One of the central ideas of Construction Grammar (CxG) is that constructions, as form-meaning pairings, are stored in a structured inventory, the so-called constructicon. While the exact nature and details of the constructicon are still a matter of debate (see Diessel 2023), current work in Constructicography has produced (partial) Constructicons for German, English, Swedish, Brazilian Portuguese, and Russian, among others (see Lyngfelt et al 2018). And while we now have a number of studies dealing with historical construction grammar (e.g., Sommerer 2018; Sommerer & Smirnova 2020) most of these deal with individual constructions and their environments, so what is missing, at least on a grander scale, are (partial) constructicons for historical languages such as Old and Middle English. After a brief introduction to the general ideas and methodological background of CxG, this exploratory paper will highlight some pathways for the development of such a (partial) constructicon for Middle English, including some challenges, risks and pitfalls of such an enterprise, but also its chances and benefits. On the basis of previous research, it will also offer a first thumbnail sketch of what such a Middle English constructicon might look like.

The Tremulous Worcester scribe, working in the first half of the thirteenth century, has attracted considerable scholarly interest, but aspects of his work remain puzzling, and have not been fully elaborated. What caused him, for instance, to break off glossing the Hatton 20 version of the Pastoral Care? Why did he largely abandon his glossing work in Middle English? Why and when was much of this work erased, and for what reason? The approach taken combines codicological and book-historical perspectives, seeking to contextualise the Tremulous Hand’s glossing work within other copying activity of homiletic material in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the material in Worcester Cathedral Library MS F.174 (the sole surviving manuscript written entirely in his own hand), and the strong vernacular tradition of Worcester and its environs. I argue that the Tremulous scribe was engaged in preparing bilingual notes of sermons for parish priests in the Worcester diocese. As such, the approach he takes is different from and more flexible than that of the Trinity and Lambeth homilies compiled earlier in the century, and responds to new modes of preaching current in Worcester as he worked. Alternatively (or also) he may have been using the same materials to help fulfil episcopal duties in relation to preaching and visitations as mandated by Lateran IV, canon 10. The paper outlines recent advances in our understanding of the opportunities available for further training and education of the parish priest during this period, and the likely role played by the Tremulous Worcester scribe in this initiative.