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Abstract
This paper argues that the Gesta Francorum could have been written in Latin as a text designed for performance. It starts by looking at the style and approach of the text itself, arguing that whilst the Gesta’s Latin is close to the vernacular it has strong performative elements. It argues that Latin texts could be made comprehensible to a non-Latin literate public in a range of contexts. It explores the linguistic climate in Southern Italy and Sicily at this time and argues that Latin would not only have been comprehensible to the audience but a possible lingua franca for wider use, meaning that the text could have served as a pivot text for other languages. The paper concludes that looking at the text as designed for oral delivery offers insight into why it seems to have existed in several versions, why it was seen as so unusual by contemporaries and why it was so influential.
Abstract
This paper argues that the Gesta Francorum could have been written in Latin as a text designed for performance. It starts by looking at the style and approach of the text itself, arguing that whilst the Gesta’s Latin is close to the vernacular it has strong performative elements. It argues that Latin texts could be made comprehensible to a non-Latin literate public in a range of contexts. It explores the linguistic climate in Southern Italy and Sicily at this time and argues that Latin would not only have been comprehensible to the audience but a possible lingua franca for wider use, meaning that the text could have served as a pivot text for other languages. The paper concludes that looking at the text as designed for oral delivery offers insight into why it seems to have existed in several versions, why it was seen as so unusual by contemporaries and why it was so influential.