Hannah Walsh

Project title:  

The Place of Vernacular Glossing within Carolingian Intellectual Culture

Project Summary:  

German first appears in written form in the Carolingian era, with the monasteries of Fulda, Wissembourg and St Gallen being at the centre of vernacular production. Yet, beyond impressive vernacular literary works such as the ‘Tatian’ manuscript (St. Gallen. Stiftsbibliothek, Cod. Sang. 56) from Fulda and Otfrid of Wissembourg’s Evangelienbuch, historians of the Carolingian intellectual culture have largely focused on Latin works. This is especially the case for glossing activity. Latin glosses have long been recognized as integral to understanding textual engagement and elite culture, whereas vernacular glosses have thus far been seen as a tool for Latin acquisition.

The current perception is that the Carolingians strived towards a Latin ideal within their monastic spaces. However, Carolingian glossaries reflect contemporary interest in languages in general, with texts in Greek, Hebrew, Irish and English, as well as of course German. There is also evidence of monks from West Francia being sent to monasteries in East Francia to learn German. The development of vernacular writing did not simply respond to a pragmatic need; it was reflective of the priorities and interests of Carolingian intellectual culture. Accordingly, this project proposes a re-evaluation: can we understand vernacular glossing within the framework of Carolingian intellectual culture, and in so doing collapse the distance between high, intellectual culture and the supposedly elementary, primarily pedagogic function of these glosses?

To do so this project will examine the vernacular glossing activity of Fulda, Wissembourg, and St. Gallen. It will focus on texts written for use in monastic learning; including scripture, exegetical, philosophical and educational material. Through looking at the glosses and their interaction with the glossed text, whether that be translation or commentary or unrelated content, new perspectives may be gained on monastic education, multilingualism, textual authority, and dissemination of knowledge.