Sins of the tongue in the medieval West : Sinful, unethical, and criminal words in Middle Dutch (1300-1550) / Martine Veldhuizen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Veldhuizen, Martine, 1980- author.

Series:

Utrecht Studies in Medieval Literacy (USML) ; 36

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Speeches, addresses, etc--History and criticism.

Speeches, addresses, etc.

Netherlands.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 pages).

Place of Publication:

Turnhout, Belgium : Brepols, [2017]

Language Note:

Translated from the Dutch.

Summary:

This study examines medieval notions of harmful speech conduct as reflected in Middle Dutch ecclesiastical, secular-ethical, and legal textual sources. According to these texts, the tongue was able to 'break bones' and inflict considerable damage on the speaker, on listeners, and on other relevant participants in speech situations. The book utilises two novel approaches. First, the subject is systematically explored in terms of three different types of behaviour in order to discover an overarching discourse: harmful speech as a sin, as moral misbehaviour, and as a crime. Second, ideas from modern language theory are used to analyse the textual sources. By adopting these two approaches, the book asserts that an overarching discourse of harmful speech can be found in the Middle Dutch ecclesiastical, secular-ethical, and legal domains, a discourse coined in this study as 'the discourse of the untamed tongue'.

Contents:

Preface

Notation method

Introduction

The harmful power of the tongue

Corpus

Status of the research

Medieval notions on harmful speech behaviour

Inventory of methods

The concept 'discourse'

Limitations of the study and methodological observations

Relevance

Research question and plan

Harmful speech behaviour in three domains : background and method

Periodisation

The three domains

The ecclesiastical domain

The secular-ethical domain

The judicial domain

Method

Language theory instruments

Framing notions on destructive speech behaviour

Analysis model for each text

Sinful words : notions on harmful speech in the ecclesiastical domain

The harmful effects of sins of the tongue

Describing the harmful effects

The malicious source of sins of the tongue

Controlling the tongue

Grace-threatening and face-threatening acts

Grace-threatening and face-threatening for the speaker

Grace-threatening and face-threatening for the subject

Variables in the speech situation

Making public

Listeners

Hierarchical relation

Conclusion

Improper words : notions of harmful speech in the secular-ethical domain

Improper words i : speaking foolishly

Speaking foolishly as harmful speech behaviour

Speaking foolishly as a grace-threatening or face-threatening act

Variables in the speech situation : men and women

Bragging and bickering as foolish speech behaviour

Improper words II : flattery and libel

Flattery and slander as harmful speech behaviour

Flattery and slander as grace-threatening and face-threatening acts

Criminal words : a dispute between a landlord and a tenant(1480)

Background information on the 'plurade' case

The 'plurade' case in five phases

The punishment : amende honorable

Tongue punishments

The Amende honorable as a grace-threatening or face-threatening act for the speaker

Closing observations : the discourse on the untamed tongue

The discourse on the untamed tongue in the three domains

Context

Reflection on method

Prospects

Finally

Appendices

Analysis model of harmful speech behaviour

Speech Sins in des Coninx summe and Spiegel der Sonden

Woodcuts from sottenschip

Bibliography

Primary literature

Secondary literature.

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

Related Work:

Translation of: Veldhuizen, Martine, 1980- Ongetemde tong.

ISBN:

2-503-56947-1