> The whole society doesn't have to be literate for there to be
> literature. All you need is a wealthy literate class which has
> the time to read. That certainly exists in the Lunar Empire,
> probably Kralorea and maybe elsewhere. There won't be much
> because books have to be copied by hand or magic unless you
> can get hold of a Mostali printing press but we've got Mallory
> and Chaucer still extant from a similar period. Is that
> popular literature? depends on your definition I suppose.
Yeah - my point was that most people in 14th-15th century England knew
of neither Chaucer or Malory (probably more had heard the writings of
Chaucer read aloud than Malory). Certainly nothing like Victorian
literature, which had a remarkably broad appeal compared to anything
before (with the exception of the printed Bible).
Jeff