Insults, violence, and the meaning of lytegian in the Old English Battle of Maldon
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Valentine A. Pakis
Abstract
The history of impoliteness — of which insults are a part — and violence are intertwined. In medieval Germanic cultural history, this link manifests itself in historical-pragmatic contexts such as sennur, whettings, and flyting-to-fighting scenarios, which are surveyed in this paper. The ethological origins of such interactions are called into question with reference to the Freudian death drive. Based on the connection between insults and violence, a novel definition of Old English lytegian in the Battle of Maldon is offered, namely ‘jeer, insult’, with comparative support from Icelandic.
Abstract
The history of impoliteness — of which insults are a part — and violence are intertwined. In medieval Germanic cultural history, this link manifests itself in historical-pragmatic contexts such as sennur, whettings, and flyting-to-fighting scenarios, which are surveyed in this paper. The ethological origins of such interactions are called into question with reference to the Freudian death drive. Based on the connection between insults and violence, a novel definition of Old English lytegian in the Battle of Maldon is offered, namely ‘jeer, insult’, with comparative support from Icelandic.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- The historical understanding of historical (im)politeness 1
- ‘Face’ across historical cultures 25
- Nineteenth-century English politeness 49
- “[T]his most unnecessary, unjust, and disgraceful war” 81
- A socio-cognitive approach to historical politeness 103
- From good manners to facework 131
- “Tumbled into the dirt” 154
- Positive and negative face as descriptive categories in the history of English 175
- Insults, violence, and the meaning of lytegian in the Old English Battle of Maldon 195
- Understanding Anglo-Saxon “politeness” 227
- An evolutionary take on (im)politeness 251
- Notes on Contributors 279
- Index 283
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- The historical understanding of historical (im)politeness 1
- ‘Face’ across historical cultures 25
- Nineteenth-century English politeness 49
- “[T]his most unnecessary, unjust, and disgraceful war” 81
- A socio-cognitive approach to historical politeness 103
- From good manners to facework 131
- “Tumbled into the dirt” 154
- Positive and negative face as descriptive categories in the history of English 175
- Insults, violence, and the meaning of lytegian in the Old English Battle of Maldon 195
- Understanding Anglo-Saxon “politeness” 227
- An evolutionary take on (im)politeness 251
- Notes on Contributors 279
- Index 283
