AELFRIC'S LATIN GRAMMAR
Aelfric' Læden Stæfcræft
A knowledge of Latin was essential for those in ecclesiastical orders, not as an end in itself but as a means of serving God by correctly pronouncing Divine Office. A pupil of Latin generally encountered the language and its pronunciation through singing plainsong and reading the Psalter which was often glossed with interlinear Old English.
For Aelfric, language-teaching was of paramount importance, principally for educating and improving his fellow monks and novices in preparation for a life in holy orders. He devised a systematic scheme for learning Latin that would benefit the work of the minster by producing monks who could fully participate in abbey and minster life. The ability to read and understand a variety of ancillary material in Latin was of crucial importance.
Aelfric frequently referred to the necessity of teaching the young,
'...so that holy lore in our days may not grow cold and feint, as happened in England some few years ago, so that no English priest could compose a letter in Latin...'
Learners of Latin on the Continent had the advantage of already living in a Latin milieu with day to day exposure to the tongue and ready access to grammars and language teaching aids but none of these were written for, nor catered for, a foreign-speaking audience.
Foreign-language learners in England were at a disadvantage. A few grammars were known but on the whole, teachers were led to compiling their own grammars. Aelfric certainly followed this line, adapting available resources and compiling his own materials. For example, the Latin Grammar which accompanies his Colloquy was partly based on Excerptiones de Prisciano*, a classical work which was itself an abridged version of Priscian's Instiutiones Grammaticae, which had been popular in its day. Aelfric in effect brought it up to date, doing a 'cut and paste' to make it more relevant for his young monks. The end result was not exactly a 'dumbed down' way to learn Latin, it was more of a pragmatic steer towards better comprehension of the Christian principles even if that came via a scanty grasp of Latin for some, at first.
The general method of Latin teaching tended to focus on grammar with the ultimate objective of understanding a Latin text but, crucially, with an ability to also interpret a Latin text. Aelfric records that when he was young he learned grammar and metrics.
The principles of grammar were at the heart of his Latin and 'English' teaching, opening the ears, minds and imagination of his students with a range of expressive vocabulary for common, everyday needs such as words for parts of the body, for parts of the house and places of work and for describing the natural world with detailed botanical vocabulary. The core essentials of grammar and vocabulary sprang to life through his ingenious device of The Colloquy, with its interlinear English gloss, an effective and informal conversational framework in terms of its method and theme.
The Colloquy
The Colloquy is one of the earliest English educational documents. The objective of the The Colloquy was to practice reading aloud. It had a loose dramatic structure. Young novice monks, after naming the trades and occupations of their family and community, probably took turns to become 'the voice' of the Hunter/uenator, the Fowler/auceps, the Fisherman/piscator, the Ploughman/arator etc., knowing sufficient of each to appeal to the their familar lived experience and hold their interest.
The Colloquy seems to focus on the learning of vocabulary rather than aspects of grammar. An interrogation of the Hunter for example revealed that he caught a range of animals by many methods. He was considered brave to hunt, catch and kill a wild boar - his methods and prey were outlined in detail. Aelfric demonstrates a sensitivity for reality and for brevity, he does not use complex sentence structures, which may have aided memorisation.
Wild Boar, the Hunter's prey
The second part of The Colloquy took the form of a more philosopical discussion in which the pupils were asked about life as young members of the monastic community.
The Colloquy was a useful literary vehicle for teaching Latin but is valued today as a primary source for gleaning details of non-elite Anglo-Saxon life.
Aelfric achieved the desired 'learning outcome' by means of this effective model; its success is evidenced by the fact that his idea has been copied and has survived into the modern era. Most students now learn Latin through imaginative stories of everyday life and role-play.
OLD ENGLISH: WEST SAXISH
Ælfric’s Colloquy on the Occupations
Part of the beginning of the Colloquy is reproduced here but showing the Latin text with a nearly continuous interlinear Old English gloss (in West Saxish) and a modern translation:
Nos pueri rogamus te, magister, ut doceas nos loqui latialiter recte, quia idiote sumus & corrupte loquimur. Quid uultis loqui? Quid curamus quid loquamur, nisi recta locutio sit & utilis, non anilis aut turpis. Uultis flagellari in discendo? Carius est nobis flagellari pro doctrina quam nescire. Sed scimus te mansuetum esse et nolle inferre plagas nobis, nisi cogaris a nobis.
We cildra biddaþ þe, eala lareow, þæt þu tæce us sprecan [ . . . ] forþam ungelærede we syndon & gewæmmodlice we sprecaþ. Hwæt wille ge sprecan? Hwæt rece we hwæt we sprecan, buton hit riht spræc sy & behefe, næs idel oþþe fracod. Wille beswungen on leornunge? Leofre ys us beon geswungen for lare þænne hit ne cunnan. Ac we witun þe bilewitne wesan & nellan onbelæden swincgla us, buton þu bi togenydd fram us.
We children ask you, oh teacher, to teach us to speak Latin correctly, for we are unlearned and we speak corruptly. What do you wish to talk about? What do we care what we talk about, as long as the speech is correct and useful, not idle or base. Are you willing to be beaten while learning? We would rather be beaten for the sake of learning than remain ignorant. But we know you to be kind, and you do not wish to inflict a beating on us, unless we force you to it.
This text was edited by G.N. Garmonsway, Ælfric's Colloquy, Methuen's Old English Library (London, c. 1938)
*Priscianus Caesariensis, commonly known as Priscian, was a Latin grammarian and the author of the 'Institutes of Grammar' (based on the earlier works of Herodian and Apollonius) which was the standard textbook for the study of Latin during the Middle Ages.
