IMC 2007: Sessions
Session 311: Urban Literacy, II
Monday 9 July 2007, 16.30-18.00
| Sponsor: | Utrecht Centre for Medieval Studies, Universiteit Utrecht |
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| Organiser: | Marco Mostert, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht |
| Moderator/Chair: | Anna Adamska, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht |
| Paper 311-a | The Use of Records in Medieval Towns: The Case of 's-Hertogenbosch, Brabant (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Charters and Diplomatics, Daily Life, Literacy and Orality |
| Paper 311-b | The Use of Records in Medieval Towns: The Case of Bolzano, South Tyrol (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Charters and Diplomatics, Daily Life, Literacy and Orality |
| Paper 311-c | Urban Schools, Urban Literacy and the Development of Western Civilisation - A Hypothesis (Language: English) |
| 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? |