posted 04-19-2004 05:23 AM
Many people in the middle ages were illiterate, and that included many noble folk too. That said, I have seen mediaeval manuscripts with pictures depicting people (mostly women) doing tapestry work and writing, so clearly some were able to spend their time 'in words'.Also, in many cases, the function of the Lord was to collect taxes on behalf of the king, and so needed to be literate and numerate enough to be able to perform this function (no doubt some were wealthy enough to employ 'scribes' to do the writing for them, and 'stewards' to do the book-keeping).
Whilst much better off than the peasant classes, in general, most "Lords of the Castle" were too busy performing day-to-day business of being local land owners, governors and administrators to have much time for writing for leisure and pleasure - this would have been the domain of the extremely privilaged only.
A delightfully illustrated book on simulated parchment filled with illuminations depicting important areas of mediaeval life:
"A Medieval Miscellany" http://www.castlesontheweb.com/quest/Forum10/HTML/000052.html
UBBFriend: Email This Page to Someone!
Castle Quest
posted 04-18-2004 11:46 AM
