IMC 2008: Sessions

Session 311: Dress and Textile Terminology

Monday 7 July 2008, 16.30-18.00

Sponsor:	Lexis of Cloth & Clothing in the British Isles Project
Organiser:	Gale R. Owen-Crocker, Department of English & American Studies, University of Manchester
Moderator/Chair:	Louise Miriam Sylvester, Department of English & Linguistics, University of Westminster
Paper 311-a	Whose Language is this Anyway?: Latin planeta in the English Dictionary (Language: English) Stuart Nels Rutten, Department of English & American Studies, University of Manchester Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Language and Literature - Middle English, Language and Literature - Latin
Paper 311-b	Nakyd I Am, as Þe May Se: The Material of Nudity in the Medieval Drama (Language: English) Mark Campbell Chambers, Department of English & Linguistics, University of Westminster Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Performance Arts - Drama
Paper 311-c	Illustrating a Lexis Project: Challenges in Collecting Art Sources for Medieval Costume (Language: English) Pam A. Walker, Department of Art History & Visual Studies, University of Manchester Index terms: Art History - Sculpture, Language and Literature - Middle English
Abstract	The session illustrates current research in a 5-year AHRC-funded project. Currently each so-called language produces its own dictionary. Illustrated by a study of Latin planeta in Old and Middle English texts and major dictionaries, the first paper discusses alternative methods for identifying language communities. The second considers the cloth and clothing used to represent nudity on the medieval English stage, including materials, types of garments, and vocabulary. The third examines the logistical problems of compiling images of medieval costume to illustrate a multilingual dictionary.