The form of Latin masculine proper names in an Old English text
What is it about?
Old English, like most medieval European languages, was influenced by Latin. Many previous works have focused on Latin loanwords. However, in this paper I examine the form Latin masculine proper names (e.g. Marcus) take when they enter the Old English language. The main question I try to answer is: Do names generally look like Latin or like Old English, or perhaps a mixture of the two?
Why is it important?
This work studies some linguistic items —proper names— that tend to be overlooked in linguistic analysis due to their peculiarities. It shows that although they are normally dismissed, they can offer insights concerning our general understanding of how the adaptation of loanwords in Old English works and demonstrates that many factors —morphological, syntactic and also textual— must be taken into account in order to understand the mechanisms of adaptation.