IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 1328: Linguistic Borderlands, Speaking about Boundaries, IV: Manuscripts, Scribes, and Authority

Organisers:	Roderick McDonald, Independent Scholar, Sheffield Christine Wallis, School of English, University of Sheffield
Moderator/Chair:	Annina Seiler, Englisches Seminar, Universität Zürich
Paper 1328-a	Linguistic Repertoires and Intra-Writer Variation: Hemming of Worcester (Language: English) Christine Wallis, School of English, University of Sheffield Index terms: Language and Literature - Old English, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Paper 1328-b	Crossing Temporal and Geographical Boundaries: Scribal Copying Behaviour in Late Medieval Civic Records (Language: English) Tino Oudesluijs, School of Arts Languages & Cultures University of Manchester Index terms: Language and Literature - Middle English, Manuscripts and Palaeography
Abstract	Scribes exert considerable influence on the shape of medieval texts, in terms of orthography, grammar and even content. Wallis explores the tension between Hemming of Worcester's own linguistic repertoire and features transmitted from his exemplars; Mauer examines the influence of medieval Hebrew commentaries on later Yiddish translations of the Pereq Shira; and Oudesluijs compares dialectal differences in copies of Middle English administrative documents to investigate the identity of their writers. This panel considers the impact of scribes on their texts in order to better understand the challenges and implications of working with medieval copied texts.