Monday, May 16, 2011

10th Century Monks

In the 10th-century sign language defeated the purpose of the vow of silence, according to the book The Finger written by art historian and curator Angus Trumble. He says in Eastern France, "It soon emerged that some monks using the in-house sign language were as chatty, garrulous, and prone to gossip as they would have been if they were allowed to speak."