Teach Yourself Complete Old English

Cover......Page 1
Book title......Page 2
Contents......Page 4
Acknowledgements......Page 9
Meet the author......Page 10
Only got a minute?......Page 11
Only got five minutes?......Page 13
Only got ten minutes?......Page 15
Introduction......Page 17
How to use this book......Page 19
Pronunciation......Page 24
1 Here Edward was consecrated as king......Page 28
The C version of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle......Page 29
Cultural contexts: Edward the Confessor......Page 34
Old English personal names......Page 36
The poem Maxims II......Page 40
Cyning sceal on healle beagas dælan A king in hall must deal out rings......Page 44
Cultural contexts: the hall......Page 45
Infinitives, auxiliaries, cases......Page 46
Old English place-names......Page 49
Cultural contexts: Leofric bishop of Exeter......Page 52
The Exeter Book......Page 53
Ic eom mare þonne þes middangeard I am more than this middle earth (Riddle 66)......Page 54
Personal pronouns......Page 58
Introduction to the present tense......Page 60
Countries and people......Page 61
Annals 1019 – 1031 from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle......Page 64
Cultural contexts: Descriptive titles......Page 67
Talking about the past......Page 70
Cultural contexts: The adverb here......Page 74
Cultural contexts: The calendar......Page 75
5 About the four seasons......Page 80
From Byrhtferth’s Handbook......Page 81
The basics of the present tense......Page 86
The nominative......Page 87
Grammatical gender......Page 88
From The Seafarer and The Wife’s Lament......Page 91
Joseph and his brothers (from the Old English Hexateuch)......Page 97
The Alfred Jewel......Page 101
Uses of þa......Page 103
The accusative......Page 104
Comparison with Chaucer......Page 106
From The Dream of the Rood......Page 107
7 King Cnut greets his archbishops......Page 111
From Cnut’s Proclamation of 1020......Page 112
The relative pronoun þe......Page 114
From The Battle of Maldon (lines 36 – 9)......Page 115
The strong noun: a brief introduction......Page 116
Plurals......Page 117
From Cnut’s writ to archbishop Lyfing (S 985)......Page 118
Thegns......Page 121
The genitive......Page 122
Marriage in Anglo-Saxon England......Page 128
Declension of personal pronouns: the third person......Page 129
Uses of the dative......Page 132
A Worcestershire marriage agreement (S 1459)......Page 133
From the Old English Life of Euphrosyne......Page 137
From Beowulf (2016b – 2019)......Page 142
Cultural contexts: The pastoral economy......Page 144
The possessive......Page 146
Joseph follows his brothers (from the Hexateuch)......Page 147
The conjugation of verbs......Page 149
The weak verb lufian......Page 150
The strong verb singan......Page 151
Place names in -ley......Page 153
10 These are the bounds of the pasture at Hazelhurst......Page 155
The Hazelhurst charter (S 950)......Page 156
The definite article......Page 158
The strong noun......Page 159
The weak ending on adjectives......Page 160
From Beowulf (724b–727)......Page 163
Place names......Page 164
11 Here is declared in this document......Page 166
Leofwine reada Leofwine the Red (S 1220)......Page 167
Cultural contexts: Canterbury......Page 168
Language and style: formulaic phrases......Page 169
Rhythmical language......Page 171
The demonstrative þes (this)......Page 174
12 I saw a creature travel on the wave......Page 178
The Fuller Brooch......Page 179
Noun declension......Page 181
Numerals......Page 182
From The Seafarer (18–26)......Page 186
Numerals and parts of the body in riddles 36 and 86......Page 192
13 And they put him into the waterless well......Page 194
Þa hi hyne feorran gesawon When they saw him from afar (the betrayal of Joseph in the Hexateuch)......Page 195
Cultural contexts: Rivalry between royal half-brothers......Page 197
Introduction to the subjunctive......Page 198
The be- prefix on verbs......Page 199
Metaphorical language......Page 202
Ceap trade......Page 203
Edward the Martyr (from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle)......Page 205
The negative......Page 208
Joseph: the father’s grief (from the Hexateuch)......Page 210
Cultural contexts: manuscripts......Page 215
Strong adjective endings......Page 216
Rhythm......Page 217
From Wulfstan’s Sermo Lupi......Page 218
15 I always wanted to convert to the monastic life......Page 221
The monks’ sign language......Page 222
The pronoun man or mon......Page 224
Verbs with a genitive object......Page 226
From the Old English Life of Euphrosyne......Page 230
The monastic dining hall at mealtimes......Page 232
From the Exeter Book: Riddles 47 and 48......Page 233
Se halga wer The holy man (from the Old English prose Life of St Guthlac)......Page 236
Comparing definite article and personal pronoun......Page 238
Use of sum......Page 240
Word order......Page 242
Mantat the Anchorite (S 1523)......Page 250
The second ‘raven episode’ from the Life of St Guthlac......Page 252
17 And bishop Æthelnoth travelled to Rome......Page 254
Archbishop Æthelnoth......Page 255
Adverbs......Page 257
Æþelnoð biscop for to Rome (from the Chronicle D 1022)......Page 259
Cultural contexts: Travels to Rome......Page 260
Word order......Page 261
St Alphege (from the Chronicle D 1023)......Page 263
Eadsige......Page 265
18 Archbishop Wulfstan greets king Cnut......Page 268
The MacDurnan Gospels......Page 269
Wulfstan arcebiscop gret Cnut cyning (S 1386)......Page 270
The personal pronouns ic and ge......Page 271
Archbishop Æthelnoth and Toki (S 1464)......Page 273
Archbishop Eadsige and Toki (S 1466)......Page 274
The rich variety of the definite article......Page 275
The Lady Emma (S 1229)......Page 276
Strong adjective endings......Page 278
The lawsuit Wynflæd versus Leofwine (S 1454)......Page 282
The Tironian nota......Page 283
Names in the document......Page 285
Reported speech in the subjunctive......Page 289
Grammar: modal verbs......Page 291
Sites along the Ridgeway......Page 293
Cwichelm’s Barrow and the Vikings (from Chronicle C 1006)......Page 294
20 Act like thegns, and deliver my message to the assembly......Page 298
The Herefordshire Lawsuit (S 1462)......Page 299
Wulfstan’s Geþyncðo Promotion Law......Page 302
From The Battle of Maldon (lines 286–294)......Page 303
The changing English vocabulary......Page 304
Reading a manuscript in facsimile......Page 308
21 The tide went out......Page 312
From The Battle of Maldon (lines 55b–83)......Page 313
Capitalization and punctuation in manuscripts......Page 315
A page of the transcript......Page 317
Riddles 30b and 60......Page 318
The Old English coronation oath......Page 320
Bibliography......Page 322
Test Yourself answers......Page 337
A......Page 347
B......Page 349
C......Page 350
E......Page 351
F......Page 352
G......Page 353
H......Page 355
L......Page 357
M......Page 358
O......Page 359
S......Page 360
T......Page 362
W......Page 364
Y......Page 366
Appendix I: the seven classes of Old English strong verbs......Page 367
Appendix II: map of southern Britain, with names in Old English......Page 368