The Multilingual Dynamics of Medieval Literature in Western Europe, c. 1200–c. 1600

Overview & Synopsis

While the multilingualism of the medieval world has been at the forefront of research agendas across medieval studies in recent years, there nonetheless remain many questions to answer. What, for example, were the stakes and consequences of multilingualism for literary culture? And how do these change if we think of multilingualism through cultural, social, artistic, or material lenses? Taking such concerns as their starting point, the essays in this volume address a variety of aspects of medieval literature and literary culture related to multilingualism. They deal with multilingualism in relation to manuscripts, literary contexts, and historical contexts. The chapters gathered together here address considerations that have been overlooked in previous scholarship, and ask where the future of the study of medieval multilingualism lies. Contributions to the volume are grouped thematically, rather than by date or period, in order to draw out comparative perspectives, with the aim of encouraging innovative new approaches to future research in the field.