Many of them see literature as a satisfying and enjoyable way to spend time. Of course, they might not actually pick up a book themselves; lords and their families, together with members of their households, are accustomed to having books read to them as they sit in the hall or chamber of an evening.45 Nevertheless the music of a tale told well is as popular as any other form of minstrelsy, and as enjoyable as literature in the modern world
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As only a twentieth of the rural population can read, literature is still a minority activity. Most story-telling is done by minstrels, or story-tellers travelling with minstrels, who recite their stories from memory. Nor can you separate this oral tradition from written culture and say the two are different. Lords might listen to a story being read to them from a book, or they might equally listen to a minstrel in the hall recite a tale from memory. And just as some stories move from the written word to being performed from memory, so there are stories which begin as oral tales told at fairs and end up being written down
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
Ian Mortimer
…
As only a twentieth of the rural population can read, literature is still a minority activity. Most story-telling is done by minstrels, or story-tellers travelling with minstrels, who recite their stories from memory. Nor can you separate this oral tradition from written culture and say the two are different. Lords might listen to a story being read to them from a book, or they might equally listen to a minstrel in the hall recite a tale from memory. And just as some stories move from the written word to being performed from memory, so there are stories which begin as oral tales told at fairs and end up being written down
The Time Traveller's Guide to Medieval England
Ian Mortimer