• Blanc Aurélie
• Dutton Elisabeth

• Blanc Aurélie
• Dutton Elisabeth

This course will cover a very broad range of texts that in various ways illuminate our understanding of medieval attitudes to language and multilingualism.  We cover the whole medieval period in England, from the time of Germanic Old English through the Middle English period when England was a trilingual nation of English, French and Latin.  We will consider literary texts, sermons and plays, as well as medieval texts for teaching foreign languages, in order to explore the changing relationships among the languages of England, and to seek to understand medieval conceptions of ‘language’ and ‘languages.’  Texts written in medieval England, but not in English, play a particular role in an understanding of the history of English literature. 

NB Knowledge of Latin is not required; assistance with medieval French and Old English will be provided.

Topics covered will include:

21.02.    Medieval conceptions of language

28.02     To speak or not to speak?

07.03     Heretical Language

14.03     Translating languages on the page

21.03     Teaching languages

28.03     Language and power

04.04     Language and liturgy

18.04     Women and Language

25.04     Foreign language speakers in medieval drama 1

02.05     Foreign language speakers in medieval drama 2

09.05     Talking animals

16.05     Miraculous Multilingualism

23.05     Foreigners on the Early Modern stage 1

30.05     Foreigners on the Early Modern stage 2

• An appreciation of medieval England as a multilingual nation
• An ability to situate key literary texts withiN the development of the language
• An understanding of scholarly debate around language and power
• A developing capacity to reflect on evaluative descriptions of language
• An appreciation of English as a Germanic language, influence of French and Latin
• An understanding of the development of English as a written vernacular