What's a commonplace?
Commonplace books (or commonplaces) emerged in the 15th century with the availability of cheap paper for writing, mainly in England. They were a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books.
Commonplaces were essentially scrapbooks filled with items of every kind: medical recipes, quotes, letters, poems, tables of weights and measures, proverbs, prayers, legal formulas, etc. Commonplaces were used by readers, writers, and students as an aid for remembering useful concepts or facts they had learned. Each commonplace book was unique to its creator’s particular interests.
