Approches techniques, littéraires et historiques: IIe journée d’études anglo-normandes, organisée par l’Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres, Palais de l’Institut, 21 mai 2010 by André Crépin et Jean Leclant (review)

This volume of conference papers bears witness to the vitality of Anglo-Norman studies on both sides of the Channel in recent years. Focusing on the theme of technical approaches, the essays explore the techniques of the medieval users of Anglo-Norman and those employed by modern scholars. The result is an enriching set of perspectives that draws our attention to the constructedness of a language of power (Jean-Philippe Genet’s essay), which was dependent on the person from whom a document emanated rather than on the geographical location of its production (Serge Lusignan). Indeed, it is the practical aspects of the production of Anglo-Norman texts that receive most attention here, from a useful analysis of the poetic forms assumed by Anglo-Norman texts (Gérard Gros), to codicological analysis of the form of the books and booklets (Jean-Pascal Pouzet), to the interaction between text and image, in an analysis that draws attention to the strident and meaningful use of bright colours by the illuminators (Laura Kendrick). From these essays, Anglo-Norman emerges as a rapidly evolving language, and one that fostered a high degree of self-consciousness among its users. Particularly revealing in this respect is Tony Hunt’s examination of Anglo-Norman neologisms; by reiterating the importance of language in both enabling and framing the nature of scientific progress and discovery, his essay is surely of significance for historians of science too. Anglo-Norman, as a language of status and clarity, with well-known literary credentials, was also important in state development during the period. The contributors’ own technical expertise is striking, though maybe a little off-putting for non-specialists. The inclusion of a glossary of codicological terms is helpful, however, even if its length serves to remind us of the very specialized nature of the scholarship. Nevertheless, the implications of these essays are far-reaching, as much for literary scholars as for those interested in the language of power and commerce in the period. It is fitting, then, that a short biography of Charles Homer Haskins (by Jean-Claude Martin) should be included, even if, at first sight, this might seems extraneous to the book’s subject matter. In Haskins we have a figure whose breadth of approach and immense technical expertise have shaped the way we think about the history of the Normans, about intellectual history in general, and about the social history of universities in particular. It is to be hoped that this volume will stimulate further research and that its highly specialized nature will not obscure the wider implications of the research presented here.