'Latinising' Milton: Paradise Lost, Latinitas and the Long Eighteenth Century

This chapter traces the trajectory of Latin translations of Milton’s vernacular verse most capably encapsulated by Latin verse paraphrases of Paradise Lost by a certain J.C. (1686), William Hog (1690), Thomas Power (1691) and by such eighteenth-century renderings as that of William Dobson (1753). Situating its analysis in relation to early modern pedagogical practices, including the double translation system, and informed by current translational theory, the analysis considers the multifunctional aims and consequences of Latinising Milton: the elaboration and elucidation of a vernacular original via Latin exegesis and paraphrase; recourse to Latin as a means of facilitating a wider European readership. Integral to the discussion is an alertness to the contemporary and later reception of Milton’s work, and an assessment of ways in which Latinitas enabled the invocation of classical intertexts which in themselves offer a nuanced reading of Miltonic verse.

An archaeological approach to the development of the late medieval peasant house

Archaeological excavation has provided an alternative source of evidence for the development of the late medieval peasant house. It is argued that whilst there was a significant change in building techniques in the decades around 1200 with the adoption of ground-set timbers, the most important factor which led to the survival of houses was a fall in real wages during the thirteenth century. This encouraged peasants to repair existing buildings, rather than replace them with new ones. Alternative traditions of building are also investigated. Stone construction was adopted in a number of areas of England, but in spite of the durability of the material, few medieval peasant buildings of this type have survived in use because of the failure to use lime mortar. Decisions about whether to invest in a building’s renovation will depend on the capital initially expended upon it. This interpretation is considered against the data from the fifteenth century and found to conform satisfactorily. Its implications are considered for the period between 1200 and 1350. Data collected from archaeological excavations combined with the results of dendrochronology on a growing number of closely dated standing buildings suggest that there was a significant ‘cull’ of houses in the period after 1350 as new dwellings were constructed.