"Sun and Moon", "Good and Evil", "Come and Go": Studies in English Binomials from ca. 850 to 2008

Erscheinungsjahr 2024
ISBN: 978-3-86821-956-2
Verlag: WVT Wissenschaftlicher Verlag Trier

Buch, Englisch, 402 Seiten, Format (B × H): 148 mm x 210 mm, Gewicht: 641 g

The essays collected in this volume represent a selection of publications on binomials and multinomials by Hans Sauer (1946–2022), professor emeritus of English Philology at the University of Munich. The book begins with a comprehensive survey of binomials in the history of English. In each essay, these constructions are then classified according to form and function, etymology, and semantic structure. The volume concludes with a summary of Hans Sauer’s main assumptions and insights. His corpus comprises medieval English historiographical, religious, and scientific texts such as
The Wise Book of Philosophy and Astronomy
,
The Historye of the Patriarks
, or Pecock’s
Donet
, but also literary works like Gower’s
Confessio Amantis
, Lydgate’s
Troy Book
, and
Richard Coer de Lyon
. Hans Sauer’s work also deals with binomials and multinomials in various translations, e.g., Aldred’s glosses to the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Old English versions of
Alexander’s Letter to Aristotle
and
Theodulfi Capitula
, translations commonly attributed to King Alfred’s circle, Caxton’s
Ovid
, and Hoccleve’s translation of Christine de Pizan’s
Epistre au dieu d’amours
. In addition, he discusses a Middle English and an Early Modern English translation of Boccaccio’s
De mulieribus claris
as well as two Modern English translations of an early Chinese version of the
Lotus Sutra
. Hans Sauer’s extensive research on binomials showcases their importance as complex linguistic and stylistic phenomena featuring in a wide range of literary and non-literary texts from the early Middle Ages until today.

CONTENTS

Personal Preface by Gabriele Sauer ix

Preface by the Editors xi

Abbreviations and Signs xiii

Acknowledgements xv

Introduction 1

i)
Heaven and Earth
,
Good and Bad
,
Answered and Said
: A Survey of English Binomials and Multinomials 6

ii) Binomials in the Old English Translation of
Alexander’s Letter to Aristotle
36

iii) Binomials in Three Alfredian Texts (Old English
Dialogues
, Old English
Soliloquies
, Old English
Bede
): Structure, Function, and Lexicographical (Non-)Treatment 73

iv) Aldred’s Combinations with
efne
,
eft
and
ymb
: Their Status (Word-Formation, Glossing Device, or Both) and their Treatment in Dictionaries 93

v) Binomials in Translated Old English Prose: The
Theodulfi Capitula
115

vi) The Middle English Romance
Richard Coer de Lyon
and its Use of Binomials 150

vii) Syntax and Beyond: Binomials in the Apollonius Story as Told by Gower 179

viii) Medieval Multitasking: Hoccleve Translates Christine de Pizan and Imitates Chaucer, for Example his Binomials 195

ix) In Defence of Lydgate: Lydgate’s Use of Binomials in his
Troy Book
218

x) Where Caxton Translates Freely: Binomials in his
Ovid
255

xi) Twin-Formulae and More in Late Middle English:
The Historye of the Patriarks
, Caxton’s
Ovid
, and Pecock’s
Donet
279

xii) Binomials in the Middle English and Early Modern English Versions of Boccaccio’s
De Mulieribus Claris
297

xiii) Flexible and Formulaic: Binomials and Multinomials in the Late Middle English
The Wise Book of Philosophy and Astronomy
315

xiv) The World in Two Words: Binomials in Two English Translations of the
Lotus Sutra
334

xv) Assumptions and Insights 365

xvi) Some Formulaic Binomials in the Texts Discussed here 369

xvii) Bibliography 372

Autoren/Hrsg.

Sauer, Hans

Kirner-Ludwig, Monika

Majewski, Kerstin

Waxenberger, Gaby