Sincerity in Medieval English Language and Literature

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Introduction: Sincerity, Language Change and Medieval Literature

   • Graham Williams

   Pages 1-38

3. Before Sincerity: Pagan Beliefs of Language and Emotion

   • Graham Williams

   Pages 39-74

4. God Who Knows the Heart: The Christianization of Language and Emotion

   • Graham Williams

   Pages 75-118

5. Sincerity in Contrition: From Confessions to Apologies

   • Graham Williams

   Pages 119-162

6. Sincerity in Love: From caritas to affectio maritalis

   • Graham Williams

   Pages 163-221

7. Conclusion: What is Sincerity?

   • Graham Williams

   Pages 223-232

8. Back Matter

   Pages 233-256

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This book traces the development of the ideal of sincerity from its origins in Anglo-Saxon monasteries to its eventual currency in fifteenth-century familiar letters. Beginning by positioning sincerity as an ideology at the intersection of historical pragmatics and the history of emotions, the author demonstrates how changes in the relationship between outward expression and inward emotions changed English language and literature. While the early chapters reveal that the notion of sincerity was a Christian intervention previously absent from Germanic culture, the latter part of the book provides more focused studies of contrition and love. In doing so, the author argues that under the rubric of courtesy these idealized emotions influenced English in terms of its everyday pragmatics and literary style. This fascinating volume will be of broad interest to scholars of medieval language, literature and culture.

• English language
• history of literature
• language and culture
• historical linguistics
• literary-stylistic history
• historical pragmatics
• language history
• history of emotions
• Old Norse
• Middle English
• Anglo-Norman
• Old English
• philology
• language and emotion
• English Middle Ages
• medieval literature
• literary diction
• British and Irish Literature

“Williams has succeeded in writing a book that is balanced in terms of structure and content. … To read this interesting book, one does not need to be a professional philologist specialized in Medieval English. It suffices to be familiar with current linguistic terminology and to have a general understanding of the spread of Christianity into Europe. I would in fact recommend the book to any linguist interested in understanding how Christianity has influenced the European notion and language of emotions.” (Heli Tissari,Studia Anglica Posnaniensia, Vol. 55, 2020)

“In this engrossing new study, Graham Williams adroitly traces the history of the concept of sincerity across Old and Middle English literature. Combining a well-grounded expertise in linguistics and pragmatics with a sensitive  capacity for literary close reading, Williams persuasively shows how in key domains of human experience medieval people learned how to feel, and then how to express their feelings – of contrition, of love – aligning their inward dispositions with socially-sanctioned emotional performance. Taking a new and highly productive look at this vital aspect of medieval feeling, Williams’ book deserves the attention of all scholars of emotion.” (Carolyne Larrington, Professor of Medieval European Literature, University of Oxford, UK)

“Weaving together linguistic, emotional, social and literary histories in magisterial fashion, Williams traces the English cultural-ideological basis of sincerity, showing how it developed in the communicative contextsof Christian devotion but came to influence more general interactional contexts, which in turn shaped the notion of sincerity itself. Original, erudite and insightful, the book is a landmark that deserves to be read.” (Jonathan Culpeper, Professor of English Language and Linguistics, Lancaster University, UK)

• School of English, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom

  Graham Williams

Graham Williams is Senior Lecturer in the History of English at the University of Sheffield, UK. 

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