Graffiti and the Writing Arts of Early Modern England

This work investigates writing practices such as graffiti, tattooing and inscriptions on implements, jewellery, clothing and other objects in early modern England. These writing practices invite the reader to imagine a world in which writing and drawing were not fully distinguishable, the page was not an important boundary, and modern assumptions as to what constitutes literacy were irrelevant. Juliet Fleming's exploration of virtually unknown literary artefacts provides a new perspective on 16th-century culture.