A mother tongue?
Femina nova
England, early fifteenth century
Trinity College, MS B.14.39–40, f. 88r
England, after 1415
Vellum, 179 x 132 mm (149 x 82 mm), I + 87 + 92 + I ff.
This page shows the beginning of the Femina nova ('New woman', ff. 88r–139r), a late reworking of Walter de Bibbesworth's Tretiz. The Latin rubric claims that 'This book is called Femina because, just as the woman teaches the infant to speak the mother tongue, this book teaches young people to speak French eloquently.' In practice, this claim was optimistic: the only surviving copy includes a complete Middle English translation, but this often misinterprets the text. An unusual pronunciation key has been included at the foot of the page, suggesting that the manuscript's intended audience was not confident with spoken French.
By permission of the Master and Fellows, Trinity College, Cambridge.
This page shows the beginning of the Femina nova ('New woman', ff. 88r–139r), a late reworking of Walter de Bibbesworth's Tretiz. The Latin rubric claims that 'This book is called Femina because, just as the woman teaches the infant to speak the mother tongue, this book teaches young people to speak French eloquently.' In practice, this claim was optimistic. The only surviving copy includes a complete Middle English translation, but this often misinterprets the text. For example, the translator interprets maintenant ('now') as two separate words, main and tenant, resulting in a very surprising translation: 'hand holdynge'. An unusual pronunciation key has been included at the foot of the page, suggesting that the manuscript's intended audience was not confident with spoken French.
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