Literacy
The term literacy (from Latin littera "letter") is related to the English literacy (translated as "reading and writing ability" or " education "), and is also used as a foreign word in the German language with this meaning. The counterpart, the illiteracy , is translated from English either as " illiteracy " or "without education". The lack of literacy anchored in a culture is seen as an illiteracy in the German-speaking worlddesignated. "People with little literacy" cannot understand a small coherent text, for example an instruction manual, let alone reproduce it in writing, probably between 12 and 15 percent of adults across Europe.
In the technical jargon of media genealogy , literacy denotes a development stage in written form , which is characterized by a literary manuscript and inscription culture, i.e. the handwritten storage and dissemination of cultural content in fixed text form ( literature , liturgy , legal documents, historiography, etc.). However, in the course of dealing with oral literature, literary competence is also included more generally.
Orality ( orality ) forms the terminological contrast and the media-genealogical forerunner, followed by the typography and the Gutenberg galaxy . The era of literacy lasted up to and including the medieval scriptography .
Marshall McLuhan also calls literacy the literary manuscript and inscription culture, it means the handwritten storage and thus the verbatim transmission of cultural content in a fixed text form. Writing, writing and arithmetic form the basis of tradition, culture and education. The literacy did not mean a hard break in spoken speech, since manuscripts were read aloud, but the literacy meant an increasing dominance of optical stimuli, which more than other sensory perceptions provide a basis for the recognition of rules and regularities, which promoted causal relationships and math thinking. The literary manuscript culture was characterized by scriptoria , which made the collection of information very centralized as it was tied to libraries and monasteries.
Studies on literacy include a. by Milman Parry , Eric A. Havelock , Jan Assmann and Walter Jackson Ong as well as Jack Goody and Ian Watt .
Theory of a Literal Society
According to the ethnologist Jack Goody, the invention of writing had a previously unknown effect on the human mind; In The Domestication of the Savage Mind (1977), where he examines the effects of the graphic representation of language on cognitive processes, he speaks of a script-induced "domestication of the mind":
“The writing down of some of the essential elements of the cultural tradition in Greece made two things clear: the difference between the past and the present and the internal contradictions in the image of life that was conveyed to the individual by the cultural tradition, as it was recorded in writing. We can assume that these two effects of the generally widespread alphabetic writing have persisted and have intensified many times over, especially since the invention of the art of printing. "
Havelock, on the other hand, already points out in Preface to Plato (1963) and above all in Origins of Western Literacy (1976) as well as in The Literate Revolution in Greece and its Cultural Consequences (1982) that writing itself is not the decisive step in development, rather the alphabet or the literacy of writing; this then leads him to his thesis of the "birth of philosophy from the spirit of writing". According to Havelock, the essential characteristic of the Greek alphabet is its abstract nature : it is the only one able to reproduce oral speech in an unabbreviated, complete and flowing manner.
According to Goody and Watt, Greece was “the first society that can rightly be called literal as a whole”.
This modern appreciation of the achievements of the Greek alphabet may come as a surprise, since the social evaluation of script and writing in ancient Greece was anything but positive: Plato's verdicts in Phaedrus and in the Seventh Letter are just as devastating as those of Aristotle ; compared to language, writing was viewed as something external and thus even further removed from truth and virtue than language. Nevertheless, the Greek writing culture made it possible, for example in the time around 500 BC. BC to 450 BC Chr. In Gortyn the oldest town charter in Europe.
In contrast, the assessment of the previously undeciphered Phaistós disc from the Cretominoic culture , which dates back to the 17th century BC, is controversial . Chr. Dated so comes from an era that almost a thousand years before the development of the Greek script is.
In The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society , Jack Goody examines the "long-term effects of writing on the organization of society":
“The past of the past thus depends on a historical sensibility that can hardly develop without permanent written records. However, a script in turn causes changes in the transmission of other elements of cultural heritage. The extent of these changes depends on the nature and the social distribution of writing, that is, on the effectiveness of writing as a means of communication and on the social restrictions to which it is subject, i.e. the degree to which the use of writing is widespread in society is. "
History of writing
The middle age
The Christian Middle Ages were an orally shaped world. Writing was understood as a continuation of language, so literacy could not exist without orality.
The font
Although the medieval occident was predominantly an oral world, the sources preserved - with which medievalists work today - are written in nature. The partly copied, partly original documents originate in most cases from the class of the clergy , i.e. only from a small and exclusive part of medieval society. From the perspective of the clergy, writing was soon regarded as something privileged and an instrument of power in church politics. The monks viewed their writing and copying work as a worship service and therefore the literacy competence should only be theirs. This one-sided development only changed in the late Middle Ages : writing became pragmatic and an everyday commodity. In the 13th century, for example, the technique of writing was used to record a uniform legal system. The customary law of a particular area was recorded in popular language. Eike von Repgow wrote the Sachsenspiegel , one of the better known early medieval legal writings .
The predominant written language of the Middle Ages was Latin. It was not until the late Middle Ages that the “living language” became written and bookable. Laymen were able to read and read and wrote readily even in their native language , even if Kaufmann books , trade files , documents and chronicles were written mostly in Latin until the late 14th century. Lay and wage clerks who were organized in guilds made tough competition for the “monastic book market”. The resulting works were increasingly intended for laypeople. Within the universities , however, Latin remained the scientific language of the West. Theses even had to be written in Latin until the 18th century.
The book
The writing medium of the book clearly tended from the internal system-specific cult and rule medium, as at the beginning of the Middle Ages, to the cross-system, secular culture and educational medium for everyone. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, books were only storage media and mainly served as a memory aid. Orally transmitted stories were recorded in writing and existing books were copied or transcribed. The resulting works were then read and learned by heart, but not interpreted . So the book had above all a ritual character and was only of importance within the sacred space; therefore, books in the Middle Ages cannot be viewed as culturally relevant communication media .
With the founding of the mendicant orders and universities, the book was "degraded" from a cult object to a work tool. It became the carrier of the new education, from the central, conservative storage to the instrumental knowledge base and served as an individual everyday work tool. Readers and users were no longer exclusively monks, nuns or clergy, but increasingly professors and students. Later aristocrats and finally even townspeople joined them. The book in the context of a large library should become a generally accessible source of knowledge for "everyone".
Finally, there was a change of media and the first cradle prints appeared. Book printing subsequently became the leading medium . Some scholars see the success of printing as a major factor in the epochal change between the late Middle Ages and early modern times .
The library
Library traffic was already "international" in the late Carolingian era . In the course of the centuries there was a lively copying and exchange between individual monasteries. For example, it is known of the six 12th century Benedictine monasteries in Lüneburg that books were exchanged for copying. Only in the course of the development of the cities in the High Middle Ages , in connection with the cathedrals , did the church libraries become relevant again for the spread of the book medium. A parish library in the country had at best 20 to 30 books, but was occasionally donations or foundations expanded. The numbers fluctuate a lot and are often not reliable. The cathedral library in Cologne, for example, is said to have contained 115 works in 175 volumes in the year 833, the cathedral in Durham in the 12th century 241 books, the cathedral in Rochester in 1202 also 241 books, the Christ Church Canterbury even around 1300. The library des Bonifatius ( Fulda Abbey ) consisted of 40 to 50 volumes around 747 and formed a kind of basis for German monastery libraries. These rarely numbered more than 100 books. The fact that, for example, the library holdings in the Bavarian Niederalteich monastery already comprised 415 volumes in the years 821 and 822 was one of the few exceptions. A very well-equipped monastery library could later have between 500 and 600 volumes. St. Gallen is considered to be the largest monastery library of the High Middle Ages . It is said to have contained around 1000 volumes in the 12th century.
The first detailed library catalog comes from Reichenau around the year 821. According to this catalog, the library then comprised over 400 volumes, which are registered according to author or content group. In addition to the spiritual literature ( Bible works , patristic , ecclesiastical writers , liturgy, scholastic texts) were also pagan authors represented (the ancient classics such as Ovid , Caesar , Virgil , etc.). There were also school books (especially on the Septem Artes Liberales ) and more specialized literature (on law , medicine or horticulture , for example ).
Encyclopedias could also be found in other catalogs . The content of those created in the Middle Ages was grouped according to the Septem Artes Liberales. The only alphabetically ordered encyclopedia in the Middle Ages can be found in Byzantium ( Suda ).
The scriptorium
The decisive multiplication mechanism for the writing medium of the book was the medieval scriptorium. Geoffroy von Sainte-Barbe-en-Auge put it very appropriately around 1170: "Claustrum sine armario est quasi castrum sine armamentario" (a monastery without a writing chamber is like a castle without an armory). The copyists in the scriptoria did not necessarily have to be able to read, or even be able to speak Latin. All that was needed was a copying of the letters. On average, a monk wrote a book for a year. As writing material, the papyrus was replaced by the more resistant parchment . Some of the material was produced in-house by the monasteries: parchment was made from animal skins. Writing implements (bird feathers , pumice stone , wooden tablets , wax etc.) and ink were also required . The raw materials that monks needed to make books were very expensive. That is why many texts were scratched off with a pumice stone and overwritten. The newly created book is called the Palimpsest . Books were also bound in the scriptoria. Often several works were combined into one if they complemented each other thematically.
Important events
After the fall of the Roman Empire , the spiritual legacy of the West threatened to go under. Reading and writing skills declined and illiteracy spread across Europe. With the rise of feudalism and the return to customary law, writing was no longer a necessary good. However, there were three stages of development in the early Middle Ages that counteracted a total oral world: Benedict of Nursia is considered to be the founder of Christian monasticism, whose protagonists were the main bearers of medieval knowledge. In addition, Benedict decreed that each monastery should have its own library. In 554, Flavius Magnus Aurelius Cassiodorus founded the Vivarium monastery and brought the first scriptorium to life. In this office not only Christian but also pagan and secular manuscripts were copied. Only in this way could ancient literature survive and be passed on. The third big step was the Carolingian education program - also known as the Carolingian Renaissance - under the leadership of Charlemagne . In his “ Admonitio generalis ” a. a. that every monastery should have a school in addition to a library. It is mainly thanks to these people that the cultural heritage of antiquity has been preserved in Western Europe.
The emergence of universities in the late Middle Ages is considered to be groundbreaking for today's forms of science. The up-and-coming Paris ( Sorbonne ) set the model in 1150 and numerous new foundations followed. Between 1030 and 1500 there were over 70 universities founded. The educational basis for all medieval universities was the Septem Artes Liberales. For the practice of any science and also for understanding and interpreting any scientific text, reading and writing skills were essential.
Bearer of scripture
Although in this epoch the proportion of written records in relation to the laity was vanishingly small, the increasing number of sources from the early to the late Middle Ages shows a steady increase in written form. In addition to monks, aristocrats and townspeople also continuously became bearers of the script.
clergy
In general, men of letters were the men of the church and the monastery, to whom the princes entrusted and entrusted all of the chancellery's writing. The majority of medieval writers were monks. However, most of them had only a minimal level of writing and Latin skills. In the early monastic rule of Pachomius it says: "Omnis qui nomen vult monachi vindicare, litteras ei ignorare non liceat" (whoever wants to be considered a monk must not be illiterate). In fact, even among the monks, there were tons of illiterates to be found.
The Canon Law states: Who was an illiterate, should not become a cleric. At that time, illiteracy was understood to mean the sole ability to read texts. In 1291 not a single monk could write in the Murbach monastery in Alsace. In 1313 not even the abbot could write in the monastery of Sankt Georgen in the Black Forest . Even in Monte Cassino , six of the thirty monks who were members were incapable of writing. Even among the medieval bishops it is now known that many were ignorant of writing. There was a great difference between learning to read and learning to write. From the 14th century onwards, more and more clerics finally acquired the ability to write.
Noble
The lay people up to the highest nobility were mostly illiterates or idiotae (ignorant people). Reading and writing skills were not very widespread even among the most influential figures of the early Middle Ages. Exceptions were rulers who first embarked on a spiritual career before they unexpectedly had to take over the royal crown . Noble families had their own written traditions and forms of education, but they were only able to read in exceptional cases; most likely the noble women.
Most medieval rulers, even kings and emperors, could neither read nor write. Also few spoke Latin or even correct grammar due to the large number of dialects that the migration brought with it. Theodoric the Great , for example, didn't even have a handwritten signature . Independent signing was still widespread in Western Roman antiquity; In the Middle Ages, however, lay people needed auxiliary tools. Theodorich used a template with the content “legi” (I have read). The caretaker Karlmann signed his documents with a cross, his brother Pippin with an enforcement line. The general stopgap soon became the seal . It became an expression of a time ignorant of the scriptures.
Nevertheless, rulers can be found in the early Middle Ages who continued their education: The Merovingian Childerich III. noted different dialects and tried to introduce new phonetic signs in his language. Charlemagne could not read or write, but he was able to speak Latin. His son Ludwig the Pious was able to sign. His successor ( Ludwig the German ) has received a signature (see right). The Ottonians could at least read. Henry II was one of the first kings to read and write. Friedrich Barbarossa only learned to read at an advanced age. His successor Friedrich II promoted science and was very literate himself. He lived in Sicily, at the interface between Christian and Islamic culture. After him there was again a period without writing for the imperial and kingship. Only after Charles IV did the situation improve again. The Roman-German emperor was an educated ruler and enjoyed his education in Paris. He also wrote an autobiography himself. Friedrich III. even kept her own notebook. His son Maximilian I - who also wrote an autobiography - stated that he had learned to read and write on his own initiative. In the modern era that followed, it became a matter of course for the nobility to be able to write and read.
Knighthood
In connection with medieval history, the myth of the poet knight has always been present. Ulrich von Lichtenstein stylized himself in his minstrel biography as someone who couldn't read. He says (with ironic intent?) That he carried a letter from his beloved with him for 10 days without knowing its contents, as there was no literate writer around him. Even Wolfram von Eschenbach claims to possess no knowledge of book culture, although he resorted intensive than other courtly poet on written sources. At least Hartmann von Aue and Gottfried von Strasbourg were the exception: both could read, presumably not only German, but also French and Latin texts.
Women
Their families liked to send young girls to the monastery for training, which is why there were very many literate women in the Middle Ages. Among the aristocratic families, they were probably more educated than men because they simply had more time for education. However, only a few were influential. An exception was e.g. B. Christine de Pizan . She even had economic success with her books.
Jews
As a rule, Jewish documents are signed. Even the simplest of Jews could read and write in Hebrew .
See also
- Record system
- Alphabetic monopoly
- Ethnogenesis and Hypolepsy
- History of the written media
- Logocentrism
- Media linguistics
literature
- Jan Assmann : The cultural memory. Writing, memory and political identity in early advanced cultures (= Beck'sche Reihe 1307). 4th edition of this edition. CH Beck, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-406-42107-5 (first edition: 1992).
- Werner Faulstich : The history of the media. Volume 2: Media and publics in the Middle Ages. 800-1400. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1996, ISBN 3-525-20786-7 .
- Jack Goody : The Logic of Scripture and the Organization of Society. Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1990, ISBN 3-518-58061-2 (English edition: The Logic of Writing and the Organization of Society. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1986, ISBN 0-521-32745-8 ).
- Johannes Grabmayer: The number seven is the key to the world. About the occidental knowledge around the year 1000. In: Konrad Spindler (Hrsg.): Man and nature in medieval Europe. Archaeological, historical and scientific findings (= series of publications by the Friesach Academy. Vol. 4). Wieser, Klagenfurt 1998, ISBN 3-85129-268-5 , pp. 15-36.
- Hartmut Günther, Otto Ludwig (Ed.): Writing and writing. An interdisciplinary handbook of international research. = Writing and its use (= handbooks for linguistics and communication studies. Vol. 10, 1). Half volume 1. de Gruyter, Berlin et al. 1994, ISBN 3-11-011129-2 .
- Eric A. Havelock : The Muse learns to write. Reflections on Orality and Literacy from Antiquity to the Present. Yale University Press, New Haven CT et al. 1988, ISBN 0-300-04382-1 .
- Robert A. Houston: Literacy. In: European History Online , published by the Institute for European History (Mainz) , 2011, accessed on: November 22, 2012.
- Marshall McLuhan : Understanding Media. The Extensions of Man. Routledge & Paul, London 1964 (German edition: Die Magischenkanals. Econ-Verlag, Düsseldorf 1968).
- David R. Olson, Nancy Torrance (Eds.): Orality and Literacy. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1991, ISBN 0-521-39217-9 .
- Walter J. Ong : Orality and Literacy. The Technologizing of the Word. Methuen, London et al. 1982, ISBN 0-416-71380-7 (German edition: Oralität und Literalität. Die Technologisierung des Wort. Westdeutscher Verlag, Opladen 1987, ISBN 3-531-11768-8 ).
- Karl-Heinz Spieß (Ed.): Media of Communication in the Middle Ages (= contributions to the history of communication. Vol. 15). Steiner, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-515-08034-1 .
- Peter Stein: Writing culture. A story of writing and reading. Primus, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-89678-564-8 (also: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2006, ISBN 3-534-15404-5 ).
- Scribner, S. & Cole, MW (1981). The Psychology of Literacy. Cambridge Mass: Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-72115-2 .
Web links
- Faculty of Literature at the University of Essen: Orality and Literacy ( Memento from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
Individual evidence
- ↑ Compare also spoken language vs. Written language .
- ↑ https://www.nzz.ch/feuilleton/analphabetismus-ist-verbetzt-trotz-immer-mehr-uni-studenten-ld.1551845 from 23.4.20
- ↑ Achievements of alphabet fonts. In: What's in a list? - The Domestication of the Savage Mind '. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge et al. 1977.
- ^ Jack Goody, Ian Watt , Kathleen Gough: Origin and consequences of written culture (= Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft 600). Suhrkamp, Frankfurt am Main 1986, ISBN 3-518-28200-X , p. 83.
- ↑ Jack Goody: The Logic of Scripture and the Organization of Society. 1990, p. 17.
- ^ Mirror of the Saxons . 1295-1363. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
- ↑ Eltjo Buringh, Jan Luiten van Zanden: Charting the "Rise of the West": Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the sixth through Eighteenth Centuries. In: The Journal of Economic History. Vol. 69, No. 2, 2009, ISSN 0022-0507 , pp. 409-445, here 416-417, panels 1-2.