This chapter formulates some relatively new lines of enquiry for research in historical orthography, which stem from the concept of a community of practice. The authors propose the idea that communities of practice represent a key bridge across material which inevitably stimulates divergent research interests in the field. They suggest that communities of book producers in England and the Low Countries were not self-standing entities, but were engaged in more or less loose, professional and social interactions, forming networks of practice. The respective histories of English and Dutch had some fundamental similarities with reference to early book production and local organization, and there were links existing even between those working on manuscripts and printed material. This chapter provides useful background information on early book production and large-scale professional networks, with a view to inspiring future researchers to explore the intricate correlation between professional organization, culture and society in the complex framework of early modern Europe.

This chapter provides a short introduction to historical orthography, discussing purposes, ambitions and boundaries within the subfield. It also outlines chapter contents.

This chapter introduces readers to the concept of spelling standardization, offering an overview of the ways in which spelling standardization occurred, the agents behind the modern-like developments in historical spelling, and the chronology of the process of development in historical English. The chapter departs from the idea that historical spelling represents one of the most complex facets of linguistic standardization, and one where disagreements exist about its overall process of development. The contribution moves on to discuss the idea that standardization in English spelling was, for some scholars, an intralinguistic, spontaneous process of self-organization, and for others a multiparty affair that involved authors, readers, the printing press and linguistic commentators of the time. The final section summarizes findings from recent work that focuses on large-scale developments over the sixteenth and the seventeenth century, and overviews the role and relevance of theoreticians, schoolmasters, authors and readers in Early Modern English spelling.

Chapter 1 begins with a definition of historical orthography and outlines the purposes, ambitions and boundaries of the subject as a field of knowledge and research inquiry. As part of a discussion on the history of the subject, the chapter summarises relevant thoughts from traditional and more recent students of orthography, while also covering some key changes initiated by the rise of historical sociolinguistics. The introduction also discusses the importance of studying historical orthography as a foundational element in the history of language more broadly.