Royal Bank of Canada Foundation Lecture: Reading French in 15th-century England
Fifteenth-century English libraries and private collections have long been known to contain manuscripts in French. Studies of these French manuscripts have often emphasized contemporary acts of translation into English. Instead, this talk draws on manuscripts from the Bodleian’s collections, as well as medieval references to French books, in order to investigate how English readers and owners interacted with these objects. A close study of surviving French manuscripts reveals the reading habits of multilingual English readers and their understandings of the relationship between language and literature.

(followed by a drinks reception in Blackwell Hall)
Date: 19 November 2018, 17:30 (Monday, 7th week, Michaelmas 2018)
Venue: Lecture Theatre, Weston Library
Speaker: Julia Mattison (RBC Foundation-Bodleian Visiting Fellow at the Bodleian Libraries until 19 December 2018)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Laura Spence