ABSTRACT

This article explores the language in which history was written in ninth-century Britain and Ireland, focusing on accounts concerned with origins. It takes an entangled approach to the written vernacular and is concerned with how insular history-writing, whether in a vernacular language or Latin, was an integral part of a wider Latinate European story. Differences in language choice come more clearly into view, facilitating the exploration of the development of vernacular writing and the theory and practice of vernacularisation. The discussion is structured around three case studies, spanning Wales, Ireland and England. What emerges through comparative study is that linguistic theorisation and multilingual interactions both shaped language choice and were themes of the origin legends themselves, whether explicitly or implicitly. The need for vernacular languages, just like Latin, to have sustained institutional support in order to flourish is also underlined.

摘要

本文探讨了 9 世纪英国和爱尔兰的历史书写语言，重点关注与起源有关的记载。它对书面白话采取纠缠不清的方法，并关注孤立的历史写作，无论是白话语言还是拉丁语，如何成为更广泛的拉丁欧洲故事的组成部分。语言选择上的差异更加明显，促进了对白话文发展和白话化理论与实践的探索。讨论围绕三个案例研究展开，涵盖威尔士、爱尔兰和英格兰。通过比较研究得出的结论是，语言理论化和多语言互动都塑造了语言选择，并且是起源传说本身的主题，无论是明确的还是隐含的。