PhD Studentship: Learning Anglo-French: French Language-Learning Manuscripts in Britain, c.1200-c.1500” A UKRI funded PhD studentship in the Department of Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies

French in medieval Britain was both a language of culture and a second vernacular. This unusual situation makes it a key case study for grasping how multilingual societies work, yet the nature and methods of its transmission remain mysterious. Learning Anglo-French (LAF) draws on recent methodological advances to address vital questions about the history of vernacular language acquisition and multilingualism in medieval Britain. Where was French being learned? What kind of French? How, by whom, and in what contexts? At the same time, it offers a case study for how far it is now possible to go in analysing medieval manuscripts and uncovering their hidden histories.

This PhD studentship offers four years of funding (full tuition fees and maintenance allowance) for a research project relating to the French language-learning manuscripts that form the project’s central focus, or to the use of French in medieval Britain more broadly. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of LAF, there is flexibility about what topic (s) the doctoral project might focus on. Possible fields include historical linguistics, codicology, textual-literary studies, social or educational history. It is likely to suit candidates who already have some experience of handling medieval texts and languages (especially French), whether through a disciplinary training in Modern Languages, History, English or another field.

Interdisciplinarity is at the core of LAF, since a cohesive picture of the teaching of French in Medieval Britain requires the integration of methodologies from different disciplines, including Book History, Literary Studies, Linguistics, Bioarchaeology (DNA and animal protein analysis) and Digital Humanities. The successful candidate will therefore gain insight into cutting-edge approaches as well as a thorough grounding in the more traditional methods of manuscript study. S/he would be joining an exciting project team including two post-doctoral fellows and colleagues in Digital Humanities, and be embedded within a dynamic and successful research culture at Exeter, both within the department of Languages, Cultures and Visual Studies and the university’s Centre for Medieval Studies.

Further information about LAF is available here: https://newsarchive.exeter.ac.uk/homepage/title_957639_en.html

Duration and value of award

The studentship will be for a period of up to 4 years (48 months), dependent on satisfactory progress, and will cover full tuition fees and an annual maintenance grant of £18,622 (2023/24 rate).

For more information about the project and informal enquiries, please contact the primary supervisor, Prof Thomas Hinton .

Applicants should have at a minimum a good first degree (at least 2.1, or international equivalent) in a relevant subject area (e.g. French, English or History), and have obtained, or are currently working towards a Master's degree at Merit level, or international equivalent, in a relevant subject area (e.g. Medieval Studies or French).

Proficiency in French and/or familiarity with medieval languages would be an advantage.

If English is not your first language you will need to meet the English language requirements and provide proof of proficiency.

Applicants would be expected to start their studies in September 2024.

Reference information

It is your responsibility to ensure that your referees email their references to [email protected], as we will not make requests for references directly; you must arrange for them to be submitted by 25 March 2024.  Please note that applications with missing documentation will not progress to shortlisting.