Prester les oreilles au chant de la sirène - polyphonies, deterritorialization and translingualism in Medieval Francophonie

This article examines medieval francopolyphonies – the intricate interrelationship of languages, voices and perspectives underpinning medieval Francophonia. Dimensions of linguistic fluidity and hybridity in the medieval period are explored through two case studies: analysis of vegetable-lamb variants in continental and insular copies of John Mandeville’s Le Livre des merveilles du monde, and the glossing of mermaid in multilingual glossaries from the British Isles. Examination of Mandeville manuscripts reveals porous boundaries between continental and Anglo-Norman French, challenging modern conceptions of medieval language taxonomy. The rendering of the Anglo-Norman term cahourdes prompts glossing and adaptation by continental scribes, illuminating limits of intercomprehension c.1400. Exploration of deterritorialization and reterritorialization illuminates the linguistic transformations unfolding through medieval translation practices. Meanwhile analysis of mermaid glossing practices demonstrates the conceptual fluidity between medieval French and English. Interchangeable use of gallice/anglice to gloss vernaculars underscores the equivocal status of languages in insular manuscripts. This parity is reinforced through visual analysis, as interlinear glosses occupy symmetrical placement on the folio, embodying hybridity. Overall, this article problematizes applying modern linguistic categories to appreciate medieval heteroglossia. It advocates adopting enriched theoretical paradigms like translingualism to capture medieval textual fluidity. The analysis prompts reassessment of modern ideological frameworks underpinning language classification schemes. Ultimately it encourages interdisciplinary dialogue regarding the contingency and multiplicity of multilingual representations across time and space, while linking medieval and modern Francophonia.