von Justyna Kiliańczyk-Zięba und Mara R. Wade (eds.)

Wolfenbütteler Forschungen Bd. 181.
2026. 416 Seiten mit 101 s/w-Abb. und 21 Farb-Abb.
ISBN: 978-3-447-12522-2.
Preis: € 85,- Online bestellen

Playing It by the Book addresses lacunae in existing scholarship by focusing on book game as physical object – that is, manuscript and printed materials that were the playthings themselves. The volume addresses games and play in various social settings across the whole of Europe, ranging from Southeastern and Central Europe to Scandinavia and from England to Italy and France, and thus includes linguistic regions and cultural spheres which no longer conform to the present-day political map. The book games underscore the permeability of political and social boundaries while also attesting to transformations in, and adaptations to, political and cultural sensibilities. They reinforce various aspects of social discipline through play and reveal the mentalities that permeated many aspects of life in the period from the beginning of print through the seventeenth century.

Playing It by the Book provides a new framework for the investigation of games by studying book games through the lens of book history. The essays are also informed by their authors’ engagement with literary studies, textual scholarship, art history, and the history of philosophy, ideas, and religion. Playing It by the Book explores the culture of early modern games, their printing, and their transmission in a more comprehensive fashion than has previously been the case. Most importantly, the research materials at the core of these essays are the books themselves.