English Music Theory in Medieval Latin

Medieval English music theory, almost always expressed in Latin, though not isolated from Continental—in particular French—developments, has a strong tendency to resist them and go its own way in both language and content; moreover, despite the early establishment of the name proprius cantus (‘properchant’) for the natural hexachord, it is more characteristically marked by divergence from one writer to another, so that even when doctrines are compatible the same thing may be called by different names and the same name may be applied to different things. This chapter studies the variations in conception, notation, and terminology exhibited in the works of numerous English authors from the 13th to the 16th centuries, noting differences from the far more standardised French Ars nova associated with the names of Philippe de Vitry and Jean des Murs.

The Start of the Anglo-Latin Tradition

The chapter surveys the beginning of Insular Latinity, with Gildas the Anglo-Latin tradition in the context of earlier Cambro- and Hiberno-Latin traditions, the distinctive approach to Latin among Insular peoples who spoke non-Romance vernacular languages, drastic changes with the arrival of Francophones at the Norman Conquest, and the relations between these Latin traditions and the emergence of the earliest and richest vernacular literatures, in Welsh, Irish, English, Norse, and French.

Making the Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources

The chapter considers the making of the Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, expansion of the bibliography, and refining of etymological and lexicographical conventions, with illustrations of the ways in which presentation of origins and meanings of words improved with progress through the lexicon.

The DMLBS and the OED: Medieval Latin and the Lexicography of English

This chapter explores how the DMLBS enriches English lexicography, concentrating on the use of data from the DMLBS in the third edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Data from the DMLBS has often provided a Latin etymon where the OED previously gave a starred form or derived a word directly from its constituent Latin or English elements. It also often provides evidence for Latin words which probably acted as intermediaries in borrowings ultimately from Greek or Arabic. Evidence from the DMLBS has enriched huge numbers of OED etymologies, allowing them to cite Latin forms supported by glosses and dates of first attestation in British sources. In many cases, it is uncertain whether the immediate donor or source was Latin or French; the circumstances of trilingual late medieval English society must be taken into account in assessing the data. It is often unclear whether vernacular words embedded in Latin documents show French or English words, and the printed editions of many of the everyday records in which such evidence occurs often leave uncertainty as to whether a Latin or an embedded vernacular item occurs in a particular location. Dictionary editors need to tread warily in using and interpreting such evidence.

From Chronicles to Customs Accounts: The Uses of Latin in the Long 14th Century

The 14th century continued to see a predominantly trilingual society in England, with a number of vernaculars used alongside English, French, and Latin. Latin was the most widely written language and its use in the church, scholarship, and administration provides an immense range of Latin sources for the medievalist, from the highly literary to the practical. This chapter focuses on chronicles and customs accounts for shipping. The chroniclers consciously used classical styles, vocabulary, and quotations, while nonetheless incorporating the changes inevitably occurring in a living language. The customs collectors used plain, often formulaic, Latin and introduced vernaculars, but always within an accurate Latin matrix. Together they illustrate the range of content, style, and vocabulary found in 14th-century Latin sources.

Anglo-Norman, Medieval Latin, and Words of Germanic Origin

This chapter examines words of Germanic origin found in the DMLBS and considers them especially with respect to the relationship between three languages of medieval Britain: namely Medieval Latin, Middle English, and Anglo-Norman French. A detailed examination of numerous examples reveals complex routes of transmission of items from Germanic sources which demand consideration of multiple sources over many centuries. In particular, because of the way the vernaculars developed and the nature of the extant evidence, it is often the case that the earliest evidence for an English or French word is found in a Latin word. The circuitous and overlapping interaction and contact between these languages can be seen very clearly in the example of warda, and the discussion shows, by reference to the theory of etimologia prossima and etimologia remota, how the Latin word must be analysed with regard both to etymology and semantics in order to reveal the different layers of influence at different stages of the word’s development in this multilingual society.

On Non-integrated Vocabulary in the Mixed-language Accounts of St Paul’s Cathedral, 1315–1405

Accounts of institutions and private individuals between the Norman Conquest and about 1500 were routinely written in a non-random mixture of Medieval Latin, Anglo-Norman, and Middle English. If the base language was Medieval Latin, then only nouns, stems of verbs, and certain semantic fields such as weights and measures could appear in English or French, with all the grammatical material in Latin and English and Anglo-Norman nouns, verbs, and adjectives Latinised by adding a suffix, or an abbreviation sign representing a suffix. If the base language was Anglo-Norman, then only the same restricted semantic fields and nouns and stems of verbs could appear in English. This situation changed over time, but was essentially stable for almost five hundred years. The chapter asks why, if English words could easily be assimilated into a Latin or French matrix by means of suffixes or abbreviations representing suffixes, were all English words not assimilated? Why did letter graphies such as <wr->, <-ck>, <-ght> persist in mixed-language business writing? One effect is to make the text-type of business writing very unlike any other genre—half a glance is all it takes to recognise a mixed-language business document and that may have been an advantage.

Latin in Ecclesiastical Contexts

The murder of Thomas Becket in 1170 and its aftermath provide the starting point for a brief survey of various genres of Latin writing associated with the church and its administration in Britain over subsequent centuries. These genres include letters, biographical works, chronicles, miracle accounts, sermons, verse, charters, wills, accounts, registers, customaries, and liturgy. These serve to demonstrate many varieties of style and developments in vocabulary and syntax, including examples where Latin was affected by contact with the vernaculars. They not only provide insights into life on different social levels, both within and outside the church, but also provide evidence that church Latin was able to adapt to new developments while working within a rich tradition.

The 12th-Century Renaissance in Anglo-Norman England: William of Malmesbury and Joseph of Exeter

How did the ‘12th-century Renaissance’ impact on Anglo-Norman authors? This chapter explores the responses of two highly accomplished writers, William of Malmesbury and Joseph of Exeter, to the literary tradition in which they worked (such as epic and satire): by alluding to and skilfully modifying Classical (particularly post-Augustan) and late-Antique models, they masterfully played on their readers' recognition and expectations of familiar conventions of historiography, hagiography, and poetics so as to innovate and entertain, and in this way created something distinctive and fresh for their contemporary audience.

Official and Unofficial Latin Words in 11th- and 12th-Century England

The terminology of official documents in England changed with the Norman Conquest, and this chapter focuses on the words used for ealdorman, earl, count, thegn, baron, sheriff, reeve, and shire during the 11th and early-12th centuries. Unofficial texts sometimes preferred not to use the official terms but drew on a more classical vocabulary, investing words with the specific connotations of the underlying terms for which they were substitutes. Words that carry such specific meanings are identified by using unofficial Medieval Latin translations of official documents in Old English, law tracts that translate or reflect Old English terms, and translations or reworkings of narrative sources in both languages. Examples of the unofficial vocabulary are reviewed, and how far both the DMLBS and modern editions of texts have recognised their use is appraised. Such lexical substitution has not been treated as a semantic category by dictionaries, but it must be recognised to arrive at a true contextual understanding of words used in primary sources. The examples shed light on categories of office and rank across this period, and the argument will lead to much rethinking of how passages in the sources are understood. The linguistic implications extend beyond the words studied.