The Treatise of Walter of Bibbesworth

Walter composed the treatise during the 1230s to help a neighbor, an English-speaking widow, teach her two children the Norman-French language. The rhymes, household references, and other features to keep the children amused proved successful enough that people used it to teach Norman-French for about two centuries. It was resurrected some years ago as a scholarly source for the two languages and for the social history of the period. The Norman-French text is that prepared by William Rothwell and published by the Anglo-Norman Online Hub. Linguist, classical scholar, food historian, and retired librarian Dalby has translated several works for Prospect. Distributed in North America by The David Brown Book Co. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)