Early Modern Yiddish and the Emergence of the Anonymous Reader

This article examines how the practice of private, silent reading in the early modern period encouraged the growth of a broad Yiddish readership and promoted the legitimacy of Yiddish as an Ashkenazi vernacular. When spaces between words were introduced in copying or printing, reading became easier and was no longer the privilege of skilled artisans or intellectuals. The ever-widening circles of people reading in their own chambers were essentially anonymous, and anonymity became a positive attribute that reduced the level of responsibility of readers and producers alike. As people were reading privately, they could choose whatever reading material they liked and interpret the texts according to their own ideas. As Yiddish texts were perceived as non-canonical trifles, producers ran little risk of being accused of disseminating forbidden books or so-called dangerous ideas. This anonymity signified the beginning of a democratization process that would change the European world.