Periods of English
• Old English (ca. 450-1100): Beowulf
1066: Norman Conquest of England
• Middle English (ca. 1100-1500): Chaucer
1476: First book printed in England
1485: Battle of Bosworth Field (beginning of Tudor monarchy)
• Early Modern English (ca. 1500-1700): Shakespeare, Spenser,
Milton
• Modern English (ca. 1700-present)
The Anglo-Saxon Migrations
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Anglo-Saxon England
Bayeux Tapestry: Viking Ship
Bayeux Tapestry: harold dux reversvs est (Chief Harold
is driven back)
Bayeux Tapestry: harold rex interfectus est (King Harold
gets killed)
Bayeux Tapestry: Isti mirant stella (they wonder at the star)
Pre-Christian Germanic
Vocabulary
• OE geol Yule → Christmas
• OE eostor Easter (Lat. Pascha, Fr. Paques)
• Tuesday (Tiw = Mars) Fr. Mardi
• Wednesday (Woden = Mercury) Fr.
Mercredi
• Thursday (Thor = Jove) Fr. Jeudi
• Friday (Frigg = Venus) Fr. Vendredi
Ruthwell Cross
Sutton Hoo Ship Burial
Sutton Hoo Shield Mount
Sutton Hoo Helmet
Sutton Hoo Belt Buckle
Anglo-Saxon Brooch
Anglo-Saxon Coin with King Edwin
Anglo-Saxon Coin with King Æthelræd
The Alfred Jewel
ælfred mec heht gewyrhtan (Alfred had me made)
The Anglo-Saxon Futhark (Runic Alphabet)
Scandinavian Sinker with Runes
10th-century glossary: fish and insects
Anglo-Saxon glossed manuscript (Latin script, Old English
gloss (fuisse, werun, were; euangelia, godspellas, gospels)
Lindisfarne Gospels - Carpet Page
Lindisfarne Gospels: Gospel of St. Matthew
(Liber Generationis)
Hwæt, we Gardena in geardagum,
†eodcyninga, †rym gefrunon,
hu ∂a æ†elingas ellen gefremedon.
Oft Scyld Scefing scea†ena †reatum,
monegum mæg†um, meodosetla ofteah,
egsode eorlas. Sy∂∂an ærest wear∂
feasceaft funden, he †æs frofre gebad,
weox under wolcnum weor∂myndum †ah,
o∂†æt him æghwylc †ara ymbsittendra
ofer hronrade hyran scolde,
gomban gyldan. ˇæt wæs god cyning!
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
The Utrecht Psalter (9th century)
Utrecht Psalter again
Widsith (‘Far Traveller’) from the
Exeter Book (10th century)
The Old English Genesis: Adam and Eve get the boot