A new article by Dr Huw Grange has been published by The Conversation: 'In medieval Britain, if you wanted to get ahead, you had to speak French' tells about the influence of the Normans, and of the early textbooks used to teach French to English speakers. 'Manieres de langage' — or 'Manners of Speaking' — was one such textbook, helping a Briton to find lodgings in Paris, but also containing insults, chat-up lines, and an introduction to French customs:
The 'Manieres' also taught learners about life across the Channel. In one dialogue a Parisian chap mentions to an Englishman that he's been to Orléans. The Englishman is amazed: 'But that's near the edge of the world!' he exclaims. 'It's actually in the middle of France,' replies the Parisian, 'and there's a great law school there'. Once again, the Englishman is taken aback. He's heard it's where the devil teaches his disciples black magic. The Parisian is exasperated until the Englishman offers to buy him a drink.
Dr Grange proceeds to tell about the difficulty of learning a foreign language without leaving one's home country, and about the shifts in the linguistic preferences of the British. To see the full article, follow this link.
UPDATE: The article in question has been re-published by The Independent on March 23rd, 2018. That version, titled 'How Brexit Britain can learn from the Middles Ages on getting ahead in Europe' can be seen here.
The header image is a detail from the King James's law code manuscript (ca. 1290-1310). © The J. Paul Getty Museum / Artist unknown. See the full image here.