• Writing and Reading in the Circle of Sir John Fastolf (d. 1459)

    Author(s):
    Deborah Thorpe (see profile)
    Date:
    2011
    Subject(s):
    Middle Ages, Writing, Manuscripts
    Item Type:
    Thesis
    Institution:
    University of York
    Tag(s):
    Medieval, Scribal culture, Manuscript culture, Manuscript studies
    Permanent URL:
    http://dx.doi.org/10.17613/s53f-2802
    Abstract:
    This thesis is a study of all aspects of writing and reading connected with Sir John Fastolf, a military captain and steward of the household of John Duke of Bedford, who returned to England from the later battles of the Hundred Years War in 1438. Using the circumstantial, palaeographical, and codicological evidence contained in the letters, documents, and literary texts associated with Fastolf, the thesis performs a survey of the men who wrote for Fastolf, their interactions with him and with each other, and their positions in what might be deemed a ‘readership community’. The thesis takes a detailed look at letter and document composition, delivery, and storage, then relates this administrative writing to the production and reception of texts in manuscript books. It argues that there was a close relationship between these two types of work, finding that the administrators of the Fastolf circle were also the scribes of literary texts. The thesis consistently reinforces the importance of oral communication within this circle, emphasising that though there is a substantial amount of surviving written material associated with this circle, the written word was not the sole form of communication within it... [continued in thesis]
    Metadata:
    xml
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 years ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives

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