This study explores one means of imparting Latin literacy in early medieval society: the so-called "external school," often presumed to have been a common feature of medieval monastic education. It questions the prevalence of this institution and whether the external school can be used as evidence of relatively widespread literacy among the non- clerical Carolingian population in particular.
By precisely defining and chronicling external schooling, M.M. Hildebrandt invites the reader to reconsider conventional notions about the nature of the Carolingian educational program. The author examines the intention of monastic founders and writers regarding education, the effects of missionary activities on the religious training of non-monks, the attempts made by royal and ecclesiastical leaders to rationalize external schooling, and the impact of ninth-century political and economic turmoil on the development of this institution.
The scope of this book makes it of interest as a contribution to the current debate concerning the character of medieval literacy as well as a source book for the study of early medieval monastic education.