Maybe a weird/stupid question. Today we have mass media, and any new law/political scandal that happens reaches almost everyone instantly. Previously, radio broadcasts. Before telecommunications, information could go around presumably by letters, word of mouth, etc. Before even any of that, how would entire populations in, for example, the 11th century find out about new laws that were passed in their country, or if their country was going to war, and was it ever possible to communicate this fairly quickly (that is, within a week or two?)
In: 1822
Further to other answers, important stuff such as a new king would be proclaimed at every town’s market place by messengers sent out from the court.
They could take a while to reach outlying towns. The current king was proclaimed in Edinburgh three days after his accession, as that is how long a rider on fast horses would have taken to get there from London.
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