Studying the explosion of vernacular literature is fundamentally important to historians of the Middle Ages because it informs them about contemporary political, social, and cultural developments. Vernacular literature developed as a form of expression belonging to the emerging merchant class and the literate, meaning that literature was no longer the preserve of the Latin-reading rich and monastically trained monks, leading to an increasingly diverse and secular audience. Through the ‘popular lens’ of the vernacular, historians can examine contemporary explorations and critiques of society, allowing them to see perspectives beyond those that were rich enough to learn Latin. It must be noted, however, that this was not a literary ‘revolution’, as books remained expensive regardless of the language, meaning that the explosion of vernacular increased authorship and readership, but not financial accessibility. Vernacular literature gave more women a voice, allowing historians to integrate them into the narrative. It was also immensely political, often becoming a vehicle for criticism and even rebellion, whereas Latin remained the language of authority. Vernacular writing allowed religious and philosophical discussion beyond the nobility and clergy, enabling new ideas to spread and challenge orthodox beliefs. It is, therefore, essential for medieval historians to study the explosion of vernacular literature, as it offers an insight into the minds of contemporaries and tells us so much about the Middle Ages.
The explosion of vernacular writing suggests that an increasing number of people were literate, implying that books and their ideas were no longer the preserve of elites or monastics. In the 14th century, it is estimated that up to fifty per cent of the male population could read, suggesting sizable literary circulation.[1] However, this is not fully reflective of the literate population, as people engaged with books in different ways; for example, now that texts were in the vernacular, those who had books read aloud to them could understand a growing repertoire. Vernacular education manuals survive, such as one preserved from the 15th century, suggesting growing literacy and, therefore, increasing social mobility in the Middle Ages.[2] Further, Books of Hours began to be published in vernaculars, and it has been argued that their popularity points to the expanding literacy of the laity and the growth of a vibrant reading culture.[3] It is true that these works were extremely expensive, often heavily decorated and considered status items, meaning that they remained unaffordable for many. However, they still show the literary expansion, not revolution, that took place during the Middle Ages, meaning that they are essential sources for understanding the period.
The vernacular allows for more informal writing, including critiques of society, which are valuable to historians. Some have suggested that in The Canterbury Tales, the parson, knight, and ploughman represent the Three Estates of society, giving historians insight into the social hierarchy as perceived by contemporaries.[4] Further, the Miller’s satirical tale counters the aristocratic romance of the knight’s, creating a conflict between their classes that reveals broader resentment at social stratification.[5] During his prologue, the eponymous Miller refuses to let the monk tell his story first and is in “no mood for manners or to doff”.[6] This can be read as a critique and satire of the social hierarchy, and shows historians how contemporaries interpreted the order they were stratified within. Thus, vernacular literature is used to represent and satirise highly stratified medieval society, and is useful to historians who want to understand contemporary society and an increased range of people’s mindsets.
The vernacular also gave a new voice to women, telling us about contemporary patriarchal social relations and how some women countered them. Chaucer’s The Wife of Bath satirises the Wife’s five marriages, and she is identified only by her relations to men, perpetuating misogynistic stereotypes and allowing historians to examine contemporary attitudes towards women.[7] On the other hand, the writings of Christine de Pizan give historians a rare insight into the life and mind of a woman in the Middle Ages without the lens of a male writer. Some have argued that her change to French is influenced by a desire to create courtly literature specific to France, allowing historians to examine contemporary attitudes at the French Court.[8] However, some could argue that writing for the Court restricted her audience to the elites (who were Latin-educated anyway), and was an aesthetic choice, rather than a desire to expand her readership. Despite this, the vernacular increased her audience, allowing non-Latin-educated people beyond the Court to read her works, and countered prevailing misogynistic stereotypes to all audiences. In The Book of the City of Ladies, she tackles misogyny by offering an alternative view of history in which women’s contributions are fully recognised and writes that “God has never criticised the female sex more than the male sex”, equating men and women within a universally understood Christian context that sparked debate, showing that vernacular literature gave medieval women a voice and allowed them to counter prevailing sexism.[9] However, some historians argue that Pizan’s writings are somewhat conservative, as they almost exclusively discuss aristocratic women.[10] Despite this, her other works discuss a greater social range; The Treasure of the City of Ladies has advice for everyone, from “princesses” to “prostitutes”, so that “everyone may benefit” from its advice; Pizan, the first professional female writer, writes for all women, even if they cannot read her texts.[11]Therefore, the vernacular literature that exploded in the Middle Ages gives women a voice and allows historians to see what life was truly like for them, re-integrating them into the historical narrative.
The explosion of vernacular literature allows historians to explore medieval politics through the lens of someone ‘ordinary’ who participated in them. It tells us that medieval people were politically engaged; indeed, the ‘explosion’ even implies an increase in political engagement. Latin is often seen as the language of authority, and vernacular as the language of the people; thus, vernacular writing is a record without the authorities’ agenda embedded into it. Indeed, using the fact that indictments were submitted in Latin but evidence was in English, Helen Wicker argues that the shift from Latin to English creates a political “tension” in the sources that shows the contrast between popular politics and authority.[12] Further, she posits that vernacular development was policed to avoid treasonous language, showing historians the power of language in the Middle Ages.[13] The choice of vernacular may be because, as Dante himself writes, it is perceived to be “the more noble” because “the whole world employs it”.[14] Therefore, we could argue that Dante and his contemporaries saw the vernacular as the “more noble” language because it allowed universal, not limited, political expression.[15] Indeed, The Divine Comedy is inherently political, making it a crucial source for understanding Florentine politics. Some historians argue that it is a “constant comment on the sinful greed of the mercantile class”, showing how Dante uses the vernacular to criticise the growing merchant class.[16] Indeed, in Paradiso, Dante writes that a group of wealthy people are “destroyed by their own pride!”, a thinly veiled political critique, perhaps aimed at the Medici and similar families.[17] This gives historians a window into 14th-century Florentine politics, allowing them to examine socio-political perspectives in a way that they could not have in an official Latin text.
The vernacular also allowed an expression of national identity, which was an increasingly contested political debate in medieval Europe. Benedict Andersen argues that the decline of Latin and the growth of the vernacular gave rise to ‘nationalist’ sentiments across the world, emphasising the power of print media in shaping someone’s social psyche.[18] Andersen’s work focuses on a slightly later time period, but his analysis can still inform our understanding of the Middle Ages; indeed, other historians have argued that a “nationalist discourse” ran through some medieval literature.[19] Whilst it may be anachronistic to apply ‘nationalist’ to the Middle Ages, ‘national consciousness’ is perhaps more fitting, and is evident in Scottish literature. In The Bruce, John Barbour writes that the Scots were “in bondage” to the English, and that Robert the Bruce’s “bravery” gave other people courage to fight them.[20] Thus, he uses vernacular literature to stir up national pride, patriotism, and hatred of the English. This is useful to historians as it provides a valuable source for Robert’s reign, and shows how people felt about the time about Edward II’s attempted invasion.
The explosion of religious and philosophical vernacular texts also allowed people to understand and debate ideas themselves, challenging the hegemony of the Latin Church and showing historians that religious innovation could be fuelled by the vernacular. The rediscovery of Aristotle’s writings (through translations from Arabic) detracted from Biblical studies, showing how the vernacular could introduce new ideas to new audiences and challenge conventional beliefs.[21] Further, when John Wycliffe translated the Bible into English, it became the most widely disseminated medieval English text, allowing more people to read Scripture and form their own direct relationships with God.[22] This was fiercely opposed by the Catholic Church, who perceived it as a threat to the orthodox teaching of priests as intercessors between the worshipper and God. It is true that the translation was scholarly, and arguably not intended for the masses, but the furore it created in the Catholic Church, and the Lollard movement it inspired, speak to its effectiveness at sparking religious debate.[23] This shows historians how vernacular religious works could take on lives beyond their original purposes to create arguments and change society, showing the importance of studying the explosion of vernacular literature.
Some scholars argue that Dante explores new theological ideas, with the “graded descent” of Inferno differing from traditional conceptualisations of Hell as “unbridled disorder”.[24] His stratification of Hell is more nuanced than contemporary notions of evil, implying that there are different levels of sin and sinners, and that not every bad person is inherently totally evil.[25] This use of the vernacular allows authors to express religious ideas to wider audiences, and allows historians to track the development of theological innovation. Boccaccio also uses the vernacular to discuss religion, instead criticising the “guzzling hypocrisy” of the Church.[26] The protagonist of this tale, a wealthy man, tells an Inquisitor that “for every one” bowl of broth the poor drinks, “you shall receive a hundredfold”, implying that the Friar would drown in the broth due to his (and by extension, the Church’s) greed.[27] This critique of the Church was extraordinarily bold, and the vernacular allowed more people to read it, sparking debate over the Church’s corruption. Thus, the vernacular becomes a vehicle for religious satire and criticism, and a historian studying the Middle Ages can now see evidence of popular religious commentary and criticism.
Ultimately, the study of the explosion of vernacular literature in the Middle Ages is of a vital importance to any historian studying the intellectual, cultural, political and social history of the time. This is because it tells us so much about medieval society, how people moved around within its structure, how people criticise it, and reveals an increasingly literate, engaged, and secular readership. It also gives a voice to women, as more can now express themselves more freely, letting historians appreciate their contributions to literature and society. The development of the vernacular was inherently political, as it contributed to growing national identities and exposed the tension between the Latin of authority, and the languages of the masses, revealing contemporary popular political opinions. Religious and philosophical debate was expanded with the vernacular, as more people could now engage with fundamental questions; this expanded the reach of these subjects from the Latin-learned clergy and opened them up to anyone with access to a book. This is not to say that the vernacular caused a literary ‘revolution’, as books remained extremely expensive and elite objects. Rather, it started the development of mass literacy and literary engagement, and opened up previously elite subjects to new audiences. Therefore, historians should absolutely study the explosion of vernacular writing in the Middle Ages because it tells us so much about the political, social, and cultural changes in the medieval world.
Callum Tilley has just completed his 1st year of a BA in History at Durham University (University College)
Notes: [1] Laurel Amtower and Jacqueline Vanhoutte (eds.), A Companion to Chaucer and his Contemporaries (Toronto, 2009), p. 304 [2] Ibid., pp. 329-331 [3] Kathleen Kennedy, ‘Reintroducing the English Books of Hours, or “English Primers”’, Speculum, Vol. 89, No. 3 (July 2014), p. 695; Ibid., p. 719 [4] Amtower and Vanhoutte, Companion to Chaucer, p. 70 [5] James Simpson (ed.), The Norton Anthology of English Literature, tenth edition: The Middle Ages (New York, 2018), p. 282 [6] Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales (London, Ed. 2003), p. 70 [7] Amtower and Vanhoutte, Companion to Chaucer, p. 81 [8] Jane Hall McCash, ‘The Role of Women in the Rise of the Vernacular’, Comparative Literature, Vol. 60, No. 1 (Winter, 2008), p. 47 [9] Christine de Pizan, The Book of the City of Ladies, trans. Rosalind Brown-Grant (London, Ed. 1999), p. 87 [10] Rosalind Brown-Grant, Christine de Pizan and the Moral Defence of Women: Reading Beyond Gender (Cambridge, 1999), p. 129 [11] Christine de Pizan, The Treasure of the City of Ladies, trans. Sarah Lawson (London, Ed. 2003), p. 5; Ibid., p. 158; Ibid., p. 154 [12] Helen Wicker, ‘The Politics of Vernacular Speech: Cases of Treasonable Language, c. 1440-1453’, in Helen Wicker and Elizabeth Salter (eds.), Vernacularity in England and Wales, c. 1300-1550 (Utrecht, 2011), pp. 173-174 [13] Ibid., p. 173 [14] Dante Alighieri, De vulgari eloquentia, ed. and trans. Steven Botterill (Cambridge, Ed. 2009), p. 3 [15] Steven Botterill has argued this; see ‘Introduction’ in De vulgari eloquentia, p. xxiii [16] Stanley Chandler and Julius Molinaro, The Culture of Italy; Medieval to Modern (Toronto, 1979), p. 54 [17] Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, trans. Robin Kirkpatrick (London, Ed.2012), p. 397 [18] See Benedict Andersen, Imagined Communities (London, Ed. 2006) [19] Roderick Lyall, ‘The Literature of Lowland Scotland, 1350-1700’, in Paul Scott (ed.), Scotland: A Concise Cultural History (Edinburgh, 1993), p. 77 [20] John Barbour, The Bruce, trans. George Eyre-Todd (Glasgow, Ed. 1907), p. 7; Ibid., p. 124 [21] George Gordon Coulton, Medieval Panorama: The English Scene from Conquest to Reformation (Cambridge, 1939), p. 412 [22] Elizabeth Solopova (ed.), The Wycliffite Bible: Origin, History and Interpretation, (Leiden ,2016), p.1 [23] Ibid., p. 2 [24]Robin Kirkpatrick, ‘Introduction’, in Dante, The Divine Comedy, p. xviii [25] See Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy, trans. Robin Kirkpatrick (London, Ed. 2012), p. 1 - Inferno [26] Giovanni Boccaccio, The Decameron, trans. Wayne Rebhorn (New York, 2013), p. 56 [27] Ibid., p. 56