Analysing bilingualism and biscriptality in medieval Scandinavian epigraphic sources: a sociolinguistic approach

Abstract

Abstract Written culture in high and late medieval Scandinavia is characterized by a long and complex relationship between the Latin written tradition and the older native runic one. One product of the intersection of these traditions are several epigraphs where Latin, vernacular, Latin alphabet, and runes are combined. The aim of this paper is to propose a framework for analysing such bilingual and biscriptal inscriptions which takes into account two fundamental aspects of language and script choice: (1) the literacy of those involved in the production and reception of the texts, and (2) the role of the indexicality of languages and scripts in the shaping and representation of identities. The paper draws on epigraphic analyses and modern sociolinguistic approaches to written multilingualism and shows that an interdisciplinary method can further our understanding of the relationship between the Latin and vernacular written cultures, their status relative to each other, and their social functions in medieval Scandinavia.