, Brepols - Harvey Miller, 2004 Hardcover. VIII 546 p., 15 b/w ill. 12 colour ill., 7 b/w line art, 160 x 240 mm, Languages: English, Fine copy. Including an index. ISBN 9782503514499.
Compared with most of Continental Europe North of the Alps, the introduction of writing in East Central Europe (Bohemia, Poland and Hungary) took place with a considerable delay. Much is known about East Central European uses of writing, although only a fragment of this knowledge is known outside the region. Gathered by historians, palaeographers and codicologists, diplomatists, art historians, literary historians and others, this knowledge has hardly ever been studied in the light of recent discussions on medieval literacy and communication. Work done in the Czech, Polish and Hungarian traditions of scholarship has never been subjected to a comparative analysis. Furthermore, the question of the relation between writing and other forms of communication in the region remains largely unexplored. The volume serves a double purpose. For the first time, a collection of contributions on medieval literacy in East Central Europe is put before the forum of international scholarship. It is also hoped to further discussions of modes of communication, literate behaviour and mentalities among scholars working in the region.
, Brepols - Harvey Miller, 2014 Hardcover. XVI 366 p., 26 b/w ill., 156 x 234 mm, Languages: English, Fine copy. Including an index. ISBN 9782503549590.
In medieval towns, written statements of law and administration appear more prevalent than in non-urban spaces. Certain urban milieus participating in written culture, however, have been the focus of more scholarship than others. Considering the variety among town dwellers, we may assume that literacy skills differed from one social group to another. This raises several questions: Did attitudes towards the written word result from an experience of the urban educational system? On which levels, and in which registers, did different groups of people have access to writing? The need and the usefulness of written texts may not have been the same for communities and for individuals. In this volume we concentrate on the institutional written records that were most indispensable to communal order, including collections of written law, charters of liberties, and municipal registers.
, Brepols - Harvey Miller, 2014 Hardcover. XX 453 p., 25 b/w ill., 9 b/w line art, 156 x 234 mm, Languages: English, Fine copy. Including an index. ISBN 9782503549606.
In medieval towns, examples of personal writing appear more prevalent than in non-urban spaces. Certain urban milieus participating in written culture, however, have been the focus of more scholarship than others. Considering the variety among town dwellers, we may assume that literacy skills differed from one social group to another. This raises several questions: Did attitudes towards the written word result from an experience of the urban educational system? On which levels, and in which registers, did different groups of people have access to writing? The need and the usefulness of written texts may not have been the same for communities and for individuals. In this volume we will concentrate on the town dwellers? personal documents. These documents include practical uses of writing by individuals for their own professional and religious ends, including testaments and correspondence. Besides written records belonging to the domain of ?pragmatic literacy?, other kinds of texts were also produced in town. Was there any connection between practical literacy, literary (and historical) creativity and book production?