2026 Old English Colloquium: Lindy Brady
When and Where
Speakers
Description
Lindy Brady of Edge Hill University will present Multilingualism, Old English, and the Viking Age at the 2026 Old English Colloquium. Please RSVP to attend either in person or virtually via Zoom. Professor Brady will also lead an in-person graduate student workshop, Crossing Borders in the Early Middle Ages.
Abstract: Multilingualism, Old English, and the Viking Age
In the words of its own historians, pre-Norman Britain held five languages and four peoples. Yet in modern scholarship, Old English is too often studied separately from the other languages that surrounded it during the time that it was spoken. This talk surveys evidence from the pre-Norman period that situates Old English as one of several living languages that together formed the basis of a vibrant oral and written literary culture in early medieval Britain. The case study of Old English then forms a jumping-off point to explore how the significant period of mobility inaugurated by the Viking era impacted linguistic contact across the medieval world. This talk outlines our evidence for a web of multilingual connections, arguing that the new era of mobility ushered in by the Vikings transformed the regions they inhabited into spaces where the cultures that emerged were products of multilingual interactions.
Please click the link below to RSVP for the Old English Colloquium, to ensure we can provide attendees with adequate seating and / or food. A reception will follow the Old English Colloquium lecture.
Graduate Workshop: Crossing Borders in the Early Middle Ages, 11:00 am, LI 301
This informal, interactive workshop will use the concept of ‘crossing borders’ as a springboard to discussing the study of Old English, as well as other early medieval literary traditions, in a wider context. We will think about how early medieval peoples conceptualised borders and boundaries, as well as what ‘crossing borders’ can bring to our own scholarship.
Our intellectual focus will centre on crossing geographic and linguistic borders. We will consider questions such as: how did Old English and its speakers interact with speakers of other languages and literary traditions, in Britain, the Irish Sea and North Sea regions, and across the early medieval world? How did people, manuscripts, texts, and objects travel in the early medieval period? How were borders and boundaries conceptualised by early medieval peoples?
The workshop leader has taught in English literature, linguistics, medieval studies, and history programmes in the US, Ireland, and the UK, so this workshop will also discuss the practicalities of ‘crossing boundaries’ in one’s own work and as an early-career scholar.
Please use the link below to RSVP for the Old English Colloquium lecture, graduate workshop, lunch, and / or reception.