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Latin Literatures of Medieval and Early Modern Times in Europe and Beyond: A millennium heritage
Edited by Francesco Stella
[Comparative History of Literatures in European Languages XXXIV] 2024
► pp. 223–251

Chapter 9
England

| PIMS

This chapter offers an overview of the Latin literary production in medieval England, from the mid-sixth to the early fifteenth century. The chapter is divided into two main chronological units separated by the year of the Norman Conquest, 1066. Each section is further subdivided into shorter time periods, in which the main literary figures and the most important cultural and political events are presented accompanied by a brief analysis of their significance and influence. Anglo-Latin literature is marked by the complex linguistic reality on the island where Latin was introduced as a foreign language. In consequence, the interaction between the Latin idiom and the various local languages created linguistic and cultural challenges that had to be skillfully negotiated and creatively resolved.

Keywords: Norman Conquest, Anglo-Latin, “hisperic” Latin, Anglo-Norman, Northumbria, Benedictine Reform
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Anglo-Latin literature before the Norman Conquest
  • The age of Aldhelm and Bede
  • Alcuin and the Continent
  • King Alfred and the later developments of the Benedictine Reform
  • Anglo-Latin literature after the Norman Conquest
  • From William I (the Conqueror) to Stephen (1066–1154)
  • From Henry II to John (1154–1216)
  • From Henry III to Edward I (1216–1307)
  • From Edward II to Henry V (1307–1422)
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • Bibliography
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