Identifiant pérenne de la notice : 20688091X
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Note publique d'information : The linguistic situation of medieval Europe has sometimes been characterized as one
of diglossia: one learned language, Latin, was used for religion, law, and documents,
while the various vernaculars were used in other linguistic registers. Informing the
relationship between Latin and the vernaculars was the choice of Latin as the language
of the Western Roman Empire and the Roman Church. This choice entailed the possibility
of a shared literary culture and heritage across Europe, but also had consequences
for access to that heritage. Scholarship on the Romance languages has contested the
relevance of the term diglossia, and the divergence between written or spoken Latin
and Romance is a subject of energetic debate. In other linguistic areas, too, questions
have been voiced. How can one characterize the interaction between Latin and the various
vernaculars, and between the various vernaculars themselves? To what extent could
speakers from separate linguistic worlds communicate? These questions are fundamental
for anyone concerned with communication, the transmission of learning, literary history,
and cultural interaction in the Middle Ages. This volume contains contributions by
historians, cultural historians, and students of texts, language, and linguistics,
addressing the subject from their various perspectives but at the same time trying
to overcome familiar disciplinary divisions.
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