Resounding Rhetoric
How to interpret the rhetorical function of inscriptions on church bells
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52610/rhs.v16i60.178Abstract
In medieval Sweden, many church bells were inscribed with texts, often formulated in the Latin language. These inscribed bells were then hung in remote places such as church towers or detached bell-towers and could therefore not easily be read. For whom were these words intended? The present article will discuss the function and purpose of these inscriptions in the Swedish medieval society, through the eyes of the terms ‘rhetorical situation’ and ‘genre’. This discussion leads up to a definition of ‘monumental rhetoric’ or ‘the rhetoric of durability’, that is, how rhetorical efficiency is achieved in inscriptions.
References
Beale, W. H.: “Rhetorical performative discours: A new theory of epideictic.”, i: Philosophy and Rhetoric, 11/1978, s. 221-245.
Bianchi, M.: Runor som resurs. Vikingatida skriftkultur i Uppland och Södermanland. Runrön. Runologiska bidrag utgivna av Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala univeristet 20. Uppsala, 2010.
Bitzer, L., F.: ”The Rhetorical Situation”, i: Contemporary Rhetorical Theory: a Reader. USA: The Guilford Press, 1999, s. 217-225.
Blavignac, J.-D.: La Cloche. Études sur son histoire et sur ses rapports avec la société aux différents âges. Genève, 1877.
Bäuml, F., H.: “Varieties and Consequences of Medieval Literacy and Illiteracy”, i Speculum. A Journal of Medieval Studies. Vol. 55/1980. Cambridge, Massachusetts, s. 237–265. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2847287
Campbell, K., K., & Jamieson, K. H.: “Form and genre in rhetorical criticism: An introduction”, i: Form and genre: Shaping rhetorical action. Red. Campbell, K., K., & Jamieson, K. H., 9-31. Falls Church, VA: Speech Communication Association, 1978.
Carlsson, S., & Rosén, J.: Den svenska historien. 4. Gustav Vasa. Riket formas. Stockholm, 1988.
Condit, C. M.: “The Functions of Epideictic: The Boston Massacre orations as exemplar”, i: Communication Quarterly, Vol. 33, No. 4/1985, s. 284-299. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01463378509369608
Favreau, R.: Épigraphie médiévale. L’atelier du médiéviste 5, Brepols. Turnhout, 1997.
Hellspong, L.: Konsten att tala. Handbok i praktisk retorik. Studentlitteratur. Lund, 2004.
Hellspong, L & Ledin, P.: Vägar genom texten. Handbok i brukstextsanalys. Studentlitteratur. Lund, 1997.
Jasinsky, J.: Sourcebook on Rhetoric. Key concepts in Contemporary Rhetorical Studies. Thousand Oaks, London, New Delhi, 2001.
Kamberelis, G.: “Genre as institutionally informed social practice”, i: Journal of Contemporary Legal Issues 6/1995, s. 117-171.
Kulturhistoriskt lexikon för nordisk medeltid. Malmö 1956–1978.
Lausberg, H.: Handbuch der Literarischen Rhetorik. Eine Grundlegung der Literaturwissenschaft. 3 Auflage 1990 Mit einem Vorwort von Arnold Arens, Stuttgart, 1990.
Miller, C. R.: “Genre as Social Action”, i: Genre and the New Rhetoric. Red. Aviva Freedman and Peter Medway, 23-42, Basingstoke, Burgess Science Press, 1994.
Palm, R.: Runor och regionalitet. Studier av variation i de nordiska minnesinskrifterna. Runrön. Runologiska bidrag utgivna av Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Uppsala universitet 7. Uppsala, 1992.
Parkes, M., B.: Scribes, Scripts and Readers. Studies in the Communication, Presentation and Dissemination of Medieval Texts. London, Hambledon, 1991.
Perelman, C, & Olbrechts-Tyteca, L.: The new rhetoric: A treatise on argumentation (J. Wilkinson & P. Weaver, Transl.). Notre Dame, University of Notre Dame Press, 1969.
Ridderstad, P. S.: Konsten att sätta punkt. Anteckningar om stenstilens historia 1400-1765. Filologisk-filosofiska serien 14, KVHAA. Stockholm, 1975.
Ström, A.: Monumental messages. Latin Inscriptions on Tombstones and Church Bells in Medieval Sweden. Sällskapet Runica et Mediaevalia, Scripta maiora 3, Stockholm, 2002.
Svenbro, J.: Phrasikleia. An Anthropology of Reading in Ancient Greece. Cornell University Press, Ithaca and London, 1988.
Söderberg, B., & Larsson, I.: Nordisk medeltidsliteracy i ett diglossiskt och digrafiskt perspektiv. Meddelanden från Institutionen för nordiska språk vid Stockholms universitet MINS 39. Stockholm, 1993.
Åmark, M.: Sveriges medeltida kyrkklockor. Bevarade och kända klockor. Stockholm, 1960.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Rhetorica Scandinavica
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Open Access; CC Erkännande-IckeKommersiell-IngaBearbetningar 4.0
