PUB - Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld

Trust is the basis of all social relations. A society in which trust – be it in one's fellow men or in political order – is not assured, will not, in the end, endure. In the Middle Ages – as, indeed, in any other period in human history – trust presupposes the concordance between word and deed, i.e. that future human action may be predicted. In this way trust creates the security necessary in the life of individuals. Rather than an emotion, trust is an attitude based on experience. It is not created spontaneously, but requires a process of observation and socialisation. This implies that the preconditions for trust are culturally determined and subject to change. Trust is expressed through communication. The following questions are addressed in the contributions to this volume: Are medieval texts trusted only because of their contents? Are some contents more trustworthy than others? Does writing as a medium engender trust irrespective of the contents of the written text? Was trust in writing dependent on trust in an authority? Are there suggestions that the written form of the medieval text was meant to confer trust on its contents? Did rituals take place (before or during the writing down of the text, or during its handing over to its recipient) that were meant to enhance the text's trustworthiness? Can changes be observed in the strategies of engendering trust? Was trust food for reflection in written texts? What was considered to constitute a breach of trust?