The book investigates the ways in which literacy was important in early medieval Europe, and examines the context of literacy, its uses, levels, and distribution, in a number of different early medieval societies, including Ireland, Anglo-Saxon England, Visigothic and Umayyad Spain, Papal Rome, and Byzantium, between c. 400 and c. 1000. The contributors set out to provide the factual basis for assessments of the significance of literacy in the early medieval world and analyze the significance of literacy, its implications, and its consequences for the various societies. In all cases, the studies represent new research and provide fascinating insights into the attitudes of early medieval societies toward the written word.