The Talk of the Town: Information and Community in Sixteenth-Century Switzerland

The Talk of the Town examines how information circulated in a sixteenth-century small town through the lens of Johannes Rütiner's notebooks, revealing what the inhabitants talked about and how it was processed and shared. It argues that the circulation of information remained inseparable from the social dynamics of face-to-face exchanges long into the age of print.

Format: Hardback
Length: 208 pages
Publication date: 03 February 2022
Publisher: Oxford University Press

The Talk of the Town delves into the intricate tapestry of everyday communication in a bustling sixteenth-century small town, shedding light on the pivotal role it played in the dissemination of information within and across early modern communities. Through the captivating lens of the St. Gall linen trader Johannes Rütiner (1501-1556/7), this remarkable source, known as the Commentationes, unveils a hitherto unseen world of oral communication. A meticulous examination of Rütiner's meticulous notes, encompassing hundreds of conversations, unveils the diverse topics that resonated with the townspeople, the channels through which this information flowed, and the intricate processes by which it was received, analyzed, debated, and utilized to forge and strengthen social connections. By intertwining the histories of sociability and information, Carla Roth reconstructs Rütiner's network of informants and delves into a wide array of exchanges, including jokes, gossip, news, and captivating tales from the past. Through this comprehensive analysis, Roth challenges our understanding of what constituted valuable information in the sixteenth century and who had the capacity to provide it. Moreover, she argues that the circulation of information remained intricately intertwined with the social dynamics of face-to-face interactions, even as the age of print emerged. The Talk of the Town thus offers a profound exploration of the dynamic interplay between communication, society, and the ever-evolving landscape of information in the early modern world.

Weight: 466g
Dimension: 163 x 241 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780192846457