This thesis has been submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for a postgraduate degree (e.g. PhD, MPhil, DClinPsychol) at the University of Edinburgh. Please note the following terms and conditions of use: This work is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights, which are retained by the thesis author, unless otherwise stated. A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author. The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author. When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given. The Sociocultural Implications of French in Middle English Texts Enti A. Arends PhD in Medieval Studies The University of Edinburgh 2018 I declare that this thesis was composed by myself, that the work contained herein is my own except where explicitly stated otherwise in the text, and that this work has not been submitted for any other degree or processional qualification except as specified. A limited version of the analysis found in chapter 3 and part of the data in Appendix 5 were used in my MSc dissertation, forming about 5% of this thesis. Lay Summary This thesis looks at the effect of the use of French in Middle English texts (c. 1200– 1300) and asks whether French is used (or avoided) in these texts to express certain types of identity. The coexistence of the English and French languages in the centuries following the Norman Conquest impacted the English language and culture in lasting ways. Those who could read and write participated in a literary culture including both French and English texts (as well as Latin). Also, many French words came into use in English. Today, a large part of English vocabulary is of French origin, much of which is common and entered English use in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. By the time Chaucer wrote in the late fourteenth century the process of lexical influence was far advanced. Research on the Middle English period (c. 1100–1500) is increasingly engaging with the implications of this long-term multilingual situation. One strand of work considers the implications of the use of French phrases in Middle English texts. The choice for a word of French origin can have social or cultural implications, for example when someone uses a French phrase to sound more sophisticated. This thesis analyses French vocabulary and phrases in three earlier Middle English texts, written before or around 1300: Laȝamon’s Brut, a historical text, Kyng Alisaunder (a romance about Alexander the Great), and Handlyng Synne, a religious manual. In contrast to earlier work, for these texts I have made an overview of all French elements in the texts (except for Kyng Alisaunder, where I study only the rare French vocabulary). Also, I consider to what extent these words were integrated in English when they were used in these texts. A French word already recognised as regular English would have different social implications than a word still clearly French. The main findings highlight the degree to which English and French culture were integrated around 1300. Also, it becomes clear that a broad French-derived vocabulary had become normal to use in English as early as 1300 even in texts intended to be widely accessible. The implications of the French elements are used for expressing social and cultural identity. There is no indication in these texts that the use or avoidance of French was related to national identity. The suggestion that the use of English in texts of c. 1300 was associated with feelings of Englishness involving a rejection of French has to be dismissed for the texts studied in this thesis. Abstract This thesis studies the interaction between language, people and culture in England in the century either side of 1300 by analysing the use of French in three Middle English texts: Laȝamon’s Brut, Kyng Alisaunder, and Handlyng Synne. I explore the ways in which these texts exploit the sociocultural implications of French elements to negotiate the expression of collective identity, and consider what that suggests about the texts’ audiences. This exploration also provides insights into the sociolinguistic relation between English and French. Specifically, I add to recent work on multilingualism within texts by providing a more systematic approach than has been adopted hitherto. Since this period saw the largest influx of French-derived vocabulary in English, evaluating the use of French elements requires consideration of the extent to which that vocabulary had become integrated in English. This aspect has not so far been included in studies of multilingualism in texts, and in approaching it this thesis brings together previous work on loanwords to offer a systematic methodology. Chapters 2 to 4 treat the lexis of the individual texts. Study of the broader context of the French elements in chapter 5 shows that they are distributed evenly across the texts and the majority are introduced independently of the source texts. Those that were carried over from the source texts were not adopted into Middle English more generally. Appeal to a specific register better explains the appearance of clusters. Chapter 6 concludes that the implications of the French elements in these texts centre on the negotiation of social and cultural identity. No clear support was found for the use or avoidance of French elements to express ethnic or religious identity in these texts. The style of both versions of Laȝamon’s Brut was confirmed to be the result of redactors’ choices and not the state of the language as a whole, since most French- derived words in either version were apparently well integrated by 1300. On a larger scale, the amount of well-integrated lexis of French origin in Handlyng Synne demonstrates the extent to which French-derived vocabulary had become accessible as early as 1300. Lastly, the atypical, specialised French elements in Kyng Alisaunder are best explained by supposing its initial audience included those with extensive knowledge of French. This supports the hypothesis of continuity of audience between French and Middle English literary culture. Preface This thesis was funded by a University of Edinburgh College of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Award. In putting together the proposal I was aided by Sebastian Sobecki and my supervisors, Philip Bennett and Meg Laing. My supervisors’ support and suggestions throughout the process have been all I could have wished for and for this I thank them deeply. Rhona Alcorn, Françoise Le Saux, Graeme Trousdale, Finn Sinclair and David Salter each offered valuable suggestions. Lastly, I am immensely grateful to Mark Ottens for stimulating conversation, patience, and invaluable support. Table of Contents Lay Summary 5 Abstract 7 Preface 9 Introduction: Studying the Sociocultural Implications of French in Middle English Texts 1 Multilingualism on the Page 3 Relating Middle English Writing to French Texts, Language, and Culture 4 Chapter 1: Contexts of and Approaches to Medieval English Literature, 9 c. 1200–1350 9 1.1 Introduction 9 1.1.1 Socio-Political Contexts 1250–1350 9 1.2 Sociolinguistic Contexts: Language and Education 12 1.2.1 Literacy and Education 12 1.2.2 Sociolinguistic Context 16 1.3 The Context of Texts 22 1.4 Language and Identity 30 1.4.1 Identity: A General Introduction 32 1.4.2 Identities Relating to Land, People and Politics 34 1.4.2.1 Nation and Ethnicity in Medieval England: Terminology 35 1.4.2.2 Nation and Ethnicity in Medieval England: Contexts 39 1.5 Studying the Sociocultural Implications of French in ME Texts 42 1.5.1.1 Conventions 42 1.5.1.2 Literature as Social Practice 43 1.5.2 Different Forms of Lexical Influence in a Multilingual Context 44 1.5.2.1 The Role of Latin 45 1.5.2.2 Continental and Insular French 53 1.5.3 Studying Lexical Influence through Dictionary Attestations 55 1.5.4 How to Tell if a Word is English 58 Chapter 2: Homely English, Striking French? Audience and Vocabulary in Laȝamon’s Brut 63 2.1 Introduction 63 2.1.2 The Relation of the Manuscript Versions of Laȝamon’s ‘Brut’ 68 2.2 Method, Data Set and Analysis 72 2.3 French Vocabulary Found in Both Versions of Laȝamon’s Brut 77 2.4 French Vocabulary Found in Caligula 83 2.5 French Vocabulary Found in Otho 86 2.5.1 Words Attested in Each Period from 1200 86 2.5.2 Words Attested 1200–1250 and after 1300 87 2.5.3 Words Attested after 1300 89 2.5.4 Words Attested after 1300 with Gaps in Attestations 91 2.6 Conclusion 96 Chapter 3: English, French and the Exotic: Audience and Vocabulary in Kyng Alisaunder 99 3.1 Introduction 99 3.1.1 Auchinleck and Englishness 101 3.1.2 The Position of ‘Kyng Alisaunder’ 104 3.1.3 Auchinleck, French and the Study of ‘Kyng Alisaunder’ 106 3.1.4 Laud Misc. 622 and Auchinleck: Tracing Early Fourteenth-Century English? 109 3.2 A Common But Conspicuous French Element: Rhyme Tags 112 3.3 French Vocabulary in Kyng Alisaunder: Cherries on the Cake or Rarefied 117 3.3.1 Data Set and Analysis 117 3.3.2 Attestations in Middle English 119 3.3.3 Attestations in Anglo-French and Continental French 123 3.3.4 Attestations in the ‘Roman de Toute Chevalerie’ 125 3.4 Conclusion 127 Chapter 4: Writing for lewde men? Audience and Vocabulary in Handlyng Synne 131 4.1 Introduction 131 4.1.2 Examining Mannyng’s