Oral and literate culture in England, 1500-1700
By: Adam Fox.
Series: Oxford studies in social history
Publisher: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press
Published: 2000
Place of publication: Oxford; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 497
Subjects: English literature -- Early modern, 1500-1700 -- History and criticism; Popular literature -- England -- History and criticism; Popular culture -- England -- History -- 17th century; Popular culture -- England -- History -- 16th century; Oral tradition -- England -- History -- 16th century; Oral tradition -- England -- History -- 17th century; England -- Social life and customs -- 16th century; England -- Social life and customs -- 17th century
Description: "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."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [414]-457) and index.