Strategies of Writing: Studies on Text and Trust in the Middle Ages: Papers from "Trust in Writing in the Middle Ages" (Utrecht, 28-29 November 2002)

Trust is the basis of all social relations. A society in which trust - be it in one's fellow men or in political order - is not assured, will not, in the end, endure. In the Middle Ages - as, indeed, in any other period in human history - trust presupposes the concordance between word and deed, for instance, that future human action may be predicted. In this way trust creates the security necessary in the life of individuals. Rather than an emotion, trust is an attitude based on experience. It is not created spontaneously, but requires a process of observation and socialization. This implies that the preconditions for trust are culturally determined and subject to change. Trust is expressed through communication. The following questions are addressed in the contributions to this volume: Are some contents more trustworthy than others? Does writing as a medium engender trust irrespective of the contents of the written text? Was trust in writing dependent on trust in an authority? Was it perhaps exclusively dependent on that authority? Are there suggestions that the written form of the text was meant to confer trust on its contents? Did rituals take place (before or during the writing down of the text, or during its handing over to its recipient) that were meant to enhance the text's trustworthiness? Can changes be observed in the strategies of engendering trust? Was trust food for reflection in written texts? What was considered to constitute a breach of trust?