The French of England:
Anglo-Norman Studies at Fordham and York
The French of England--a term meant to cover both Anglo-Norman and Anglo-French--is a major field awaiting exploration. This website will facilitate access to material centering on the French documents of England: to partial or complete translations of previously untranslated and unpublished work, and to research not yet published.
The site will also welcome today's newer approaches in, for example, post-colonial and feminist studies, which seek to cross, re-align, or even erase disciplinary boundaries. Scholars have begun to ask new questions about the ways in which 'French' texts might be 'English' and about the interrelations between insular French literature and that of the continent. Historians and literature scholars taking a post-colonial approach will recognize that the French of England was in good part the imperializing strategy of a political and military elite. Further, it has become well known in the study of the Middle Ages that for women's history and achievements, vernacular records and vernacular literature are particularly significant.
Saints' lives and research into them will also occupy a significant place here. Now recognized as a premier European narrative genre, and one for which there exists a notable corpus in the French of England, saints' lives are certainly key to understanding the English Middle Ages. Concomitantly, numerous religious works in the French of England showcase the conspicuous religiosity of aristocratic laypeople's formation--in a sense, their spiritual cultural capital--in medieval Britain.
The French of England Project [FOE] is jointly supported by Fordham University in New York City and by the University of York, UK and has received funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities in the USA and from the Modern Humanities Research Association in the UK.
Contact Us
By phone: (718) 817-4655
By mail: French of England Project, Center for Medieval Studies, FMH 405, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458
By email: fenster@fordham.edu or wogan-browne@fordham.edu
Part-time Office and Research Assistant: Karen Trimnell, Website created by Rebecca Slitt and Morgan Franck, and maintained Karen Trimnell Last updated July 1, 2006