commonplace

001. inizio

Commonplace books (or commonplaces) emerged in the 15thcentury with the availability of cheap paper for writing, mainly in England.They were a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books. ”Commonplace” is a translation of the Latin term locus communis which means “a theme or argument of general application”, such as a statement of proverbial wisdom. Scholars have expanded this usage to include any manuscript that collects material along a common theme by an individual.