[Lore] Literacy in Tamriel?

Danikat

I was having a conversation in real life about increasing computer literacy and how one day soon employers might not even bother saying you need to know how to use a computer to do a job and someone used the analogy that once upon a time employers must have had to make sure applicants to certain jobs could read and write because those skills were relatively rare but that died off after compulsory education increased literacy levels.

Since I actual know more about fantasy than real-life history I was thinking about it in those terms and it occurred to me that Tamriel has an exceptionally high literacy rate, given there's little to no formal schooling and it's not compulsory for most people.

Of course books are everywhere and all our characters can read, regardless of their background (which admittedly is never explained) but even poor farm workers will leave written notes lying around, or talk to us about things they've read in books. In real life most of these people wouldn't have ever had the opportunity to learn to read and certainly wouldn't make use of it on a regular basis.

Does anyone know if this was ever explained? Is it just a tradition that most parents teach their children to read? Maybe something inherited from the Aldmer, who seemed to place a very high value on knowledge and learning (although I'm not sure they'd be so keen to share it, for the same reasons).

bloodenragedb14_ESO

Well, dont take my word for it, but i imagine since the founding of the mages guild there has been a rise in literacy in general in tamriel.

there may be other factors that play into this, but i imagine that this is the most probable cause

Abeille

There is a Nord in Windhelm that says that his father taught him how to read, and that "that's a rare thing for a Nord". I think that's the only time the theme was touched upon in the game. I wish I could contribute a little more because I think that's a very interesting discussion.

cyclonus11

Bosmer are often illiterate as their stories are passed down via spoken word (and by actual participation) by spinners.

There's also a quest where a Khajiit couldn't do a simple dungeon puzzle because, and I quote, "I can't read!!" - and his soul got trapped in a container.