“Spoken sounds are symbols of affections in the soul.” - Aristotle

An intrinsic part of any story at all is, of course, the speech, the dialogue. The way a character speaks reveals a lot about their place in the world, and their personality. Let me tell you something I’ve been thinking about before we go into discussion about the content which goes between your quotation marks. Don’t worry, it is perfectly relevant.

Now you’ve conceived this beautiful brain child that is a medieval alternate universe, you need to be able to relate your characters to it. Your world is beautiful, breath-taking, bombastic- a marvellous creation which is all laid out ready to explore. What creates your story is how your characters interact with the world. This is through all of their senses, including their intuition, and their socialisation within this fantastical world. The way a reader becomes immersed into a new world is through the character, experiencing all these sensations through what the character is experiencing, traversing the world vicariously through their eyes. This, my friends, is why description is so emphatically important.

So how does this relate to speech? Well, it’s intrinsically linked. You see, the tone you set within your narration creates the backdrop for your character’s speech. Let me explain via example.

Now, it hadn’t been all too long since John kicked open the heavy wooden door of his home after a hard day’s tending the horses. But already, not moments after he had collapsed into his beloved rocking chair, soothing his aching bones as he slumped against the firm oak, the sun dropped below the swell of the horizon, casting his home into the gentle glow of twilight. His eyes drooped as sleep lulled him- for he worked arduously and his dreams beckoned him. But then, all of a sudden, a loud disturbance broke his lethargy. “Who goes there? Show yourself!” called he.

John flung open the door with a force only the most exhausted employee can muster, quickly toeing off his shoes before making a leap of faith onto the sofa in the living room, his body all too ready to relax. He hated how his job ended just as the sun was setting these days, and he couldn’t be bothered to do anything about it when the living room went dark as the sun disappeared. But suddenly, he heard a crash coming from the kitchen. “Hello? Is someone there?” He called.

Now, these two paragraphs contain a very similar storyline, but the context is completely different. A different feeling is built between the two, and there is a noticeable style.

Imagine if the speech was swapped. It would sound a little off, or out of place, wouldn’t it? That’s the point- speech is imbedded in and intertwined with the style of the narration. How you narrate influences how characters speak.

Think of it like this- if narration is from a character’s perspective, narration is basically a look into the mind of the character, and reflects how they see the world. This means that when they speak, the speech will reflect the style of the narration, as it is also birthed from the character’s thoughts and impulses. So they naturally meld together.

Now, an example from those two paragraphs. Take for instance the world ‘hello’. This word was actually first used after the invention of the telephone, when people were trying to decide what greeting they should use after answering. ‘Hello’ was one word among candidates, others being ‘ahoy’, which would have been just as logical a step when it comes to greetings, really. So, while it works when writing in a modern fashion, hearing it in a medieval context is already off-putting. All truly contemporary words such as this will have that effect when accidentally thrown in front of a medieval backdrop.

As you can already tell, there is a much deeper intricacy than what meets the eye to writing some really suitable speech in medieval fantasy. This is especially true because we don’t really know how these people talked- we only know how they wrote. We have definitely lost a great deal of their slang and swear words. Since these kinds of things were pretty exclusively spoken back then, they have taken it to their graves.

But do not despair!

While being accurate and faithful to the time period of your choice is great for the authenticity of your work, you just need to write with that ‘feeling’. Because here’s the truth about medieval speech- it’s a completely different language.

Just look at the vast difference between Chaucer and Shakespeare (the original texts, not translated to modern language versions). There was a huge transition between middle and modern English. For now, let’s just forget about Old English, because it is entirely unintelligible to Modern English speakers of today. Also, it was Shakespeare who coined/recorded a very hefty amount of our modern sayings and expressions. So since the medieval era pretty much ends and becomes early Modern history by the time of Shakespeare, that is very much worth taking into account. But the point is this: The language of Chaucer is almost unreadable to the modern Englishman, at least without guidance.

Now here comes the really interesting part about Chaucer. Next read how modern translators have translated him. Depending on who you pick, it still sounds very regal, and, well, medieval-y. How do they do that, you ask? Here’s the hard truth- you have to read it to find out. It’s an incredible case study.

However, there are a few things I can pick out for you to help you along the way when analysing their techniques. I have turned these observations, combined with a little further research, into a few points. Hopefully, they can help you develop a style of speech and dialogue which sounds at home in your medieval world.

1. Syntax

Syntax is the way sentences are structured, and it does change over time, and differs between social groups and also regionally (in English, at least). One way to think about syntax is to think about historical dialogue as its own dialect (a sub-section of a language, with different inflections and words), which it essentially is.

Now, during the middle ages English is highly influenced by Latin, which was the written language at the time mainly because of the bible (while also we cannot forget the roman influence). Religious speech is extremely influential as it was something which was an integral part of European culture at the time, in particular, Christianity. King James’ Bible is one written in highly flowery (and to many the most beautiful) English language, and is a bible of the early modern ages- more like Shakespeare’s speech- perfect for research as it is far more intelligible than middle English simply from a language point of view. Also, depending on the time period you wish to set your story in, French was the aristocratic language, which yet again interferes with how one would depict these different kinds of people in your fantasy world, in order to give them that ‘upper class’ impression versus the peasants who spoke English of Germanic and Nordic roots. This kind of linguistic separation of the classes is really interesting to consider in conjunction with the Feudal system.

-Here- you can find much more information about influences on English through the medieval period.

(If you’re super interested in Language, it’s this introduction of French via conquering which merges with English to create the Middle English Creole theory. It’s a pretty solid theory in my opinion and well worth researching as it reveals societal status through word choice and stuff like that…)

In fact, the best dialect writers rely more on syntax than on trying to make words appear ‘accented’ by changing spellings and shortening words. The impact of syntax is very artfully done, not generally noticeable to the eye, but very impactful none the less. Let’s have a deeper trawl through some grammar analysis, shall we? (I know you didn’t sign up for this but are you ready?)

Here are some basic sentence orders, and a small snippet of speech in English based purely on these structures.

MODERN ENGLISH: subject – verb – object

“I gave the horse’s reigns to a boy, and he went that way.”

GERMAN/DUTCH: Sentence structure can be inverted depending on emphasis

“The horse’s reins to a boy, I gave, and he went that way.”

FRENCH: subject – verb – object

“To a boy I gave the horse’s reigns, and he went that way.”

LATIN: subject – object – verb

“To the boy the horse’s reigns I gave, and that way he went.”

Notice how these three types of language influenced the style and voice of the utterance. There is a reason I chose these particular languages to inspire those sentences. The Germanic/Dutch origin most reflects how peasants would structure their sentences. The French reflects aristocracy and royalty. The Latin reflects those who had the privilege to attend schooling of some fashion.

This style can be pushed forward into narrative, but would be worth using sparingly for emphasis- consider how difficult to maintain (and to read) it would be if you wrote like that constantly. As a quick example;

“Ye really think it’s a doddle,” Said he, knowingly.  (As opposed to: he said, knowingly.)

2. Style and rhetoric

The study of rhetoric as a discipline- the art of speech- during medieval times was much more important, and would have been taught to anyone high enough in society to attend schooling. Why is this important, you say?

Shakespeare in particular had rhetoric down to a fine art, utilising it at every moment he could- and well, what better than to learn from the greats? Your writing will instantly become more sophisticated, trust me. Rhetoric is thousands of years old, and unlocks the devices of the English language, essentially giving us the tools to write and speak not just with beauty but with power.

I know there are internet resources for this, but I actually recommend a book for this endeavour- The Elements of eloquence, by Mark Forsyth.

And so, as you learn rhetoric, so will your characters, and it will all be quite eloquent. It can be yet another device to differentiate educated characters from peasants.

3. Slang and idioms

Get your terms of address down. This will help to further embellish your feudal world. -Here’s- a useful link with a basic overview.

As for a little break down about swear words, it’s worth giving -this article- a read. We’ve lost most swears because they were never written down, which is one of the greatest losses to humanity, in my opinion.

So, when it comes to your speech, it’s pretty safe to use some 'modern' swearwords. I’m pretty sure they would deliver more impact to the reader, anyway- maybe just check that you are using actual swears, rather than contemporary slang words. These are different.

There is, however, an Early Modern English slang dictionary- The First English Dictionary of Slang from 1699. It even has 69 in it. What a gift of a book.

Later came Francis Grose’s Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, published in 1811. By this time the language is Victorian era, and breaching a different historical genre (also a very fun one, but one which requires an entirely different guide). However, it’s better than nothing, and as you can see, dated enough to remove your vulgarity from modern day.

4. Etymology

Etymology has already been a prevalent theme throughout this article, so I won’t repeat what I’ve already discussed about word origin, but there are still a couple of myths to bust. Here is a ‘do’ and a ‘don’t’ in the world of correct word usage…

DO: Use the word ‘thou’ to refer to one person, and other such Early Modern English pronoun forms. It’s still used to this very time period in certain regions of England (can confirm, have been there myself). Therefore, if worked in skilfully, it can sound very authentic and natural. Don’t be afraid they will be jarring or odd, if the world really feels medieval, they will naturally fall into place. -Here’s- how to use it in a little more detail.

DON’T: Confuse the usage of ‘ye’. Here’s a breakdown. ‘Ye’ is another way to write ‘you’, and it’d be interesting to use it in this manner (it’s similarly used in recent England just like ‘thou’, although sadly its usage is dying out). However, I tend to hear the misconception that it refers to the word ‘the’. This is not true, but it stems from a common assumption born thusly:

‘Ye Olde Shoppe’

This is a written form for a shop sign. It looks like Ye, right? But in fact, the ‘Y’ is actually a written short form of ‘th’, and would be pronounced as ‘the’. If you want a more detailed explanation as to why, -click here-.

5. Formal versus informal

People speak differently according to different situations, right? Medieval times were no different. Everyone has their own formal and informal way of addressing others, depending on the situation and their social status.

Sometimes, people think that to make something sound ‘regal’ it also has to be ‘formal’. This is not true. People from every social background have their own friends, at least family. There needs to be a balance.

It’s worth mentioning here that the modern day French-language sayings that we use in English stemmed from the time the French ruled over the British, and the language became the dominant upper class lingo. So, a good way to differentiate between classes and sophistication would be through researching French-root words. A good place to start is -here-.

On the other hand, if you want a deeper understanding of what the lower classes were speaking, you can -research- German and Norse root words.

6. Read it out loud

A general rule of thumb is that when you read the dialogue you just wrote out loud, you shouldn’t stumble awkwardly over it. If you find yourself naturally using a slightly different word pattern, it’s probably best to change it to that. This is just to check pacing and flow, which is more difficult to gauge when writing in such a unique style.

7. Compromise

There needs to be a balance between accuracy and authenticity. As discussed before, we know we cannot exactly replicate how these people spoke, especially since back then is was basically another language. You can write in a fluid and understandable way while still maintaining a feeling of authenticity. It’s just down to your judgement how you employ it.

Now, here are some ‘Yay’ and ‘Nay’ words to deploy, as in, words which fin in, and words which are a step too much for what we’re trying to achieve here.

Yay!

Anon (until later)

Morrow (day)

E'en (even/evening)

Fare thee well (goodbye)

Aye/yea (yes)

Nay (no)

Ne'r/nary (never)

Oft (often)

Mayhap/perchance/belike (maybe)

Verily (very/truly)

Prithee/pray (please)

Privy (toilet)

What say you? (What do you say?)

I bid you (I ask you)

Come hither! (Come here! Usually to children)

Nay!

Dost thou knowest the time? (Do you know the time?) (Do you think I sound stupid?)

Tis most splended! (Alright!) (Do I sound posh enough?)

Adieu, My Good Ladies (Goodbye, Ladies) (More annoying than it should be)

Wherefore (why) (literally nobody understands this means why, don’t confuse everyone)

Well, that was quite the journey, wasn’t it? I do admit this is much longer than some chapters I have published, but the question of how to write dialogue really hit my soft spot for linguistic history… yes, I am a nerd. Sorry not sorry! Please enjoy, and let me know what you think, and if it raises any more questions.