The Study On The Medieval Stationers

The medieval university stationers emerged from the beginning of the university.The prosperity of the economy created material conditions for universities.The establishment of urban secular schools had also promoted the development of culture.The development of culture had led to the rapid development of the books production and circulation.The translation movement promoted the revival of culture in the 12 th century,and the books production and sales activities were more active.The medieval university stationers were members of the university,producing and selling hand-written books and related stationery.The official stationers in Oxford and Cambridge had official status.The university stationers had university privileges,should perform the duties prescribed by the universities.The stationers were subject to the authority of the universities,and most of them got positive comments.The stationers mainly produced and sold standard textbooks prescribed by universities through the copying and leasing system of the hand-written books.Also they acted as a middleman in the second-hand book transactions in universities.After the advent of printing technology,the university stationers took on the task of introducing printed books to the universities.They supplied books to university teachers and students,which ensured the prosperity and development of the universities.The stationery and drinks sold by the stationers had facilitated student life.In the 16 th century,printed books became popular in Western European countries,and hand-written books slowly withdrew from the historical arena.Affected by this,the industry of books production and sales had gradually become professional,and the professional division of labor happened.The university stationers could no longer cover all the production and sales of books,some specialized the sale.Also,some printers signed the contract with the universities to obtain the status of the university stationers.