Literature · 2
What term describes the medieval practice of scraping old text off a manuscript to reuse the material, a fate that nearly erased the Iliad?
Answer
Palimpsest
A palimpsest is a manuscript page that has been scraped or washed clean of its original writing so the material can be reused, a practice that destroyed many ancient texts including copies of the Iliad.
💡 Did you know?
The Iliad almost vanished forever: medieval monks recycled Homer's papyri, scraping off text to reuse parchment for religious manuscripts.
Other options people guess
- Illumination
- Rubrication
- Marginalia
Topics
- epic-poetry
- manuscripts
- literary-history
- language
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