ABSTRACT
This chapter traces the development of writing instruction from the fall of the Roman Empire through to the twelfth century in the Latin west, describing both continuities in education and the developments that resulted from both societal changes and the shift of Latin to an acquired tongue. It describes the sources for understanding writing instruction, including schoolbooks (grammar texts, works on poetic meter, progymnasmata, rhetorical works), instructional materials (glossaries, differentiae, commentaries, sententiae, exempla, colloquies, formula, and letter collections), and various narrative sources. Processes of writing instruction are illuminated, including early reading pedagogy and the influence of poetic qualities such as rhythm, diction, and style on prose composition. Strategies for learning to compose prose include imitative exercises, compilation, and deliberate structure and arrangement. Finally, the chapter argues for a close relationship between progymnasmata exercises and Ars dictaminis, emphasizing continuity in the practice of letter-writing over the period.
