This book suggests that many linguistic, literary, and historical considerations of medieval statements on language have significantly failed to take into account the social and linguistic contexts of their production. The book explores not only medieval ideas about language but also the discursive traditions which generated them. The book draws upon a wide range of documentary evidence, including most notably the royal letters issued in 1258 prior to the Barons' War. The book also analyses the language spoken by Chaucer's pilgrims, the conversations in ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight’, and m ... More
Keywords: medieval statements, social context, linguistic context, medieval ideas, discursive traditions, royal letters, Chaucer
Print publication date: 2005 | Print ISBN-13: 9780199282128 |
Published to Oxford Scholarship Online: January 2010 | DOI:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199282128.001.0001 |