This thesis is a study of all aspects of writing and reading connected with Sir John
Fastolf, a military captain and steward of the household of John Duke of Bedford,
who returned to England from the later battles of the Hundred Years War in 1438.
Using the circumstantial, palaeographical, and codicological evidence contained in
the letters, documents, and literary texts associated with Fastolf, the thesis performs a
survey of the men who wrote for Fastolf, their interactions with him and with each
other, and their positions in what might be deemed a ‘readership community’. The
thesis takes a detailed look at letter and document composition, delivery, and storage,
then relates this administrative writing to the production and reception of texts in
manuscript books. It argues that there was a close relationship between these two
types of work, finding that the administrators of the Fastolf circle were also the
scribes of literary texts. The thesis consistently reinforces the importance of oral
communication within this circle, emphasising that though there is a substantial
amount of surviving written material associated with this circle, the written word was
not the sole form of communication within it… [continued in thesis]