Join Devon History Society for this online talk by Dr Tom Hinton and find out about the long history of multilingualism in Britain.
French was the language of social climbing in medieval Britain. By 1300, around one in five people in the country would have been bilingual, and the language was commonly used by anyone who wanted to get on in the world: the nobility of course, but also merchants, lawyers, churchmen and administrators.
This talk, based on current research, will introduce you to the earliest known textbook for learning French, the Tretiz by Walter de Bibbesworth. It focuses on two manuscripts of this text with a Devon connection: one owned by Richard Dove, a monk at Buckfast Abbey, and the other belonging to the fifteenth-century lawyer and cathedral canon John Stevens.
Come along for a glimpse into Devon’s social history and to find out about the long history of multilingualism in Britain.
Dr Tom Hinton is Senior Lecturer in French at the University of Exeter.
Cost: £4 (Free to Devon History Society Members)
Accessibility Statement: This is an online event to make it accessible to people who live across Devon or further afield. You will receive an email providing the Zoom link 3 days before the event.