Beyond the reading of ornate manuscripts in medieval churches and upper-class homes, what else was done with them?

As a world-renowned scholar of art history, Kathryn Rudy has held research, teaching and curatorial positions in the US, the UK, Canada, The Netherlands and Belgium. Her research focuses on the reception and original function of manuscripts, and she has pioneered the use of the densitometer to measure the dirt that original readers deposited in their books.

This talk was given at a TED event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx.