Chancery norms before Chancery English?
Templates in royal writs from Alfred the Great to William the
Conqueror
This study analyses two Old English formulae gret
freodlice (‘greets in a friendly manner’) and ic cyðe eow
þæt (‘I make it known to you that’), which form a salutation–notification template in a document type called writs. It
connects the emergence of this formulaic set to previous oral traditions of
delivering news and messages, and to their reflection in dictation practices
from at least the time of King Alfred. Their later routinisation and
standardisation is seen as a factor brought about by the centralised production
of royal writs and their subsequent adoption as templates in monastic scriptoria
across the country. These templates continue to be recycled in the early Middle
English period both in English and in Latin writs, ultimately shifting to
Latin-only documents during the reign of William the Conqueror. Although this
shift does not hinder the continuity of the selected bureaucratic template into
the later Middle Ages, it affects the structure of the discourse community
associated with the chancery norms, consolidating its core (those literate in
Latin who are involved in production and preservation of writs) and
marginalising its periphery (English speakers who used to make up the informed
audience for writs in local courts).
Article outline
- 1.Introduction
- 2.Data
- 3.Analysis
- 3.1The two formulae in the pre-Conquest period
- 3.1.1The first attestation and its possible origin
- 3.1.2The salutation
- 3.1.3The notification
- 3.1.4Diffusion
- 3.1.4.1Geographical diffusion
- 3.1.4.2Genre diffusion
- 3.1.4.3Social diffusion
- 3.2The two formulae after the Conquest
- 3.2.1The salutation
- 3.2.2The notification
- 4.Discussion and conclusions
- Notes
-
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