The Carolingians and the Written Word
This pioneering book studies the function and status of the written word in Carolingian society in France and Germany in the eighth and ninth centuries. It demonstrates that literacy was by no means confined to a clerical élite, but was dispersed in lay society and used for government and administration, as well as for ordinary legal transactions among the peoples of the Frankish kingdom. While employing a huge range of primary material, the author does not confine herself to a functional...
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This pioneering book studies the function and status of the written word in Carolingian society in France and Germany in the eighth and ninth centuries. It demonstrates that literacy was by no means confined to a clerical élite, but was dispersed in lay society and used for government and administration, as well as for ordinary legal transactions among the peoples of the Frankish kingdom. While employing a huge range of primary material, the author does not confine herself to a functional analysis of the written word in Carolingian northern Europe but goes on to assess the consequences and implications of literacy for the Franks themselves and for the subsequent development of European society after 1000.
List of maps and tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; Abbreviations;1. The spoken and the written word; 2. law and the written word; 3. A literate community: the evidence of the charters; 4. The production and possession of books: an economic dimension; 5. The organization of written knowledge; 6. The literacy of the laity; Epilogue; Index of manuscripts; General index.
