Norse-derived Terms in Siege of Jerusalem : Dialectal Variation in the Nine Extant Manuscripts

This article examines the diffusion and retention of Norse-derived vocabulary in the nine extant manuscripts of Siege of Jerusalem (SJ), a late fourteenth-century Middle English alliterative poem produced in West-Yorkshire. Building on the Gersum Project’s methodology and lexicographical tools (OED, MED, LAEME), eighty-three Norse-derived terms were identified in the base manuscript, Laud Misc. 656, and a selection of fifty-three of these were examined in the remaining eight manuscripts. The study highlights notable regional variation: manuscripts from Scandinavianised areas (PAV) retain the majority of Norse terms, while those from non-Scandinavianised regions (UDEC) exhibit significantly more replacements and omissions, often favouring native or French-derived vocabulary. These findings suggest differing levels of scribal familiarity and lexical accommodation shaped by regional dialects and stylistic needs (i.e. alliteration).