OFF TOPIC Monastic literature was Re: Download Research Shows Sales Unaffected

[Jill Strobridge]

> (ie anything that's not Kylie or Robbie) - there are a lot of people
> producing it cheaply and distributing it for very little. It's a bit
like
> the invention of printing - unless there's a high volume distribution
the
> production of individual items becomes uneconomic, and unattractive
for
> companies with high fixed costs. Maybe that's one of the reasons why
so
> many monsteries went bust in the 16th Century!

It certainly made them less relevant since they could no longer claim to
be the sole keepers of an intellectual knowledge that was now available
to all.  However since most people were illiterate monasteries simply
took over the role of educators and started teaching people how to read
the books that were suddenly being produced in large quantities.   More
interesting, perhaps is the kind of books that were suddenly being
written in English, not just Latin - treaties on farming, gardening,
good behaviour, bawdy tales, Mystery Plays, moral allegories, historic
legends, tales of heroes and lovers and access to Latin and Greek
philosphers that had never been available before.   A vast and diverse
literature was suddenly available - far different from the prayer books
and few bibles which, though beautifully decorated, were somewhat
restrictive in outlook!

Actually the monasteries made their enormous wealth from (1) wool and
(2) donations of land for chantries (which in effect meant it was theirs
for ever) which they either used to graze even more sheep or gave to
others and just collected the rents.   Gradually wool became uneconomic
(increasing tax burden - illness among sheep - high shipping costs to
Europe - and ultimately war with Europe) and the King decided he could
make much better use of the monasteries lands than they could, so around
1530 he confiscated the lot and then demolished the buildings to make
sure they couldn't be reused.

Such is history
jill
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Jill Strobridge <jill at theta-orionis.freeserve.co.uk>
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