Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany
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Melanie Vollbrecht
Abstract
This paper retraces the early modern beginnings of systematic Old English studies in England and continental Europe. It shows that linguistic study was born out of research interests in the fields of theology, law, and local history to name but a few; and that scholars needed dictionaries as tools to understand this archaic form of English. In the 16th century, John Joscelyn and John Parker created a substantial dictionary of Old English, of which several Northern German copies exist today. This paper explores the production processes of Joscelyn/Parker’s dictionary as well as the Northern German copies, as can be gleaned from the similarities and, more importantly, the differences in layout, entry-count and -content, and marginal markings in the manuscripts.
Abstract
This paper retraces the early modern beginnings of systematic Old English studies in England and continental Europe. It shows that linguistic study was born out of research interests in the fields of theology, law, and local history to name but a few; and that scholars needed dictionaries as tools to understand this archaic form of English. In the 16th century, John Joscelyn and John Parker created a substantial dictionary of Old English, of which several Northern German copies exist today. This paper explores the production processes of Joscelyn/Parker’s dictionary as well as the Northern German copies, as can be gleaned from the similarities and, more importantly, the differences in layout, entry-count and -content, and marginal markings in the manuscripts.
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
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Part I. Syntax and word order
- Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 10
- Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 34
- Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 53
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Part II. Diachronic linguistic change
- A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 82
- Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 103
- Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 120
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Part III. Lexicography and lexis
- The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 144
- Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 166
- Loss of wiþer -words in English 191
- Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 212
- Index 233
Chapters in this book
- Prelim pages i
- Table of contents v
- Foreword vii
- Introduction 1
-
Part I. Syntax and word order
- Parataxis and hypotaxis in the history of English 10
- Two types of left-dislocation in Old English 34
- Subject-verb agreement and the rise of do -support in the period of anglicisation of Scots 53
-
Part II. Diachronic linguistic change
- A modern light on diachronic processes affecting coda /l/ in English 82
- Modality and the English subjunctive in noun clauses 103
- Some philological implications of punctuation in editions of Middle English texts 120
-
Part III. Lexicography and lexis
- The unfinished double glosses in Durham Cathedral Library, MS A.iv.19 144
- Early modern manuscripts containing Old English dictionaries in England and northern Germany 166
- Loss of wiþer -words in English 191
- Investigating the dynamics of the lexicon 212
- Index 233
