Sincerity in Medieval English Language and Literature
This book traces the development of the ideal of sincerity from its origins in Anglo-Saxon monasteries to its eventual currency in fifteenth-century familiar letters. Beginning by positioning sincerity as an ideology at the intersection of historical prag
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New Approaches to English Historical Linguistics
New Approaches to English Historical Linguistics
Series Editors Sara Pons-Sanz School of English, Communication and Philosophy Cardiff University Cardiff, UK Louise Sylvester Department of English, Linguistics and Cultural Studies University of Westminster London, UK “Weaving together linguistic, emotional, social and literary histories in magisterial fashion, Williams traces the English cultural-ideological basis of sincerity, showing how it developed in the communicative contexts of Christian devotion but came to influence more general interactional contexts, which in turn shaped the notion of sincerity itself. Original, erudite and insightful, the book is a landmark that deserves to be read.” —Jonathan Culpeper, Professor of English Language and Linguistics, Lancaster University, UK “In this engrossing new study, Graham Williams adroitly traces the history of the concept of sincerity across Old and Middle English literature. Combining a well-grounded expertise in linguistics and pragmatics with a sensitive capacity for literary close reading, Williams persuasively shows how in key domains of human experience medieval people learned how to feel, and then how to express their feelings – of contrition, of love – aligning their inward dispositions with socially-sanctioned emotional performance. Taking a new and highly productive look at this vital aspect of medieval feeling, Williams’ book deserves the attention of all scholars of emotion.” —Carolyne Larrington, Professor of Medieval European Literature, University of Oxford, UK
The field of historical linguistics has traditionally been made up of the theoretical study of the various levels of linguistic analysis: phonology, morphology, syntax, vocabulary and semantics. However, scholars have increasingly become aware of the significance of other methods of applied/culturally aware research which were initially introduced to examine present day English, e.g. stylistics, sociolinguistics, pragmatics, code-switching and other language contact phenomena. This has produced exciting new avenues for exploration but has inevitably led to specialization and fragmentation within the field. This series brings together work in either one or several of these areas, thus enabling a dialogue within the new conceptualization of language study and English historical linguistics. The series includes descriptive and/or theoretical work on the history of English and the way in which it has been shaped by its contact with other languages in Britain and beyond. Much of the work published in the series is engaged in redefining the discipline and its boundaries. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/15079
Graham Williams
Sincerity in Medieval English Language and Literature
Graham Williams School of English University of Sheffield Sheffield, UK
New Approaches to English Historical Linguistics ISBN 978-1-137-54068-3 ISBN 978-1-137-54069-0 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-54069-0 Library
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