Signs and Signatures: A study on the changing use and meaning of sixteenth century marking signs, signatures and its implications for the study of literacy

In the city archive of Leiden rests a unique combination of sources that has changed our understanding of early modern, European literacy. Within the archive, much evidence can be found of literate people who signed using a specific kind of symbol, known as a ‘marking sign’, whilst it used to be believed that only the illiterate signed using these. This is a finding that challenges our understanding of the relation between the way people signed and their literacy, and has the potential to change our understanding of literacy rates calculated using signatures for many places around Europe. To understand how this finding might impact our understanding of literacy, this study sought to examine and explain the changing use of signatures in sixteenth-century Leiden. This was achieved by quantitively reconstructing the signing behaviour of various Leiden social classes and studying the broader sixteenth-century use of marking signs as well as the practice of signing itself through a...Show moreIn the city archive of Leiden rests a unique combination of sources that has changed our understanding of early modern, European literacy. Within the archive, much evidence can be found of literate people who signed using a specific kind of symbol, known as a ‘marking sign’, whilst it used to be believed that only the illiterate signed using these. This is a finding that challenges our understanding of the relation between the way people signed and their literacy, and has the potential to change our understanding of literacy rates calculated using signatures for many places around Europe. To understand how this finding might impact our understanding of literacy, this study sought to examine and explain the changing use of signatures in sixteenth-century Leiden. This was achieved by quantitively reconstructing the signing behaviour of various Leiden social classes and studying the broader sixteenth-century use of marking signs as well as the practice of signing itself through a qualitative, interdisciplinary analysis using both written and material evidence. In the end, it was possible to prove that the findings from Leiden should lead us to reconsider the literacy rates calculated for early modern Europe.Show less

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Signs and Signatures: A study on the changing use and meaning of sixteenth century marking signs, signatures and its implications for the study of literacy