IMC 2015: Sessions
Session 601: The Languages of Anglo-Saxon Diplomatics
Tuesday 7 July 2015, 11.15-12.45
Organiser: | Francesca Tinti, Departamento de Historia Medieval, Moderna y de América, Universidad del País Vasco - Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Vitoria-Gasteiz |
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Moderator/Chair: | Charles Insley, John Rylands Research Institute, University of Manchester |
Paper 601-a | Latin, Old English, and Documentary Practice in the Age of Alfred the Great and Edward the Elder (Language: English) Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Language and Literature - Latin, Language and Literature - Old English, Literacy and Orality |
Paper 601-b | The Interplay between Latin and Old English in the Worcester Episcopal Leases (Language: English) Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Language and Literature - Latin, Language and Literature - Old English, Literacy and Orality |
Paper 601-c | Care in the Community: Translation and Transmission of Charter Material from Bury St Edmunds (Language: English) Index terms: Charters and Diplomatics, Language and Literature - Old English, Literacy and Orality |
Abstract | Anglo-Saxon England represents a unique case within the territories of the former Western Roman Empire because nowhere else documentary culture relied so heavily on both the Latin language and the vernacular. This session aims to explore the profound implication of such linguistic practices. The first paper will examine late 9th and early 10th-century charters as evidence for literacy, regional practices, and the respective contemporary values of the two languages employed. The second paper will focus on the bilingual 10th-century Worcester episcopal leases to identify the social, cultural, and political reasons which may have brought the Worcester scribes to write portions of the texts in English while preferring to use Latin in other sections. The last paper will consider the interesting material which has been preserved through the archive of Bury St Edmunds to explore issues of transmission and translation. |