The Carolingians and the Written Word [Paperback]

This pioneering book studies the function and status of the written word in Carolingian society in the eighth- and ninth-centuries.Functional analysis of the written word in eight and ninth century Carolingian European society demonstrates that literacy was not confined to a clerical elite, but dispersed in lay society and used administratively as well.Functional analysis of the written word in eight and ninth century Carolingian European society demonstrates that literacy was not confined to a clerical elite, but dispersed in lay society and used administratively as well.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. Scholars will find this book an essential reference book for questions of medieval European literacy. It is invaluable in its wealth of information about manuscripts, scribes, monastic patrons, Carolingian nobility, and lay owners of books. Marsha L. Dutton, Hanover College, in The Library Quarterly McKitterick has wrls