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IMC 2007: Sessions

Session 211: Urban Literacy, I

Monday 9 July 2007, 14.15-15.45

Sponsor:Utrecht Centre for Medieval Studies, Universiteit Utrecht
Organiser:Marco Mostert, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht
Moderator/Chair:Anna Adamska, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht
Paper 211-aWhy is Literacy Important to Medieval Town-Dwellers?
(Language: English)
Anna Adamska, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht
Index terms: Literacy and Orality
Paper 211-bUrban Literacy, Orality and Keeping Secrets
(Language: English)
Michael Jucker, Sonderforschungsbereich 'Symbolische Kommunikation und gesellschaftliche Wertesysteme', Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Münster
Index terms: Administration, Art History - General, Education, Literacy and Orality
Paper 211-cProducing, Using, and Keeping Records in Medieval Scandinavian Towns
(Language: English)
Inger Larsson, Institutionen för svenska och flerspråkighet, Stockholms Universitet
Index terms: Administration, Archives and Sources, Art History - General, Literacy and Orality
Abstract

An important topic in recent research on medieval literacy is the growth of so-called literate mentalities. In the Middle Ages, in towns one seems to have had more chance of being confronted with writing than elsewhere. Much of the research deals with the topic of the different types of documents produced, used and kept in towns, or with the institutions using written records. The three sessions in this series address urban pragmatic literacy in the context of all forms of communication available to medieval town dwellers. The use of the written word was an important (if not dominant) mode of communication in towns, and a crucial factor deciding the model of 'urban' culture. However, is it possible to conclude the existence of a specifically urban literate mentality?