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Author Topic: Old English  (Read 394 times)
MatherBoing
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« on: January 02, 2025 @680.76 »

So, I'm learning Old English. I have a very small vocabulary and knowledge of grammar in Old English, and I wonder that if you're studying Old English, you could potentially give me some help/resources. I just think Old English is cool, and I just want to read Old English epics, and just... learn for fun. Anyway, I'd appreciate your help guys-
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« Reply #1 on: July 24, 2025 @929.56 »

Hwæt!!* I only have an undergrad module's worth of OE knowledge, but I dug up some old reading lists. A lot of these are academic texts so they tend to be a bit on the pricey side, I'd recommend trying to pick them up secondhand where you can.

The main book I was recommended was Bruce Mitchell and Fred C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, 8th edn (Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2011). A quick search-around hasn't revealed any later editions, so this is prooobably still the most up-to-date one.

Some other guides:
  • Mark Atherton, Complete Old English: Teach Yourself (London: Hachette, 2012)
  • Peter Baker, Introduction to Old English, 3rd ed. (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012)
  • Richard Marsden, The Cambridge Old English Reader 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge U.P., 2015)

Texts in OE:
  • Elaine Treharne, ed. Old and Middle English c.890-c.1400: An Anthology, 3rd edn (Oxford: Blackwell 2010) - one of those lovely chonky, comprehensive anthologies. I used this one so much back in the day. It's got facing page translations, which are super useful.
  • Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library (Cambridge, MA: Harvard U.P.) - lots of different volumes of Anglo-Saxon poetry with facing-page translations.
  • Robert Hamer, A Choice of Anglo-Saxon Verse, (London: Faber 2006)

Texts in Translation (but it's all Beowulf because that's the only one I've read enough translations of to have opinions about them):
  • Roy Liuzza's translation is the one on my reading lists, and (I think?) considered the best from an academic perspective.
  • I remember enjoying Seamus Heaney's well enough - he very much approaches it as a poet, and it's pretty striking as a result.
  • Maria Dahvana Headley's is honestly inspired. It doesn't aim for a "pure", word-for-word translation, instead seeking to capture the vibe of the poem and transmit it to a modern audience. It rules. I love it. Translating 'hwæt'* as 'yo' is actually genius.

Context and Background
  • John Blair, The Anglo-Saxon Age: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford: OUP, 2000).
  • James Campbell, Eric John, and Patrick Wormald, eds. The Anglo-Saxons
    (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1991)
  • Hugh Magennis, The Cambridge Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Literature (Cambridge:
    Cambridge University Press, 2011) - Cambridge Introductions my beloveds, they are so so useful for getting a quick grounding in a literary period.

I hope this is useful! There's probably some more recent resources I'm not aware of, but these are what I used. This also looks like a pretty great resource.

* For those not in the know: hwæt = something in the realm of 'hey, listen up, I'm about to start talking'. Older/more traditional translations have gone for 'hear me' or 'indeed', Heaney (controversially) uses 'so'. (I once had a lecturer shout "HWÆT!" at everybody to get them to stop talking, 10/10 experience.)
« Last Edit: July 24, 2025 @931.41 by bodypoetic » Logged

Quote
The prince chose to sleep on, and the princess chose to wake up. At the top of that tall tower, the princess bid farewell to the prince. No—she wasn’t the princess any longer. She quit being a “person (thing) ruled by someone”. The victory bells rang, but there was no “tower (rule)” beyond them now. She’d learned where freedom lay. [...]

The world (the stage) is free and wide.

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