Somebody needs to confirm most Scandanavians were literate in the Early Middle Ages (400 - 900 AD) edit

The article states that most read runes and most wrote messages. I can't refute this, but I expect that most (that is more than 50% of all adults) in Scandanavia were illiterate during this period. The reference cited makes the claim about reading, but I am unable to confirm that it makes the same claim about writing (I am unable to read Swedish) Volunteers? I did find one reference which contradicts the above claims for Iceland, claiming that the Laws were oral traditions even in the 11th Century and that the transition from oral to literary tradition occurred with the conversion to Christainity in all of Scandanavia (which generally occurred in the 12th Century, NOT the early medieval period. This is more in keeping with my understanding of the general educational accomplishments during the first Millenium in Northern Europe. (talk) 06:20, 10 May 2014 (UTC)Reply