The Wives and Sisters of Sahagun: Word Order of Latin and Romance Synonyms in Possessive Noun Phrases in the Formulae of Medieval Iberian Notarial Documents- Uxor vs. Mulier and Soror vs. Germana, a Preliminary Study

The goal of this study was to find and trace word order patterns in Possessive Noun Phrases (PNP's) in formulaic language within notarial documents dating from the tenth through the thirteenth centuries, originating from the Monastery of Sahagun, Leon, Spain. The overall results show clear trends, which reveal a diachronic process that contributed to the gradual shift from a combination of pre and post-positioned PNP's to 100% pre-positioned PNP's, as exhibited in a seemingly abrupt change in the thirteenth century. An interdisciplinary, contextual and pragmatic approach, covering internal and external influences, was taken into account in the analysis of the results.;The internal phenomenon that revealed this gradual shift from post to pre-positioned PNP's was the interplay of Romance and Latin, specifically in the synonymous behavior of the word pairs, uxor and mulier, and soror and germana. It was found that the Latin words typically were linked with post-positioning of the possessive adjective, while Romance words were linked with pre-positioning of the possessive adjective, beginning in the ninth century. This phenomenon was clearly exhibited within fixed, formulaic phrases. Uxor and soror did not evolve into Romance, as mulier and germana did. Eventually these Latin words were replaced with their Romance counterparts, and likewise their post-positioning of the possessive with pre-positioning. Theories of medieval literacy fed into our analysis of this internal phenomenon, taking into consideration of the aspect of reading aloud and the need for all parties involved to comprehend, hence the incorporation of Romance vocabulary--and Romance word order.;The consideration of historical events contributed to our analysis of the overall trends as shown by a general count of PNP's from the ninth through the thirteenth centuries. For example, the significant numerical increases and decreases of pre and post-positioned PNP's throughout this span of centuries are directly linked to the timing of certain monastic reforms. The tremendous rise in number of both pre and post-positioned PNP's in the second half of the eleventh century occurs at the same time of the Cluniac Reforms, instituted in 1080. The complete and seemingly abrupt shift from post-positioned PNP's to pre-positioned in the thirteenth century coincides with the change in written norms from Latin to Romance, as influenced by King Alfonso II.;The internal and external phenomena revealed by our investigation of the word order of PNP's within formulaic language, invite questions for further studies. Internal factors, such as the interplay of written Latin and Romance, as well as external, pointing to monastic ties between the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula and other regions, form just a few of the many areas of study that may contribute to a greater understanding of the factors influencing the written norms that medieval scribes employed in Leon, Spain.