Overview

This is an enquiry into the use and status of English in medieval England. It is concerned with English relative to French and Latin and with its regional and social varieties in relation to each other. It considers how people then viewed language and how their notion of the significance of English influenced the way they used it. Professor Machan argues that some linguistic, literary, and historical interpretations of medieval statements on language have taken insufficient consideration of the circumstances and discursive practices which produced them. He suggests that modern linguistic attitudes and expectations can obscure specifically medieval qualities of the status of English and the uses to which it was put. In the process he brings to bear a wide range of documentary evidence, notably the royal letters issued in 1258 prior to the Baron's War and medieval diglossia. In his discussion of regional variation, he considers chronicles, poems, and commentaries including the language spoken by Chaucer's pilgrims; conversations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; and post-medieval transformations of the status of English in law, literature, and education. The book will interest scholars from a range of disciplines - particularly linguistics, literature, and history - and is written in clear, non-technical language.

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9780199262687

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Reviews

This is an important book that breaks new ground ... rich in detail and convincing in its arguments. Simon Horobin, Studies in the Age of Chaucer this is a ground-breaking book ... all who read it will find much in it to increase their understanding of Middle English. Norman F Blake, Archiv fur das Studium der neueren Sprachen und Literaturen I recommend this book to anyone interested in the history of English. The historical background to Henry III's letters in particular seems to have been painstakingly researched and the discussion makes for absorbing reading for the specialist and layman alike. Cynthia L. Allen, Australian National University ...an enjoyable, very important, and above all provocative book Jeremy Smith, Modern Language Review It's typical of M's scholarship that everyone interested in this area will have to rethink completely after reading English in the Middle Ages. David Matthews, Language '... a fascinating book...an eloquent and extended reminder that there are other ways to look at the medieval writing we prize than the ways we have grown accustomed to.' Christopher Cannon, Speculum 2005 ... interesting and engaging book. English Historical Review ...great potential significance for future work... Studia Neophil 76

Author Information

T. W. Machan is Professor and Chair of English at Marquette University, where he teaches linguistics and medieval language and literature. He has published extensively on Middle English and Old Norse and edited texts in both languages. His books include Textual Criticism and Middle English Texts (University Press of Virginia, 1994) and English in its Social Contexts (edited with C. T. Scott, OUP, 1992).

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