Etymology and Wordplay in Medieval Literature

In modern scholarship, etymology and wordplay are rarely studied in tandem. In the Middle Ages, however, they were intrinsically related, and both feature prominently in medieval literature. Their functions are often at variance with the expectations of the modern reader, in particular when wordplay is used to arrive at crucial answers or to convey theological insights. The studies in this book therefore carry important implications for our understanding of the reception of medieval texts. The authors show how etymology and wordplay in the Middle Ages often served as an impetus for meditation and as a route to truth, but that they could also be put to more mundane uses, such as the bolstering of national pride. In a narrative context, the functions of etymology and wordplay could range from underlining the sexual bravado of the protagonist to being the key indicator of whether the hero would live or die.

This book presents case studies of the uses of etymology and wordplay in a number of medieval literatures (Latin, Old French, Middle High German, Italian, Old Irish, Old English, Old Norse, Slavic). By moving beyond the strictly etymological discourse into different parts of medieval literature, the functions of these devices are highlighted in various contexts. Their significance ranges from the bawdy to the sublime, from the open-ended to the specific. Classical and medieval developments of etymology and wordplay are described in a background chapter.