Clarté et obscurité stylistiques en langue étrangère: la prose latine d'Aldhelm de Malmesbury

Abstract

English literature begins with a Latin author: Aldhelm († 709), abbot of Malmesbury and bishop of Sherborne, who was taught first by Irish masters and then by two scholars sent by the pope: Theodore of Tarsus, bishop of Canterbury, and Hadrian, an African monk. Aldhelm wrote two major prose works—De metris et enigmatibus ac pedum regulis (also known as Epistola ad Acircium) and De virginitate—as well as poems, including a collection of riddles. His works were an immediate success; his prose was a stylistic model for English authors until the twelfth century. Aldhelm cultivates stylistic obscurity, which is astonishing in an author writing a language that is foreign to him and to his audience. It is therefore necessary to ask where exactly the obscurity of his prose lies and to consider where there are in it strategies for clarity. To do this, three aspects are examined: the use of metaphorical language, sentence structure and vocabulary. Aldhelm mainly uses traditional metaphors, which he develops extensively or uses as leitmotifs, and he often even points out the meaning explicitly. Although he writes very long periods, the syntax is simple and unvaried, and the construction is emphasised by the rhythm. It is primarily the very rich vocabulary that makes his prose difficult. Nevertheless, he almost never uses exotic words or neologisms; at the same time, the use of synonymy and the accumulation of words from the same semantic field help understanding. The obscurity of his prose probably has a didactic purpose. The manuscript evidence shows the interest of readers in expanding their Latin vocabulary and Aldhelm himself employs strategies of clarity which are largely mnemonic strategies at the same time.