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...