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This volume is a selection of papers presented at the 10th International Conference on Middle English held at the University of Stavanger, Norway from 31 May to 2 June 2017. The collection bridges the gap between traditional ‘linguistic'and ‘literary'topics and provides a holistic view of current research within Middle English studies. The papers are organized under four main headings: The transmission of Middle English texts, Syntax and morphology, Genre and discourse and Textual afterlives. The contributions deal with materials ranging from canonical works such as Chaucer's Canterbury Tales to little-studied texts such as administrative documents and scientific treatises.

This volume brings together eleven studies on the history of language and writing in the North Sea area, with focus on contacts and interchanges through time. Its range spans from the investigation of pre-Germanic place-names to present-day Shetland; the materials studied include glosses, legal and trade documents as well as place names and modern dialects. The volume is unique in its combination of linguistics and place-name studies with literacy studies, which allows for a very dynamic picture of the history of language contact and texts in the North Sea area. Different approaches come together to illuminate a major insight: the omnipresence of multilingualism as a context for language development and a formative characteristic of literacy. Among the contributors are experts on English, Nordic and German language history. The book will be of interest to a wide range of scholars and students working on the history of Northern European languages, literacy studies and language contact