The Book of Memory

By Mary Carruthers,

Book cover of The Book of Memory: A Study of Memory in Medieval Culture

Book description

Mary Carruthers's classic study of the training and uses of memory for a variety of purposes in European cultures during the Middle Ages has fundamentally changed the way scholars understand medieval culture. This fully revised and updated second edition considers afresh all the material and conclusions of the first. While…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked The Book of Memory as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Everything that Mary Carruthers has written is terrific — but this is the book that first showed me how unusual, and how sophisticated, medieval approaches to the mind could be.

The arts of memory that flourished in the high Middle Ages were designed for much more than rote memorization: they helped people internalize what they perceived, then transform that material into something new.

Carruthers presents these techniques so infectiously that you’ll want to try them yourself. It’s not just the practices themselves that are riveting, though. Carruthers also shows how they shaped medieval media culture and how they contributed to…

From Jamie's list on medieval brainiacs.

Want books like The Book of Memory?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Book of Memory.

Browse books like The Book of Memory

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Middle Ages, medieval society, and memory?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about the Middle Ages, medieval society, and memory.

The Middle Ages Explore 406 books about the Middle Ages
Medieval Society Explore 18 books about medieval society
Memory Explore 91 books about memory