For most of human history, texts were not divided into sections but were typically written until the author’s thoughts were exhausted.
The earliest evidence of chapter division found by Professor Dames is a tablet detailing Roman law in Urbino, dating back to the second century BC. Professor Dames explains: “The tablet announces a lengthy law, however, it is divided into segments, each with a concise title.”
The practice of segmenting and dividing chapters increased over time, primarily to organize information in texts related to law, medicine, or language, in order to “help readers know where to find the information they want.” Since the most common type of text during ancient times was scrolls, the table of contents for a document was usually written on a smaller scroll accompanying it.
The Interesting History of Book Chapters
For much of the history of chapter division, this was the responsibility of editors rather than authors.
Professor Dames explains: “It is an ancient technique that spread to medieval Europe. Accordingly, they divided the texts of others or those that had been established long ago in a meaningful way.”
“This was intellectual labor, often carried out by scholars, especially during the Roman Empire and earlier by medieval monks. It was a form of intellectual labor that required a great deal of time.”
A scholar writing chapter divisions into a text. (Image: Public domain).
And depending on the editor, a book could be divided in many different ways.
According to Professor Dames, considering the most subjective chapter divisions, perhaps the Gospel books in the Bible fit this description. He explains that initially, the Gospels were written without chapters. However, over the years, particularly from the 4th to the 13th centuries, they were divided in many ways. Some biblical scholars divided the Gospels into very small chapters, while others divided them into larger ones.
This made the content of the Bible sometimes difficult to understand. For instance, chapter 12 in the Gospel of John may have one meaning in one version and a different content in another version.
This complexity changed in the early 13th century. Although unconfirmed, there is a hypothesis that Stephen Langton, a theologian at the University of Paris who later became the Archbishop of Canterbury, conceived the chapter arrangement of the Gospels as we know it today around 1210-1220.
Another perspective believes that this relatively uniform chapter division originated from small religious institutions in England around the same time.
Regardless of its origin, this new form of chapter division “received a bit of skepticism at the time… and continued to be questioned until the 18th century,” says Professor Dames.
Moreover, not only was it met with skepticism, the division of texts into chapters, especially in the Bible, also faced considerable opposition. In the 17th century, the English philosopher John Locke was a vocal critic of chapter divisions in the Bible. According to Professor Dames, Locke believed this practice should not be done and that breaking chapters disrupts the flow of thought while reading.
English philosopher John Locke. (Image: Public domain).
“Locke believed that readers should read uninterrupted, following a chain of reasoning from start to finish, and that chapter divisions were a poor solution for handling text content,” according to Dames.
The Power of the Author and the Significance of Chapters in Children’s Literature and Streaming
The emergence of the modern novel in 17th and 18th century Europe brought significant changes to the role of chapter division, shifting from editors to authors.
Professor Dames notes: “Authors began making decisions, writing stories with a chapter structure in mind, or later proceeding to shorten or edit chapters in specific ways.”
Chapter division has become a way to connect writers and readers. (Image: ABC RN).
Chapter division has become “a wonderful way for authors and storytellers to connect directly with readers.”
“The division of chapters acts as a message to readers about the appeal of a work or a reminder that they can take a break. It establishes a communicative relationship with the audience,” he adds.
For children, chapter division carries another significance. Today, a marker of a child’s development is the transition from picture books to “chapter books”, according to Professor Dames. He states, “Chapter books represent a significant milestone in children’s reading experiences. These books are often the first works children need to read as they gradually mature in their literacy skills.”
He further shares: “Chapter books also serve as a message to children that they can step away when a chapter ends and return at any time since the story remains there.”
In the context of rapid technological advancement in recent decades, the concept of chapter division is also being adapted to other storytelling methods.
In television shows or streaming films, the nature of chapters is expressed in the form of episodes with similar breaks, even having unique titles for each episode or segment of the program.
Professor Dames states: “Even if we are not reading novels, we can still experience chapters and segments of literature permeating daily life.”
This expert also adds: “The current methods of chapter division are very popular, flexible, and always open to continued innovation.” For example, the series Shōgun, released this year, begins each episode with a pre-written title, and the show is encapsulated within this content. Each episode of the Bridgerton series also has its own impressive title aimed at conveying the main content of the episode.
