Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Recent research has emphasised the importance of insular French in medieval English culture alongside English and Latin; for a period of some four hundred years, French (variously labelled the French of England, Anglo-Norman, Anglo-French, and Insular French) rivalled these two languages. However, little scholarship has been devoted to the mechanics of living in and between languages, where the complications of multilingualism made translation, negotiation and adaptation essential, where John Gower wrote in Latin whilst his contemporary Geoffrey Chaucer broke new ground writing in English. The essays here, a tribute to the pioneering scholar in this field, look at the practices, processes and cultural effects of translation within medieval England. They study linguistic exchange and cultural adaptation from a variety of perspectives and as manifested in a variety of witnesses - historical documents, literature, music, and religious texts. They also look at the forces and influences that worked in England in France, in later periods, to construe language as essentially rooted in geography and geopolitics rather than in human culture. Contributors: Christopher Baswell, Paul Cohen, Carolyn Collette, Thelma Fenster, Robert Hanning, Richard Ingham, Maryanne Kowaleski, Delbert Russell, Serge Lusignan, Thomas O'Donnell, W. Mark Ormrod, Monika Otter, Fiona Somerset, Robert M. Stein, Andrew Taylor, Nicholas Watson, Robert F. Yeager
Synopsis
Professor Jocelyn Wogan-Browne's scholarship on the French of England - a term she indeed coined for the mix of linguistic, cultural, and political elements unique to the pluri-lingual situation of medieval England - is of immense importance to the field. The essays in this volume extend, honour and complement her path-breaking work. They consider exchanges between England and other parts of Britain, analysing how communication was effected where languages differed, and probe cross-Channel relations from a new perspective. They also examine the play of features within single manuscripts, and with manuscripts in conversation with each other. And they discuss the continuing reach of the French of England beyond the Middle Ages: in particular, how it became newly relevant to discussions of language and nationalism in later centuries. Whether looking at primary sources such as letters and official documents, or at creative literature, both religious and secular, the contributions here offer fruitful and exciting approaches to understanding what the French of England can tell us about medieval Britain and the European world beyond. Thelma Fenster is Professor Emerita of French and Medieval Studies, Fordham University; Carolyn Collette is Professor of English Language and Literature at Mount Holyoke College. Contributors: Christopher Baswell, Emma Campbell, Paul Cohen, Carolyn Collette, Thelma Fenster, Robert Hanning, Richard Ingham, Maryanne Kowaleski, Serge Lusignan, Thomas O'Donnell, W. Mark Ormrod, Monika Otter, Felicity Riddy, Delbert Russell, Fiona Somerset, + Robert M. Stein, Andrew Taylor, Nicholas Watson, R.F. Yeager