Sign Language in the Monastery

The sample sentences used in this blog post are from The Cambridge Old English Reader.

Monks following the rule of St. Benedict have been using sign language since at least the 10th century. This is because silence was demanded of those seeking divine contemplation in and around monastic buildings, including dormitories (during nighttime hours). The use of sign language became so prevalent that it was eventually felt necessary to codify them.

The Old English text (with a Latin title), Monasteriales Indicia, describes 127 signs used by Early Medieval English monks. Other books of signs have been found in France at the Abbey of Cluny, and in Germany at Hirsau Abbey, for example. Below is an illustration depicting what St Paul's monastery in Jarrow may have looked like (source).

The following is eight sets of instructions given to monks as an alternate method of communication.

1. Huniġes tācen is þæt þū sette þīnne finger on þīne tungan.
The sign of honey is that you put your finger on your tongue.

It was important to be able to gesture for certain food as silence was also expected in the refectory, a room used for communal meals.

Notice the ‘es’ suffix added onto the word for honey (Huniġ), this indicates that the word is in the genitive case. Commonly, the genitive indicates possession (for example, ‘cyninges hunta’ meaning the king’s hunter, or hunter of the king). In this case, ‘tacen’, in the nominative case (the subject of the sentence), belongs to the honey. 

2. Ðonne þū drincan wylle, þonne leġe þū þīnne scyte-finger andlang þīnes mūðes.
When you want a drink, then lay your forefinger along your mouth.

‘Scyte-finger’ (shooting finger), is named this way likely because it was the finger used to draw a bow.
You will notice that ‘wylle’ will become ‘wille’ in the next sentence. This is typical of Old English which, like many pre-modern languages, did not have standard spelling conventions. This is also prevalent in Middle English.

The ‘Ðonne’ … ‘þonne’/ ‘when’ … ‘then is a common prepositional phrase.

3. Ðonne þū wīn habban wille, þonne dō þū mid þīnum twām fingrum, swilċe þū tæppan of tunnan ontēon wille.

When you want to have wine, then do (move) with your fingers as if you want to draw out the tap from a casket.

In the second part of this sentence, there is a clear accusative and dative case indicated by the use of suffixes. The accusative is the case used for the word at which an action is direct. In this sentence, the tap and casket are accusative because they are the objects of the verb ‘draw out.’ Therefore, the nominative ‘tunne’ becomes ‘tunnan’ and the nominative ‘tæppa’ becomes ‘tæppan’. The fingers are in the dative case, this is because they are the indirect object, the object being indirectly used in the action against the accusative. Therefore, the nominative plural for fingers, ‘fingras’ becomes ‘fingrum,’ the plural dative.

4. Bēores tācen is þæt þū gnīde þīne hand on þā ōþre.
The sign of beer is that you rub your hand on the other.

The rubbing of one hand on the other imitates the grain-grinding process used in making beer.

5. Ðonne þū fisc habban wylle, þonne weġe þū þīne hand, swilċe hē dēþ his tæġl þonne hē swymð
When you want to have fish, then move your hand, like it (he) moves (does) its tail when it (he) swims.

‘Weġe’ is a good example of the imperative form, since the imperative form is used for instruction. 

6. Ðonne þū sāpan habban wille, þonne gnīd þū þīne handa tōgædere.
When you want to have soap, then run your hands together.

The soap used in the monastery was likely made from animal fat and a mixture of other ingredients, such as ash, lime, salt, and flour.

7. Ðonne þū camb habban wylle, þonne strīċ þū mid þīnum fingrum on þīn feax nyþerweard, swilċe þū cembe þē. 

When you want to have a comb, then stroke downwards on your hair with your fingers, like you are combing it.

You may have noticed that the ‘your’ in a sentence can change depending on its meaning. In this sentence, ‘þīnum fingrum’ is a dative ‘your’ agreeing with the dative version of ‘finger,’ and ‘þīn feax’ is an accusative ‘your’ agreeing with the accusative ‘feax.’ This is because you are brushing your hair (the direct object) with your fingers (the indirect object).

8. Breċena tācen is þæt þū strīċe mid þīnum twām handum up on þīn þēoh. 
The sign of trousers is that you stroke your thigh with your two hands.

Trousers were worn underneath a tunic (which looks much like a dress) that was belted up just above the knee.