Chancery norms before Chancery English?

This study analyses two Old English formulae gret freodlice (‘greets in a friendly manner’) and ic cyðe eow þæt (‘I make it known to you that’), which form a salutation–notification template in a document type called writs . It connects the emergence of this formulaic set to previous oral traditions of delivering news and messages, and to their reflection in dictation practices from at least the time of King Alfred. Their later routinisation and...