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History General

The spoken word

Oral culture in Britain, 1500-1850

edited by Adam Fox & Daniel Woolf

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Initial publish date
Feb 2003
Category
General
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780719057472
    Publish Date
    Feb 2003
    List Price
    $33.00

Classroom Resources

Where to buy it

Description

Discusses the transition from a largely oral to a fundamentally literate society in the early modern period. During this period the spoken word remained of the utmost importance but development of printing and the spread of popular literacy combined to transform the nature of communication. Examines English, Scottish and Welsh Oral culture to provide the first pan-British study of the subject. Covers several aspects of oral culture ranging from tradition, to memories of the civil war, to changing mechanics for the settling of debts. The time-span concentrates on the period 1500-1800 but includes material from outside this time frame, covering a longer chronolgical span than most other studies to show the link between early modern and modern oral and literate cultures.

About the authors

Contributor Notes

Adam Fox is Lecturer in Economic and Social History at the University of Edinburgh. Daniel Woolf is Professor of History and Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada.