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Scholars have long recognized that writing came to play a large role in late medieval English society. In this article I attend to two key elements of this development, both of which have been largely understudied. First, I argue that informal writing, such as the memoranda, epistolary formulas, and Latin phrases populating the margins and flyleaves of manuscripts, demonstrates that the desire to write went far beyond those who copied documents for official legal purposes. Then, I address the question of how scribes — of both the informal and formal variety — acquired their skills. To answer this question, I bring together evidence about the teaching of writing in grammar schools, writing schools, at university, and within homes, showing that there were numerous educational options available in the period.
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