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Censorship is Nothing New: Multilingual Gossip Was Monitored in Elizabethan London
Stranger churches in early modern London had 'eyes everywhere' to hear, spread and dispel gossip in multiple languages, according to new research.
The Elizabethan era saw large numbers of migrants coming to England, many of whom were Protestants fleeing religious persecution and violence from countries that spoke French, Dutch, Flemish, Italian and Spanish.
Dr John Gallagher, Associate Professor of Early Modern History at the University of Leeds, has uncovered evidence that the state was monitoring gossip about them in multiple languages.
His findings are revealed in a new paper, Migrant Voices in Multilingual London, 1560-1600, which is published in Transactions of the Royal Historical Society.
Dr Gallagher, who recently won the Philip Leverhulme Prize for his work in this area, said:
"England's history is much more multilingual than we might imagine, and even the state had to learn multiple languages in the Elizabethan area to have 'eyes everywhere' and maintain control…. The average person would have come across multiple languages every day, and we can hear the voices of regular people because of the extensive records kept by churches at the time.’
"Languages other than English could be heard in the streets and in the public spaces of the city, through the walls of homes and the doors of shops."
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