The ‘material turn’ within the Humanities offers a rich environment for the study of commentary, including not only the physical object of the book but also the visual layout of the page. From the parchment, paper, or leaf on which the manuscript is written, to the inks and pigments that adorn the page, plus the visual logic of commentary and gloss, this theme explores the importance of matter and form in what has until now been treated primarily as an abstract textual tradition.
Image: RAS South Indian Sanskrit MS 10, Whish MS 10. fols. 5-6. Source: https://archive.org/details/raswhish10-10/page/n4/mode/1up
Background image: British Library. Egerton MS 872, fol. 199r. Pentateuch with the Hafṭarot, Five Scrolls, and Rashi’s commentary, 1341.Source: http://www.bl.uk/manuscripts/FullDisplay.aspx?ref=Egerton_MS_872