Stranger churches in early modern London were positioned to effectively hear, disseminate, and counter gossip across various languages, according to new research.
Research reveals that stranger churches in early modern London had ‘eyes everywhere’ to monitor, share, and dispel gossip in multiple languages.
During the Elizabethan era, England saw a significant influx of migrants, notably Protestants escaping religious violence and persecution from nations that spoke French, Dutch, Flemish, Italian, and Spanish.
Dr. John Gallagher, an Associate Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leeds, has found evidence that the English state was keeping tabs on gossip in various languages concerning these newcomers.
His insights are published in a new paper titled Migrant Voices in Multilingual London, 1560-1600, featured in the Transactions of the Royal Historical Society.
Dr. Gallagher, recently honored with the Philip Leverhulme Prize for his research, stated: “The history of England is considerably more multilingual than commonly perceived; even the state needed to learn multiple languages during the Elizabethan era to keep ‘eyes everywhere’ and maintain control.”
“People encountered numerous languages daily, enabling us to hear the voices of ordinary individuals due to the extensive church records from that time.”
“Languages beyond English were heard throughout the city’s streets and public areas, passing through the walls of homes and the doors of shops.”
Stranger churches
At that time, migrants, referred to as ‘strangers’, became part of a predominantly illiterate yet multilingual community that deeply valued verbal communication.
The establishment of ‘stranger churches’ began with the first Dutch church in London in 1550, offering services in French, Dutch, and Italian. However, the church leaders understood that their privileges could easily be challenged, prompting them to monitor gossip across languages to protect their communities’ reputations.
Records from the governorships of these stranger churches reveal their mission to ‘have eyes everywhere’, as a minister from the French church in London noted in 1561.
In a case concerning the legitimacy of a child’s parentage in the Dutch church, the records demonstrated that elders consulted a woman ‘from overseas’, an ‘Englishman’, and a woman who was present at the child’s birth to gauge the extent of the rumors.
Moreover, consistories (the all-male governing bodies of the stranger churches) also made it their goal to conduct background investigations on migrants attending church who might have left an undisclosed spouse and family behind.
England’s ‘third universitie’
However, London’s multilingual interaction extended beyond churches and the literate elite, as everyone was likely to encounter languages other than English in public spaces and even within their homes.
Among Dr. Gallagher’s findings is the narrative of a bookseller, Thomas Harris, who stopped his French neighbor Jehan de Savoye in the street to inquire about a dispute he had overheard in French.
The Royal Exchange in London, completed in 1568, served as a significant venue where linguistic diversity facilitated the exchange of news, gossip, and slander throughout the city. It acted as a hub for international trade and was also a venue for public disputes, accusations, and arrests, all unfolding in multiple languages.
A commentator from that time referred to London as England’s ‘third universitie’, where one could learn not just Chaldean and Syriac, but also Arabic, Polish, Persian, and Russian.
Dr. Gallagher emphasized: “You didn’t need to speak or comprehend another language to engage in this multilingual urban experience; your arguing neighbors might switch languages to clarify the issue, or an offender may arrive at your doorstep alongside their church elder to provide an explanation and an apology.”
These insights will be included in Dr. Gallagher’s forthcoming book titled Strangers: Migration and Multilingualism in Early Modern London, backed by the Leverhulme Trust’s Philip Leverhulme Prize.
