Jonathan Evans

Introduction to Old English

This unique textbook teaches the Old English language, pairing grammatical instruction with Old English passages from historical and literary documents in chronological order and provides a summary of major events. Fifty lessons present translation passages from the Peterborough manuscript of the "Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People, the Alfredian translation of the Universal History of Paulus Orosius, and other prose and poetic texts. Supplementary sections in each lesson provide additional lexical, historical, literary, and cultural information relevant to the translation passages, and the lessons are reinforced by brief exercises and advanced translation sentences. A section of twenty-six advanced readings features a generous assortment of poetry, including passages from Beowulf, The Wanderer, The Dream of the Rood, and The Wife's Lament. The book concludes with a thorough grammatical appendix as well as glossaries of linguistic terms, proper names, and Old English words.