This is a delightful piece from Public Books. I especially liked this observation about how medieval monks would read:
This form of reading, de Hamel says, is one reason why so many medieval manuscripts have richly decorated pages. The decorations “helped impress a page visually in the reader’s memory,” helping him to meditate later upon the revelatory passage.
I think we could all use a little more of this. I suspect it's one reason documentaries are so popular these days: we need the visuals to go along with the words. Words alone are not enough because words alone are left-hemisphere alone. The images bring the right hemisphere into play.
That, anyway, is my theory. I'll have to look for corroboration from McGilchrist later, but I'm confident I'll find it (since I know he agrees with the first part of my formulation; to wit, that the left hemisphere uses language as the vehicle to carry out its explicit reasoning).
During Advent, I put the beautiful A Medieval Christmas on my study's coffee table and use it while praying the rosary. Or sometimes I just read it. Either way, it gives you a good idea of what those medieval monks were doing. (Two other recommended books in this regard: Splendors of the Rosary and The Message of St. Francis)
