An Introduction to Old English

(Anglo-Saxon)

The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred languages which probably originated in Anatolia (Asiatic Turkey) and over centuries spread and developed into the languages of Europe, Anatolia and the Indian subcontinent. The Indo-European Language “tree” has about nine branches which represent divergences from the parent “Proto-Indo-European” language. These branches include Latin and the languages which developed from it like French and Spanish, Greek, Slavic and its descendents like Russian, Polish and Czech, Germanic and its descendents German, Dutch, English and the Scandinavian languages and the ancient language of India, Sanskrit and its descendents Hindi, Punjabi, Merathi, Urdu, Bengali and many other distinct languages found in the Northern Indian sub-continent.

The family is roughly divided into two groups. The feature that distinguished the two groups is the fact that words of similar structure and meaning in one group have an S sound and the equivalent in the other group has a hard C sound. For this reason, the two groups are designated according to the pronunciation of the word for the number 100 in Latin, representing the Western Group and Sanskrit, representing the Eastern Group:

Latin: centum

Sanskrit: satem

So a centum language belongs to the western branch (like Latin) and a satem language belongs to the eastern group (like Sanskrit).

English is an Indo-European Language

The Eastern Branch or Satem Group Languages

The Western Branch orCentum Group Languages

The Indo-European family of languages is spoken by approximately 3 billion native speakers, making it the largest group by far.

Of the 20 most-spoken languages in the world, 12 of these come from the Indo-European group:

Spanish, English, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, Russian, German, Marathi, French, Italian, Punjabi and Urdu.

Together, these 12 account for more than 1.6 billion native speakers.

Although it is not spoken by the single biggest number of native speakers, English is the most widespread language in the world. It has become the lingua franca of the modern world.

English is a World Language

What is the history of the English Language?

Modern English is a hybrid language with influences on vocabulary, grammar and sentence structure from many languages it has come into contact with over the last 2000 years.

The Timeline of the English Language

ān enleofan twā twelf þrēo þrēo-tīene þrī-tig fēower fēower-tīene fēower-tig

fīf fīf-tīene fīf-tig siex siex-tīene siex-tig seofon seofon-tīene hund-seofon-tig eahta eahta

eahta-tīene hund-eahta-tig nigon nigon-tīene hund-nigon-tig tīen twen-tig hund-tēon-tig

hund-enleofon-tig (110)

þūsend

English and Dutch are linguistic “cousins”. Look at the numbers in

Old English:

Anglo-Saxon was once written using the runic alphabet (the Futhorc) but Church scribes began using an adapted Latin alphabet instead. The Anglo-Saxon Alphabet has three distinctive letters called ash, barred D and thorn. Vowels can be long or short. Long vowels are shown by a line above the letter. Two vowels together are always pronounced separately e.g. bread is pronounced bree-add, not bred as in Modern English. The letters sc together are always pronounced sh. G has 3 sounds: hard g, dg like in edge or if it has an e in front or behind it becomes a Y e.g. gear is pronounced like modern year.

aA æÆ bB cC dD ðÐ eE fF gG hH iI lL mM nN oO pP rR sS tT þÞ uU wW yY

You will also see there is no K, Q or V. The letters C, CW and F were used instead.

Did you notice something weird?

The Colours

rēad geolo grēne blǽw brūn blǽc hwīt purpu

The Interrogative Pronouns

hwā – who hwelc – which hwǽr – where hwænne - when hwǽt – what hwý – why hū - how

æcer – akker bān – been – belīfan – blijven binnan – binnen bītan – bijten blōd – bloed brecan – breken bremel – braam brōþor – broer buan – bouwen bufan – boven ciele – kil cīepan – kopen cild – kind cirice – kerk cnapa – knaap cwic – kwik cyning – koning cyne-rīce – koningrijk dǽd – daad dǽlen – delen dēaþ – dood dēofol – duivel dēor – dier dohtor – dochter draca – draak duru – deur ēage – oog ēare – oor earm – arm earn – arend ele – olie ende – eind engel – engel Engla-land – Engeland eorþe – aarde

What about these?

Present Simple Conjugation (regular):

ic binde wē bindaþ þū bindes gē bindaþ hē bindaþ hīe bindaþ

bēon – to be (usually used to state an indisputable fact)

ic bēo wē bēoþ þū bist gē bēoþ hē biþ hīe bēoþ

Seo lyft þone heo a-styred is, biþ wind.

wesan – to be (simple statements AND formation of passive and perfect tenses

ic eom þù eart hē is wē sindongē sindon hīe sindon

ic neom ne wē ne sindon ne þù neart ne gē ne sindon ne hē nis ne hīe ne sindon ne

Wē sindon gecumene. We (are) have come.

For þæm þæt land wæs eall gebūn.

because all the land was cultivated.

Ic neom ne eald. I am not old. Notice double negative: ic neom ne   habban – to have / nabban – not to have

ic hæbbe wē habbaþ þū hæfst gē habbaþ hē hæfþ hīe habbaþ

ic næbbe ne wē nabbaþ ne þū næfst ne gē nabbaþ ne hē næfþ ne hīe nabbaþ ne

Look at the Present Tense….

berstan – barsten bēodan – bieden bindan – binden biddan – bidden būgan – buigen ceosan – kiezen cunnan – kunnen delfan – delven drincan – drinken etan – eten faran – reizen (varan) flēogan – vliegen feallen – vallen fēohtan – vechten frignan – vragen gān – gaan healdan – houdenhelpan – helpen hātan –

heten lǽnan – lenen lǽtan – laten lecgan – leggenlicgan - liggen macian – maken magan – mogen metan – meten motan – moeten niman – nemen scieppan – scheppen sculan – zullen sēon – zien slēan – slaan specan – spreken stæppan – stappen wendan – wenden weorpan - werpen willan – willenwitan – weten worþan – worden wyrcan – werken

Now compare these verbs….

Be þǽre sunnan: Seo sunne gæþ betweonan heofone and eorþan: on dǽg bufan eorþan, and on niht under þisse eorþan. Æfre heo biþ niernende ymb þās eorþan, and ealswa leohte scinþ under þǽre eorþan on niht swa-swa heo on dǽg deþ bufan urum heafdum.

About the sun: The sun goes between heaven and earth: in the day above the earth, and in the night under the earth. Ever she is running around this earth, and so light shines under the earth in the night as it in the daytime does, over our heads.

Anglo-Saxon Texts

Be þǽre sunnan: Seo sunne gæþ betweonan heofone and eorþan: on dǽg bufan eorþan, and on niht under þisse eorþan. Æfre heo biþ niernende ymb þās eorþan, and ealswa leohte scinþ under þǽre eorþan on niht swa-swa heo on dǽg deþ bufan urum heafdum.

About the sun: The sun goes between heaven and earth: in the day above the earth, and in the night under the earth. Ever she is running around this earth, and so light shines under the earth in the night as it in the daytime does, over our heads.

Anglo-Saxon Texts

Be þære lyfte: Lyft is swiþe þynne. Seo ofer-gæþ ealne middangeard, and up-astigþ oþ þone monam. On þære fleogaþ fuglas swa-swa fiscas swimmaþ on wætere. Ne mihte hira nan fleogan, nære seo lyft þe hie bierþ. Seo lyft a-bierþ eall wolcnu and ealle stormas. Seo lyft þone heo a-styred is, biþ wind.

About the air. Air is very thin. It goes over all (the) earth, and rises up to the moon. In it fly fowls (birds) just as fishes swim in water. Nor might none of them fly if the air did not bear them. The air carries all the clouds and storms. The air, when it is stirred up, is wind.

Anglo-Saxon Texts

Ðu, ure Fæder, þe eart on heofonum, sy þyn nama gehalgod. Cume þin rice. Sy þin wylla on eorþan swa-swa on heofonum. Syle us to-dæg urne dæghwamlican hlaf. And forgyf us ure gyltas, swa-swa we forgyfaþ ðam þe wið us agyltaþ. And ne læd ðu na us on costnunge. Ac alys us fram yfele. Sy hit swa.

Our Father, that art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive is out trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation. And deliver us from evil. Be it so (Amen)

Anglo-Saxon Texts

Beowulf is the title of an Old English heroic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia. It is commonly known as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature. Its composition by an anonymous Anglo-Saxon poet is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. It survives in a single manuscript known as the Nowell Codex, which was transcribed from a lost original by two different scribes in about 1000AD.

In the poem, Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, battles three antagonists: Grendel, who has been attacking the resident warriors of the mead hall of Hroðgar, the king of the Danes; Grendel's mother; and an unnamed dragon. The last battle takes place later in life, Beowulf now being king of the Geats. In the final battle, Beowulf is fatally wounded. After his death his retainers bury him in a tumulus in Geatland.

Beowulf

Geographical Locations

Anglo-Saxon poetry is known for two key features:

1. The poem relies on alliteration for its internal cohesion.

2, It makes use of literary devices called kennings which are a type of metaphor, intended to exaggerate the concept of the kenning. Kennings were used also in Scandinavian poetry (Icelandic, Norwegian and Danish) Their use is an example of the cultural interaction between Saxon England and the Vikings who paid frequent visits to the British Isles in the 9th and 10th centuries.

A kenning is a hyperbole, intended to exaggerate the heroic nature of the poem. Those used in Icelandic and Norse poetry tend to be complicated phrases whereas those used in Anglo-Saxon are simple, two-word compounds joined by a hyphen.

seġl-rād “sail-road”

swan-rād “swan-road”

Very rarely, a genitive structure is used:

heofones ġim “sky’s jewel” = “the sun”

Don’t exaggerate!

MeaningPoetical Kenning axe blood-ember battle spear-din bear beo wulf blood slaughter-dew blood battle-sweat blood wound-sea corpse raven harvest death sleep of the sword death in battleflame-farewelled fire bane of wood fire sun of the houses gold serpent's lair amber Freya’s tears honour mind's worth hook bait-gallows kill enemies feed the eagle raven swan of blood

MeaningPoetical Kenning the sea whale-road the sea sail road the sea whale's way the sea swan-road serpent valley-trout shield headland of swords ship wave-steed ship sea-steed the sun sky-candle the sun sky's jewel sword blood-worm sword icicle of blood war weather of weapons warrior feeder of ravens warrior destroyer of eagle’s hunger wind breaker of trees wolf Gunn's horse

Examples of Kennings

A line of Anglo_Saxon poetry is written in two half-lines called distichs, separated by a heavy pause called a caesura. Each half-line has two stressed syllables.

Anglo-Saxon poetry does not rhyme. It relies instead on alliteration which is the repeating of sounds. Repeating vowel sounds is called assonance. Repeating consonant sounds is called consonance. Alliteration is all about SOUNDS and not the LETTERS themselves.

Each line in Beowulf has three alliterations. All vowel sounds alliterate with each other but certain consonant combinations do not: SP, ST and S do not, for example. Hard C and CH alliterate, as do hard G and Y (eg or ge).

The first half-line is called the on verse. The second half-line is called the off verse. The stressed syllables in the on verse usually alliterate with the first stressed syllable of the off verse. The second stressed syllable of the off verse does not usually alliterate. The alliterating sound is always the initial sound of a stressed syllable, not a word.

It is important to remember that the pronunciation of the sounds of English have changed over time and so the alliterations which were obvious to a Saxon may sometimes seem a little strange to a modern speaker.

The author of Beowulf is unknown. It was probably composed orally between the 8th and 11th centuries. The manuscript was written in the 11th century by two different scribes.

Does it have to rhyme?

þæt fram ham gefrægn         Higelaces þegn, 195 god mid Geatum,         Grendles dæda; se wæs moncynnes         mægenes strengest on þæm dæge         þysses lifes, æþele ond eacen.         Het him yðlidan godne gegyrwan,         cwæð, he guðcyning 200 ofer swanrade         secean wolde, mærne þeoden,         þa him wæs manna þearf. ðone siðfæt him         snotere ceorlas lythwon logon,         þeah he him leof wære; hwetton higerofne,         hæl sceawedon. 205 Hæfde se goda         Geata leoda cempan gecorone         þara þe he cenoste findan mihte;         XVna sum sundwudu sohte;         secg wisade, lagucræftig mon,         landgemyrcu. 210 Fyrst forð gewat.         Flota wæs on yðum, bat under beorge.         Beornas gearwe on stefn stigon;         streamas wundon, sund wið sande;         secgas bæron on bearm nacan         beorhte frætwe, 215 guðsearo geatolic;         guman ut scufon, weras on wilsið,         wudu bundenne. Gewat þa ofer wægholm,         winde gefysed, flota famiheals         fugle gelicost, oðþæt ymb antid         oþres dogores 220 wundenstefna         gewaden hæfde þæt ða liðende         land gesawon, brimclifu blican,         beorgas steape, side sænæssas;         þa wæs sund liden, eoletes æt ende.      

In the beginning…..This heard in his home Hygelac's thane,great among Geats, of Grendel's doings.He was the mightiest man of valourin that same day of this our life,stalwart and stately. A stout wave-walkerhe bade make ready. Yon battle-king, said he,far o'er the swan-road he fain would seek,the noble monarch who needed men!The prince's journey by prudent folkwas little blamed, though they loved him dear;they whetted the hero, and hailed good omens.And now the bold one from bands of Geatscomrades chose, the keenest of warriorse'er he could find; with fifteen menthe sea-wood1 he sought, and, sailor proved,led them on to the land's confines.Time had now flown;2 afloat was the ship,boat under bluff. On board they climbed,warriors ready; waves were churningsea with sand; the sailors boreon the breast of the bark their bright array,their mail and weapons: the men pushed off,on its willing way, the well-braced craft.Then moved o'er the waters by might of the windthat bark like a bird with breast of foam,till in season due, on the second day,the curved prow such course had runthat sailors now could see the land,sea-cliffs shining, steep high hills,headlands broad. Their haven was found,their journey ended.