Norse-Derived Terms in the "Ormulum"

The Ormulum has been, from the onset, at the very centre of the philological investigation of the impact that Anglo-Scandinavian interaction in the Early Middle Ages had on the English lexicon. However, previous works have focused mainly on the identification of the Norse-derived terms in the text, with different interpretations arising from the varying reliability of the extant evidence. This study moves the field forward not only by re-assessing the over five hundred terms that have so far been identified as Norse-derived on the basis of the newly developed Gersum typology, but also by exploring the level of integration of the terms into Orrm’s language and the extent to which his use of these terms can be said to be as idiosyncratic as other aspects of his text.

Sara M. Pons-Sanz is Professor at Cardiff University’s School of English, Communication and Philosophy. She is an expert in language contact in medieval England.