Image talk:Libraries-ContentDistribution.jpg

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This graph is really, really confusing. It either needs to be simplified or explained in some manner. Burschik

Seconded. Someone who understands the thing needs to give a commentary of what it shows. Otherwise its only purpose is saying "look what a complicated graph I've got".

Thirded (?). Plus that it says 'German Annual Book-Fairy Catalogs'. In fact, get rid of the graph wholly. For:

  • There is far too many complexities in two thousand years of literature to be summed up in picture form.
  • Its design seems biased towards secular writings as 'good' and theological writings as 'bad'.
  • Such a separation between secular and theology is impossible. Where do you put The Booke of Margery Kempe or Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People? (Both are clearly secular in my mind, but deal with religious issues.)
  • What about Greek myths or Germanic sagas? They are about gods, but not the christian god, and have a great deal of folklore and history within them.
  • I really like the way "seculara" appears in rainbow colors. It really adds a lot of impact and credibility to the image.

I too voice a preference that this image be removed or redone. As "thirded" stated, it seems biased in favour of certain kinds of works that were seen as less important for the Medieval period. Likewise, it is used (in both sites that refer to it) as a pile of odd statistics with the intent to prove the phrase "the relative lack of written record"--an odd sentiment given a social period that essentially provided the entire written record of High Antiquity and Late Antiquity. Notcarlos, "The Mad Medievalist"

Another voice to the removal of this image. There are many problems in assigning, say, the Plays os Aeschylus or some second hand neoplatonic treatise as "secular" or Origen's "Contra Celsum" or Justin's Apologies as "non philosophical". The graph should be otherwise named "christian" and "non-christian writings", and as such is meaningless, for we all know that the Middle Ages were a christian era.


I take it that "book fairy" should be "book fair"? Nice one! --Doric Loon 21:07, 26 August 2005 (UTC)

What.

The Hell.

Does that graph say?

Not only is it as confusing as hell, but it's got downright horrendous design. Take it down.