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- Title
Emblematic Language: A Multilingual Perspective on Wulfstan's English and Latin Baptismal Homilies.
- Authors
Runner, Jacob W.
- Abstract
Prominent as both a religious and legal figure, the writings of archbishop Wulfstan (d. 1023) can elude easy categorization. They are, moreover, indebted to both Latin rhetorical and Old English vernacular traditions. Drawing together studies of Wulfstan's surrounding cultural atmosphere and critical evaluations of Wulfstan's personal style, this article first assesses the complexity of Wulfstan's multilingual situation and presents the case that his specific texts are best approached and understood in terms of reconciliation between his different influences. I next develop notions about medieval bilingual sermon writing more broadly and specifically examine Wulfstan's series of Latin and vernacular homilies addressing the rite of baptism as a case study of individual multilingual writing practice: Sermo Sancti Augustini de Baptismo non Iterando, Incipit de Baptismo, Dominica IIIIa vel Quando Volueris, and Sermo de Baptismate. Beyond a consideration of source material and analogy with modern language practices, I analyze noteworthy instances of cross-linguistic pragmatic awareness and emblematic language use (code-switching, transplantation). This assessment produces a characterization of Wulfstan's engagement with multilingualism as part of his creative process and as a literary device, ultimately arguing that the overall pattern corresponds with other notable features of his writing style, such as prominent repetition and explanatory clarification.
- Subjects
LANGUAGE &; languages; MULTILINGUALISM; BAPTISM; ANALOGY (Linguistics); PRAGMATICS
- Publication
Neophilologus, 2023, Vol 107, Issue 4, p639
- ISSN
0028-2677
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1007/s11061-023-09775-8