Urban Literacy in the Nordic Middle Ages

Book excerpt: This volume explores literacy in the medieval towns of Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, and aims to understand the extent to which these medieval urban centres constituted a driving force in the development of literacy in Nordic societies generally. As in other parts of Europe, two languages--Latin and the vernacular--were in use. However, the Nordic area is also characterised by its use of the runic alphabet, and thus two writing systems were also in use. Another characteristic of the North is its comparatively weak urbanization, especially in Finland, Sweden, and Norway. Literacy and the uses of writing in medieval towns of the North is approached from various angles of research, including history, archaeology, philology, and runology. The contributions cover topics related to urban literacy that include both case studies and general surveys of the dissemination of writing, all from a Northern perspective. The thematic chapters all present new sources and approaches that offer a new dimension both to the study of medieval urban literacy and also to Scandinavian studies.