Prof. dr. Marco Mostert is professor of Medieval History in the Department of History and Art History. He directed a so-called 'Pionier project' on Medieval Literacy (1996-2000). His research focuses on the history of social communication in the Middle Ages, with attention for the relations between non-verbal, oral and written forms of communication.

He is not only interested in questions regarding intellectuals in the early Middle Ages, the history of (medieval) libraries and the transmission of medieval (Latin) texts.

He is also interested in the uses that were made of the various forms of communication outside the religious and intellectual elites. How did, e.g. town dwellers use writing? Or people living in the countryside? And people in the margins of society?

In research into the margins of medieval society, time and again it is made clear that forms of communication were used to include or exclude people. The problems this causesd often show similarities with problems that are also evident in present-day society. How did one deal with newcomers? With migrants? With representatives of other cultures and religions? And which roles did language and writing play in these matters? These questions are still relevant today, and efective answers are yet to be found.

See also the website Medieval Literacy Platform.