1. Think all Mediaeval manuscripts are pristine, well crafted bits of art? Let me introduce the Ormulum:
2. Think castles were dreary grey? Not quite. They whitewashed the walls and painted faux bricks in and flower designs.
3. In pre-Conquest England, not all monks and so on lived well in monasteries. They had the same kind of house (wattle and daub, thatched roof) as everyone else - but less. They had no furniture, no mattress, and still had to do all the work of regular workers, as well as church duties.
4. Latin was not the language of every church. Romance speaking countries theoretically wrote in Latin, but pronounced it in their proto-Romance way (for instance, a Frankish speaker would say Latin words in a way that would become French, whilst writing it with the Latin spelling). Priests had to be given glosses such as the Reichenau Glossary - Wikipedia to help them with their Latin.
2. Think castles were dreary grey? Not quite. They whitewashed the walls and painted faux bricks in and flower designs.
4. Latin was not the language of every church. Romance speaking countries theoretically wrote in Latin, but pronounced it in their proto-Romance way (for instance, a Frankish speaker would say Latin words in a way that would become French, whilst writing it with the Latin spelling). Priests had to be given glosses such as the Reichenau Glossary - Wikipedia to help them with their Latin.
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