„Mit Gold nicht aufzuwiegen“ : Der Wert von Büchern im osmanischen Syrien (11.–13. / 17.–19. Jahrhundert)

Abstract

Well into the 19 th century, the Middle East was a region where knowledge was accessible primarily by means of the handwritten book. But while the remains of this flourishing book-culture are still visible in our libraries in form of tens of thousands of volumes and the intellectual value of the texts contained in them is the subject of many studies, the actual material value of possessing books remains poorly understood. How much was a book worth compared to other items of every-day life? Did the price of a book constitute a pecuniary barrier for the lower stratum of society to access knowledge? The article tries to link information gathered from published literary sources and archival material with such as is found in the manuscripts themselves, i. e. the many notes readers and owners left in them.