IMC 2014: Sessions
Session 513: Karolus litteratus, I: Introduction
Tuesday 8 July 2014, 09.00-10.30
| Organiser: | Anna Adamska, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht |
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| Moderator/Chair: | Marco Mostert, Onderzoekinstituut voor Geschiedenis en Kunstgeschiedenis, Universiteit Utrecht |
| Paper 513-a | Introduction: Myths and Realities of Medieval Kings' Personal Literacy Skills (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Education, Lay Piety, Literacy and Orality |
| Paper 513-b | The Carolingians and the Written Word after 25 Years (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Education, Literacy and Orality |
| Paper 513-c | Thoughts on Imperial Wisdom, Literacy, and Bureaucracy (Language: English) Index terms: Administration, Literacy and Orality, Political Thought |
| Abstract | Was it necessary for medieval kings to be able to write? Or could they sometimes get by without possessiong basic literacy skills themselves? Did they resort to writing in communicatiing with their subjects? If they used an administrative apparatus, did they understand the mechanisms of communication through documents? And did they use written texts for their own, personal edification and devotion? These are some of the fundamental questions that need to be asked by students of medieval royal literacy. We propose a series of four sessions and a round table on the comparative study of the literacies of three paradigmatic emperors, Charlemagne (r. 768-814), Charles IV Luxembourg (r. 1346-1378) and Charles V (r. 1519-1556). The first, introductory, session is devoted to the myths and realities of the Charleses' personal literacy skills. |