Language, Culture, and Dynasty in the Brut: ICMS 2026 (5/14-16)
This session seeks papers that examine points of contact between different languages in Layamon’s Brut and in other prose and verse Bruts. Papers that focus on instances within the text where speakers of different languages interact are welcome, as are papers that take examine Layamon’s and other Brut authors’ methods of translating sections of source texts and/or incorporating other languages into their text. The session hopes to advance critical understanding of relationships between language and cultural or ethnic identity, language as a source of power or prestige, and translation as a way of conveying history to different audiences. What do perceptions of language tell us about the writers and readers of historical texts