Kentish Book Culture: Writers, Archives, Libraries and Sociability, 1400-1660

摘要

As A REGION KENT HAS LONG BEEN RECOGNIZED for its distinctive character: its proximity to both London and the Continent, its traditions of heterodoxy and the early impact of the official Protestant Reformation, and the longevity and affluence of the gentry, to name just a few aspects. In the stimulating introduction to Kentish Book Culture, Claire Bartram draws attention also to the 'bookishness', not only of the county elite, but also of other sectors of society below the level of the gentry. This collection of essays seeks to provide a broad sense of sociability and of reading within Kentish society, through manuscript as well as print, and to look at personal and regional practice. The collection is structured in two parts. The first section examines the ways in which records and archives were created by individuals and institutions for themselves and the wider community; the second groups together essays which examine literate identities and networks.