Michael Johnston earned a BA in English and Religious Studies from John Carroll University in 2000, a M.Litt. in Mediaeval English from the University of St Andrews in 2002, and a PhD from Ohio State University in 2007. He is Associate Professor of English at Purdue University and he researches and teaches about literature and culture in late medieval England, with a specialization in the history of the book and Piers Plowman.

• Introduction


• 1: Nomenclature


• 2: The Elaborate Book


• 3: The Streamlined Book


• 4: The Evolving Book


• 5: The D. I. Y. Book


• 6: The Proliferation of Scribes, I


• 7: The Proliferation of Scribes, II


• Conclusion


• Coda


• Appendix: The Manuscripts in My Corpus

A new account of Middle English book production and circulation that analyzes 202 literary manuscripts from late medieval England (1350-1500) to show how the production of documents underscored the wide availability of literary copying.