This thesis approaches the question of how nominal compounds as linguistic means contribute to the construction of cultural meaning within the framework of knowledge transfer in the medieval monastic school. The starting point for the study is the semiotic definition of culture, which sees culture as shared models for perceiving, relating and interpreting among members of a social group. Language is seen as the place where cultural meaning is constructed and manifests itself in significant patterns, i.e., patterns of language usage that have meaning due to the fact that they are patterns. The central objective of this study is to reveal such patterns in nominal compounds drawn from Old High German (or rather bilingual hybrid) adaptations of Latin school texts translated, or adapted by Notker III (Labeo). Focus is placed on newly formed compounds, as well as compounds that differ distinctively from their Latin models. Methodologically this study combines the morphosemantic analysis of nominal compounds with a hermeneutic approach interpreting compounds in their textual and cultural context. Three significant patterns were established: (1) explication of implied meaning, (2) summary of complex expressions, and (3) explanatory translation. The first pattern can be observed in cases where the power of compounds to give additional information was utilised, e.g., in order to ensure a certain interpretation of a metaphorical expression. The second pattern demonstrates the capacity of compounds to refer to more complex concepts, expressing underlying syntactic constructions in a more memorisable manner. Finally, recourse was taken to explanatory translation in order to make the concept easier to understand. The three patterns are not necessarily the only patterns used by Notker III (Labeo); rather they are to be seen as an exemplification of the potential of nominal compounds for meaning construction.

How much was a medieval monastery reminiscent of a modern prison? Or insane asylum? And if it was in the least - what can such a metaphor tell us about power relations structuring the life of medieval monks? The purpose of this compilation thesis (sammanläggningsavhandling) is to render explicit and analyze relations of power and modes of control comprising the social tissue of early medieval Benedictine monasteries. By bringing up the examples of tenth- and eleventh-century monasteries of St Gall, Fulda, and Bury St Edmunds, this thesis seeks to understand what power was in medieval monasteries, how and between whom it was exercised, what and how it affected in terms of collective and individual identity. The thesis consists of three introductory chapters, four previously published empirical articles, and a concluding remarks section. Article 1 investigates the problem of surveillance and patterns of social control dispersed in the monastery of St Gall. Article 2 studies the early and high medieval institutional expectations and means of enforcement of the monk’s role. Article 3 scrutinizes an example of a persecution process and a set of defense measures in the hands of the St Gall community warding off an unwanted visitor. Article 4 examines a number of internal monastic conflicts from several monasteries and strategies, both political and cognitive, guiding them. In investigating these problems, the thesis proceeds in a manner of deliberate anachronism. It asks questions about how human subjectivity was manufactured in early medieval St Gall, what were a medieval monastery’s ‘conditions of possibility’ to operate as a social regime, or oral and literary means of conflict management etc. The crucial modern social theories on which the thesis hinges are: Erving Goffman’s notion of ‘total institution’, and Michel Foucault’s analysis of power, as well as Pierre Bourdieu’s logic of action.