Rhetorical Re-analysis of Metadiscourse Items in Henry Daniel’s Middle English Prologue to Liber Uricrisiarum

Abstract:

This study introduces a method in which linguistic items from different metadiscourse classes are remapped onto the rhetorical plane defined by the Aristotelian concepts ethos, pathos, and logos. The qualitative-quantitative analysis is made on the Middle English translation of Henry Daniel’s Latin prologue to his English translation of Liber uricrisiarum, exemplifying the persuasive means in early English medical prologues. The exemplar used is from MS BL Royal MS 17.D.1, ff. 4r–5r.