"
"I think, Uncle, that it was rather my mother's idea than my own; she
thought that it might conduce to my advancement, should I ever leave
the hold and go out into the world."
"She was quite right, Oswald; and 'tis a pity that you did not go, for
a couple of years, to a monastery. It is a good thing to be able to
read an order, or to write one, for many of the lords and knights can
do no more than make a shift to sign their names. As for books I say
nothing, for I see not what manner of good they are; but father Ernulf,
who is chaplain here, tells me that one who gives his mind to it can,
in a year, learn enough to write down, not in a clerkly hand, but in
one that can be understood, any letter or order his lord may wish sent,
or to read for him any that he receives.
"In most matters, doubtless, an order by word of mouth is just as good
as one writ on vellum; but there are times when a messenger could not
be trusted to deliver one accurately, as he receives it; or it might
have to be passed on, from hand to hand. Otherwise, a spoken message is
the best; for if a messenger be killed on the way, none are the wiser
as to the errand on which he is going; while, if a parchment is found
on him, the first priest or monk can translate its purport.
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