The book is closely related to other great inventions of antiquity - writing, paper, ink. How the first books appeared and what they were - more on that later.
Definition and origin of the word
A book in the modern sense of the word is a special type of product consisting of separate pages or sheets on which some information is printed or handwritten.
In the Proto-Slavic language, it was called "kniga". Presumably, this word was borrowed from the ancient Turkic languages. It meant "scroll".
When did the first book appear? The answer to this question requires consideration of the conditions without which it could not arise. First of all, it is a material for creating records (paper) and a means for storing information (writing). Only after their appearance did the story of the book begin.
Writing
The book contains some information. To write it down, you need the following conditions: proficiency in writing and material for writing. In ancient times, people used or altransfer of knowledge. When there were few of them, this method was suitable. But as information accumulated, it was necessary to look for a new means for its transmission and preservation. So man invented writing. Now everything that people knew about the world around them could be written down, thus preserving invaluable knowledge for future generations.
How did the book come about? This is one of the most interesting questions in the history of human development. It is difficult to answer it, since the main condition for the appearance of books - writing, originated almost at the same time in Ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. However, scientists give the palm in this matter to the Sumerians, believing that it was Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia) that became the first country where writing appeared.
What was written on in ancient times?
How did the book come about? Writing material played a big role in this. Each civilization, having discovered its own way of recording information, began to use various things to preserve knowledge: plant stems, leaves, clay tablets, tree bark, metal.
Tablets are the most ancient material for writing. They were of two types: wax and clay. The latter were usually fired for strength, and it was no longer possible to make changes to the text after that. Wax tablets made it possible to erase the inscription and apply a new one. They were used in Ancient Mesopotamia and Rome.
Scrolls made from papyrus stems were first used by the ancient Egyptians. Then the Phoenicians began to use this type of paper for writing and later introduced the Greeks to it. Long time scrollsused as a fairly convenient recording material. Due to its fragility, papyrus could not be bent, but it could be rolled into long strips that were convenient to store on shelves. In addition, papyrus was easily washed off and reused.
When the first book appeared - what does science say?
An inscription made in antiquity on stones, rocks, animal bones cannot be called a book. These were individual statements, not texts. But according to information obtained during archaeological research, the appearance of the first books dates back to ancient times. Outwardly, they were very different from their modern counterparts.
The first books appeared in the III millennium BC. e. in ancient Mesopotamia. The burnt clay tablets were put into wooden boxes, each of which represented a separate "book". In ancient Rome, 2-4 tablets were fastened together, and a codex (book) was obtained from several “sheets”.
How did the first books appear in the Middle Ages?
For a long time, papyrus scrolls were widely used. But they were short-lived, and the papyrus itself in Egypt became an increasingly rare plant. With the advent of Christianity, sacred texts needed a more durable and easy-to-handle material. They became parchment, made from the skin of animals. Most often, the skins of goats, sheep and calves were used for its production. Parchment could be bent without fear of damage. Over time, books began to be made from it.
The first books of the Middle Ages almost did not differ from modern ones in form. They consisted of many pages and had a cover. These books were very expensive. It took up to 500 animal skins and 2-3 years of work of scribes and artists to make one. Often they were decorated with an expensive salary of gold and precious stones.
How did the book appear in Russia? As for our country, it has its own history of the appearance of the first manuscripts and texts. The traditional material for writing in the 11th-15th centuries here was birch bark. They were first discovered in large numbers in Veliky Novgorod at the beginning of the 20th century.
Birch bark was a fragile cheap material and was used mainly for private correspondence. More important documents were written on parchment.
Printing is a new page in the history of the appearance of the book
Manuscripts were expensive, and only very rich people could afford the luxury of having them at home. In the Middle Ages, literate people were negligible. They were mostly monks, scientists and government officials (scribes).
In the 8th century, the first universities appeared in Europe. States needed a large number of educated people. But the students could not afford to buy expensive tomes. Most often, only the professor who gave the lecture had the book, and the audience had to memorize it.
By that time, woodcut printing was already used in China and the East - an imprint on fabric. But this method was not cheap, since the fabric itself was expensive.
In Europe with the advent of paperAt the beginning of the 15th century, typography was invented using typesetting. It is traditionally believed that Johannes Gutenberg was the first to discover this method of producing books. In fact, typefaces had already been used before him in various European countries. Gutenberg's genius invention was the printing press.
When printed books appeared, it became possible to disseminate knowledge not only among the privileged class: the nobility, the clergy and representatives of science. Gradually, books created using a machine tool became available to the rest of the population.
When did the first printed book appear in Russia? This significant event took place in 1564. Before that, tomes of this kind, created not by scribes, but by machine, had undoubtedly already penetrated the country. Such books were no longer new in Russia by the time its first printing house was established.
The first printed book in Russia was "The Apostle" - a real masterpiece created by Ivan Fedorov and Pyotr Mstislavets.
Afterword
The question of how the book appeared will always be relevant, and more than one child will ask it at school or at home. Knowledge books change over time. Now they can be listened to or read in electronic form, but they still remain with us.
