[Ansteorra] Can someone confirm/deny for me?

[David Brown]

I think my point was lost. I know that people have been writing since long 
ago...but they do not call them the Dark Ages for nothing. A lot of things were 
lost and I believe that even during the time period we study that most people 
did not know how to read or write, and if they did, then it was few and only 
those who could afford to learn. True?

Lord Devin




________________________________
From: Chris Zakes <dontivar at gmail.com>
To: "Kingdom of Ansteorra - SCA, Inc." <ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Wed, August 18, 2010 3:50:28 PM
Subject: Re: [Ansteorra] Can someone confirm/deny for me?

At 11:15 AM 8/18/2010, you wrote:

> I understand the importance of the oral tradition that we use in the SCA. In
> period that is how it is done, but if rely only on the passing down in oral
> tradition now we stand the chance of losing some of the greatest songs and
> stories in the SCA.
> If they would have known how to write them down, I am sure they would have.
> 
> Lord Devin


Well yes and no. *Writing* dates back about 6000 years, so it certainly existed 
all through the time period we study. But, as Master Michael said, some things 
didn't get written down because everybody already knew it, so it wasn't 
considered necessary. And in some cases, the manuscripts that existed were lost 
between then and now. Don't forget that before the printing press was developed 
in the mid-1400s, books and suchlike were done by hand or not at all, so you 
wouldn't have print runs of thousands of books like you see in the modern world.

Being a fossil myself, I'm all in favor of preserving our history, but *in this 
particular case* the author has specifically requested that the song not be 
written down, and I'd be inclined to follow his wishes.

        -Tivar Moondragon

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