Description
Book SynopsisIntroduction to Old English is a leading text designed to help students engage with Old English literature for the first time. The 3rd edition includes numerous chapter updates, as well as expanded coverage of Old English manuscripts, runes, and other inscriptions.
Trade Review“Enhanced with new anthology readings, common spelling variants, phonetic symbols and terms, a glossary, references, and a comprehensive index, "Introduction To Old English" is an ideal student textbook and highly recommended addition to academic library instructional reference collections.” (Midwest Book Review, 1 May 2012)
"Excellent introduction designed to provide reading knowledge ... He [Baker] constructs the book to encourage beginning students to start translating almost immediately" (The Medieval Review, June 2008)
"The fruit of years of sensitive, thoughtful and student-responsive teaching. [...] this work is a huge step forward in imaginative course design. It is accessible in manner and genuinely tries to address the needs of the modern student and teacher, taking them through a course step by step. [...] by far the best attempt yet to introduce Old English, and I enthusiastically recommend it to members." (TOEBI Newsletter)
"Peter Baker's excellent new book, a combined grammar and reader, deserves to find a central place in the university teaching of Old English. It is unabashedly designed to be accessible to absolute beginners, but students who progress attentively through the whole book will in fact find themselves in command of a great deal of what makes Old English language and literature tick. [...] These chapters [on 'Metre', 'Poetic Style', 'The Grammar of Poetry', and 'Reading Old English Manuscripts'] constitute the real novelty of the book in their lucid summation of some essential truths that have rarely if ever been to clearly set out for beginners; the sections on poetry in particular deserve to be read by all students beginning the translation of Old English for the first time." (Notes and Queries)
"The new edition is a solid tool that both an independent student and a classroom full of students will find useful. The book's approach is balanced. It includes just the right amount of explanatory text ... while also offering ... grammar tools and exercises. The selection of readings is varied and exemplary. Much thought was put into the choice, quantity, and order of the other texts in the anthology. I would certainly recommend this book for an introductory course in Old English.... Baker's new edition is a pleasure to read and would be a pleasure to use in the classroom." (Comitatus)
Table of ContentsPreface xii
Preface to the Second Edition xiii
Preface to the Third Edition xiv
How to use this book xv
1 The Anglo-Saxons and Their Language 1
1.1 Who were they? 1
1.2 Where did their language come from? 3
1.3 What was Old English like? 4
1.4 Old English dialects 10
2 Pronunciation 11
2.1 Quick start 11
2.2 More about vowels 16
2.3 More about c and g 18
2.4 Syllable length 20
2.5 Accentuation 20
2.6 On-line pronunciation practice 21
2.7 Summary 21
3 Basic Grammar: A Review 22
3.1 Parts of speech 22
3.2 Phrases 28
3.3 Clauses 29
3.4 Elements of the sentence or clause 30
4 Case 34
4.1 What is case? 34
4.2 Uses of the cases 35
5 Pronouns 41
5.1 Quick start 41
5.2 More about personal and demonstrative pronouns 44
5.3 Interrogative pronouns 45
5.4 Indefinite pronouns 46
5.5 Relative pronouns 47
5.6 Reflexive pronouns 48
5.7 Reciprocal pronouns 48
6 Nouns 50
6.1 Quick start 50
6.2 More about strong nouns 57
6.3 Minor declensions 60
7 Verbs 64
7.1 Quick start 64
7.2 More about endings 68
7.3 More about weak verbs 69
7.4 More about strong verbs 73
7.5 Verbs with weak presents and strong pasts 79
7.6 More about preterite-present verbs 80
7.8 Negation 82
7.9 The verbals 83
7.10 The subjunctive 85
8 Adjectives 89
8.1 Quick start 89
8.2 Strong adjectives 91
8.3 Weak adjectives 92
8.4 Comparison of adjectives 93
8.5 The adjective in the noun phrase 94
9 Numerals 96
9.1 Quick start 96
9.2 Cardinal numbers 97
9.3 Ordinal numbers 98
10 Adverbs, Conjunctions and Prepositions 99
10.1 Quick start 99
10.2 Adverbs 99
10.3 Conjunctions 101
10.4 Correlation 102
10.5 Prepositions 104
11 Concord 106
11.1 Quick start 106
11.2 Subject and verb 107
11.3 Pronoun and antecedent 110
11.4 Noun and modifiers 111
11.5 Bad grammar? 112
12 Word-order 115
12.1 Quick start 115
12.2 Subject–Verb 115
12.3 Verb–Subject 117
12.4 Subject . . . Verb 118
12.5 Correlation 119
12.6 Anticipation 121
12.7 Periphrastic verbs 121
13 Metre 123
13.1 Alliteration 124
13.2 Rhythm 126
14 Poetic Style 133
14.1 Vocabulary 134
14.2 Variation 137
14.3 Formulas 140
15 The Grammar of Poetry 146
15.1 Inflections 146
15.2 Syntax 147
16 Old English in its Material Context 156
16.1 Manuscripts 156
16.2 Runes 163
16.3 Other inscriptions 167
Appendix A Common Spelling Variants 169
A.1 Vowels of accented syllables 169
A.2 Unaccented syllables 170
A.3 Consonants 171
Appendix B Phonetic Symbols and Terms 172
B.1 International Phonetic Alphabet symbols 172
B.2 Phonetic terms 174
Appendix C Further Reading 175
C.1 General works 175
C.2 Grammars 175
C.3 Dictionaries and concordances 176
C.4 Bibliographies 176
C.5 Old English texts and translations 177
C.6 Literary criticism; sources and analogues; metre 178
C.7 History and culture 178
C.8 Manuscripts, art and archaeology 178
C.9 On-line aids 179
C.10 On-line amusements 180
Anthology 181
1 The Fall of Adam and Eve 181
2 The Life of St Æthelthryth 183
3 Cynewulf and Cyneheard 186
4 The Martyrdom of Ælfheah 188
5 Sermo Lupi ad Anglos 191
6 King Alfred’s Preface to Gregory’s Pastoral Care 197
7 Ohthere and Wulfstan 202
8 The Story of Cædmon 210
9 Boethius on Fame 215
10 A Selection of Riddles 223
11 The Battle of Maldon 227
12 The Wanderer 240
13 The Dream of the Rood 245
14 The Battle of Finnesburh 251
15 Waldere 253
16 Wulf and Eadwacer 257
17 The Wife’s Lament 259
18 The Husband’s Message 262
19 Judith 264
Textual Notes 275
Glossary 283
References 387
Index 394
