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How did late medieval rural communities interact with the written word? What was its role within the administrative structures? On 6 November, Mark Vermeer (History and Art History) defends his dissertation on this topic titled Schrijven voor de schepenbank. De ontwikkeling van bestuurlijke pragmatische geletterdheid op het Noordbrabantse platteland (de Meierij van ’s-Hertogenbosch, ca. 1300-1550).

The written word in the countryside

Traditionally the written word is considered a method of communication connected mainly to cities, as urban governments, merchants and others were seen as the main proponents of writing. On the other hand, the countryside is considered to have known no impulses for increasing literacy: local knowledge and oral agreements sufficed. Furthermore the number of literate peasants was expected to have been extremely low.

The Bailiwick of 's-Hertogenbosch

Vermeer researched the Bailiwick of ‘s-Hertogenbosch: a part of the duchy of Brabant and including what is the larger part of the province Noord-Brabant at present. By analysing the administrative scribal activity, primarily charters, he pinpoints when and where scribes were active. It has become clear that they were personally responsible for introducing the written word to the smaller villages and hamlets, as they travelled through the region and recorded legal acts at the behest of the village governments. Since these legal acts were voluntary in nature, the majority of the Bailiwick’s peasants were brought into contact with the written word, even though they were not able to read and write themselves.