Latin and the key for language
Isabela is passionate about Latin and devoted her PhD thesis to bring to life the most accurate and precise version of the key to our western languages, the most ancient book in Latin: Alcuin’s Ars Grammatica.
‘The Limits of my Language mean the Limits of my World’: Multilingualism in Medieval Iceland
In this thesis, I discuss how medieval Icelanders would have considered foreign languages and those people who could speak them.
How to Read Old Nubian?
This question may be more difficult to answer than initially appears. How is it possible to revive knowledge of a language than hasn’t been spoken over centuries, and to write its grammar today?
The Emergence of the English – a new interpretation and an old conundrum
In the past decade or so a number of works have taken a fresh look at post-Roman Britain, in particular at the arrival of the Anglo-Saxons in what is now England
Lost Irish words rediscovered, including the word for ‘oozes pus’
Researchers from Cambridge and Queen’s University Belfast have identified and defined 500 Irish words, many of which had been lost, and unlocked the secrets of many other misunderstood terms
Why Is English So Weird?
The English language is notoriously difficult to learn and to spell. In this episode of The Medieval Podcast, Danièle talks about the medieval roots of English and how it got to be so weird.
How much Latin can you remember?
Ten questions to test your Latin language skills!
The ABC of Medieval English Writing
I need to teach you how to read your ABC so we’re going to go back to first principles.
The Measure of Literacy in Late Medieval England: The Case of St. Albans, 1237-1399
In the mid-thirteenth century, the tenants living on the manors of the liberty of St Albans had no use for letters.
Dragomans and Crusaders: The Role of Translators and Translation in the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean, 1098-1291
How did the invading Franks navigate the multifaceted language barrier when they conquered, settled, and ruled Syria in the era of the crusades?
Arabic-speakers in Norman Sicily
On the arrival of the Normans around 1060, Arabic was the dominant language but by 1250 prestigious Romance vernaculars could be heard almost everywhere.
Love and Eroticism in Medieval Norwegian Runic Inscriptions
Although other emotions are obvious in various inscriptions, clearly the one most often and most explicitly expressed is love, at times more specifically erotic interest.
Lost Words: 5 Medieval Words That We Need Right Now
A 60 second lecture by Emily Steiner and Aylin Malcolm, which actually has 11 words.
How Much Do You Know About J.R.R. Tolkien’s Invented Languages?
Epic adventures are only part of the appeal of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth books. What really set Tolkien apart from other fantasy writers was his skill at crafting entire worlds—and at showing how important language is to history and identity. How much do you know about Tolkien’s linguistic world?
The Sudden Success of Prose – a Comparative View of Greek, Latin, Old French and Old Norse
Through comparison and quantitative observations, and by focusing on the success of prose rather than its invention, it is shown that in all four cases two or three decades were crucial for creating prose literature.
Looking for what was common and different in medieval languages
What makes closely related languages have a different word order? This is what researchers at the University of Oslo will find out.
Thegns in the Danelaw: a case for Scandinavian usage of the term in the 10-11th century England
This presentation addresses the possibility of the Old English influence upon the Old Norse in the usage of the word ‘thegn’.
Monks, philologists, and VR
Learning from medieval memory techniques in this TEDx talk
The Linguistic Influence of the Norman Conquest (11th Century) on the English Language
In this paper I present some historical facts that took place regarding the Norman Conquest in England, then, I discuss the different Linguistic influences on English which appears to lend support to the fact that the French Normans had a major effect on the English Language.
Baptism in Anglo-Saxon England
This thesis examines the lexical field of baptism in Old English. The lexical development of the field and the semantic development of the individual lexemes were evaluated: the verbs fulwian, cristnian, depan, dyppan, and the vocabulary for baptismal water in Old English. At every stage of the project, the linguistic data was correlated to theological, liturgical and cultural backgrounds.
Cultural Exchange in the Languages and Literatures of Medieval Spain
Professor David Wacks’s fascinating discussion of the Iberian Peninsula and it’s incredible linguistic heritage.
The History of German as a Foreign Language in Europe
This article provides the first overview in English of how German has been taught and learned in Europe up to about 1800
Do You Know The Meaning Of These 21 English Words From Centuries Past?
Quit twattling and take the quiz – these were words spoken in England from the Middle Ages and Early Modern eras…
The earliest use of the F-word
An English historian has come across the word ‘fuck’ in a court case dating to year 1310, making it the earliest known reference to the swear word.