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History of Britain to 1066
55 BC
Romans
449 – 600
Anglo-Saxons chased Romans away(Anglo, Saxons, Jutes led by Hengest&Ho)
793-865
Vikings came and AS kingdom declined (Raid on Lindisfarne 793)
 Vikings were in de Danelaw area and thread to AS
1000-1042
King AePerlraed unready was king and Vikings made second invasion.
1016-1042
England was defeated  Scandinavian King Cnut.
1066  Battle of Stamford Bridge and Hastings  AS rule ended
William the conqueror reigns  Normans had the power.
Caedmon’s hymn by Bede  he couldn’t sing, an angel asked him to sing and then he could.
He sang a poem about God the Creator. He became a monk an
turned all kinds of texts into poems. Latin poem but turned in
OE during King Alfred’s reign.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 
Seven independent manuscripts  most important historical
sources for the period. Covers the history of England from
Caesar to King Stephen’s reign in 1154.
Migrations:
1st migration: Indo-Europeans 5,000 BC
2nd migration: Celtic tribes
600-500 BC
3rd migration: Romans
4th migration: Anglo-Saxons
- Came as Pagan but later introduced another form of Christianity
- 7 Kingdoms (Heptarchy)  small kingdoms merge into bigger ones
- Domination  1st Kent, later Northumbria, Wessex after 8th Century.
th
5 migration: Vikings
- King Alfread The Great fights Vikings
- Peace settlement 878
- Vikings settle at Danelaw
Reforms 900-1000
1. King Alfred the Great promotes learning / works translated into OE
2. King Athelstan unites England
3. King Edgar initiates Bendictine Reform 950
- reform of monastic life, revival of learning, English is learn language
King AEpelraed Unraed 978-1013 1014-1016
- New invasions of Vikings
- AS had to pay Danegeld(tax to avoid Viking raids) after Battle of Maldon 991
- St. Brice’s Day massacre 1002 (Lot of Vikings died)
 Scandinavions take over 1013,1016-1042 (King Cnut)
End – 1066
AS King Edward dies  3 claim the throne. William the Conqueror wins (Edward promised)
Battle of Stamford Bridge  throne claimant Hardrada(Viking) loses Godwinson(AS) wins.
Battle of Hastings  Godwinson (AS) loses, William(Norman) wins.
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Cases
(Pro)Nouns, adjectives and numerals have 5 cases in OC
• Nominative (SUBJ)
..also complement and address someone directly
• Accusative (D.O.)
..also following some prepositions of time/motion
• genitive (possession)
..also descriptive and description of time
• Dative (I.O.)
..also object of some verbs and prepositions, expression
of time
• instrumental (indicates means/manner)
Modify a noun
• personal (I,you,she,he,it)
• demonstrative (OE: se is very important) (this,that)
• interrogative (when,who,where)
• indefinite (all,any,each,may,none,something)
Demonstrative pronoun paradigm (the/a)
Relative (that/who/which)
Reflexive (himself/yourself)
Reciprocal (each other,one a)
DO LEARN BY HEART
Verbs/Adjective/Adverbs
Verbs
Finite verbs  In OE only 2 tenses Past/Present.  inflected for Pers, Nr. Mood
Non finite verbs =
 Infinitive = to …
 Present participle = -ing
 Past participle = - ed
Transitive verbs = had direct object
Intransitive verb = does not need object.
Copula = linking verb
Adjectives  OE: endings depend on gender, case and number
Adverbs  finally, wonderfully, very, however, nevertheless, then, thus
Hwaet = Interjection: a call for attention, often at the beginning of a poem.
Indirect object  receives direct object I sold Susan the cake
Direct object  refers to action of the verb I sold the cake
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Religion
Christian Verse  considerable interest in AS. Key points are in the typical poems like
Caedmon’s hymn.
- extensive corpus of Christian verse covering Old and New testament
subjects
- Christian ideas are in poems
- Thinking of conversion, Christian poets felt free to modify the stories
so that Germans could relate (Germanic heroic ideals)
- Alcuin had a concern about the values of the heroic ethos vs. the
teachings of Christ.
Dream of Rood  Vision of the Cross/ Concerned with death, judgement and afterlife and
evangelical. Dream vision poem in English about a more wonderful tree, referring to the
saviour’s tree. The Cross is Christ’s retainer, serving its lord as a Germanic would serve but
also Christ’s slayer.
Paganism  AS during period of migration are pagans (450-600) but Britons were Christian
Evidence: placenames, (-borough) archaeological evidence, weekdays, feast days (easter)
! conversion to Christianity.
597: St. Augustine arrives in England  converts King Aethelberht, builds church
Canterbury.
627: King Edwin (Northumbria) converted through his wife(daughter of Aethelberht)
634: Oswald (converted Christian) King of Northumbria spreads Christianity.
Oswiu (his brother) is another sort of Christian and succeeds him  Christianities clash 664
Synod of Whitby  roman rule became victor
Christianity strengthened ties with continent and brought Latin literature to England.
Caused: founding of monasteries (In Lindisfarne) Benedictan Rule, learning, wealth, art.
8th/9th C. Viking attacks caused trouble but Alfred the Great forced baptism of Viking
Guthrum in 878.
10th C. Benedicten reform  power shift to monasteries and regular clergy
BUT! New Vikings come in the late 10th Century. King Cnut ascends the throne in 1016 
Christianity becomes stable.
Anglo-Saxon Christianity
Pope Gregory pointed out: incorporating existing rituals into Christianity is a good idea
(amalgamation)
- Remaining interest in Germanic legends
- Royal genealogy (King Aethelwulf from Woden and Adam)
- Mixing Christian and heroic themes in literature (Dream of Rood)
- Magic charms containing Germanic, Celtic pagan + Christian elements
AS religion in stages
450-600 Heathen age (Germanic and Celtic
600-800 Conversion and expansion (amalgamation
800-1016 Struggle for survival (Viking attacks)
1016-onwards Christianity consolidated (union)
Germanic belief system and Christianity
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Similarities:
-
Creation Myth
Afterlife (Walhalla/Niflheim & Heaven/hell)
End of the world (Ragnarok/Judgement Day)
Differences
To help conversion
-
culture: honour/shame vr truth /guilt
society/rule: secular(comitatus) vs. religious (God)
Gods are unpredictable vs. God’s commandments
Gods use Midgard for their own entertainment vs. God protects
Summer/Winter feasts vs. Christmas and Easter
Christian ideas explored in poems
Modified stories (Germanic heroic ideals)
Still a contradiction  heroic ethos vs. Teaching of Christ.
OE  Germanic (Old Norse loans)
ME  Norman/French loans
EModE  Renaissance Latin and Greek
4
Nouns
OE nouns made definite by demonstrative or possessive pronouns; articles didn’t exist
OE nouns have grammatical (instead of natural) gender
OE nouns receive case depending on their function in the sentence
Weak/Strong/Athematic Nouns
Nouns never change class.
Weak nouns  recognizable by – AN ending. Use context to determine gender + case
There is only one weak neuter noun  eare
Do not learn by heart!
nominative
accusative
singular
genitive
dative
nominative
accusative
plural
genitive
dative
masculine neuter
-a
-e
-an
-e
-an
-an
-an
-an
feminine
-e
-an
-an
-an
-an
-an
-an
-ena
-um
-ena
-um
-ena
-um
Strong nouns  more elaborate. Some helpful endings –es, –as, -um.
Do not learn by heart!
nominative
accusative
singular
genitive
dative
nominative
accusative
plural
genitive
dative
masculine
---es
-e
neuter
---es
-e
feminine
-u / --e
-e
-e
-as
-u / --
-a, -e
-a
-um
-a
-um
-a
-um
Nouns: strong  short vs. longs stems.
Only OE strong feminine nominative sg. nouns AND strong neuter nominative/Acc. Plurals
with short stems have – u ending. Do they have long stems? Ending is  -So: in these cases, short stem gets –u , long stem nothing. Long: Sorg / short: Scinu
Short stem = syllable before inflectional ending is short (i.e. short vowel + consonant)
Short vowels: example: short vowel: e / long vowel: ē
Three sneaky processes:
1. Loss of ‘h’ between two voiced sounds feoh(es) – feos (GEN)
2. Syncopation (loss of vowel in second syllable) heafod(um) – heafdum (DAT)
3. Parasite vowels (-u/-o and –e alternating with –w and –g) here(es) herges (GEN)
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Strong nouns
• Palatalization: c  ċ, g  ġ and sc  sċ if there is no back vowel (a, o, u) in
the inflectional ending.
• Fronting: a  æ if there is no back vowel (a, o, u) in the inflectional ending
Example: Day = dage. So  dagum (there is a ‘u’ so plain ‘g’ is used. And dæġes  no back
vowel so a becomes ae.
Athematic nouns  affected by I-mutation
(raising and fronting of the stem vowel under influence of following i/j)
a
æ
æ
o
u
e
e
e
i
y
Marc Alexander’s Lecture
Compounding
cynestōl (cyne royal stōl seat, stool) ealddagas (eald old dagas days)
hāligdæg (hālig holy dæg day)
stānstrǣt (stān stone strǣt street)
Affixation
Prefixes
abege-
(intensify or awareness)
(makes a verb transitive)
(verbs: past participle can convert a verb from intransitive to transitive
nouns: indicates a togetherness/collectivness/association)
(?)
(indicates success)
(verb function has begun, undo)
(not)
foroferonunSuffixes
Adjective
Adverbs
Nouns
-ful -ig -isc -leas -lic
-līce
-dōm -nes -scipe -end -ung
Borrowings
Latin Continental: candel ‘candle’, catte ‘cat’, elpend ‘elephant’, planta ‘plant’, cypan ‘buy’
Settlement: ceaster ‘castle’
Christian:
abbod ‘abbot’, mæsse ‘mass’, offrian ‘offer’, scōl ‘school’, caul
‘cabbage’; apostata ‘apostate’, sabbat ‘Sabbath’, cucumer ‘cucumber’,
del&n ‘dolphin’ grammaticcræft/stæfcræft
Scandinavian
hæfene ‘haven’, lending ‘a landing’, stēoresman ‘pilot’, lagu ‘law’,
feolagu ‘fellow’, hūsbonda ‘householder’, carl ‘man’, hittan ‘hit’
Other French:
prūd/prūt ‘proud’
Celtic:
avon ‘river’, dunn ‘dun’,broc ‘badger’, drȳ ‘magician’
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Society
Cynewulf and Cyneheard  Cynewulf king of Wessex (757-86) Became king after Sigeberth.
Aethelbald may had something to do with it, Cynewulf was
witness. In 786 Cynewulf was killed by Cyneheard, brother of
Sigebertht.
King Cnut’s letter to English of 1020 
The Danish King Cnut reigned over England after AEthelred’s sun Edmund died. The letters
are (strangely) written in English, not in Latin nor Danish. In his letters he praises the church
and God and says that everyone should obey him and his church, if they do not obey they
shall be destroyed.
Germanic social structure  protect your chief. (Be killed before the chief is killed.)
Early Anglo-Saxon Social Structure  bond between warrior and his lord
mutual loyalty: military service for weapons, feasts and
treasures
Anglo-Saxon invaders: groups of warriors led by warlords. Formed small communities.
centred around the (mead)hall of the lord. Warrior society with
little social distinctions beyond lord and retainer. Low food
supply, low access to metals
Late Anglo-Saxon Social Structure conquest and expansion
Settlements, small kingdoms and bigger kingdoms, heptarchy & Anglo-Saxon England!
Results  power not only based on force, but on position and society gets diversified
Feudalism = bond between nobleman and his king based on mutual loyalty: military
service for land ownership
subdivision of kingdoms into smaller units, e.g. earldoms, shires, hundreds, tithings, hides
Layers  1. King and Witan/Gesithas. highest King: Bretwalda
2. ealdormen/eorls formed Witan.
3. Thanes/retainers (ceorls) are low ranking freeman 4. slaves, freedmen, serfs.
Society is combination of power, religion and workforce
3 Estates
- bellatores (those who fight): king and ealdormen/thanes
- laboratores (those who work): ceorls, slaves, serfs
- oratores (those who pray): priests, monks
Position in society precisely defined  Germanic system of mutual loyalty (comitatus)
Feudalism
Christian system of law codes
Social Threads (Feuds)
feuds: ‘conditions of hostility between individuals or groups within the one community
caused by wrongs done by one side to the other’. Position inherently based on physical power
and connections (kinship, lordship). When someone kills someone else or offends their honor,
necessitates assertion of power or through feuds.
Resolving a feud: revenge, intermarriage (peaceweaver), later: compensation (bloodless)
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Compensation in feuds: possible through rules expressed in law codes, Christianinnovation,
offer additional protection. Rules: wergild (man money) manbot (man fine) outlaw.
Anglo-Saxon literature  Germanic principles of feud, loyalty, kinship.
Not Christian principles of compensation and legal protection.
Anglo-Saxon Women  Anglo-Saxon proverb: ‘A woman’s place is at her embroidery’
Freoðuwebbe (peaceweaver)
theme in Anglo-Saxon literature: geomoru ides ‘the sad woman’
high child mortality
Feminist scholars: “For women, Anglo-Saxon England was a golden age of power and
wealth, culture and education”
• queens and abbesses, e.g. Æðelflæd, Hilda
• laws offer explicit protection for women against rape, arranged marriage and
desertion
8
Verbs
Verbs in OE
-
uninflected (expresses action or state)helpan
inflected (to help-anne) expresses purpose of action or state
(with -beon: expresses necessity or obligation)
Marked for: person, number, tense, mood, indicative(factual),
subjunctive(hypothetical)
Verbs, the finite
Imperative(special form of the finite) express commandhere/heriaþ god!stele/stelaþ þa boc!
Present particle
• aspect: something “ongoing, repeated or habitual”
• linked to auxiliary, or used as adjective or noun heriende / stelende
Past particle
• aspect: something completed or passive (if linked to right auxiliary)
• linked to auxiliary, or used as adjective  hered / stolen
Regular / irregular verbs
??
Weak verbs  (regular 3 classes)
• use dental suffix to form the past tense  herian: ic herede
• unique to Germanic languages
• infinitive underwent i-mutation (o > e)
• past tense underwent another change (c > h before t)
• contracted forms may occur (loss of h) *smeahian (to ponder): he smeaþ
Strong verbs  (regular 7 classes)
• regular changes in stem vowel mark tense and aspect
• stelan: he stilð (i-mutation)
• helpan: he healp (breaking: hælp > healp)
• ceosan: curon (past participle) (Verner’s Law: explains anomalies in Grimm’s Law, cf.
English was and were, or Dutch kiezen, gekozen/uitverkoren)
• contracted forms may occur (loss of h) *seohan > seon
Preterite-present verbs  (regular)
• resemble strong verbs in present tense and weak verbs in past tense
• form the basis for the modal auxiliary system
• can (cunnan), dare (durran), may (magan), must (motan), shall (sculan), possess
(agan), be good (dugan), remember (gemunan), be enoug (benugan), need (durPan),
grant (unnan), know (witan)
Anomalous verbs  (irregular)
• don and gan have weird pasts  don: dyde; gan: eode
• willan has weird inflectional morphology in the present tense  þu wilt (not wilst)
• sien/beon/wesan is weird all over  mix of three forms
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•
•
•
s- and V- forms, e.g. sien, eart, is
b- forms, e.g. beon, bist, biþ
w-forms, e.g. wæs, wæron
Negation with verbs
• is usually formed by placing the adverb ne in front of the verb
• some verbs contract with the adverb ne (nis, nolde, nyl, næfþ (isn’t, wouldn’t, won’t,
hasn’t)
10
Literature & Learning
Literature facts
• OE writings fraction of all writings in ASE, most literature is in Latin
• vernacular for literary expression very early for Europe
• earliest post-conversion OE poem: Cædmon’s Hymn
Golden Age: Latin
Viking Age: Old English (and Latin)
Benedictine Reform: Latin and Old English
• c. 3,047 texts in Old English, heavy losses throughout history
Literature types category of literature is broader
• prose
• limited range of topics
• theology
• hagiography
• sermons
• natural science
• administration, law codes, etc.
• poetry
• 2/3 in four poetic manuscripts
• broad range of topics
• religious poetry, riddles, wisdom poetry, elegies, heroic poetry
Conversion
Both missions brought Christianity, albeit in different flavours
Roman mission  St. Augustine starts converting South of Britain (597)
King Æthelbert of Kent converted
Irish mission  St. Columba starts converting Scotland (565)
King Oswald of Northumbria (635-642) converted
Christianity  religion of the book, Bible, literacy, new script, production of manuscripts,
bureaucracy, monasteries
Golden age of learning 600-800
• coming with Christianity… coming of the Vikings
• literate form of learning introduced to AS
• learning was mainly non-literate before conversion
• school of Theodore and Hadrian
• works of Aldhelm, Bede and Alcuin
• Latin
• focus on elementary education
• focus on learning (sciences, theology)
• Theodore of Tarsus, archbishop of Canterbury (669-690)
• Hadrian, abbot of St. Augustine’s Abbey, Canterbury (669-710)
Anglo-Saxon School room limited number of pupils, acquisition of literacy,
reading/writing, clerical/lay, male/female, Latin/vernacular, knowledge of Bible,
portions by heart: Psalms, etc., Anglo-Saxon curriculum, liberal arts
• trivium: grammar, rhetoric and dialectics/logic
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•
quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, harmony/music, and astronomy
Golden Age Aldhelm 639-709 educated by Theodore and Hadrian from a noble family,
related to the kings of Wessex. Learned abbot, bishop, scholar and poet. De laude virginitates
And wrote poetry in Old English?
Golden Age Bede 672-735 entered the monastery at the age of 7 was prolific writer and
polymath: historiography (Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum), hagiography, theology,
computus, natural science, poetry, orthography, etc. Bede was influential: read even today
Golden Age Alcuin 735-804 leading scholar at the court of Charlemagne and advisor to
Charlemagne. Was a writer and polymath: grammar, mathematics, orthography, poetry, etc.
“Quid enim Hinieldus cum Christo?” in letter to Bishop Higbald of Lindisfarne, in 797
Viking Age 800-900
• coming of Vikings  death of Alfred
• decline in learning centres of learning destroyed
• shortage of learned/literate people in England
• learning bounces back under Alfred the Great
Viking Age Alfred 849-899
sources on Alfred the Great: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle introductions to ‘Alfredian texts’
and Asser’s Vita Ælfredi (893)
Aims  gather group of witan from wherever possible
improve state of learning in monasteries and among laymen
instill idea of just leadership
revival of learning (‘Alfredian texts’)
Gregory the Great, Cura Pastoralis / Gregory the Great, Dialogues
Augustine, Soliloquia /Boethius, De Consolatione Philosophiae
Orosius, Historia adversus Paganos / Bede, Historia ecclesiastica gentis
Anglorum / Psalms (first fifty) / Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Benedictine Reform 950-1025
• 1025 started in reign of King Athelstan (c. 895-939), the first king of England
• Battle of Brunanburh (937)
• imported relics, books and scholars
• supported scholars and clergy, like Dunstan and Æthelwold
• Dunstan and Æthelwold leading figures
• revive Benedictine monasticism
• replace secular bishops with monastic bishops
• revive Anglo-Saxon learning
• stress use of English as medium of learning
Scholars:
• Aelfric of Eynsham (c. 955-c. 1010)  monk, and later abbot of Eynsham, sermons
and religious doctrine, natural science
• Wulfstan of York (†1023) advisor to Cnut, state administration
• Byrhtferth (c. 970-c. 1020), natural science
Manuscript culture  Junius manuscript, Vercelli Book, Exeter Book, Beowulf manuscript
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Anglo-Saxon literature
 great wealth of books and texts
 vernacular versions of important texts
 learning in decay (Viking incursions)
 many secular works (unusual)
 Ælfred’s literacy ‘programme’
Alfredian texts
Cura Pastoralis, St Augustine’s Soliloquia, Boethius’ Consolation of Philosophy, First 50
Psalms, (Gregory’s Dialogues, Orosius,Bede), Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (?)
Alfred
King Alfred provided the springboards for his successors to become King of England.
Alfredian texts
Are those Old English texts associated with the reign of King Alfred the Great of Wessex.
He started to translate Latin texts into OE.
Pastoral Care 890s.  A letter prefacing the text, addressed by Alfred to his bishops, contrasts the
former greatness of England with its recent decline and proposes a programme of education and
translation to recover the people's lost wealth and wisdom. The letter asks each bishop to arrange
instruction in reading English for 'all free young men' with means and opportunity while Alfred and
his helpers translate 'those works which are most necessary for all men to know'.
Literacy
The Boethius explores most of the same issues as the Latin text: the goal of all created things; the
nature of Fortune; the distinction between worldly and true goods; the problem of evil; and the
question of human free will. Yet Alfred has removed or shortened passages, especially those dealing
with eternity and free will, and added other passages, particularly ones commenting upon rulers'
responsibilities to their subjects.
Gregory’s Cura Pastoralis
Use the wisdom that God has given you. Not all the books are in a language we can speak so
why not translate them and become educated? What wise men there were throughout the
English people, both in sacred and in secular orders; and how there were happy times then
throughout England.
Old English Preface to his First Series of Catholic Homilies
He translated this from latin into English as well to warn the people for evil.
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Adjectives & Numerals
Adjectives
• basic form, e.g. god
• declined for context and type (strong, weak declension)
• for strong declension: stem length (long or short)
• gender, number, case
Applies when
Always
strong/weak
Recognise?
Look out for:
Adjectives Strong Declision
weak declension does not apply
god wif (vs. weak þæt gode wif)
+ possessive adjectives þines godan
wifes (gen. sg. neut.)
+ the ordinal number oðer oðer æg
(acc. sg. neut.)
+ the cardinal number an (in meaning:
one) anre giefe (gen./dat. sg. fem.)
+ mostly like declensions of dem.
pronouns and strong nouns
+ so more morphological distinctions
than in weak declension
+ nom. + ac. pl. is distinguished for
gender: masc. gode; neut. god; fem.
goda
+ contraction  root final -h- between
voiced sounds is lost heah:
heahne > heane
+ syncopation  second syllable of
two-syllable adjective is shortened
fæger: nom. sg. fem. fægeru > fægru
Adjectives comparison
What?
Look out for:
Comparative
stem + r + ending halig, haligra
(vs. nom. sg. masc. halga)
Always weak
Adjectives Weak Declision
+ demonstrative pronoun
þæt gode wif
+ possessive adjective (=declined
gen. of personal pronoun) þines
godan wifes (gen. sg. neut.)
+ genitive noun or NP þines wifes
gyldena healsbeag (nom. sg. masc.)
+ comparative adjectives ieldra
mann (nom. sg. masc.)
+ ordinal numbers, except for oðer
+ cardinal number an (in meaning:
alone) ic ana wat (nom. sg. masc.)
+ mostly like declension of weak
nouns
+ so few morphological distinctions
+ nom. + ac. pl. all genders is: -an,
e.g. godan
+ contraction
+ root final -h- between voiced
sounds is lost heah: gen. sg. masc.
heahan > hean
+ syncopation
+ second syllable of two-syllable
adjective is shortened fæger: gen. sg.
masc. fægeran > fægran
Superlative
stem + ost +ending halig,
halgost
Weak or strong depending on
context
Sometimes i-mutation in both.  eald, ieldra, ieldest
Sometimes anomalous/irregular comparatives and superlatives 
good, better, best; little, less, least; much, more, most; evil/bad, worse, worst
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“If the adjective follows a demonstrative pronoun, possessive adjective, or genitive noun or
noun phrase, one of the so-called "weak" endings is added to it; otherwise it is given a
"strong" ending”
Numerals Cardinals / Ordinals
Numerals
What
Forms
Look out for
Cardinal
+ An is used rather than an indefinite
article.
+ Noun / adjective
an, twegen/twa, þrie/þreo, feower, fif,
siex, seofon, eahta, nigon, tien,
endleofan, twelf -tiene: þreotiene…
nigontiene -tig: twentig, an and
twentig…
Ordinal
+ always adjective
+ the second coming
+ the cardinal an is declined either strong
(one) or weak (alone)
+ the cardinals twegen and þrie have
their own paradigm
+ numbers over 69 have the prefix hundhundeahtatig (hence Dutch acht, but
tachtig)hundnigontig, hundteontig (an
hund), hundendleofantig, hundtwelftig
(hundtwentig)
+ points to a duodecimal counting system
+ ordinals are always treated
as weak adjectives, except
for oðer
+ numbers over 69 have the
prefix hund+ hundeahtatigoða (80th)
forms: forma/fyrmest/ærest,
oðer, þridda, feorða, fifta,
siexta, seofoða, nigoða,
teoða, endlyfta, twelfta teoða: þreoteoða…
nigonteoða -tigoða:
twentigoða, an and
twentigoða…
For 'thirteenth' to 'nineteenth',
add the element –tēoða in
place of ordinal -tīene: for
example, Prēotēoða
'thirteen'.
For 'twentieth' and higher,
add -tigoða, -tegoða or teogoða: fīfteogoða 'fiPieth',
fīf and hundeahtatigoða
'eighty-fith'.
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Poetry
Cædmon’s Hymn ca. 680 first appears in Latin in Bede’s Ecclesiastical History (ca. 731)
first copies in OE found in later 730s
Exeter, Cathedral Library, MS 3501  960s contents, riddles, wisdom poetry, elegies
Vercelli book 20th C.  Vercelli, Cathedral Library, MS CXVII
Contents; Dream of the Rood, homilies, hagiographical texts
Junius MS 11th C.  Oxford, Bodleian Library, Junius 11
Contents; Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and Satan
Beowulf MS 11th C.  London, British Library, Cotton Vitellius A. xv early eleventh century
Contents; Beowulf, Judith
Form  each poetic line has two verses, the two verses are divided by a caesura
Metre
• rhythm; each verse has two stressed syllables (lifts) and two or more groups of
unstressed syllables (drops) (two half-lines, divided by a caesura)
• five standard patterns
• alliteration; one or both stressed syllables in the first verse alliterate with first stressed
syllable in the second verse
Style
vocabulary
• archaic words, often only found in poetry Cædmon’s Hymn: meotod, or
• poetic compounds Cædmon’s Hymn: modgeþanc
• synonyms for lord/warrior/man Cædmon’s Hymn: weard, meotod, wuldorfæder, etc.
• kennings Exodus: heofon-candel; Beowulf: hwæl-weg
syntax
• freer word order than in prose
• lack of pronouns and prepositions
variation/apposition = “repetition in different words of an element of a sentence”
• stock themes, e.g. in heroic poetry
• beasts of battle
• boasting (flyting)
• arming scenes
Examples
• (religious poetry)
• wisdom poetry  use of maxims or aphorisms. General concern with state of human
existence and order of society. Insight into Anglo-Saxon priorities, attitudes and
beliefs. (Freedom of Men)
• elegies  focus on transience of life and earthly glory, often concentrate on themes of
separation or exile. Often compare the present (cold, wintry, deprived of joy, alone)
against the past (warmth, happiness, company) (The Wanderer)
• heroic poetry  heroic ideals
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boasting (beot, flyting), fate (wyrd), glory (dom) and praise (lof), imagery of battle, beasts of
battle, warriors, war-gear, glorifies bond between lord and retainer
mutual loyalty, allusions to battles or past conflicts, (The Battle of Brunanburh)
• riddles  prosopopoeia, ambiguity, direct questioning, transformation, double
entendre
Heroic Ideal
- bravery in the face of overwhelming/impossible odds
- acceptance of a (unusually harsh) situation
- carry out declared intentions willingly
- desire to forge a reputation(posthumously if need be)
- desire to be judged favourably by companions
- loyalty to superiors
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Adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions
Use
Flavours
Adverbs
+ modify adjectives, nouns and adverbs
+ “provide logical transitions between clauses”
+ Adverbs  also, before, ever, much
+ conjunctive adverbs  however, nevertheless, so,
therefore, thus
+ interrogative adverbs  how, when, where, why
+ adverbial constructions  (Dutch: bijwoordelijke
bepaling)
+ usually refer to time and space by day, daily,
immediately
Morphology + not declined
+ losses and changes of meaning
+ loss: eac > also
+ change of meaning: sona (immediately > soon)
+ basic form
ær, eall (entirely), efne, ne, siððan, swa (so), þa (then)
hu, hwider, hwanon, hwær, hwonne, hwy
+ adjective + -e hraðe, wearme
adjective/noun + -lic + -e sarlice, unrihtlice
Conjunctions
+ “link sentence elements”
Prepositions
+ define links between
their objects and whatever
they modify
+ coordinating conjunctions  link
for
-before, in front of, because
elements and, or, but (and/ond 'and', ac 'but'
of, in place of, for the sake of,
and oPe 'or')
usually with dative,
+ correlative conjunctions  link pairs of
sometimes with accusative.
elements both… and, either… or
fram - from, by, with dative.
+ subordinating conjunctions introduce
ġeond - throughout, through, usually
sub-clauses although, as, because
with accusative, sometimes with
dative.
ǣr þām (þe) - 'before'
in
- with dative, in; with
æfter þām (þe) - 'after'
accusative,
into.
swā may mean 'so' or 'as', but swā swā
innan - with dative, in, within, from
always means 'as' þā þā means 'when'
within; with accusative, into.
þǣr þǣr means 'where'.
mid - with, and, by means of,
usually with dative, sometimes with
accusative.
of
- from, of, with dative.
+ not declined
+ losses ac > but, for þam þe > because
+ no standard forms (like -lic for
adjectives, -e for adverbs)
+ coordinating ac, and, oþþe
+ correlative ægþer… ge (both… and),
na þæt an… ac eac swilce (not only… but
also), ne… ne (neither… nor)
+ subordinating butan (except), gif (if),
The information you will need about
each preposition:
- its meanings
- what case the object of the
preposition may take
- whether the case of that object
influences the meaning of the
preposition
NOTE: Several prepositions
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+ noun + case ending
sume dæge (some day), hwilum (at times), nihtes (by
night)
swa (as), þa (when)
+ for þam þe (because), wiþ þam þe
(provided that)
have different meanings depending
on
the case of the object.
- the dative is generally associated
with location
- the accusative is associated with
movement towards.
Comparison
Look out
for
+ comparative: adjectival stem + -or hraðor, leoflicor
+ superlative: adjectival stem + -ost hraðost,
leoflicost
+ other adverbs
+ comparative: stem + -(r)ra
norþerra
+ superlative: stem + -mest
Norþmest
+ adjective by adding -e; since many adjectives are
made by adding -liċ to nouns or other adjectives, you
will often see adverbs ending in līċe. Examples:
wearme 'warmly' from wearm 'warm' sārlīċe
'painfully' from sār, sārliċ 'painful'.
+ Adverbs may also be made by adding case endings
to nouns, for example,
genitive dæġes 'by day', un ances 'unwillingly'
+ sometimes i-mutation in stem vowel in comparative
(with loss of ending) softe, seft, softost
+ sometimes i-mutation in stem vowel in comparative
(with loss of ending) and superlative (with -ost > -est)
lange, leng, lengest
+ subordinating conjunctions are easily
confused with conjunctive adverbs
+ differences
+ conjunctive adverbs stress logic
+ subordinating conjunctions introduce
sub-clauses
•
•
•
not declined
prepositions assign case to
their “prepositional” object
(cf. transitive verbs and their
objects)
usually either dative or
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+ sometimes anomalous comparatives and
superlatives
wel, bet, betst (well, better, best)
lytle, læs, læst (little, less, least)
NB these are the same things to look out for in the
adjectival degrees of comparison
+ how to tell adverbs from conjunctions in
OE
+ sometimes conjunctive adverb + þe =
subordinating conjunction  for þæm
(therefore) versus for þæm þe (because)
+ sometimes doubling  swa (so or as)
versus swa swa (as, literally: so as) þa (then
or when) versus þa þa (when, literally: then
when)
•
•
•
accusative, sometimes
genitive, sometimes more
than one case
if more than one case: dative
mostly for location,
accusative mostly for motion
or direction  in: dat. in, acc.
into
losses and changes of
meaning  mid (with) and
wiþ (against): feohtan mid
versus feohtan wiþ
no standard forms (like -lic
for adjectives, -e for adverbs)
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