The essays collected in this volume represent a selection of publications on binomials and multinomials by Hans Sauer (1946–2022), professor emeritus of English Philology at the University of Munich. The book begins with a comprehensive survey of binomials in the history of English. In each essay, these constructions are then classified according to form and function, etymology, and semantic structure. The volume concludes with a summary of Hans Sauer’s main assumptions and insights. His corpus comprises medieval English historiographical, religious, and scientific texts such as , , or Pecock’s , but also literary works like Gower’s , Lydgate’s , and . Hans Sauer’s work also deals with binomials and multinomials in various translations, e.g., Aldred’s glosses to the Lindisfarne Gospels, the Old English versions of and , translations commonly attributed to King Alfred’s circle, Caxton’s , and Hoccleve’s translation of Christine de Pizan’s . In addition, he discusses a Middle English and an Early Modern English translation of Boccaccio’s as well as two Modern English translations of an early Chinese version of the . Hans Sauer’s extensive research on binomials showcases their importance as complex linguistic and stylistic phenomena featuring in a wide range of literary and non-literary texts from the early Middle Ages until today. CONTENTS Personal Preface by Gabriele Sauer ix Preface by the Editors xi Abbreviations and Signs xiii Acknowledgements xv Introduction 1 i) , , : A Survey of English Binomials and Multinomials 6 ii) Binomials in the Old English Translation of 36 iii) Binomials in Three Alfredian Texts (Old English , Old English , Old English ): Structure, Function, and Lexicographical (Non-)Treatment 73 iv) Aldred’s Combinations with , and : Their Status (Word-Formation, Glossing Device, or Both) and their Treatment in Dictionaries 93 v) Binomials in Translated Old English Prose: The 115 vi) The Middle English Romance and its Use of Binomials 150 vii) Syntax and Beyond: Binomials in the Apollonius Story as Told by Gower 179 viii) Medieval Multitasking: Hoccleve Translates Christine de Pizan and Imitates Chaucer, for Example his Binomials 195 ix) In Defence of Lydgate: Lydgate’s Use of Binomials in his 218 x) Where Caxton Translates Freely: Binomials in his 255 xi) Twin-Formulae and More in Late Middle English: , Caxton’s , and Pecock’s 279 xii) Binomials in the Middle English and Early Modern English Versions of Boccaccio’s 297 xiii) Flexible and Formulaic: Binomials and Multinomials in the Late Middle English 315 xiv) The World in Two Words: Binomials in Two English Translations of the 334 xv) Assumptions and Insights 365 xvi) Some Formulaic Binomials in the Texts Discussed here 369 xvii) Bibliography 372