For example: Our 'reading of the will' has it's origins in the king's court where no-one knew how to read and all written documents were read out loud in the court. The king employed a reader and a writer and (According to Burke) the reader could not write and the writer could not read. All reading in those days were read out loud and when a monk was seen reading something without moving his lips, people were astonished.
My grandad used to sit on his porch in the swing and read his bible out loud...even when no-one was present.