From Memory to Written Record

By Michael T. Clanchy,

Book cover of From Memory to Written Record: England, 1066-1307

Book description

The second edition of Michael Clanchy's widely-acclaimed study of the history of the written word in the Middle Ages is now, after a much lamented absence, republished in an entirely new and revised edition. The text of the original has been revised throughout to take account of the enormous amount…

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Why read it?

1 author picked From Memory to Written Record as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is one of those books that completely changes the way you understand a subject.

Clanchy looks at how the growth of bureaucracy in England fostered the growth of literacy and changed the world in the process. That’s an important subject in its own right, but I love this book for all of the little details it includes.

It’s full of information about how the definition of literacy has changed over time, how knights and kings were educated, how courts functioned, how oral testimony was heard, how records were kept, how books were produced, how much it cost to produce…

From Charity's list on medieval historians and history writing.

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