An English Teacher in Paris: John of Garland’s Dictionarius and Medieval Language Learning

John of Garland’s Dictionarius, a thirteenth-century Latin lexicographic work survives in over 30 manuscript copies disseminated across England and the Continent. Originally conceived as a tool for teaching Latin through the medium French, later copies of the work circulating in England, northern France and the Low Countries attracted glosses in Middle English, Old French, and other languages, offering insights into the process of language teaching as well as textual communities for language learning. Currently, there is no exhaustive study of the glosses contained in these manuscripts, a lack which Drs. Heather Pagan (Westminster), Annina Seiler (Zurich) and Christine Wallis (Sheffield) are resolving with their current research on the text and its manuscripts.

Comments and questions about the project can be directed to the project email at johnofgarland@gmail.com.