
Welcome to PRIMA
Manuscripts in the Age of Print (1575-1800)
PRIMA explores how manuscripts retained their significance in a rapidly evolving world, demonstrating that these hand-written texts were not merely remnants of the past but flexible and powerful tools for both communication and scholarship. The project thoroughly examines the manuscript’s critical role in preserving and transmitting knowledge, particularly in Italy, where a rich manuscript tradition flourished alongside the growth of print.
The name PRIMA – Manuscripts in the age of print (which acronym comes from the combination of Print and Manuscript), reflects a deliberate focus on the manuscript, emphasizing its survival and significance as a dominant form of knowledge production and circulation during the early modern period. Contrary to the narrative that sees print as overtaking manuscripts, PRIMA highlights the persistence of the manuscript as an active, vital medium well into the 18th century. Manuscripts continued to serve as essential vehicles for literature, science, and intellectual exchange, shaping cultural and social frameworks even as print expanded.
To learn more about the PRIMA project, including its objectives, methodologies, and latest developments, we invite you to visit our dedicated page here.
The PRIMA project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under
the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, Grant agreement No. 101142242.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
The project is hosted by the Centre d’Études Supérieures de la Renaissance (CESR – UMR 7323), Université de Tours