Grammar and Grammarians in the Early Middle Ages (review)

Reviews 267 Law, Vivien, Grammar and Grammarians in the Early Middle Ages (Longman Linguistic Library), London and N e w York, Longman, 1997; paper; pp. xiv, 305; R.R.P. AUS$60.95. In the linguistic history of Western Europe, the period between about 600 and 1100 w a s one of crucial importance. Put simply, it w a s characterised by a shift from Latin as a native language to Latin as a foreign language. This w a s initially the case for the speakers of Old English, Old High German, and other Germanic and Celtic languages w h o were absorbed into the Christian world from the fifth century onwards. By the ninth century, Latin w a s disappearing as a spoken language even in the former heartlands of the R o m a n Empire—Italy, France, and Spain. A n d yet the resources for teaching Latin which were inherited from the later years of the E m p i r e — particularly the w o r k s of D o n a t u s a n d Priscian a n d their contemporaries—were aimed at native speakers and advanced foreign learners, particularly Greek speakers. In the early Middle Ages, therefore, it w a s necessary to develop n e w w a y s of teaching Latin grammar, by reworking these earlier texts into elementary works for a very different kind of audience. Initially created by Insular writers in Ireland and England, this m o v e m e n t spread to the continent in the Carolingian period. It is this history of Latin grammar with which Vivien L a w is concerned. Rather than taking its value and interest for granted, however, she begins by examining the reasons for studying such a subject. The early medieval grammars are evidence for various trends: the transmission of classical texts, the development of culture and education, and the history of Latinity. T h e manuscripts themselves are also important as physical entities. But, above all, these grammars are a valuable source for the history of languages and linguistics. Because they combine an account of Latin word- 268 Reviews forms with an introduction to basic linguistic concepts, they might be considered—as L a w suggests—the remote ancestors of today's 'teach yourself guides. From the ninth century, the medieval grammarians also revived the study of syntax and began to speculate again on the relationship between language and thought. As Law points out, there is still much work to be done on the surviving texts themselves, m a n y of which are anonymous. A firm chronological framework can only be given with dated manuscripts, and Law devotes several pages to methods and criteria for assessing and dating unattributed works. All but two of the chapters in this book were previously published as articles between 1982 and 1994, though several of them have been rewritten or expanded. They are accompanied by an extensive and up-to-date bibliography. Despite their origins, the papers combine well to cover the main themes of the subject and the period, with a good mixture of the general and the specific, including case-studies of Boniface, Aelfric, and the extraordinary Virgilius Maro Grammaticus. A significant omission is any detailed look at the early Irish authors, though they are covered fully in Law's earlier book, The Insular Latin Grammarians (Boydell, 1982). The focus is very m u c h on authors from the British Isles; continental writers tend to be considered more in terms of the context they provided for the work of their Insular colleagues. The arrangement of chapters, which is loosely chronological, is not entirely convincing; chapters 4 and 13, in particular, seem to be wrongly placed. A chronological list of authors and works would have been a useful addition. Despite the technical and specialised nature of the subject, Law writes clearly and enthusiastically, bringing the history of grammar within reach of the linguist and the medievalist alike. She handles the detail firmly and confidently, and never allows it to overwhelm Reviews 269 the clarity of the exposition. The grammarians and their works are treated with...