Wulfstan (died 1023) - Language

Language

Wulfstan was a native speaker of Old English. He was also a competent Latinist. As York was at the centre of a region of England that had for some time been colonized by people of Scandinavian descent, it is possible that Wulfstan was familiar with, or perhaps even bilingual in, Old Norse. He may have helped incorporate Scandinavian vocabulary into Old English. Dorothy Whitelock remarks that "the influence of his sojourns in the north is seen in his terminology. While in general he writes a variety of late West Saxon literary language, he uses in some texts words of Scandinavian origin, especially in speaking of the various social classes." In some cases, Wulfstan is the only one known to have used a word in Old English, and in some cases such words are of Scandinavian origin. Some words of his that have been recognized as particularly Scandinavian are:

þræl "slave, servant" (cf. Old Norse þræll; cp. Old English þeowa) bonda "husband, householder" (cf. Old Norse bondi; cp. Old English ceorl) eorl "nobleman of high rank, (Danish) jarl" (cf. Old Norse jarl; cp. Old English ealdorman) fysan "to make someone ready, to put someone to flight" (cf. Old Norse fysa) genydmaga "close kinsfolk" (cf. Old Norse nauðleyti) laga "law" (cf. Old Norse lag; cp. Old English æw)

Some Old English words which appear only in works under his influence are:

werewulf "were-wolf" sibleger "incest" leohtgescot "light-scot" (a tithe to churches for candles) tofesian ægylde morðwyrhta