Literate CultureLiterate Culture

Colin JohnsonColin JohnsonEmily van der HartenEmily van der HartenTimothy NelsonTimothy NelsonMolly ElfersMolly Elfers

Cuneiform• Earliest Form of

Writing- Cuneiform 3500 BC by Sumerians in Mesopotamia

• Latin meaning wedged shapes

• Pictographic based writing system

• Other pictographic scripts are Egyptian and Chinese

Phonetic Script• Developed 1500 BC by the

Semites• Adopted and transformed by the

Greeks• Features of a Phonetic Alphabet:

1. Much simpler than pictographic written

language2. Takes a shorter

amount of time to master phonetic language

3. Focuses on sounds more than what an object looks like

• We use a phonetic alphabet today

Rosetta Stone• Carved around 196 BC• Discovered by Napoleon’s

army in 1799• Written in two different

languages, which are Egyptian and Greek, using three different scripts: Hieroglyphics, Demotic, and Greek

• People could not decipher hieroglyphics when the stone was found

• Champollion used Greek to decipher what the hieroglyphics were saying

BeowulfWritten around 700

ADWritten in Old EnglishOne of the oldest

stories, and certainly most popular, to come out in Old English.

Considered “England’s national epic” even though the setting is in Scandinavia.

Carolingian Manuscripts and Art• Emerged under the rule of

Charlemagne from about 780 AD to 900 AD

• Inspired by Old Byzantine style• Written in Latin, which was the

universal language at the time• During his reign the rate of

literacy was high• After fall of the Roman Empire,

literacy rate depleted markedly

Chaucer Ellesmere Manuscripts

• Produced shortly after 1400 AD

• Contains the Canterbury Tales

• Written in middle English cursive script

• Only a few of the first and second editions have survived into the 21st century

Printing Press• Invented by Johannes

Gutenberg about 1440• Soon his invention spread all

over Europe and everyone was printing

• Accelerated the speed at which the Renaissance advanced

• Why is the printing press so wonderful?1. Information was available to a wider array of people2. Books didn’t cost as much3. It created a variety of literature to choose from4. Not as labor intensive

What Have We What Have We Gained?Gained?

RecordsRecords Statements From IndividualsStatements From Individuals Charters- General Public Letter, ‘all the sons of the Holy Church’ or Charters- General Public Letter, ‘all the sons of the Holy Church’ or

‘all the faithful in Christ’‘all the faithful in Christ’ Certificates- Notifications, Wills, or TestimonialsCertificates- Notifications, Wills, or Testimonials Letters- Addressed and Sent to a Single ResidenceLetters- Addressed and Sent to a Single Residence Financial Accounts- Balances of Receipts and ExpenditureFinancial Accounts- Balances of Receipts and Expenditure Legal Records- King’s Court and Notes of PenaltiesLegal Records- King’s Court and Notes of Penalties Legally Binding DocumentsLegally Binding Documents Year Books- Dialogue Exchanged In Court CasesYear Books- Dialogue Exchanged In Court Cases Chronicles- A Record of Past EventsChronicles- A Record of Past Events Books- Fiction, Non-Fiction, ReligionBooks- Fiction, Non-Fiction, Religion

What Have We Gained?

• Historical Events Recorded• Archives and Libraries• Retrieving Information• Oral Traditions and Stories are Recorded• Remembrance and preservation of customs• Laws and Regulations are written down• Don’t Rely on Memory or “Word of Mouth”• Reading aloud• Writing has a oral quality• Hearing impaired are able to read traditionally

oral stories

What Have We Gained?

• Information traveled more quickly and widely

• With translations anyone can read something from across the world

• Newspapers, Journals, and Magazines• Internet• People became more informed once they

became literate• Philosophy and Governmental ideals were

recorded

Losses of Being a Literate Culture

• Oral culture allowed the speaker to shape the story as he or she chooses. They can focus on certain elements: E.g. Homer and the Iliad

• Less singing/human interaction• Things were structured to be remembered more easily• Epic similes and extended comparisons to help imagine

characteristics• Inflections in tone and voice hard to replicate onto a

page• Reactions to written things are less visible and open• Written words are inert, whereas oral words have more

‘life’

Who Is Literate? (and why…) Medieval Europe• Monks, Priests, etc. (members of

the Church) - Keepers of the Bible- Translators for the people

• Aristocracy, members of the court, etc.

- They had the time and money

Common People (illiterate)• Artisans• Not much hope for advancement in

society• Time, money, availability of supplies

Literacy is a Technology•Mass proficiency based on availability

Today•Literacy common/looked down upon to be illiterate•New kinds of literacy

-Computer literacy

Bibliography

• Clanchy, M.T. From Memory to Written Record. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1979.

• Ong, Walter. Orality and Literacy. London and New York: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1987.

• Fox, Adam. Oral and Literate Culture in England. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.

• Yunis, Harvey. Written Texts and the rise of Literate Culture in Ancient Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

• Amodio, Mark. Writing the Oral Tradition. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004.

Bibliography

• “Literacy,” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literacy> 18/10/2006

• “Literacy in Culture,” <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/bibliotheca/bibliotheca.html> 18/10/2006

• “Medieval Life,” <http://www.medieval-life.net/education.htm> 18/10/2006

• “Medieval Life,” <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medieval_university> 18/10/2006