This volume contains the proceedings of two gatherings held in 1999: a symposium on medieval literacy, Charters: the Development of Writing in Medieval Society held on 29 April 1999 in Utrecht, and three consecutive sessions on Charters and the Use of the Written Word during the International Medieval Congress at Leeds on 12 July 1999. The subject of these gatherings was the development of writing in medieval society. There have been periods of growth and of decrease in the quantity of writing produced in the medieval centuries. The present volume is concerned rather with qualitative developments. Which developments can be distinguished in the roles played by writing in medieval societies? In which fields was writing used, and by whom? Why did these changes take place? When attempting to answer these questions, the scholar confronts basic questions about the sources at ones disposal. Why were documents written? Why were they preserved and in what form? As a consequence, the contributions are clearly source-oriented. Charters, the sources to which most attention is devoted, have been continuously present throughout the Middle Ages. Moreover, they had an impact on most layers of society. The auxiliary science of diplomatics has helped scholars understand many historical problems; in this volume it is applied to the study of writing and the uses of writing.