Lexomic Analysis of Medieval Latin Texts

Abstract

In this paper we demonstrate how “lexomic” methods of computer-assisted statistical analysis can be adapted to the investigation of the structures, styles, sources, and authorship of Medieval Latin texts. The methods, which compare the vocabulary distributions of segments of texts, are first shown to produce results consistent with “control” texts whose characteristics have been determined by more traditional approaches. These controls include Waltharius, the Vita sancti Martini of Sulpicius Severus, Alan of Lille’s De planctu naturae, the Vita Merlini by Geoffrey of Monmouth, and the Gesta Friderici Imperatoris, and thus represent both poetry and prose from multiple genres, centuries, and geographical locations. After successfully testing the methods against the controls, we demonstrate how they may be applied to investigate texts whose characteristics are unknown or disputed. Our analysis of Dante’s Epistolae provides evidence that paragraphs 5-33 of the letter to Can Grande are not by Dante, a point disputed in Dante scholarship. We then examine Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica and discover evidence that strongly suggests that Ceolfrid, Bede’s one-time abbot, was the author not only of the letter to King Nechtan that Bede quotes, but also of a computus-focused account of the Synod at Whitby that appears in Book 3, chapter 25, of the Ecclesiastical History. We thus demonstrate that lexomic methods, when used in conjunction with traditional forms of analysis, are useful for the investigation of Medieval Latin texts.