About this Event
SOUTHWELL MINSTER LECTURES:
English in early medieval Southwell
Tuesday 27th October 2026, 2:30pm
in the State Chamber, Southwell Minster
Join us to shine a light on medieval language and answer the question:
What did English sound like in early medieval Southwell?
People spoke and wrote Old English in early medieval Southwell. How much do we know about their language? What did it sound like? What other languages were there in the area? This talk will give an overview of the Mercian dialect of Old English using text examples written at the time, including Beowulf, The Peterborough Chronicle, The Lord’s Prayer and place-names from the Southwell area. It will be fascinating to see how close our own modern form of English is to the earliest East Midlands dialect. All welcome — no prior experience with medieval language required.
Speaker: Dr Christine Rauer is an academic based at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. She works on medieval English literature.
Tickets cost £7 (plus booking fee)
Tickets may be bought in advance through the Minster website, or the Cathedral shop, or on the door.
FIND OUT MORE: Talks Programme | Southwell Minster
Event venue & nearby stays
State Chamber at Southwell Minster, Church Street, Southwell, United Kingdom
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