“Please” and “I ask, I request” in Liber vitae patrum

MIKULOVÁ, Jana. “Please” and “I ask, I request” in Liber vitae patrum. Graeco-Latina Brunensia. Brno: Masarykova Universita, 2024, vol. 29, No 1, p. 135-149. ISSN 1803-7402. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.5817/GLB2024-1-7.

Basic information

• Original name: “Please” and “I ask, I request” in Liber vitae patrum
• Name in Czech: "Prosím" v Liber vitae patrum
• Authors: MIKULOVÁ, Jana (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution).
• Edition: Graeco-Latina Brunensia, Brno, Masarykova Universita, 2024, 1803-7402.

Other information

• Original language: English
• Type of outcome: Article in a journal
• Field of Study: 60202 Specific languages
• Country of publisher: Czech Republic
• Confidentiality degree: is not subject to a state or trade secret
• WWW: “Please” and “I ask, I request” in Liber vitae patrum
• Organization unit: Faculty of Arts
• Doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/GLB2024-1-7
• Keywords (in Czech): dignari; digneris; zdvořilost; pozdní latina; Řehoř z Tours
• Keywords in English: dignari; digneris; politeness; late Latin; Gregory of Tours
• Tags: International impact, Reviewed

Abstract

This paper examines the use of performative verbs meaning “I beg, I ask” and pragmatic markers meaning “please” in the 6th-century Liber vitae patrum by Gregory of Tours. It discusses the frequency of each verb and the possible factors that may have influenced its selection, such as imitation of previous authors, the social status of the communication agents, the requested things, and any difficulty in fulfilling the request. For example, the fact that the highest frequency was found for quaeso (which was perceived as an archaism already in Cicero’s time) suggests that Gregory followed the model of learned men from the 4th and 5th centuries CE who “resuscitated” this verb after its decline in the 2nd and 3rd centuries CE. The paper also examines other additional devices, such as a formula with digneris, and forms of address.