The use of English: Language, law, and political culture in fourteenth-century England

W.M. Ormrod

The use of English: Language, law, and political culture in fourteenth-century England

History

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

In 1362 the government of Edward III issued a statute that is one of the best-known, but least-understood, statements on the use of the vernacular in medieval England. The legislation required that English, rather than French, should be the compulsory language of oral communication in all royal and seignorial courts in the land. This article attempts a new evaluation of the place of the statute of 1362 in later medieval legal and political culture. It falls into five parts. The first discusses the text of the statute; the second analyzes the political context in which the legislation was issued; the third explores what the statute may tell us about the royal judicial system operating in the 1360s; the fourth attempts a reevaluation of the more general use of French and English in law, government, and politics during the later fourteenth century, within the context provided by the Hundred Years War and the Anglo-French peace of 1360; and the fifth attempts to reposition the statute and its implications in relation to Henry V's much-vaunted promotion of English as a language of record in the early fifteenth century.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	750-787
Number of pages	38
Journal	Speculum
Volume	78
Issue number	3
Publication status	Published - Jul 2003

Keywords

LATE-MEDIEVAL ENGLAND
SELF-REPRESENTATION
TRANSLATION
PURVEYANCE
EDUCATION
CHAUCER
POETICS
PROSE
REIGN
WAR

Access to Document

http://www.jstor.org/stable/20060788

Cite this

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title = "The use of English: Language, law, and political culture in fourteenth-century England",

abstract = "In 1362 the government of Edward III issued a statute that is one of the best-known, but least-understood, statements on the use of the vernacular in medieval England. The legislation required that English, rather than French, should be the compulsory language of oral communication in all royal and seignorial courts in the land. This article attempts a new evaluation of the place of the statute of 1362 in later medieval legal and political culture. It falls into five parts. The first discusses the text of the statute; the second analyzes the political context in which the legislation was issued; the third explores what the statute may tell us about the royal judicial system operating in the 1360s; the fourth attempts a reevaluation of the more general use of French and English in law, government, and politics during the later fourteenth century, within the context provided by the Hundred Years War and the Anglo-French peace of 1360; and the fifth attempts to reposition the statute and its implications in relation to Henry V's much-vaunted promotion of English as a language of record in the early fifteenth century.",

keywords = "LATE-MEDIEVAL ENGLAND, SELF-REPRESENTATION, TRANSLATION, PURVEYANCE, EDUCATION, CHAUCER, POETICS, PROSE, REIGN, WAR",

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N2 - In 1362 the government of Edward III issued a statute that is one of the best-known, but least-understood, statements on the use of the vernacular in medieval England. The legislation required that English, rather than French, should be the compulsory language of oral communication in all royal and seignorial courts in the land. This article attempts a new evaluation of the place of the statute of 1362 in later medieval legal and political culture. It falls into five parts. The first discusses the text of the statute; the second analyzes the political context in which the legislation was issued; the third explores what the statute may tell us about the royal judicial system operating in the 1360s; the fourth attempts a reevaluation of the more general use of French and English in law, government, and politics during the later fourteenth century, within the context provided by the Hundred Years War and the Anglo-French peace of 1360; and the fifth attempts to reposition the statute and its implications in relation to Henry V's much-vaunted promotion of English as a language of record in the early fifteenth century.

AB - In 1362 the government of Edward III issued a statute that is one of the best-known, but least-understood, statements on the use of the vernacular in medieval England. The legislation required that English, rather than French, should be the compulsory language of oral communication in all royal and seignorial courts in the land. This article attempts a new evaluation of the place of the statute of 1362 in later medieval legal and political culture. It falls into five parts. The first discusses the text of the statute; the second analyzes the political context in which the legislation was issued; the third explores what the statute may tell us about the royal judicial system operating in the 1360s; the fourth attempts a reevaluation of the more general use of French and English in law, government, and politics during the later fourteenth century, within the context provided by the Hundred Years War and the Anglo-French peace of 1360; and the fifth attempts to reposition the statute and its implications in relation to Henry V's much-vaunted promotion of English as a language of record in the early fifteenth century.

KW - LATE-MEDIEVAL ENGLAND

KW - SELF-REPRESENTATION

KW - TRANSLATION

KW - PURVEYANCE

KW - EDUCATION

KW - CHAUCER

KW - POETICS

KW - PROSE

KW - REIGN

KW - WAR

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SP - 750

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JO - Speculum

JF - Speculum

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