From Memory to Written Record "is about the uses of literacy in the Middle Ages," specifically in England between 1066 and 1307. Clanchy's argument is that the growth of literacy is "indicated by, and was perhaps a consequence of, the production and retention of records on an unprecedented scale." Clanchy devotes the first half of From Memory to Written Record to "the making of records," and the second to "the literate mentality."
Clanchy begins Part I with an examination of the uses of memory in English legal proceedings, concentrating on memories of the Norman Conquest and the division of property afterwards. Here Clanchy summarizes the use of writing in Anglo-Saxon England, and concludes with the "quo warranto" proceedings of Edward I.
From here Clanchy explains the proliferation of documents that would ultimately replace memory. The abundance of records at the village level in the second half of his period indicates the proliferation of documents and a gradual acceptance of writing as means of keeping records. Clanchy portrays the royal bureaucrats at work creating and using documents, with a focus on archbishop Hubert Walter, a prominent administrator under Richard I and John. Walter, Clanchy claims, was responsible for many of the innovations in the keeping and use of records in England.
The last three chapters in this half deal with the documents themselves. Clanchy organizes documents into four categories: statements issued by individuals, memoranda kept by institutions, literary works, and liturgical books. Clanchy further divides each of these categories into subcategories. Next, Clanchy turns to how medieval scribes created documents. Clanchy describes the various materials and tools used in the physical act of writing, but also discusses the conceptual decisions that went into the creation of medieval records. Finally, Clanchy turns to the keeping, organizing, and use of written records. Monastic records were meant primarily for posterity, and therefore sought to record what ought to have happened, Clanchy claims, while secular records were designed for daily use, and so recorded specific facts. The last sections of Part I treat the organization of written records in libraries and archives and also the organization of the material within the documents.
In Part II, Clanchy traces the development of a literate mentality, a difficult task for scholars whose own mentality has been shaped their own modern literate mentality. Clanchy believes, though, that enough evidence exists to trace a broad outline of developments. "Literate habits and assumptions," Clanchy writes, "had to take root in diverse social groups and areas of activity before literacy could grow or spread beyond a small class of clerical writers."
Clanchy begins his explanation by examining the complicated use of language in high-medieval England. The inhabitants of England spoke English or French as a primary language; French was the language of the court, but the lower classes spoke English. The aristocrats would have spoken both languages, and many of the lower classes would have understood French. English had its own history as a written language, being the official language of the pre-Conquest kings. French had none, because Latin was used for writing. Here Clanchy wrestles with the proposition that written French originated in England because the Norman and French conquerors were exposed to the idea that a vernacular language could be written when they encountered the English literary tradition.
Finally, Clanchy shows that while Latin remained the official language for writing, most documents would have had a basis in English or French, in that they often recorded spoken words or were intended to be read aloud to those who would not have understood the Latin.
Next, Clanchy moves to a discussion of the terms "literate" and "illiterate." Clanchy demonstrates that the terms "literatus" and "illiterates" were synonymous with "clericus" and "laicus." Only clerics could be literate. Yet, he does address the issue of whether laypeople could and did read Latin, citing many examples in which laypersons clearly did, and also arguing that the laypeople writing in vernacular French must have had a foundation in Latin. Additionally, Clanchy shows that clergy did teach Latin, at least the alphabet, to children and so most people would have had the ability to read rudimentary Latin. Finally, the biography of William the Marshal and the emergence of knightly jurists to show that knights were educated in the use of reading and writing.
Fundamental to the medieval literate mentality was the notion that writing recorded sound. Clanchy presents evidence that the acceptance of written records versus oral memory was slow, even among clergy. In particular, Clanchy points to the investiture controversy between Henry I and Anselm, in which the argument was essentially about whether written documents or oral testimony was more trustworthy. Even as the use of written records increased, and even among clergy, language was sill meant to be heard, not read, and texts were generally read aloud.
Although moderns inherently trust documents, especially over oral recollection, medieval people did not. Indeed, documents were regarded with suspicion early in Clanchy's period. To a modern, a document cannot be deemed authentic unless it is dated and signed, an idea that developed in the medieval period, but was not immediately obvious. Simply dating something by the year, month, and date, did develop, but alternative dating methods persisted for some time. Rather than develop a uniform system by which documents were notarized, authenticity focused on the presence of seals. Writers often forged documents they thought should have existed but were missing from their records. Essentially, institutions forged documents as a means of replacing oral tradition with a written record, and in a way the prevalence of forged documents indicates a shift to a literate mentality.
Clanchy argues persuasively for the reciprocal development of writing and a literate mentality. From Memory to Written Record addresses every issue of writing and reading, from the physical production of a document to the method of reception. Clanchy's work is necessarily defined by his own literate mentality and by the use of written records, but he does everything that one could to overcome these limitations. Clanchy has drawn on written evidence of all types, from charters to chronicles to instruction books, and in every language spoken and written in England during his period. To supplement this, Clanchy has used physical evidence, such as epigraphy and seals. From Memory to Written Record is a work of excellent scholarship that examines the medieval mentality and medieval social and political change from a new perspective.
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England and its Rulers: 1066 - 1307, 4th Edition (Wiley Blackwell Classic Histories of England)
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