Abstract
This paper relates diachronic change in discourse strategies of the Viking-age historical writing to political changes of the period and to communities of practice that produce these histories and chronicles. It examines the labels and stereotypes applied to the Vikings and establishes their sources and evolution by applying a fourfold chronological division of historical sources from around 800 to 1200 (based on the political developments within Anglo-Saxon history and on the manuscript history of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle). The data for the study come from both Old English and Anglo-Latin chronicles. The results are interpreted in terms of critical discourse analysis. It is demonstrated that the chroniclers employ strategies of dissimilation exploiting the notion of illegitimacy and criminality of the Viking outgroup. These strategies change over time, depending on the political situation (raiding vs. settlement vs. reconquest period) and communities of practice involved in the maintenance and dissemination of a particular political discourse.
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©2016 by De Gruyter Mouton
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The battleground of metaphors: language debates and symbolic violence in Puerto Rico (1930–1960)
- Talking like a servant: What nineteenth century novels can tell us about the social history of the language
- Code-Switching in Lower-Class Writing: Autobiographies by Patients from Southern German Psychiatric Hospitals (1852–1931)
- The Viking outgroup in early medieval English chronicles
- Book Reviews
- Kamusella, Tomasz: Creating Languages in Central Europe During the Last Millennium
- Rjéoutski, Vladislav, Gesine Argent & Derek Offord: European Francophonie. The Social, Political and Cultural History of an International Prestige Language
- Rutten, Gijsbert, Rik Vosters & Wim Vandenbussche: Norms and Usage in Language History, 1600–1900. A Sociolinguistic and Comparative Perspective
- Wolf, Nicholas M: An Irish-Speaking Island. State, Religion, Community, and the Linguistic Landscape in Ireland, 1770–1870
- Dossena, Marina: Transatlantic Perspectives on Late Modern English
- Pfenninger, Simone E., Olga Timofeeva, Anne-Christine Gardner, Alpo Honkapohja, Marianne Hundt & Daniel Schreier: Contact, Variation, and Change in the History of English
Artikel in diesem Heft
- Frontmatter
- Articles
- The battleground of metaphors: language debates and symbolic violence in Puerto Rico (1930–1960)
- Talking like a servant: What nineteenth century novels can tell us about the social history of the language
- Code-Switching in Lower-Class Writing: Autobiographies by Patients from Southern German Psychiatric Hospitals (1852–1931)
- The Viking outgroup in early medieval English chronicles
- Book Reviews
- Kamusella, Tomasz: Creating Languages in Central Europe During the Last Millennium
- Rjéoutski, Vladislav, Gesine Argent & Derek Offord: European Francophonie. The Social, Political and Cultural History of an International Prestige Language
- Rutten, Gijsbert, Rik Vosters & Wim Vandenbussche: Norms and Usage in Language History, 1600–1900. A Sociolinguistic and Comparative Perspective
- Wolf, Nicholas M: An Irish-Speaking Island. State, Religion, Community, and the Linguistic Landscape in Ireland, 1770–1870
- Dossena, Marina: Transatlantic Perspectives on Late Modern English
- Pfenninger, Simone E., Olga Timofeeva, Anne-Christine Gardner, Alpo Honkapohja, Marianne Hundt & Daniel Schreier: Contact, Variation, and Change in the History of English