Multilingualism in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age: Communication and Miscommunication in the Premodern World

Published by De Gruyter 2016

Multilingualism in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Age

Communication and Miscommunication in the Premodern World

Edited by: Albrecht Classen

Volume 17 in the series Fundamentals of Medieval and Early Modern Culture

https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110471441

Overview
Contents

About this book

Bi- and multilingualism are of great interest for contemporary linguists since this phenomenon deeply reflects on language acquisition, language use, and sociolinguistic conditions in many different circumstances all over the world. Multilingualism was, however, certainly rather common already, if not especially, in the premodern world. For some time now, research has started to explore this issue through a number of specialized studies. The present volume continues with the investigation of multilingualism through a collection of case studies focusing on important examples in medieval and early modern societies, that is, in linguistic and cultural contact zones, such as England, Spain, the Holy Land, but also the New World. As all contributors confirm, the numerous cases of multilingualism discussed here indicate strongly that the premodern period knew considerably less barriers between people of different social classes, cultural background, and religious orientation. But we also have to acknowledge that already then human communication could fail because of linguistic hurdles which prevented mutual understanding in religious and cultural terms.

Author / Editor information

Albrecht Classen, University of Arizona, Tucson, USA.

Reviews

"Die Beiträge dieses Bandes machen sehr deutlich, dass wir aus der intensiveren Beschäftigung mit Vielsprachigkeit viele Erkenntnisse ziehen können. Diese könnten eine historische Forschung bereichern, die nur allzu oft über gesellschaftliche Prozesse nachdenkt, ohne zu berücksichtigen, in welchen Sprachen sie stattfinden und was das über sie aussagt."
Daniel König in: Zeitschrift für Historische Forschung 1 (2018), 109-111

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Table of Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Multilingualism in the Middle Ages Theoretical and Historical Reflections. An Introduction Albrecht Classen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
“Victor Victus” Ken Mondschein Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	47
The Impact of Bilingualism and Diglossia in Cantabria (Spain) during Late Antiquity Gregory B. Kaplan Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	65
“The Walling of New Ross,” 1265 Multilingualism, Ethnicity, and Urban Politics in Post-Invasion Ireland Diane Peters Auslander Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	85
The Power of Multilingualism in the Voices of Hildegard of Bingen Charles W. Connell Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	103
At the Crossroads of Languages The Linguistics Choices along Border Communities of the Reconquista in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries Yasmine Beale-Rivaya Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	127
Vernacular Bilingualism in Professional Spaces, 1200 to 1400 Richard Ingham and Imogen Marcus Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	145
A Kingdom of Many Languages Linguistic Pluralism in Medieval Hungary János M. Bak Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	165
Multilingualism and Power in the Latin East K. A. Tuley Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	177
Apothecary’s Art as a Contact Zone in Late Medieval Southern France Susanna Niiranen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	207
Xenoglossia and Multilingualism in Middle English Sermons on Pentecost Christine Cooper-Rompato Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	233
Bi- and Multilingualism in the Early English Ballad Francophone Influences in the Development of the Ballad Genre in Medieval England Michael Ingham Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	249
Multilingualism in Medieval Europe Pilgrimage, Travel, Diplomacy, and Linguistic Challenges. The Case of Felix Fabri and His Contemporaries Albrecht Classen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	279
Language Switching and Alliteration in Oxford, MS Bodley 649 Helena Halmari and Timothy Regetz Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	313
The Devil Is in the Details How Fray Bernardino de Sahagún’s Trilingualism Missed the Mark in New Spain Kimberly A. Eherenman Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	329
Hard Places Paracelsian Neologisms and Early Modern Guides Thomas Willard Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	355
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	395

(Deutsch)

Language: English
Publisher: De Gruyter
Audience: Scholars in the humanities, sociolinguistics, history of religion, medicine, and sciences
Pages
- Front matter: 6
- Main content: 402
Illustrations
- Illustrations: 1
Keywords: Language contact; human communication; cultural conflict; language conflict

eBook

Published: September 12, 2016
ISBN: 9783110471441

Hardcover

Published: September 12, 2016
ISBN: 9783110470963