Why did Anglo-Norman writers produce so many devotional works for laypeople?

The production of devotional and doctrinal works for laypeople in England was primarily driven by the Fourth Lateran Council of 1215. This ecclesiastical council prompted an outpouring of religious literature in the Anglo-Norman dialect that was not paralleled in France, as the church sought to provide more instruction to the laity.1

Following this mandate, writers compiled numerous instructive texts, such as the Merure de seinte église ("Mirror of Holy Church") by St. Edmund of Abingdon, and various treatises covering topics like confession, manners, and technical subjects. This trend contributed to England often being in advance of the Continent in the development of new literary forms during the early medieval period.1