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| Hrabanus Maurus presenting his book to Pope Gregory IV (Fulda, 831-840) (Austrian National Library) |
What a book was made of seems trivial, but that choice
had consequences for the spread of knowledge in entire early medieval
societies.
One thing that struck me in Jessica’s Seven Noble Knights was that literacy
was so widespread on the Muslim side of the border in tenth-century Spain. Even
the common soldiers could read and might own a book. No so in eighth-century
Francia, the setting for my novels, The
Cross and the Dragon and The Ashes of
Heaven’s Pillar. In the world of my characters, few people could read, and
even fewer could write.
The reason for this difference had nothing to do with
intelligence. Rather, it was the material used to produce books. Muslims used
paper, which was much more affordable than the parchment favored by Christians.
Parchment came from sheepskin, and one sheepskin produced
two large pages. So, a large book required a lot of sheep. This meant that to
have the raw materials for a book, you needed enough land to devote to feeding
sheep instead of raising crops.
On top of that was the cost of labor. A normal size
manuscript took a team of scribes two to three months to copy by hand, and then
it was edited by the head of the shop. If the book had special merit, an artist
would be brought in to decorate letters and paint leaves kept in reserve. After
that, the book was assembled, and if expensive, bound, an innovation of the
Carolingians. Really special books had gold or ivory in the binding.
So literacy – and the scientific, theological, and
philosophic knowledge contained within books – was limited to the clergy and
wealthy laity. In Francia, books were so precious that owners invoked dire
consequences if they were damaged. One scribe wrote: “The book was given to God
and His Mother by Dido [of Laon]. Anyone who harms it will incur God’s wrath
and offend His Mother.”
In an age where litanies were performed to gain God’s
favor in an upcoming war, these are not empty words. If you borrowed a book,
you would be especially motivated to take care of it. God’s anger was
terrifying enough, but you certainly wouldn’t want to offend His Mother, whom
you often asked to intercede for you.
Books are a new things for the main characters in my
latest release, The Ashes of Heaven’s
Pillar. Not only are Leova and her children, Deorlaf and Sunwynn,
illiterate Saxon peasants and recent converts to Christianity; they are taken
to Francia from a culture that doesn’t have a written language as we know it.
They are war captives sold into slavery, and although they learn a new spoken
language, Roman, they never learn the written language of Latin.
In this excerpt, we’ll meet Thomas the clerk, one of the
few literate people in this novel, and find out why it’s good to be friends
with a guy who can read. Here, he is reading a message from Countess Gerhilda’s
brother about the death of their father.
While Gerhilda bawled, Thomas silently read a few more lines,
stared at Sunwynn, and squinted at the parchment. “I apologize, my lady, this
parchment has been written on more than once and is hard to read.” He looked at
Sunwynn’s face then at the parchment. “It has rained almost every day.”
Her brow furrowed, Sunwynn puzzled over Thomas’s actions.
His explanation of why he had hesitated did not ring true. Why had he gazed at
her after he read the message? Had he read something that concerned her? She
had no idea what it could be. She was unimportant. Patting Gerhilda’s hand,
Sunwynn felt ashamed for her relief that Gerhilda was too distracted to notice.
The clerk continued to read about spring planting and the
number of men who went to war. When he finished the letter, he rolled the
parchment. “I would advise against trading today, Countess.”
“No, not today,” Gerhilda said in a monotone.
Gerhilda released Sunwynn’s hand and wrapped her arms around
her large belly. Sunwynn stood, stepped past her lady, and grabbed the half
full cup.
“Let me fetch you some more wine, my lady,” she said softly,
“to calm you and help the baby.”
“Don’t tarry.” Gerhilda’s eyes carried a plea, not an
order.
“No, no, my lady. I promise.”
Hurrying toward the wine cellar, Sunwynn wondered how she
could ask Thomas about the letter. She glanced over her shoulder and saw Thomas
bow to Gerhilda and leave the hearth. Instead of going directly to the tower,
he rubbed his forehead and said something about needing herbs for a headache.
She slowed a little as she went through the door, and soon Thomas caught up
with her. Walking alongside her, he did not seem ill at all.
When they were outside, Thomas looked over his shoulder,
then directed his gaze toward Sunwynn. “There was something else in that
letter,” he murmured.
“What is it?”
Thomas looked over his shoulder again. Sunwynn did the same.
Servants were bustling about, but no one could overhear them if they kept their
voices low.
“A Saxon slave has run away,” Thomas said.
“Deorlaf!”
Thomas offered his arm for support. Sunwynn grasped his
forearm and leaned against him. She staggered forward, almost spilling the
wine.
“So he is your kin?” Thomas asked.
“My brother.” Sunwynn gulped a mouthful of wine. “He must
be mad. He will die out there.”
“I’m sorry.”
“I needed to know. But why did you keep this from Gerhilda?”
“I’ve known of too many masters who punish the whole family
for one servant’s misdeed. No good would come from punishing you and your
mother, and I am…” Thomas shook his head. “You are a good woman.”
If circumstances were different, I would ask my
brother to betroth me to you. Behind her, the sound of footsteps pounding
against the hardened ground shook Sunwynn from her daydream. Releasing Thomas,
she turned. The merchant was running toward her, his face pale, his eyes wide.
“Countess… in pain…”
Sources
Daily Life in the
World of Charlemagne by Pierre Riche
Daily Life in the
Age of Charlemagne by John Butt
Kim Rendfeld is the author of The Cross and the Dragon (2012, Fireship Press) and The Ashes of Heaven’s Pillar (August 28,
2014, Fireship Press). To read the first chapters of either novel or learn more
about Kim, visit kimrendfeld.com. You’re
also welcome to visit her blog Outtakes
of a Historical Novelist at kimrendfeld.wordpress.com,
like her on Facebook at facebook.com/authorkimrendfeld,
or follow her on Twitter at @kimrendfeld, or contact her at kim [at] kimrendfeld
[dot] com.
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