The horse, the rider, the word : A Frame Semantics approach to Middle English equestrian terminology

Abstract

This book applies the concept of Frame Semantics to a historical stage of the English language. Such an application has not been practised extensively yet. In this book the research subject is the Middle English equestrian vocabulary, that is, the terminology that was used to express all concepts connected to riding horses. In the field of historical semantics the crucial challenge lies in coping with the temporal distance limiting the source material as well as in bridging a conceptual distance separating whole mindsets. The gap between societies being run by horsepower versus oil and electricity is only the most obvious in the context of this book. Other aspects like social hierarchy, belief and living conditions have to be accounted for just as much. From whatever angle one wants to approach the meaning of words used in different historical stages, one needs to find a tertium comparationis or a whole structure of carefully linked comparable invariables. Providing exactly the tools for such a reference point, the concept of Frame Semantics was chosen as the methodical backbone of this project. Besides testing the applicability of Frame Semantics to uncover the semantic details of Middle English vocabulary, this book also aims to acquaint the present-day reader with the intricacies of equestrianism. Hence, the book is meant to assist readers in understanding a horse-based culture like that of medieval England from a modern viewpoint.