Prosody in Medieval English and Norse by Goering, Dr Nelson;

Series: British Academy Monographs;

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47 775 Ft

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Product details:

Publisher The British Academy
Date of Publication 13 April 2023

ISBN 9780197267462
Binding Hardback
No. of pages390 pages
Size 240x162x10 mm
Weight 722 g
Language English
Illustrations No

Short description:

Prosody in Medieval English and Norse reconstructs aspects of linguistic prosody from the medieval records of two closely related languages: English and Norse. Evidence from a series of case studies points to continuity in the internal rhythms of words in these languages, especially the enduring role of the bimoraic trochee.

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Long description:

How can we reconstruct the rhythms and cadences – the prosody – of past languages? Prosody in Medieval English and Norse approaches this problem by comparing two closely related languages with a long written history in the Middle Ages. Through a series of case studies on vowel reductions and alliterative verse forms, Kaster identifies important continuities in the internal rhythmic structure of words and explores the enduring role of the bimoraic trochee.

The main rhythmic building block of these languages, the bimoraic trochee, shapes both linguistic change and poetic structure. The bimoraic trochee played a defining role in the loss of many unstressed vowels that took place in English and Norse in the 6th and 7th centuries, and continued to influence vowel reductions in later English. In alliterative poetry, the bimoraic trochee explains previously opaque restrictions against using certain words in certain metrical contexts, especially the controversial Kaluza's law in Beowulf and Craigie's law in the Poetic Edda. Together, these case studies allow prosodic change and stability to be traced over time.

Goering's ambitious book effectively spans a broad chronological, geographic, topical, and poetic range in its pursuit of the history of the bimoraic trochee in early English and Scandinavian linguistics and metrics.