Literacy in Everyday Life: Reading and Writing in Early Modern Dutch Diaries (Egodocuments and History Series)

Until recently, historians of reading have concentrated on book ownership and trying to map out a history of who read what. The reading experience has been a subject more difficult to research. As has been pointed out before, egodocuments can be valuable sources in this case. Following this lead, Literacy in Everyday Life focuses upon four early modern Dutch diaries in which readers document their daily life and in which they recount their reading. In the analysis, other ways in which these four readers communicated are also addressed, especially speech and writing. This book therefore provides an insight into the possible uses of literacy and the interaction between the printed, written and spoken word in the early modern Dutch Republic. Contents......Page 6 Foreword......Page 10 List of Illustrations......Page 12 List of Abbreviations and Archive Names......Page 14 I. Historical Research on Reading and Writing: From Book Ownership to the Use of Media......Page 16 The history of reading......Page 20 The history of reading as a research field ......Page 22 A different perspective: Reading within the framework of media history......Page 25 Research on historical readers......Page 30 Research on historical reading behaviour......Page 40 Egodocuments as source material......Page 47 Structure of the book......Page 53 II. Mirror of Literacy: Reading and Writing in the Diary (1624) of David Beck......Page 56 A German schoolmaster in the Dutch Republic......Page 58 'Mirror of my life'......Page 60 The conversation of the day......Page 64 Writing habits......Page 69 Conversation at a distance: correspondence......Page 70 Writing at school......Page 75 Income and expenditure in writing......Page 79 Paper poetry: the oeuvre of the poet David Beck......Page 80 Writing poetry and everyday life......Page 84 Publication in manuscript form......Page 87 'Mousing and rummaging': Beck's reading behaviour......Page 91 Handwritten reading......Page 92 Poetic taste: Beck's reading of printed texts......Page 94 Aging French poems and topical Dutch prose......Page 99 Beck's books in other sources......Page 101 'Nosing around' in bookshops or at the Binnenhof......Page 104 Books in everyday life......Page 108 Diverse ways of reading......Page 114 Reading in order to write......Page 120 Final remarks......Page 124 III. Aristocratic Literacy: Pieter Teding van Berkhout and his 'Journal' ( 1669–1712)......Page 128 The life of a gentleman of rank......Page 130 'Journal contenant mes occupations'......Page 135 Final remarks......Page 200 The aristocratisation of everyday conversation?......Page 141 Putting pen to paper......Page 146 Written contacts: correspondence and writing style......Page 147 Writing and family history......Page 151 Political notes......Page 154 Teding van Berkhout's library......Page 157 A historical taste......Page 160 Reading à la mode......Page 168 An unusual taste?......Page 170 Purchases and gift s......Page 175 The delights of country life......Page 179 Reading a book......Page 184 Reading for edifi cation and entertainment......Page 194 IV. Aural and Eyewitness Testimony: Reading, Writing, and Discussions of Current Aff airs in Jan de Boer's chronological journal (1747–1758)......Page 204 The life of an Amsterdam clerk......Page 206 The diary or 'journal' of Jan de Boer......Page 211 Historiography of the news......Page 219 Final remarks......Page 277 The flow of information: De Boer's news sources......Page 223 News in the street......Page 224 News on printed paper......Page 229 The news of 1755......Page 232 News from many sides......Page 234 Reading the news: printed matter in the diary......Page 237 Newspapers......Page 240 Newspaper reports in the diary......Page 244 Information and discussion in pamphlets......Page 249 News in pamphlets......Page 252 'Only an oortje': the distribution of pamphlets......Page 256 The anonymous author of the pamphlet 'Pro Patria'......Page 262 Pamphlet readers and their responses......Page 266 Other informative publications: ordinances, periodicals and prints......Page 271 News as history......Page 275 V. A Devout Reader and Writer: Literacy in Jacoba van Thiel's 'Account-Book of the Soul' (1767–1770)......Page 280 A life lived amid the clergy......Page 282 Daily register or 'account-book of the soul'......Page 287 Pious conversation......Page 296 A devout Christian woman with a pen......Page 303 Pious correspondence......Page 304 'Somewhat free from the earth': on keeping a diary......Page 308 A religious glutton......Page 312 Old or new?......Page 320 Readers of pious literature and readers of novels......Page 322 The parsonage library......Page 325 Relatives and women in Luchtmans' shop......Page 330 Purchases and gifts......Page 332 Reading and the daily struggle......Page 334 Daily books: Van Thiel's modes of reading......Page 338 Nourishing the soul......Page 347 Final remarks......Page 353 VI. Literacy in Everyday Life......Page 356 Speech, writing and reading......Page 357 Forms of reading behaviour......Page 359 Appendix I: Reading Behaviour in Figures......Page 364 Appendix II: Titles of Books Mentioned in the Diaries......Page 370 List of Sources......Page 396 Bibliography......Page 402 Index......Page 430