost entirely a do-it-yourself 
culture, and naturally looked to the relevance and usability of 
items rather than their sources.

          The practice of multiplying literary texts by 
     typography has brought about such a profound change