Strategies of Writing ─ Studies on Text and Trust in the Middle Ages : Papers from "Trust in Writing in the Middle Ages" Utrecht, 28-29 November 2002

The underlying notion is that the written word established itself as a medium because credulity was attached to what had been written down. In a 1998 conference on German and Dutch literacy, questions arose about why and how trust in writing came about, and under what circumstances was trust withdrawn from the written word. Participants from that gathering were invited to contribute here, and the 20 papers address those issues, mostly but not entirely within Germanic spheres. Besides general themes, they consider charters, historiography, letters, and political communication. There is no index. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Company. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)