English in the Middle Ages

"Tim Machan suggests that many linguistic, literary, and historical considerations of medieval statements on language have significantly failed to take into account the social and linguistic contexts of their production. In this volume he explores not only medieval ideas about language but also the discursive traditions which generated them." "English in the Middle Ages draws upon a wide range of documentary evidence, including most notably the royal letters issued in 1258 prior to the Barons' War. The author also analyses the language spoken by Chaucer's pilgrims, the conversations in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and many other poems, chronicles, and commentaries. The book concludes with a consideration of the post-medieval history of the status of English in law, literature, and education."--Jacket.