Speech Acts

Abstract In the Chronicle of Morea, speech acts form the backbone of the narrative: almost every scene is organized round the depiction and dramatization of a debate or other verbal exchange, to which only the briefest representation of action is appended. Typical of the work as a whole is a passage on the subject of the negotiation of a marriage alliance between the Principality of Morea and the Angevin Kingdom of Southern Italy, where an account is given of a sequence of embassies, formal audiences, private interviews, and deliberative councils (H vv.6335–427 and B § §446–51). The passage begins with the arrival of the embassy of Prince Guillaume II de Villehardouin in Naples. The envoys initially come into the presence of the royal court, and give King Charles I d’Anjou their credentials to inspect, after which they are taken aside and given an opportunity to tell the King the details of their master’s proposition in private. Having questioned the envoys to his satisfaction and listened attentively to their replies, Charles announces that he wishes to take advice before he can give a definite answer.