Oral and Literate Culture in England, 1500-1700

Erscheinungsjahr 2002
ISBN: 978-0-19-925103-2
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 512 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 139 mm x 216 mm, Gewicht: 612 g

This book explores the varied vernacular forms and rich oral traditions which were such a part of popular culture in early modern England. It focuses, in particular, upon dialect speech and proverbial wisdom, 'old wives' tales' and children's lore, historical legends and local customs, scurrilous versifying and scandalous rumour-mongering.

Adam Fox argues that while the spoken word provides the most vivid insight into the mental world of the majority in this society, it was by no means untouched by written influences. Even at the beginning of the period, centuries of reciprocal infusion between these complementary media had created a cultural repertoire which had long since ceased to be purely oral. Thereafter, the growth of reading ability together with the proliferation of texts both in manuscript and print saw the rapid acceleration and elaboration of this process. By 1700 popular traditions and modes of expression were the product of a fundamentally literate environment to a much greater extent than has yet been appreciated.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Fox, Adam

Fachgebiete

• Interdisziplinäres Wissenschaften Wissenschaft und Gesellschaft | Kulturwissenschaften Kulturwissenschaften
• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Weltgeschichte & Geschichte einzelner Länder und Gebietsräume Geschichte einzelner Länder Europäische Länder England, UK, Irland: Regional & Stadtgeschichte

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction: The Oral and the Literate

- 71: Popular Speech

- 2: Proverbial Wisdom

- 3: Old Wives' Tales and Nursery Lore

- 4: The Historical Imagination

- 5: Local Custom, Memory, and Record

- 6: Ballads and Libels

- 7: Rumour and News

- Conclusion