The Carolingians and the Written Word (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780521315654)

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 lite, 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.

Author: Rosamond McKitterick
ISBN-10: 0521315654
ISBN-13: 9780521315654
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 06/29/1989
Pages: 308
Format: Paperback
Weight: 1.03lbs
Size: 8.96h x 6.02w x 0.70d