From Memory to Written Record

Michael Clanchy is Professor Emeritus of Medieval History at the Institute of Historical Research, University of London, and a Fellow of the British Academy. In the 1990s he held interdisciplinary seminars on the significance of literacy at University College London, the Warburg Institute, and the Institute of Historical Research. Before moving to London in 1985, he taught at the University of Glasgow. He is the author of the popular textbook England and its Rulers 1066–1307 (third edition, 2006), and Abelard: A Medieval Life (1997).

Reviews of the first edition:"A tour-de-force, a scholarly work which is genuinely hard to put down, and which breaks new ground in its approach." Journal of Legal History "Thought-provoking and wide-ranging . . . one can assert confidently that it is one of the most exciting books on medieval English history to appear in recent years." History"Many familiar assumptions about the medieval world will have to be reconsidered in the light of this book. It is impossible to convey its range or the variety of its implications, but it is possible to insist on its importance." History Today "Clanchy's work will stand as a remarkable piece of scholarship and as a massive contribution to our understanding of the medieval world." Journal of Library HistoryReviews of the second edition:"Just as 'From Memory to Written Record' was the touchstone for the revolution in the study of medieval literacy and power in the 1980s, the second edition will be a sustaining forece in the continuing revolution of the 1990s'. " Patrick J Geary, University of Notre Dame"'From Memory to Written Record' is one of the those seminal works that shape the direction of the next generation of historical and social thought. This second edition will remain one of the major works on the medieval world for many decades to come." Norman F Cantor, Late of New York UniversityMichael Clanchy's widely-acclaimed study of the history of the written word in the Middle Ages remains a classic work in medieval studies. In this third edition Professor Clanchy presents his latest thinking on the subject in a new introduction covering recent work on literacy studies. He has also updated the further reading section and revised the references to take account of recent publications. These changes preserve the coherence of the original argument whilst also ensuring the book remains current for a new generation of scholars and students.

• List of Plates viii Preface to the First Edition ixPreface to the Second Edition xiPreface to the Third Edition xiiIntroduction 1Being Prejudiced in Favour of Literacy 7Medieval, Renaissance, and Reformation Literacy 11England's Place in Medieval Literacy 16Part I TheMaking of Records 211 Memories and Myths of the Norman Conquest 23The Formation of a Norman Official Memory 26The Anglo-Saxon Heritage of Literacy 30Latin and the Language of Domesday Book 35William the Conqueror’s Symbolic Knife 38The EarlWarenne’s Rusty Sword 412 The Proliferation of Documents 46Documents at Village Level 48The Chronology of Charter Making 54The Output of Royal Documents 58Documents and Bureaucracy 64TheWork of HubertWalter 70Royal Influence on Other Records 75Appendix 803 Types of Record 83The Variety ofWritings 83Statements Issued by Individuals 87Memoranda Kept by Institutions 94Learned and LiteraryWorks 106Liturgical Books 1114 The Technology ofWriting 116The Scribe and His Materials 117Wax, Parchment, andWood 120CommittingWords toWriting 127Layout and Format 134Rolls or Books? 1375 The Preservation and Use of Documents 147Monastic Documents for Posterity 148Secular Documents for Daily Use 151Archives and Libraries 156The Royal Archives 164Ways of Remembering 174Ways of Indexing 179Part II The LiterateMentality 187What Reading Meant 1926 Languages of Record 199Walter of Bibbesworth’s Treatise 199The Variety of Languages 202Spoken andWritten Language 208Chronological Development 213TheWriting Down of French 217Royal Documents in Latin, French, and English 2227 Literate and Illiterate 226Meanings of 'Clericus' and 'Litteratus' 228The Question of the Literacy of the Laity 233Knowledge of Latin Among Non-Churchmen 236The Acquisition of Clerical Education 242Educated Knights 2488 Hearing and Seeing 255Symbolic Objects and Documents 256The Spoken Versus theWrittenWord 262Listening to theWord 268The SpokenWord in Legal Procedure 274Writings asWorks of Art 280Word and Image 2859 TrustingWriting 295Memory andWriting 296Dating Documents 300Signing Documents 305The Symbolism of Seals and Crosses 309Forging Documents 31810 Pragmatic Literacy 329Postscript by the Author 336List of Abbreviations 344Select Further Reading 352Plates 356Index 396