Cataloguing the First Histories of the English Language Written from the Late 16th to the End of the 18th Century

Abstract

Summary Most studies on the first histories of the English language go as far back as the 19th century, and dismiss earlier historical accounts of the language. However, 17th- and 18th-century short histories of the English language provide valuable insight into information layout, periodisation criteria, ideological tenets and other material which have left an imprint on the formation of the discipline called History of the English Language. This paper attempts to remedy this lack of attention by providing a catalogue of the first historical accounts of the English language (16th–18th century) with useful bibliographic details which will help future researchers of early accounts of the English language to locate them. The catalogue is accompanied by a description of these accounts which reveals a common pattern regarding contents and organisation.