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Old English Online Series Introduction Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann Old English is the language of the Germanic inhabitants of England, dated from the time of their settlement in the 5th century to the end of the 11th century. It is also referred to as Anglo-Saxon, a name given in contrast with the Old Saxon of the inhabitants of northern Germany; these are two of the dialects of West Germanic, along with Old Frisian, Old Franconian, and Old High German. Sister families to West Germanic are North Germanic, with Old Norse (a.k.a. Old Icelandic) as its chief dialect, and East Germanic, with Gothic as its chief (and only attested) dialect. The Germanic parent language of these three families, referred to as Proto-Germanic, is not attested but may be reconstructed from evidence within the families, such as provided by Old English texts. Old English itself has three dialects: West Saxon, Kentish, and Anglian. West Saxon was the language of Alfred the Great (871-901) and therefore achieved the greatest prominence; accordingly, the chief Old English texts have survived in this dialect. In the course of time, Old English underwent various changes such as the loss of nal syllables, which also led to simpli cation of the morphology. Upon the conquest of England by the Normans in 1066, numerous words came to be adopted from French and, subsequently, also from Latin. For a reconstruction of the parent language of Old English, called Proto-Germanic, see Winfred Lehmann's book (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/books/pgmc00.html) on this subject. For a sketch of the evolution of the Germanic and other Indo-European language families, with links to online maps showing homeland areas, see IE Maps (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/general/IE.html). For access to our online version of Bosworth and Toller's dictionary of Old English, see An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/centers/lrc/books/asd/).

Alphabet and Pronunciation The alphabet used to write our Old English texts was adopted from Latin, which was introduced by Christian missionaries. Unfortunately, for the beginning student, spelling was never fully standardized: instead the alphabet, with continental values (sounds), was used by scribal monks to spell words "phonetically" with the result that each dialect, with its different sounds, was rendered differently -- and inconsistently, over time, due to dialectal evolution and/or scribal differences. King Alfred did attempt to regularize spelling in the 9th century, but by the 11th

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century continued changes in pronunciation once again exerted their disruptive effects on spelling. In modern transcriptions such as ours, editors often add diacritics to signal vowel pronunciation, though seldom more than macrons (long marks). Anglo-Saxon scribes added two consonants to the Latin alphabet to render the th sounds: rst

the runic thorn (þ), and later eth (ð). However, there was never a consistent distinction between them as their modern IPA equivalents might suggest: different instances of the same word

might use þ in one place and ð in another. We follow the practices of our sources in our textual transcriptions, but our dictionary forms tend to standardize on either þ or ð -- mostly the latter,

though it depends on the word. To help reduce confusion, we sort these letters indistinguishably, after T; the reader should not infer any particular difference. Another added letter was the

ligature ash (æ), used to represent the broad vowel sound now rendered by 'a' in, e.g., the word fast. A letter wynn was also added, to represent the English w sound, but it looks so much like thorn that modern transcriptions replace it with the more familiar 'w' to eliminate confusion. The nature of non-standardized Anglo-Saxon spelling does offer compensation: no letters were "silent" (i.e., all were pronounced), and phonetic spelling helps identify and track dialectal differences through time. While the latter is not always relevant to the beginning student, it is nevertheless important to philologists and others interested in dialects and the evolution of the early English language.

Vocabulary At rst glance, Old English texts may look decidedly strange to a modern English speaker: many Old English words are no longer used in modern English, and the in ectional structure was far more rich than is true of its modern descendant. However, with small spelling differences and sometimes minor meaning changes, many of the most common words in Old and modern English are the same. For example, over 50 percent of the thousand most common words in Old English survive today -- and more than 75 percent of the top hundred. Conversely, more than 80 percent of the thousand most common words in modern English come from Old English. A few "teaser" examples appear below; our Master Glossary or Base-Form Dictionary may be scanned for examples drawn from our texts, and any modern English dictionary that includes etymologies will provide hundreds or thousands more. Nouns: cynn 'kin', hand, god, man(n), word. Pronouns: hē, ic 'I', mē, self, wē. Verbs: beran 'bear', cuman 'come', dyde 'did', sittan 'sit', wæs 'was'.

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Adjectives: fæst 'fast', gōd 'good', hālig 'holy', rīce 'rich', wīd 'wide'. Adverbs: ær 'ere', alle 'all', nū 'now', tō 'too', ðǣr 'there'. Prepositions: æfter 'after', for, in, on, under. Articles: ðæt 'that', ðis 'this'. Conjunctions: and, gif 'if'.

Sentence Structure In theory, Old English was a "synthetic" language, meaning in ectional endings signalled grammatical structure and word order was rather free, as for example in Latin; modern English, by contrast, is an "analytic" language, meaning word order is much more constrained (e.g., with clauses typically in Subject-Verb-Object order). But in practice, actual word order in Old English prose is not too often very different from that of modern English, with the chief differences being the positions of verbs (which might be moved, e.g., to the end of a clause for emphasis) and occasionally prepositions (which might become "postpositions"). In Old English verse, most bets are off: word order becomes much more free, and word in ections & meaning become even more important for deducing syntax. The same may be said, however, of modern English poetry, but in these lessons we tend to translate Old English poetry as prose. Altogether, once a modern English reader has mastered the common vocabulary and in ectional endings of Old English, the barriers to text comprehension are substantially reduced.

Word Forms As we will see, Old English words were much in ected. Over time, most of this apparatus was lost and English became the analytic language we recognize today, but to read early English texts one must master the conjugations of verbs and the declensions of nouns, etc. Yet these in ectional systems had already been reduced by the time Old English was rst being written, long after it had parted ways with its Proto-Germanic ancestor. The observation that matters "could have been worse" should serve as consolation to any modern English student who views conjugation and declension with trepidation. Nouns, adjectives, and pronouns These categories of Old English words are declined according to case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, or sometimes instrumental), number (singular, plural, or [for pronouns] dual meaning 'two'), and gender (masculine, feminine, or neuter: inherent in nouns, but inherited by

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adjectives and pronouns from the nouns they associate with). In addition, some adjectives are in ected to distinguish comparative and superlative uses. Adjectives and regular nouns are either "strong" or "weak" in declension. In addition, irregular nouns belong to classes that re ect their earlier Germanic or even Indo-European roots; these classes, or more to the point their progenitors, will not be stressed in our lessons, but descriptions are found in the handbooks. Pronouns are typically suppletive in their declension, meaning in ectional rules do not account for many forms so each form must be memorized (as is true of modern English I/me, you, he/she/it/his/her, etc). Tables will be provided. Similarly, a few nouns and adjectives are "indeclinable" and, again, some or all forms must be memorized. Verbs Old English verbs are conjugated according to person (1st, 2nd, or 3rd), number (singular or plural), tense (present or past/preterite), mood (indicative, imperative, subjunctive or perhaps optative), etc. Most verbs are either "strong" or "weak" in conjugation; there are seven classes of strong verbs and three classes of weak verbs. A few other verbs, including modals (e.g. for 'can', 'must'), belong to a special category called "preterit-present," where different rules apply, and yet others (e.g. for 'be', 'do', 'go') are "anomalous," meaning each form must be memorized (as is true of modern English am/are/is, do/did, go/went, etc). Other parts of speech The numerals may be declined, albeit with fewer distinct forms than is normal for adjectives, and those for 'two' and 'three' may show gender. Other parts of speech are not in ected, except for some adverbs with comparative and superlative forms. Related Language Courses at UT Most but not all language courses taught at The University of Texas concern modern languages; however, courses in Old and Middle English, at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, are taught in the Department of English (http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/english/) (link opens in a new browser window). Other online language courses for college credit are offered through the University Extension (http://www.utexas.edu/ce/uex/online/) (new window). West Germanic Resources Elsewhere

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Our Web Links (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php) page includes pointers to West Germanic resources elsewhere (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php#WGmc).

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Old English Online Lesson 1 Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann Our selection is drawn from the major Old English poem Beowulf. It is the only surviving heroic epic of its era, and the lone early manuscript dates from ca. 1000 A.D. The date of the poem's composition is uncertain, but probably lies in the 7th or 8th century on the basis of its language. While the story in its legendary monster aspects is not factual, it is considered quite reliable in its historical details, for example concerning 6th century armor, weaponry, burial customs, and the names of Germanic tribal leaders. Set in a factual background, it might almost be considered historical ction. In the manuscript the work appears -- at rst glance -- to be prose. However, analysis quickly shows that it is composed in Germanic alliterative verse, where [reconstructed] lines consist of two sections and have four major stresses, of which the third is most important. They are marked by alliteration; the consonants must be the same to alliterate, but the vowels may alliterate with one another as in lines 3, 6, and so on. The rst half-line may have two alliterating syllables; the second rarely does. The alliterating words are generally substantives. The nal stress is often lled by a verb, an indication that verbs were weakly stressed and that the typical sentence intonation was like that of modern English. Reading and Textual Analysis Our selection consists of the rst 25 lines. This section of the poem relates the legendary arrival of Scyld as a baby on the Danish coast, where he grows up to become king of the Danes. He had a son whose name is assumed on the basis of metrical analysis to have been Beow, which was changed in the manuscript to Beowulf in keeping with the name of the hero of the poem, who does not appear until several hundred lines later; these lines deal with the Scyldings until the arrival of the hero, who then frees them from the monster Grendel, thereafter from Grendel's mother, and nally from a dragon who in icts a mortal wound on Beowulf. Much of the poem relates the situation at the court, with its celebration of the death of monsters and Beowulf's recital of his adventures. Our selection includes lines 1-25, found on pp. 1-2 in: Friedrich Klaeber, ed. (1950), Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. Our translation, as generally in our lessons, is prose rather than poetry, and tends to be literal.

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HWÆT, WĒ GĀR-DEna         in gēardagum þēodcyninga         þrym gefrūnon, hū ðā æþelingas         ellen fremedon!

hwæt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of who, what -- Lo wē -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of I -- we Gār-Dena -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of spear-Danes -- of Spear-Danes in -- preposition; in, into -- in gēardagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of lit. year-day -- days of yore þēodcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of lit. people-king -- of folk-kings' þrym -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of glory, renown -- prowess gefrūnon -- strong verb, class III; 1st person plural preterite of learn, hear of -- have heard hū -- adverbial conjunction; how -- how ðā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the æþelingas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of nobleman, prince -princes ellen -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of valor, courage -- deed(s) of valor fremedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of do, perform -- wrought Oft Scyld Scēfing         sceaþena þrēatum,

monegum mǣgþum         meodosetla oftēah, egsode eorlas,         syððan ǣrest wearð fēasceaft funden;

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oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often Scyld Scēfing -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Scyld Sce ng -- Scyld Sce ng sceaþena -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of enemy, warrior -- of enemies þrēatum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of band, troop -- (from) bands monegum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of many -- (from) many mǣgþum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of tribe, nation -- tribes meodosetla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of lit. mead-seat -- meadbenches oftēah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of deny, deprive -- wrested egsode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of terrify -- terri ed eorlas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of earl, nobleman, warrior -- earls syððan -- adverb; afterwards -- since ǣrest -- adverb; superlative of ere, before, formerly -- rst wearð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of become, happen -- (he) was fēasceaft -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of poor, destitute -abandoned # as a baby funden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of nd -found       hē þæs frōfre gebād, wēox under wolcnum         weorðmyndum þāh, oð þæt him ǣghwylc         ymbsittendra ofer hronrāde         hȳran scolde, gomban gyldan;

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hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of that -- for that frōfre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of relief, solace, consolation -consolation gebād -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of remain; await; experience; attain -- received wēox -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of wax, grow -- (he) grew under -- preposition; under -- under wolcnum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of sky, heaven -- the heavens weorðmyndum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of glory, honor, reverence -- honors þāh -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of thrive, prosper -- won oð þæt -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him ǣghwylc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of all, every -- all ymbsittendra -- strong verb, class V; present participle besiege, lit. sit round -- (of the) peoples ofer -- preposition; over, across -- across hronrāde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of sea, lit. whale-road -- the sea hȳran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of hear, obey; belong -obey scolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of shall, ought to -- had to gomban -- weak noun, feminine; accusative singular of tribute -- tribute # "weak feminine" is speculative gyldan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of yield, pay -- pay       þæt wæs gōd cyning!

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þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of that -- that wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of good, excellent -- (a) good cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of king -- king Ðǣm eafera wæs         æfter cenned

geong in geardum,         þone God sende folce tō frōfre; ðǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- (to) him eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of son, heir -- a child wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was æfter -- adverb; after(wards), then -- then cenned -- weak verb, class I; past participle of beget, conceive, bring forth -- born geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of young -- a young (man) in -- preposition; in, into -- in geardum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of yard, enclosure; dwelling -- the court # singular in meaning þone -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him God -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of God, Deity -- God sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of send -- sent folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of folk, people -- the people tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to frōfre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of relief, solace, consolation -- for solace       fyrenðearfe ongeat,

þē hīe ǣr drugon         aldorlēase lange hwīle;

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fyrenðearfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of dire distress -- the dire distress ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of grasp, understand -- (he) perceived þē -- relative particle; that, which, who -- which # Klaeber reconstructs "þē" where MS has only "þ" hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they ǣr -- adverb; ere, before, formerly -- before drugon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of endure, suffer -- suffered aldorlēase -- noun, masculine; elder, parent, prince + adjective; nominative plural masculine without, bereft of -- lordless lange -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of long -- (for a) long hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of while, time -- time       him þæs Līffrea͡,

wuldres Wealdend         woroldāre forgeaf, him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of that -- for that Līffrea͡ -- proper noun, weak masculine; nominative singular of lit. Life-lord -the Lord of Light wuldres -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of glory, praise -- of Glory wealdend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of wielder, ruler, lord -- the Wielder woroldāre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of worldly honor -- world honor forgeaf -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of give, grant -- gave Bēowulf wæs brēme         — blǣd wīde sprang — Scyldes eafera         Scedelandum in.

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Bēowulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of bear, lit. bee wolf -- Beowulf # Danish king, son of Scyld Sce ng: not the hero of this poem wæs -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was brēme -- adjective; nominative singular of famous, renowned -- renowned blǣd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of blade, leaf -- the fame wīde -- adverb; widely, far -- far sprang -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of spring, burst forth, spread -- spread Scyldes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of Scyld -- (of) Scyld's eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of son, heir -- son # nominative (?) according to Klaeber Scedelandum -- proper noun, neuter; dative plural of Danish land -- Danish lands in -- preposition; in, into -- in Swā sceal geong guma         gōde gewyrcean, fromum feohgiftum         on fæder bearme, þæt hine on ylde         eft gewunigen wilgesīþas,         þonne wīg cume, lēode gelǣsten;

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swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- thus sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of shall, ought to -- should geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of young -- (a) young guma -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, hero -- man gōde -- adjective; dative singular neuter of good, excellent -- good # (i.e., a good outcome) gewyrcean -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of perform, achieve, accomplish -- accomplish fromum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of bold, brave, splendid -- (with) splendid feohgiftum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of money-, lit. cattle-gift -- moneygifts on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- (while) in fæder -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of father -- (his) father's bearme -- noun, masculine; dative singular of bosom, lap -- bosom þæt -- conjunction; so/in order that -- so that hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- ... ylde -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; nominative of men -- men eft -- adverb; afterwards, thereupon -- afterwards gewunigen -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present optative of remain with, stand by -- stand by wilgesīþas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of dear companion -- dear companions þonne -- adverb; then, when -- when wīg -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of war, strife -- war cume -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present optative of come -- comes lēode -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of person, member of tribe -- the people # Klaeber, in error, reads 'np.' (nom.pl.) gelǣsten -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present optative of serve, stand by -- to serve

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      lofdǣdum sceal

in mǣgþa gehwǣre         man geþeo͡n. lofdǣdum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of praiseworthy deed -- (by) praiseworthy deeds sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of shall, ought to -- is sure to in -- preposition; in, into -- in mǣgþa -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of tribe, nation -- (of the) nations gehwǣre -- pronoun; dative singular feminine of each, everyone -- all man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- (a) man geþeo͡n -- strong verb, class I; in nitive thrive, prosper -- prosper

Lesson Text

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HWÆT, WĒ GĀR-DEna         in gēardagum þēodcyninga         þrym gefrūnon, hū ðā æþelingas         ellen fremedon! Oft Scyld Scēfing         sceaþena þrēatum, monegum mǣgþum         meodosetla oftēah, egsode eorlas,         syððan ǣrest wearð fēasceaft funden;         hē þæs frōfre gebād, wēox under wolcnum         weorðmyndum þāh, oð þæt him ǣghwylc         ymbsittendra ofer hronrāde         hȳran scolde, gomban gyldan;         þæt wæs gōd cyning! Ðǣm eafera wæs         æfter cenned geong in geardum,         þone God sende folce tō frōfre;         fyrenðearfe ongeat, þē hīe ǣr drugon         aldorlēase lange hwīle;         him þæs Līffrea͡, wuldres Wealdend         woroldāre forgeaf, Bēowulf wæs brēme         — blǣd wīde sprang — Scyldes eafera         Scedelandum in. Swā sceal geong guma         gōde gewyrcean, fromum feohgiftum         on fæder bearme, þæt hine on ylde         eft gewunigen wilgesīþas,         þonne wīg cume, lēode gelǣsten;         lofdǣdum sceal in mǣgþa gehwǣre         man geþeo͡n.

Translation

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Lo, we have heard of Spear-Danes in days of yore, of folk-kings' prowess, how the princes wrought deeds of valor. Often Scyld Sce ng wrested mead-benches from bands of enemies from many tribes -terri ed earls -- since rst he was found abandoned. (He received consolation for that.) He grew under the heavens, thrived with honors until all peoples across the sea had to obey: pay him tribute. That was a good king! Then a child was born to him, a young man in the court; God sent him to the people for solace. He perceived the dire distress which they suffered before, lordless for a long time. For that the Lord of Light, the Wielder of Glory, gave him worldly honor. Beowulf was renowned; the fame of Scyld's son spread far in Danish lands. Thus should a young man accomplish good with splendid money-gifts while in his father's bosom, so that afterwards men stand by him, dear companions to serve the people when war comes. In all nations, a man is sure to prosper by praiseworthy deeds.

Grammar 1 The Alphabet and Sound System As noted in the Series Introduction, spelling in Old English (OE) was never fully standardized, but instead the "continental" sounds of the Latin alphabet determined how words were spelled -and this varied from one dialect and time to another. Several letters were added to the Latin alphabet for sounds that were not covered by it, but one of them (wynn) is generally replaced by Latin 'w' to avoid confusing it with the look-alike thorn; further, modern editors have typically added long marks (macrons) over vowels to distinguish their pronunciation from short vowels. Regarding pronunciation, there are no "silent" letters in Old English. Consonant

 

Pronunciation

 

Comment/Environment

b

 

like b in 'boy'

 

 

c

 

like c in 'cold'

 

before a consonant, or with guttural vowels;

 

 

like ch in 'chin'

 

when word- nal after i, otherwise depending on etymology.

d

 

like d in 'did'

 

 

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f

 

like f in ' n'

 

initially, nally, in ff/fs/ft, and in strictly medial positions except...

 

 

like v in 'have'

 

between vowels/voiced consonants (e.g., ǣfre, ofer, sealfian).

g

 

like g in Ger. 'sagen'

 

with guttural vowels;

 

 

like y in 'you'

 

with palatal vowels.

h

 

like ch in Ger. 'ach'

 

with guttural vowels;

 

 

like ch in Ger. 'ich'

 

with palatal vowels.

k

 

like k in 'kite'

 

rarely used; see c

l

 

like l in 'land'

 

 

m

 

like m in 'man'

 

 

n

 

like n in 'night'

 

 

p

 

like p in 'pin'

 

 

q

 

like q in 'queen'

 

rarely used; see c

r

 

like trilled r in Sp. 'rueda'

 

[or perhaps merely apped?]

s

 

like s in 'rising'

 

single letter between vowels;

 

 

like s in 'sing'

 

otherwise.

t

 

like t in 'toy'

 

 

ð

 

like th in 'that'

 

rarely distinguished in writing from þ

þ

 

like th in 'thorn'

 

rarely distinguished in writing from ð

v

 

like v in 'viper'

 

rarely used; see f

w

 

like w in 'work'

 

 

x

 

like x in 'box'

 

 

z

 

like z in 'zephyr'

 

rarely used (usually ts)

Some pairs of consonants (digraphs) have special pronunciation:

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Digraph

 

Pronunciation

cg

 

like j in 'just'

gg

 

like g in 'go'

ng

 

like ng in ' nger'

qu

 

like qu in 'quick' (but rarely used)

sc

 

like sh in 'ship' (but originally like sk)

ðð

 

like th in 'thorn' (never voiced)

The vowels have continental values: Vowel

 

Pronunciation

a

 

like a in 'father'

ā

 

like aa in 'baah'

æ

 

like a in 'bat'

ǣ

 

like uy in 'buy'

e

 

like e in 'bet'

ē

 

like a in 'hate'

i

 

like i in 'bit'

ī

 

like ee in 'beet'

o

 

like o in 'pot'

ō

 

like oa in 'boat'

u

 

like u in 'put'

ū

 

like oo in 'boot'

y

 

early, like ü in Ger. 'füllen'; later, the y and i sounds merged

ȳ

 

early, like ü in Ger. 'fühlen'; later, the ȳ and ī sounds merged

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Diphthongs are generally pronounced as the rst vowel followed quickly by the second; for long diphthongs, lengthen the rst vowel sound only.

2 Verb In ection Verbs are classed in two conjugations, weak and strong, in accordance with their means of

producing the preterite (i.e. past) tense. This is produced by addition of a su x -de (or -te) in weak verbs, e.g. hīere,

hīerde 'hear, heard', or by internal vowel change called ablaut in strong verbs, e.g. binde, band 'bind, bound'. There are three classes of weak verbs, and seven classes of strong verbs; in addition there are six classes of preterite-present verbs, based on strong verb classes 1-6 in the present tense but incorporating weak verb su xes in the preterite. These verb classes will be detailed in this and successive lessons. As in modern English, there is only an active in ection; passives are formed with the auxiliaries

bēon 'be', wesan 'be', and also with weorðan 'become' plus the in

nitive. There are two tenses:

present and preterite; three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, each with two numbers: singular and plural; the plural in each mood has one form throughout, except in the preterite subjunctive which may have two. There are also three "nominal" forms: the gerund, present participle, and past participle. N.B. A fourth mood, the optative, is occasionally noted in our glosses and other reference works; it is quite similar to the subjunctive mood, and indicates a wish or hope. But as the optative was in the process of being lost from Germanic languages in general, and is seldom if ever categorically distinguished from subjunctive in OE -- older texts often use the term "optative" exclusively, while newer texts often use the term "subjunctive" exclusively -- it will be ignored as such in our verb conjugations and discussion. The present indicative and subjunctive as well as the present participle are given here for the strong verb bindan 'bind, fetter', and the weak verb hīeran 'hear, obey' from our text. Present

 

Strong

 

Weak

In nitive

 

bindan 'bind'

 

hīeran 'hear'

 

 

 

 

 

Indicative

 

 

 

 

1 Sg.

 

binde

 

hīere

2 Sg.

 

bindest/bintst

 

hīerst

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3 Sg.

 

bindeð/bint

 

hīerð

Pl.

 

bindað

 

hīerað

 

 

 

 

 

Subjunctive

 

 

 

 

Sg.

 

binde

 

hīere

Pl.

 

binden

 

hīeren

 

 

 

 

 

Participle

 

bindende

 

hīerende

3 The Preterite System of Verbs Verbs have preterite (past tense) forms in the indicative and the subjunctive. As is clear from the examples below (again using bindan 'bind, fetter' and hīeran 'hear, obey'), the number of potential forms has been greatly reduced, especially in the subjunctive. Preterite

 

Strong

 

Weak

Indicative

 

 

 

 

1 Sg.

 

band 'bound'

 

hīerde 'heard'

2 Sg.

 

bunde

 

hīerdest

3 Sg.

 

band

 

hīerde

Pl.

 

bunden

 

hīerdon

 

 

 

 

 

Subjunctive

 

 

 

 

Sg.

 

bunde

 

hīerde

Pl.

 

bunden

 

hīerden

 

 

 

 

 

Participle

 

bunden

 

hīered

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4 The Anomalous Verb wesan So-called anomalous verbs have forms that are not always morphologically predictable (e.g., by adding in ectional su xes), but are instead "suppletive," and hence must be learned ('supplied') by rote. They are, accordingly, neither weak nor strong. Modern English was, were provides a contemporary example of suppletion, which is commonly observed among Indo-European languages for the most basic verbs, pronouns, and a few other parts of speech. Old English inherited from Proto-Germanic, its ancestral tongue, three different anomalous verbs for 'to be', none of them exhibiting [in surviving texts] a complete repertoire of forms. OE wesan (the in nitive) survives as a verb only in the two modern English forms was, were, although a relic is also observed in the word wassail, originally a salutation meaning 'be healthy'.

wesan 'be'

 

Preterite Indicative

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

Imperative

1 Sg.

 

wæs 'was'

 

wǣre

 

 

2 Sg.

 

wǣre 'were'

 

wǣre

 

wes

3 Sg.

 

wæs

 

wǣre

 

 

Pl.

 

wǣron

 

wǣren

 

wesað

There are no present forms other than the participle wesende 'being'. As is often true in OE,

forms of wesan were subject to alternative spelling, which includes in lesson 3 the 3rd person plural preterite indicative forms wǣran and wǣrun 'were'.

As in modern English, forms of the auxiliary wesan are used with the past participle to produce passives. An example in our lesson text is wæs

cenned 'was born' (Beowulf 12), where the past participle lacks the pre x ge-; examples in the lesson 3 text are wæs geseted 'was appointed' and wæs gedēmed 'was deemed'. N.B. Passives can also be made with the auxiliary weorðan 'become', cf. the use in German of werden for the passive, as in Beowulf 6-7 wearð ... funden 'was found'. The auxiliary wesan is also used as in modern English with the present participle to indicate ongoing action, as in wæs

gongende 'was going' and sprecende wæs 'was speaking' (lesson

2).

5 Weak Verbs in Class I

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As noted earlier, the weak preterite forms are produced by addition of the su x -de (or -te) -akin to modern English 'lived' formed from the in nitive 'live'. Here we begin to lay out full verb conjugations starting with Class I of the weak verbs. We use the same verb hīeran 'hear' that was introduced above, and other verbs with minor conjugational differences:

mētan 'meet' (see text in lesson 3) because, in a devoiced context, t appears in place of d in the preterite su x;

werian 'wear' (also in lesson 3) because, for some verbs, the stem includes a residual -i- in certain forms;

fremman 'perform' (this lesson) because, in certain forms like the in

nitive, the nal stem

consonant is geminated. Barring certain verbs that are exceptional owing to their derivational history, the same stem (e.g., hīer-) is employed in every form of a weak verb, though possibly with residual -i- or gemination. The su xes are all standard for their person, number, tense, mood, etc., with possible devoicing. Class I

 

Normal

 

Devoiced

 

Residual -i-

 

Geminated

In nitive

 

hīeran 'hear'

 

mētan 'meet'

 

werian 'wear'

 

fremman 'perform'

In ected In n.

 

hīeranne

 

mētanne

 

werianne

 

fremmanne

Imperative Sg.

 

hīere

 

mēte

 

were

 

freme

Imperative Pl.

 

hīerað

 

mētað

 

weriað

 

fremmað

Pres. Participle

 

hīerende

 

mētende

 

weriende

 

fremmende

Past Participle

 

hīered

 

mēted

 

wered

 

fremed

Gerund

 

hīerenne

 

mētenne

 

werenne

 

fremmenne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

Normal

 

Devoiced

 

Residual -i-

 

Geminated

1 Sg.

 

hīere

 

mēte

 

werie

 

fremme

2 Sg.

 

hīerst

 

mētst

 

werest

 

fremest

3 Sg.

 

hīerð

 

mētð

 

wereð

 

fremeð

Plural

 

hīerað

 

mētað

 

weriað

 

fremmað

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Present Subjunctive

 

Normal

 

Devoiced

 

Residual -i-

 

Geminated

Singular

 

hīere

 

mēte

 

werie

 

fremme

Plural

 

hīeren

 

mēten

 

werien

 

fremmen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

Normal

 

Devoiced

 

Residual

 

Geminated

1 Sg.

 

hīerde

 

mētte

 

werede

 

fremede

2 Sg.

 

hīerdest

 

mēttest

 

weredest

 

fremedest

3 Sg.

 

hīerde

 

mētte

 

werede

 

fremede

Plural

 

hīerdon

 

mētton

 

weredon

 

fremedon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

Normal

 

Devoiced

 

Residual

 

Geminated

Singular

 

hīerde

 

mētte

 

werede

 

fremede

Plural

 

hīerden

 

mētten

 

wereden

 

fremeden

The three "principal parts" of a weak verb are always its in nitive, its 1st/3rd person preterite singular, and its past participle. From these three forms, one may construct the complete conjugation. A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Weak I verbs found in our lesson texts includes deem, greet, leave, name, seek, send, set, think, wend, and work. N.B. While conjugation tables like the above often attempt to list "all possible" forms of a verb, it is seldom the case that all such forms are attested in surviving OE texts. Rather, the forms are reconstructed using rules that have been deduced by [others] studying the verbs that are attested. Often, therefore, ignorance is being obscured. It is also true that attested verb forms may demonstrate exceptions to the rules: real languages are never so simple as linguists would have them be!

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Old English Online Lesson 2 Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann Bede, 671-735, often referred to as The Venerable Bede, is highly regarded for his wide learning and writing. He was a monk in the monastery at Jarrow, Northumbria, which is considered the equal of those on the continent. In addition to his Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum, which provides a history of England from the date of Julius Caesar's invasion in 55 B.C. to 731 A.D., he wrote numerous other works in Latin on astronomy, mathematics, medicine, and philosophy. Reading and Textual Analysis In his History, Bede included accounts like that in this lesson on the poet Caedmon, for whom we have the dates 657-680 on the basis of the period when Hild was abbess at Streneshaelc, which he entered after his vision; otherwise, we know no more about him than what is stated in the few pages that include the Hymn. These inform us that Caedmon wrote many poems based on Biblical texts, on the Old Testament Genesis and also on the New Testament gospels. Earlier it was often assumed that he was the author of the Old English Genesis, Exodus, Daniel, Christ and others, but now it is generally agreed that his only surviving work is the short poem included in this lesson. In Bede's History, translated into the Anglo-Saxon [Old English] vernacular under the auspices of Alfred in the latter 9th century, the account of Caedmon concludes with a celebrated description of the poet's death. Caedmon's Hymn, lines 41-49 in this transcription, is assumed to be the rst Old English poetry composed in Germanic alliterative verse. As comparison with the strictly composed Beowulf shows, it observes the principles by which the principal alliteration is a nominal in the second half-line (except for the emphasized adverb in line 48). The Hymn is recorded in seventeen manuscripts; these vary in spelling, as the rst line in a Cambridge University manuscript may illustrate: Nu

scylun hergan hefaenricaes Uard. That manuscript identi

es the author after

the last line with the words: Primo cantauit Caedmon istud Carmen. Our selection includes lines 20-49, found on pp. 42-43 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. Caedmon's hymn alone, in its Northumbrian recension, appears on p. 166 (Onions, op cit). Wæs hē se mon in weoruldhāde geseted oð ðā tīde þe hē wæs gelȳfedre yldo, and hē nǣfre ǣnig lēoð geleornade:

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wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- a mon -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- man # appositive = 'he' in -- preposition; in, into -- to weoruldhāde -- noun, masculine; dative singular of secular life -- secular life geseted -- weak verb, class I; past participle of set (out), appoint, establish -- appointed oð -- adverbial conjunction; until -- up to ðā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the tīde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of time -- time þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- that hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was gelȳfedre -- adjective; genitive singular feminine of advanced -- of advanced yldo -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of (old) age -- age and -- conjunction; and -- and hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he nǣfre -- contraction; adverb not + adverb; ever, always -- never ǣnig -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of any -- any lēoð -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of song, poem -- poetry geleornade -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of learn, study -- learned and hē for þon oft in gebēorscipe, þonne þǣr wæs blisse intinga gedēmed — þæt hīe ealle sceolden þurh endebyrdnesse be hearpan singan —

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and -- conjunction; and -- ... hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- ... for þon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- for that reason oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often in -- preposition; in, into -- at gebēorscipe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of feast, beer party -- the feast þonne -- adverb; then, when -- when þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was blisse -- strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of bliss, joy, happiness -- for merriment intinga -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of cause, reason -- cause gedēmed -- weak verb, class I; past participle of deem, judge; praise -- deemed (to be) þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- (so) that hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they ealle -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of all -- all sceolden -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite subjunctive of shall, ought to -- should þurh -- preposition; through, by (means of) -- in endebyrdnesse -- noun, feminine; dative singular of order, sequence -succession be -- preposition; at, by, near -- to # accompanied by hearpan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of harp -- the harp singan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of sing, compose -- sing þonne hē geseah þā hearpan him nēalǣcan, þonne ārās hē for scome from þǣm symble, and hām ēode tō his hūse.

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þonne -- adverb; then, when -- when hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he geseah -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of see, observe -- saw þā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the hearpan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of harp -- harp him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- to him nēalǣcan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of approach, draw near -- draw near þonne -- adverb; then, when -- ... ārās -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of arise -- arose hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he for -- preposition; for, because of -- out of scome -- noun, feminine; dative singular of shame -- shame from -- preposition; from -- from þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- the symble -- noun, neuter; dative singular of feast -- feast and -- conjunction; and -- and hām -- adverb; home, homewards -- home ēode -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of go, walk, move -- went tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his hūse -- noun, neuter; dative singular of house -- abode Þā hē þæt þā sumre tīde dyde, þæt hē forlēt þæt hūs þæs gebēorscipes, and ūt wæs gongende tō nēata scypene, þāra heord him wæs þǣre nihte beboden,

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- then hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of that -- this þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... sumre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of some, a certain -- one tīde -- noun, feminine; dative singular of time -- time dyde -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of do, make -- did þæt -- conjunction; so/in order that -- so that hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he forlēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of leave, abandon -- left þæt -- de nite article; accusative singular neuter of the -- the hūs -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of house -- house þæs -- de nite article; genitive singular masculine of the -- of the gebēorscipes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of feast, beer party -feast and -- conjunction; and -- and ūt -- adverb; out -- out wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was gongende -- strong verb, class VII; present participle of go, walk -- going tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to nēata -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of ox, cow -- the cattle scypene -- noun, neuter; dative singular of shed -- shed þāra -- de nite article; genitive plural of the -- their heord -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of care, custody -- care him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- to him wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was þǣre -- de nite article; dative singular feminine of the -- for the nihte -- noun, feminine; dative singular of night -- night beboden -- strong verb, class II; past participle of command, instruct -- entrusted

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ðā hē þā þǣr in gelimplicre tīde his limo on reste gesette and onslǣpte, þā stōd him

sum mon æt þurh swefn, and hine hālette and grētte, and hine be his naman nemde:

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ðā -- adverb; then, when -- when hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there in -- preposition; in, into -- at gelimplicre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of suitable -- (a) suitable tīde -- noun, feminine; dative singular of time -- time his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of he, she, it -- his limo -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of limb -- arms and legs on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on reste -- noun, feminine; dative singular of rest, resting place -- (a) resting place gesette -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of set (out), appoint, establish -- arranged and -- conjunction; and -- and onslǣpte -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of fall asleep -- fell asleep þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... stōd -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of stand -- stood him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him sum -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of some, a certain -- a mon -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- man # appositive = 'he' æt -- preposition; at, against -- by þurh -- preposition; through, by (means of) -- in swefn -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of dream -- a dream and -- conjunction; and -- and hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him hālette -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of hail, salute -- hailed and -- conjunction; and -- and grētte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of greet, approach -- greeted and -- conjunction; and -- and hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him

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be -- preposition; at, by, near -- by his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- ... naman -- weak noun, masculine; dative singular of name -- name nemde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of name, call -- called 'Cædmon, sing mē hwæthwegu.' Cædmon -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Ca|edmon -Caedmon sing -- strong verb, class III; 2nd person singular imperative of sing, compose -- sing mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of I -- for me hwæthwegu -- inde nite pronoun; accusative singular of something -something Þā andswarode hē and cwæð: 'Ne con ic nōht singan, and ic for þon of þyssum gebēorscipe ūt ēode, and hider gewāt, for þon ic nōht cūðe.'

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- then andswarode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of answer, respond -- answered hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he and -- conjunction; and -- and cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said ne -- adverb; not -- not con -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class III; 1st person singular present indicative of can, know how to -- can ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I nōht -- adjective; no, not + noun, neuter; accusative whit, thing -- ... # double negative, for emphasis singan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of sing, compose -- sing and -- conjunction; and -- and ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I for þon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- because of -- preposition; from, of -- of þyssum -- demonstrative pronoun; dative singular neuter of this -- this gebēorscipe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of feast, beer party -from the feast ūt -- adverb; out -- out ēode -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of go, walk, move -- went and -- conjunction; and -- and hider -- adverb; here, hither -- here gewāt -- strong verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of depart, go -- went for þon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- because ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I nōht -- adjective; no, not + noun, neuter; accusative whit, thing -- naught # "not a whit" cūðe -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class III; 1st person singular preterite indicative of can, know how to -- could (sing)

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Eft hē cwæð sē þe mid him sprecende wæs: 'Hwæðere þū meaht mē singan.' eft -- adverb; afterwards, thereupon -- again hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who mid -- preposition; with -- with him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him sprecende -- strong verb, class V; present participle of speak, say -- speaking wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was hwæðere -- conjunction; but, yet, however -- but þū -- 2nd person pronoun; nominative singular of you -- you meaht -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 2nd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- can mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of I -- to me singan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of sing, compose -- sing Cwæð hē: 'Hwæt sceal ic singan?' cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he hwæt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of who, what -- what sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 1st person singular present indicative of shall, ought to -- shall ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I singan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of sing, compose -- sing Cwæð hē: 'Sing mē frumsceaft.'

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cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he sing -- strong verb, class III; 2nd person singular imperative of sing, compose -- sing mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of I -- to me frumsceaft -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of creation -- (about) the creation # genesis Þā hē þā þās andsware onfēng, ðā ongan hē sōna singan, in herenesse Godes Scyppendes, þā fers and þā word þe hē nǣfre ne gehȳrde, þāra endebyrdnes þis is:

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- when hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... þās -- demonstrative article; accusative singular feminine of this -- this andsware -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of answer, response -answer onfēng -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of accept, receive -- received # onfangen or onfongen ðā -- adverb; then, when -- then ongan -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of begin, attempt -- began hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he sōna -- adverb; immediately -- immediately singan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of sing, compose -- to sing in -- preposition; in, into -- in herenesse -- noun, feminine; dative singular of praise -- praise Godes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of God, Deity -- of God scyppendes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of shaper, creator -- the Creator þā -- demonstrative article; accusative plural of that -- those fers -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of sentence, verse -- verses and -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- demonstrative article; accusative plural of that -- those word -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of word, speech -- words þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- which hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he nǣfre -- contraction; adverb not + adverb; ever, always -- never ne -- adverb; not -- ever # double negative gehȳrde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of hear (of) -- (had) heard þāra -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural of that -- of them endebyrdnes -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of order, sequence -- the arrangement þis -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of this -- this

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is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is Nū wē sculan herian         heofonrīces Weard,       Metodes mihte         and his mōdgeþonc,

      weorc Wuldorfæder;         swā hē wundra gehwæs,       ēce Dryhten,         ord onstealde. nū -- adverb; now -- now wē -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of I -- we sculan -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person plural present indicative of shall, ought to -- must herian -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of praise, extol -- praise heofonrīces -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of kingdom of heaven -- of the kingdom of Heaven weard -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of ward, guard, keeper -- the Lord metodes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of creator -- God's mihte -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of might, power -- power and -- conjunction; and -- and his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his mōdgeþonc -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of conception, purpose -- purpose weorc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of work, deed -- the work wuldorfæder -- noun, neuter; glory, praise + noun, masculine; genitive singular father -- of the Father of Glory swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- thus hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wundra -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of miracle, wonder -- wonder # singular in meaning gehwæs -- pronoun; genitive singular of each, everyone -- of every ēce -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of eternal, everlasting -- eternal dryhten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, prince, ruler -- Lord ord -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of source, beginning -- the beginning onstealde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of establish, institute -- established

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Hē ǣrest gesceōp         eorðan bearnum       heofon tō hrōfe,         hālig Scyppend;

      ðā middangeard,         moncynnes Weard,       ēce Dryhten,         æfter tēode       fīrum foldan,         Frēa ælmihtig.

hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he ǣrest -- adverb; superlative of ere, before, formerly -- rst gesceōp -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of shape, create -- created eorðan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of earth -- of earth bearnum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of child -- for the children heofon -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of heaven, sky -- heaven tō -- preposition; (in)to -- for hrōfe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of roof -- (a) roof hālig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of holy -- the holy scyppend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of shaper, creator -Creator ðā -- adverb; then, when -- then middangeard -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of middle-earth, world -- the earth moncynnes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of mankind -- mankind's weard -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of ward, guard, keeper -Guardian ēce -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of eternal, everlasting -- the eternal dryhten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, prince, ruler -- Lord æfter -- adverb; after(wards), then -- afterwards tēode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of adorn, settle -- settled fīrum -- noun, masculine plural; dative of men, people -- with men foldan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of earth, ground -- the earth frēa -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, master -- the Lord ælmihtig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of almighty -- Almighty

Lesson Text

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Wæs hē se mon in weoruldhāde geseted oð ðā tīde þe hē wæs gelȳfedre yldo, and hē nǣfre ǣnig lēoð geleornade: and hē for þon oft in gebēorscipe, þonne þǣr wæs blisse intinga gedēmed — þæt hīe ealle sceolden þurh endebyrdnesse be hearpan singan — þonne hē geseah þā hearpan him nēalǣcan, þonne ārās hē for scome from þǣm symble, and hām ēode tō his hūse. Þā hē þæt þā sumre tīde dyde, þæt hē forlēt þæt hūs þæs gebēorscipes, and ūt wæs gongende tō nēata scypene, þāra heord him wæs þǣre nihte beboden, ðā hē þā þǣr in gelimplicre tīde his limo on reste gesette and onslǣpte, þā stōd him sum mon æt þurh swefn, and hine hālette and grētte, and hine be his naman nemde: 'Cædmon, sing mē hwæthwegu.' Þā andswarode hē and cwæð: 'Ne con ic nōht singan, and ic for þon of þyssum gebēorscipe ūt ēode, and hider gewāt, for þon ic nōht cūðe.' Eft hē cwæð sē þe mid him sprecende wæs: 'Hwæðere þū meaht mē singan.' Cwæð hē: 'Hwæt sceal ic singan?' Cwæð hē: 'Sing mē frumsceaft.' Þā hē þā þās andsware onfēng, ðā ongan hē sōna singan, in herenesse Godes Scyppendes, þā fers and þā word þe hē nǣfre ne gehȳrde, þāra endebyrdnes þis is: Nū wē sculan herian         heofonrīces Weard,         Metodes mihte         and his mōdgeþonc,         weorc Wuldorfæder;         swā hē wundra gehwæs,         ēce Dryhten,         ord onstealde. Hē ǣrest gesceōp         eorðan bearnum         heofon tō hrōfe,         hālig Scyppend;         ðā middangeard,         moncynnes Weard,         ēce Dryhten,         æfter tēode         fīrum foldan,         Frēa ælmihtig.

Translation

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He was a man appointed to secular life, up to the time that he was of advanced age, and he never learned any poetry. For that reason, often at the feast, when there was deemed to be cause for merriment — so that they all in succession should sing to the harp — when he saw the harp draw near to him, he arose from the feast out of shame and went home to his abode. Then one time he did this, so that he left the house of the feast and was going out to the cattle shed (their care was entrusted to him for the night). When at a suitable time he arranged his arms and legs on a resting place there, and fell asleep, a man stood by him in a dream and hailed and greeted him and called him by name: "Caedmon, sing something for me." Then answered he and said, "I can not sing, and because of this I went out from the feast and went here because I could (sing) naught." Again he said (he who was speaking with him): "But you can sing to me." Said he, "What shall I sing?" He said, "Sing to me about the creation." When he received this answer, he then began immediately to sing, in praise of God the Creator, those verses and those words which he had never ever heard; the arrangement of them is this:  

 

"Now we must praise the Lord  

 

 

God's power  

 

 

the work of the Father of Glory;  

 

 

the eternal Lord,  

      established the beginning.

 

 

He rst created,  

      for the children of earth,

 

 

heaven for a roof,  

 

 

then the earth,  

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      of the kingdom of Heaven,

      and his purpose,       thus he, of every wonder

      the holy Creator;

      mankind's Guardian,

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the eternal Lord;  

      afterwards settled

 

 

with men the earth,  

      the Lord Almighty.

Grammar 6 Personal Pronouns Old English (OE) personal pronouns, like those of modern English (e.g., 'I', 'me', 'you', 'we'), are essentially suppletive: one must memorize all the forms. There are three persons (1st, 2nd, 3rd), three numbers (singular, dual [two], plural), and four cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative). 1st Person

 

Singular

 

Dual

 

Plural

Nom.

 

ic 'I'

 

wit 'we two'

 

wē 'we'

Gen.

 

mīn 'my, mine'

 

uncer 'our two'

 

ūser, ūre 'our'

Dat.

 

mē 'me'

 

unc 'us two'

 

ūs 'us'

Acc.

 

mec, mē

 

uncit, unc

 

ūsic, ūs

As can be seen from the tables above and below, the OE accusative case was merging with the dative as the early, speci cally accusative forms (listed rst, above and below) were lost. The result was our modern objective case. 2nd Person

 

Singular

 

Dual

 

Plural

Nom.

 

ðū 'thou, you'

 

git 'you two'

 

gē 'ye, you'

Gen.

 

ðīn 'thine, your'

 

incer 'your two'

 

ēower, ēowre 'your'

Dat.

 

ðē 'thee, you'

 

inc 'you two'

 

ēow 'you'

Acc.

 

ðec, ðē

 

incit, inc

 

ēowic, ēow

Third person pronouns did not have dual forms, and in the Middle English period the dual was lost in 1st and 2nd person as well. The singular 3rd person forms come in masculine, feminine, and neuter gender; of course grammatical gender does not necessarily translate into sex, as modern English usage and our translations below might seem to imply.

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3rd Person

 

Masc. Sg.

 

Fem. Sg.

 

Neut. Sg.

 

Plural

Nom.

 

hē 'he'

 

hēo, hīe 'she'

 

hit, hyt 'it'

 

hēo, hīe, hī, hȳ 'they'

Gen.

 

his 'his'

 

hire 'her'

 

his 'its'

 

hira, heora, hiera 'their'

Dat.

 

him 'him'

 

hire 'her'

 

him 'it'

 

him, heom 'them'

Acc.

 

hine 'him'

 

hēo, hīe 'her'

 

hit, hyt 'it'

 

hēo, hīe, hī, hȳ 'them'

The tables all show that alternative spellings of personal pronouns appeared in the literature: there are relatively few single, unambiguous forms. When used as possessive adjectives, genitives of 1st- and 2nd-person personal pronouns were declined like [category 2, ja- and jo-stem] strong adjectives, in ected for case and gender to agree with the substantive they modify. The 1st person forms mīn, uncer and ūre, and 2nd person forms ðīn, incer and ēower might be so treated. In addition, a special 3rd person singular form sīn 'his, her, its' might be so declined.

7 Contractions with ne 'not' Modern English exhibits contractions with 'not' as a su x, e.g. wouldn't, where the vowel 'o' is lost. Old English forms contractions with the adverbial particle ne 'not' as a pre x. Our text

contains two instances of ne contracted with the adverb ǣfre 'ever, always', resulting in nǣfre 'never'. (In forming a contraction with a word beginning with a vowel sound, the vowel in ne is lost.) Our text in lesson 3 adds the contraction ne + ǣnig 'any' > nǣnig 'none, not one'.

The particle ne can also be contracted with anomalous verbs. But when such a verb begins with a 'w' (vowel-like) sound, it too is lost along with the vowel sound from ne and, re ected in spelling, 'n' simply replaces 'w'. Hence we will see, in lesson 3:

nǣre = ne + wǣre (preterite singular of wesan, lesson 1 §4) nolde = ne + wolde (preterite singular of willan, see lesson 3 §11) noldon = ne + woldon (preterite plural of willan) Yet more contractions using ne 'not' are encountered in later lesson texts. 8 Prepositions Prepositions may govern either the dative case or the accusative, or both. Those governing the

dative are be 'by', beforan 'before', betweox 'between', for 'before', from, fram 'from', mid 'with,

among', of 'from', tō 'to'. Those governing the accusative are geond 'throughout', oð 'up to', þurh

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'through'. Those governing both cases take the dative when the following noun is at rest, the

accusative when it is in motion, e.g. in 'in, into', ofer 'over, across', on 'on, onto', under 'under'.

9 Weak Verbs in Class II Our text in this lesson uses the verb geleornian 'learn, study', formed from the pre x ge-

(discussed in a later lesson) plus the verb leornian 'learn'; the Beowulf text in lesson 10 uses the verb frēogan 'love' (also spelled frēogean). We conjugate these two to illustrate the weak verbs in Class II, which exhibit variations (columns 1 and 2) due to the optional nal stem vowels -iand, respectively, -e-, with other ancient pronunciation change effects. Weak II

 

1

 

2

In nitive

 

leornian 'learn'

 

frēog(e)an 'love'

In ected In n.

 

tō leornianne

 

tō frēog(e)anne

Imperative Sg.

 

leorna

 

frēoge

Imperative Pl.

 

leorniað

 

frēog(e)að

Pres. Participle

 

leorniende

 

frēogende

Past Participle

 

leornod

 

frēod

Gerund

 

leornienne

 

frēogenne

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

leornie

 

frēoge

2 Sg.

 

leornast

 

frēost

3 Sg.

 

leornað

 

frēoð

Plural

 

leorniað

 

frēog(e)að

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

leornie

 

frēoge

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Plural

 

leornien

 

frēogen

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

leornode

 

frēode

2 Sg.

 

leornodest

 

frēodest

3 Sg.

 

leornode

 

frēode

Plural

 

leornodon

 

frēodon

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

leornode

 

frēode

Plural

 

leornoden

 

frēoden

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Weak II verbs found in our lesson texts includes answer, follow, harry, look, sail, and wound.

10 Strong Verbs in Class I Modern English includes a few hundred strong verbs, many of them used with high frequency, wherein tense/aspect are indicated by a change in the internal stem vowel, for example rise, rose, risen or sing, sang, sung. These forms are of course inherited, albeit with changes, from Old English. The patterns of vowel change, called ablaut, are re ected in the different classes of strong verbs, of which there are seven in OE. Strong Class I verbs exhibit the four-vowel ablaut pattern -ī-, -ā-, -i-, -i-. (The reason for there being "four" vowels, when the 3rd and 4th are here the same, will become clear in the discussion of Strong Class II in lesson 3 §13.) Four vowels result in there being four principal parts of every strong verb; these are always its in nitive, its 3rd person preterite singular, its preterite plural, and its past participle, which four use the respective vowels. From these four forms, plus a wee bit of phonology, one may construct the complete conjugation.

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We illustrate Strong Class I using a "regular" verb (column 1) having an obvious modern descendant, a second verb (column 2) with minor pronunciation change effects, and a third verb (column 3) that shows greater irregularity. (Again, we defer discussion of the ancient sound changes that led to this situation.) The text in this lesson contains the verb ārīsan 'arise', which is formed from the pre x ā- plus the verb rīsan 'rise' illustrated in column 1; the verb snīðan 'cut' in column 2 is chosen for convenience; the verb ðēon 'thrive' in column 3 appears in our lesson 1 Beowulf text. Strong I

 

1

 

2

 

3

In nitive

 

rīsan 'rise'

 

snīðan 'cut'

 

ðēon, ðeo͡n 'thrive'

In ected In n.

 

tō rīsanne

 

tō snīðanne

 

tō ðēonne

Imperative Sg.

 

rīs

 

snīð

 

ðēoh

Imperative Pl.

 

rīsað

 

snīðað

 

ðēað

Pres. Participle

 

rīsende

 

snīðende

 

ðēonde

Past Participle

 

risen

 

sniden

 

ðigen, ðungen

Gerund

 

rīsenne

 

snīðenne

 

ðēenne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

1 Sg.

 

rīse

 

snīðe

 

ðēe

2 Sg.

 

rīsest

 

snīðest

 

ðēest

3 Sg.

 

rīseð

 

snīðeð

 

ðēeð

Plural

 

rīsað

 

snīðað

 

ðēað

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

Singular

 

rīse

 

snīðe

 

ðēe

Plural

 

rīsen

 

snīðen

 

ðēen

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Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

1 Sg.

 

rās

 

snāð

 

ðāh, ðēah

2 Sg.

 

rise

 

snide

 

ðige

3 Sg.

 

rās

 

snāð

 

ðāh, ðēah

Plural

 

rison

 

snidon

 

ðigon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

Singular

 

rise

 

snide

 

ðige

Plural

 

risen

 

sniden

 

ðigen

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong I verbs found in our lesson texts includes bide, grip (which became weak), and ride. N.B. To repeat: while conjugation tables like the above often attempt to list "the possible" forms of a verb, it is seldom the case that all such forms are attested in the few surviving OE texts! Rather, the forms are reconstructed using rules that have been deduced by other linguists. Often there are known exceptions to the rules, and/or the rules may be incomplete. There may even be holes or question marks in these tables when the evidence is tentative or the rules seem poorly explained.

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Old English Online Lesson 3 Jonathan Slocum In an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 755, King Cynewulf of Wessex battles with Prince Cyneheard. Cynewulf had deprived Cyneheard's brother Sebright of most of his kingdom "for unrighteous deeds," and apparently Cyneheard took exception! Hearing that Cynewulf has gone, thinly protected, on a trip to the small town of Merton to visit a certain lady, Cyneheard marshals his forces and rides out, surrounding Merton without the King's attendants becoming aware of this. Cynewulf, once he grasps his predicament, will rush out alone to confront his enemies. As events unfold, this story highlights an aspect of Anglo-Saxon culture wherein loyalty to one's lord is paramount, taking precedence even over loyalty to one's kin: the chronicler implies that both sides -- members of whom who are related to one another -- make the right decision. The theme of Germanic comitatus loyalty recurs often in Old English literature; such loyalty transcends fear of death. In The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien models his ctional kingdom of Rohan on Anglo-Saxon culture. Of particular relevance is the reaction by the Rohirrim to King Théoden's decision to attack the army of Mordor despite there being little or no hope of success: "But they were a stern people, loyal to their lord... Doom hung over them, but they faced it silently" (from The Muster of Rohan in The Return of the King). We shall encounter this theme again, in lesson 6. Reading and Textual Analysis We witness in our Chronicle story the strong tendency in Anglo-Saxon storytelling to make frequent use of a handful of connectives, like 'and', 'then', 'when', even 'and then', where we would leave these understood or at least vary the wording. We see, as well, common use of pronouns that often leaves us in confusion, seeking a referent; the original audience for these stories was presumably better able to cope, or perhaps may have bene tted from a storyteller's accompanying pantomime. Our selection includes lines 14-44, found on pp. 2-3 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. Ond þā ongeat se cyning þæt, ond hē on þā duru ēode, ond þā unhēanlīce hine werede oþ hē on þone æþeling lōcude, ond þā ūt rǣsde on hine ond hine miclum gewundode;

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þā -- adverb; then, when -- when ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of grasp, understand -- grasped se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of king -- king þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of that -- this ond -- conjunction; and -- ... hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- to þā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the duru -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of door -- door # or "out of doors" ēode -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of go, walk, move -- went ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... unhēanlīce -- adverb; not disgracefully, not ignobly -- nobly hine -- 3rd person pronoun; used as re exive he, she, it -- himself werede -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of wear; defend, protect -- protected oþ -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- upon þone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the æþeling -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of nobleman, prince -prince lōcude -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of look -- looked ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- adverb; then, when -- then ūt -- adverb; out -- out rǣsde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of rush, hasten -- rushed on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- to hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him ond -- conjunction; and -- and

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him miclum -- adverb; much, very -- severely gewundode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of wound -- wounded ond hīe alle on þone cyning wǣrun feohtende oþ þæt hīe hine ofslægenne hæfdon. ond -- conjunction; and -- then hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they alle -- adjective; nominative plural of all -- all on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- against þone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the cyning -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of king -- king wǣrun -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were # continued, kept on... feohtende -- strong verb, class III; present participle of ght -- ghting oþ þæt -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him ofslægenne -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of slay, destroy -- slain # ofslōh or ofslōg hæfdon -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of have, possess -- had Ond þā on þæs wīfes gebǣrum onfundon þæs cyninges þegnas þā unstilnesse, ond þā þider urnon swā hwelc swā þonne gearo wearþ, ond radost.

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þā -- adverb; then, when -- then on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- upon þæs -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of he, she, it -- his wīfes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of wife, woman -- lady's gebǣrum -- strong noun, neuter; dative plural of cry, behavior -- outcries onfundon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of nd out, realize -- discovered þæs -- de nite article; genitive singular masculine of the -- the cyninges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of king -- king's þegnas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of thane, warrior -attendants þā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the unstilnesse -- strong noun, feminine; accusative singular of disturbance, tumult -- disturbance ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... þider -- adverb; thither -- there urnon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of run -- ran swā hwelc swā -- pronoun; whosoever -- whoever þonne -- adverb; then, when -- ... gearo -- adjective; nominative singular of prepared, ready -- ready # i.e., armed himself wearþ -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of become, happen -- got ond -- conjunction; and -- ... radost -- adjective; superlative of quick, hasty -- the quickest Ond hiera se æþeling gehwelcum feoh ond feorh gebēad, ond hiera nǣnig hit geþicgean nolde;

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- of them se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the æþeling -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of nobleman, prince -prince gehwelcum -- inde nite pronoun; dative singular masculine of each, every one -- each one feoh -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of cattle, goods, money -- money ond -- conjunction; and -- and feorh -- strong noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of life -- life gebēad -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of offer -- offered # i.e., if they would surrender ond -- conjunction; and -- but hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- of them nǣnig -- contraction; adverb not + adjective; any -- not one hit -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it geþicgean -- strong verb, class V; in nitive of take, accept, receive -- accept nolde -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of wish, be willing -- would # double negative, for emphasis ac hīe simle feohtende wǣran oþ hīe alle lǣgon būtan ānum Bryttiscum gīsle, ond sē swīþe gewundad wæs.

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ac -- conjunction; and, but, however -- and hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they simle -- adverb; ever, always -- ... feohtende -- strong verb, class III; present participle of ght -- ghting wǣran -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -went on oþ -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they alle -- adjective; nominative plural of all -- all lǣgon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of lie, extend, be situated -- lay dead būtan -- preposition; without, except for -- except for ānum -- inde nite article; dative singular masculine of a, an, one -- one Bryttiscum -- proper adjective; dative singular masculine of British -- British # i.e., Celtic inhabitant of Britain... gīsle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of hostage -- hostage # ...held in pledge by (hence beholden to) Cynewulf ond -- conjunction; and -- and sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he swīþe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- severely gewundad -- weak verb, class II; past participle of wound -- wounded wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was Þā on morgenne gehīerdun þæt þæs cyninges þegnas, þe him beæftan wǣrun, þæt se cyning ofslægen wæs, þā ridon hīe þider, ond his aldormon Ōsrīc, ond Wīferþ his þegn, ond þā men þe hē beæftan him lǣfde ǣr,

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- when on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in morgenne -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of morning -- the morning gehīerdun -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of hear (of) -- heard þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- ... # correlative with þæt below þæs -- de nite article; genitive singular masculine of the -- the cyninges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of king -- king's þegnas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of thane, warrior -- thanes þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him beæftan -- preposition; behind -- behind # postposition (often used by this writer) wǣrun -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were # continued, kept on... þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of king -- king ofslægen -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of slay, destroy -- slain wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... ridon -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of ride -- rode hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þider -- adverb; thither -- thither ond -- conjunction; and -- with his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his aldormon -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of nobleman, lit. older man -- nobleman Ōsrīc -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Osric -- Osric ond -- conjunction; and -- and Wīferþ -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Wiferth -- Wiferth his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his þegn -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of thane, warrior -- thane

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the men -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of man, person -- men þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he beæftan -- preposition; behind -- behind # postposition (often used by this writer) him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him lǣfde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of leave, bequeath -- left ǣr -- adverb; ere, before, formerly -- previously ond þone æþeling on þǣre byrig mētton þǣr se cyning ofslægen læg — ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the æþeling -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of nobleman, prince -prince on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- at þǣre -- de nite article; dative singular feminine of the -- the byrig -- strong noun, feminine; dative singular of enclosure, stonghold -stonghold mētton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of meet, nd -- (they) met þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- where se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of king -- king ofslægen -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of slay, destroy -- slain læg -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of lie, extend, be situated -- lay ond þā gatu him tō belocen hæfdon — ond þā þǣrtō ēodon.

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the gatu -- strong noun, neuter; accusative plural of gate -- gates him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- them # i.e., the royal forces tō -- preposition; (in)to -- against # postposition belocen -- strong verb, class II; past participle of close, lock, shut -- locked hæfdon -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of have, possess -- (they) had ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þǣrtō -- adverb; thereto -- there ēodon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of go, walk, move -went Ond þā gebēad hē him hiera āgenne dōm fēos ond londes, gif hīe him þæs rīces ūþon;

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þā -- adverb; then, when -- then gebēad -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of offer -- offered # i.e., if they would surrender hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- to them # to the royal forces (which now greatly outnumbered those of Cyneheard) hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their āgenne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of own -- own dōm -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of doom, decision; glory -choice # i.e. a chance to "write their own tickets" for... fēos -- strong noun, neuter; genitive singular of cattle, goods, money -- of money ond -- conjunction; and -- and londes -- strong noun, neuter; genitive singular of land, realm, country -- (of) land gif -- conjunction; if -- if hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- to him þæs -- de nite article; genitive singular neuter of the -- the rīces -- weak noun, neuter; genitive singular of kingdom, reign -- kingdom ūþon -- preterite-present verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite subjunctive of grant, bestow -- granted ond him cȳþdon þæt hiera mǣgas him mid wǣron, þā þe him from noldon.

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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ond -- conjunction; and -- and him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- to them # to the royal forces (which now greatly outnumbered those of Cyneheard) cȳþdon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of reveal, make known -- they revealed # they = Cyneheard & his men þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their mǣgas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of kinsman -- kinsmen him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- them # i.e., the royal forces mid -- preposition; with -- with wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were þā -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- from them # Cyneheard and his men from -- adverb; away -- away noldon -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of wish, be willing -- wouldn't (go) Ond þā cuǣdon hīe þæt him nǣnig mǣg lēofra nǣre þonne hiera hlāford, ond hīe nǣfre his banan folgian noldon.

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ond -- conjunction; and -- but þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... cuǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of say, speak -- said hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- to them # to the royal forces (which now greatly outnumbered those of Cyneheard) nǣnig -- contraction; adverb not + adjective; any -- no mǣg -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of kinsman -- kinsman lēofra -- adjective; comparative of lief, dear, beloved -- more dear nǣre -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of be, happen -- was # double negative þonne -- adverb; then, when -- than # (with comparative above) hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their hlāford -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, master -- lord ond -- conjunction; and -- and hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they nǣfre -- contraction; adverb not + adverb; ever, always -- never his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his banan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of bane, slayer -- slayer folgian -- weak verb, class II; in nitive of follow, obey, serve -follow noldon -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of wish, be willing -- would # double negative Ond þā budon hīe hiera mǣgum þæt hīe gesunde from ēodon;

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þā -- adverb; then, when -- then budon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of bid, command, offer -- offered hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- (to) their mǣgum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of kinsman -- kinsmen # among the prince's men þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they gesunde -- adjective; nominative plural of safe, unharmed -- unharmed from -- adverb; away -- away ēodon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of go, walk, move -could walk ond hīe cuǣdon þæt tæt ilce hiera gefērum geboden wǣre þe ǣr mid þām cyninge wǣrun.

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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ond -- conjunction; and -- but hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they cuǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of say, speak -- said þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above tæt -- de nite article; nominative singular neuter of the -- the ilce -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of same -- same (thing) hiera -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- (to) their gefērum -- weak noun, masculine; dative plural of companion, comrade -comrades geboden -- strong verb, class II; past participle of offer -- offered wǣre -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of be, happen -- would be þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- which ǣr -- adverb; ere, before, formerly -- before mid -- preposition; with -- with þām -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the cyninge -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of king -- king wǣrun -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were # continued, kept on... Þā cuǣdon hīe þæt hīe hīe þæs ne onmunden 'þon mā þe ēowre gefēran þe mid þām cyninge ofslægene wǣrun.'

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- then cuǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of say, speak -- said hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; used as re exive he, she, it -- themselves þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of that -- of this # of the offer ne -- adverb; not -- not onmunden -- preterite-present verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite subjunctive of esteem, remember, think worthy -did...think...worthy þon -- adverb; then, when -- any # (with comparative below) mā -- adjective; anomalous comparative of much, great -- more # (idiomatic) þe -- conjunction; than, where -- than # (with comparative above) ēowre -- 2nd person pronoun; used as adjective you -- your gefēran -- weak noun, masculine; nominative plural of companion, comrade -companions þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who mid -- preposition; with -- with þām -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the cyninge -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of king -- king ofslægene -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of slay, destroy -- slain wǣrun -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were # continued, kept on... Ond hīe þā ymb þā gatu feohtende wǣron oþ þæt hīe þǣrinne fulgon ond þone æþeling ofslōgon; ond þā men þe him mid wǣrun,

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ond -- conjunction; and -- and hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þā -- adverb; then, when -- then ymb -- preposition; at, around -- at þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the gatu -- strong noun, neuter; accusative plural of gate -- gates feohtende -- strong verb, class III; present participle of ght -- ghting wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were oþ þæt -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þǣrinne -- adverb; therein -- therein fulgon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of reach, penetrate -- penetrated ond -- conjunction; and -- and þone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the æþeling -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of nobleman, prince -prince ofslōgon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of slay, destroy -- slew ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the men -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of man, person -- men þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him mid -- preposition; with -- with wǣrun -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were # continued, kept on... alle būtan ānum, sē wæs þæs aldormonnes godsunu; ond hē his feorh generede, ond þēah hē wæs oft gewundad.

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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alle -- adjective; nominative plural of all -- all būtan -- preposition; without, except for -- but ānum -- inde nite article; dative singular masculine of a, an, one -- one sē -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of who, which, that -- who wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was þæs -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his aldormonnes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of nobleman, lit. older man -- nobleman's godsunu -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of godson -- godson ond -- conjunction; and -- and hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of he, she, it -- his feorh -- strong noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of life -- life generede -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of save, protect -- saved ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þēah -- adverbial conjunction; yet, though, however -- though hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- much gewundad -- weak verb, class II; past participle of wound -- wounded

Lesson Text

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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Ond þā ongeat se cyning þæt, ond hē on þā duru ēode, ond þā unhēanlīce hine werede oþ hē on þone æþeling lōcude, ond þā ūt rǣsde on hine ond hine miclum gewundode; ond hīe alle on þone cyning wǣrun feohtende oþ þæt hīe hine ofslægenne hæfdon. Ond þā on þæs wīfes gebǣrum onfundon þæs cyninges þegnas þā unstilnesse, ond þā þider urnon swā hwelc swā þonne gearo wearþ, ond radost. Ond hiera se æþeling gehwelcum feoh ond feorh gebēad, ond hiera nǣnig hit geþicgean nolde; ac hīe simle feohtende wǣran oþ hīe alle lǣgon būtan ānum Bryttiscum gīsle, ond sē swīþe gewundad wæs. Þā on morgenne gehīerdun þæt þæs cyninges þegnas, þe him beæftan wǣrun, þæt se cyning ofslægen wæs, þā ridon hīe þider, ond his aldormon Ōsrīc, ond Wīferþ his þegn, ond þā men þe hē beæftan him lǣfde ǣr, ond þone æþeling on þǣre byrig mētton þǣr se cyning ofslægen læg — ond þā gatu him tō belocen hæfdon — ond þā þǣrtō ēodon. Ond þā gebēad hē him hiera āgenne dōm fēos ond londes, gif hīe him þæs rīces ūþon; ond him cȳþdon þæt hiera mǣgas him mid wǣron, þā þe him from noldon. Ond þā cuǣdon hīe þæt him nǣnig mǣg lēofra nǣre þonne hiera hlāford, ond hīe nǣfre his banan folgian noldon. Ond þā budon hīe hiera mǣgum þæt hīe gesunde from ēodon; ond hīe cuǣdon þæt tæt ilce hiera gefērum geboden wǣre þe ǣr mid þām cyninge wǣrun. Þā cuǣdon hīe þæt hīe hīe þæs ne onmunden 'þon mā þe ēowre gefēran þe mid þām cyninge ofslægene wǣrun.' Ond hīe þā ymb þā gatu feohtende wǣron oþ þæt hīe þǣrinne fulgon ond þone æþeling ofslōgon; ond þā men þe him mid wǣrun, alle būtan ānum, sē wæs þæs aldormonnes godsunu; ond hē his feorh generede, ond þēah hē wæs oft gewundad.

Translation

https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/engol

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When the king grasped this, he went to the door and nobly protected himself until he looked upon the prince, and then rushed out to him and severely wounded him; then they all were ghting against the king, until they had slain him. Then, upon his lady's outcries, the king's attendants discovered the disturbance, and ran there, whoever got ready the quickest. The prince offered each one of them money and life, but not one of them would accept it; and they went on ghting until they all lay dead except for one British hostage, and he was severely wounded. When in the morning the king's thanes, who were behind him, heard that the king was slain, they rode thither, with his nobleman Osric, and Wiferth his thane, and the men who he previously left behind him; they met the prince at the stonghold where the king lay slain -- they had locked the gates against them -- and they went there. Then he offered to them their own choice of money and land, if they granted the kingdom to him; they revealed to them that their kinsmen were with them, they who wouldn't (go) away from them. But they said that no kinsman was more dear to them than their lord, and they never would follow his slayer. Then they offered to their kinsmen, that they could walk away unharmed; but they said that the same thing would be offered to their comrades which were before, with the king. Then they said that they did not think themselves worthy of this "any more than your companions who were slain with the king." And then they were ghting at the gates until they penetrated therein and slew the prince, and the men who were with him, all but one, who was his nobleman's godson; and he saved his life, though he was much wounded.

Grammar 11 The Anomalous Verb willan A new anomalous verb found in this lesson is willan 'wish, be willing'. Its forms are re ected in the following table:

willan

 

Indicative

 

Subjunctive

 

Imperative

1 Sg. Pres.

 

wile

 

wile

 

 

2 Sg. Pres.

 

wilt

 

wile

 

wile

3 Sg. Pres.

 

wile

 

wile

 

 

Pl. Pres.

 

willað

 

willen

 

willað

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From willan,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Sg. Pret.

 

wolde

 

wolde

 

 

2 Sg. Pret.

 

woldest

 

wolde

 

 

3 Sg. Pret.

 

wolde

 

wolde

 

 

Pl. Pret.

 

woldon

 

wolden

 

 

wolde come modern English 'will, would'. The present participle is willende

'willing'; no past participle is attested. Spelling variations double or undouble the letter 'l', and might replace 'i' with 'y'.

12 Weak Verbs in Class III Our text in this lesson contains the verb habban 'have, possess'; the text in lesson 4 contains

secgan (also spelled secgean) 'say'; the text in lesson 10 contains libban 'live'. We conjugate these three to illustrate the weak verbs in Class III, which exhibit variations (columns 1, 2, and 3). There are few other surviving examples of verbs in this class; even in our examples, "defects" may be observed: irregularities in supposedly regular verbs! It seems that the Anglo-Saxons were abandoning Weak III as a verb class and were using Weak II conjugation rules instead. Weak III

 

1

 

2

 

3

In nitive

 

habban 'have'

 

secg(e)an 'say'

 

libban, lifian 'live'

In ected In n.

 

tō habbanne

 

tō secg(e)anne

 

tō libbanne

Imperative Sg.

 

hafa

 

sege, saga

 

liofa

Imperative Pl.

 

habbað

 

secg(e)að

 

libbað, lifiað

Pres. Participle

 

hæbbende

 

secgende

 

libbende, lifigende

Past Participle

 

hæfd

 

sægd, sǣd

 

lifd

Gerund

 

habbenne

 

secgenne

 

lifienne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

1 Sg.

 

hæbbe

 

secge

 

libbe, lifge

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2 Sg.

 

hæfst, hafast

 

segst, sægst

 

lifast

3 Sg.

 

hæfð, hafað

 

segð, sægeð

 

lifað

Plural

 

habbað

 

secgað

 

libbað

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

Singular

 

hæbbe

 

secge

 

libbe

Plural

 

habben

 

secgen

 

libben

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

1 Sg.

 

hæfde

 

sægde, sǣde

 

lifde

2 Sg.

 

hæfdest

 

sægdest, sǣdest

 

lifdest

3 Sg.

 

hæfde

 

sægde, sǣde

 

lifde

Plural

 

hæfdon

 

sægdon, sǣdon

 

lifdon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

Singular

 

hæfde

 

sægde, sǣde

 

lifde

Plural

 

hæfden

 

sægden, sǣden

 

lifden

13 Strong Verbs in Class II Strong Class II verbs exhibit the four-vowel ablaut pattern -ēo-, -ēa-, -u-, -o-, although a few verbs in this class have -ū- instead of -ēo- for reasons unknown.

Our text in this lesson contains the verbs bēodan 'bid, command, offer' and belūcan 'lock, close, shut'; the text in lesson 9 contains bedrēosan 'bereave, deprive of'; and the text in lesson 1

contains oftēon 'deny, deprive'. We conjugate these four to illustrate the strong verbs in Class II,

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which exhibit variations (columns 1, 2, 3, and 4). Note that reconstructing oftēon (column 4) is known to be problematic, but we do not engage in this discussion. Strong II

 

1

 

In nitive

 

bēodan 'bid'

 

In ected In n.

 

tō bēodanne

Imperative Sg.

 

Imperative Pl.

2

 

belūcan 'lock'

 

 

tō belūcanne

bēod

 

 

bēodað

Pres. Participle

 

Past Participle

3

 

bedrēosan

4

oftēon

'bereave'

 

'deny'

 

tō bedrēosanne

 

tō oftēanne

belūc

 

bedrēos

 

oftēoh

 

belūcað

 

bedrēosað

 

oftēað

bēodende

 

belūcende

 

bedrēosende

 

oftēonde

 

boden

 

belocen

 

bedroren

 

oftogen

Gerund

 

bēodenne

 

belūcenne

 

bedrēosenne

 

oftēenne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

1 Sg.

 

bēode

 

belūce

 

bedrēose

 

oftēe

2 Sg.

 

bēodest

 

belūcest

 

bedrēosest

 

oftēest

3 Sg.

 

bēodeð

 

belūceð

 

bedrēoseð

 

oftēeð

Plural

 

bēodað

 

belūcað

 

bedrēosað

 

oftēað

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

bēode

 

belūce

 

bedrēose

 

oftēe

Plural

 

bēoden

 

belūcen

 

bedrēosen

 

oftēen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Preterite Indicative

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2

 

3

 

4

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1 Sg.

 

bēad

 

belēac

 

bedrēas

 

oftēah

2 Sg.

 

bude

 

beluce

 

bedrure

 

oftuge

3 Sg.

 

bēad

 

belēac

 

bedrēas

 

oftēah

Plural

 

budon

 

belucon

 

bedruron

 

oftugon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

bude

 

beluce

 

bedrure

 

oftuge

Plural

 

buden

 

belucen

 

bedruren

 

oftugen

14 Strong Verbs in Class III Due to the differential effects of ancient sound changes not discussed here, Strong Class III verbs fall into four subclasses: 1.

for verbs with nasal + consonant after the vowel, the ablaut pattern is -i- (or -y-), -a-

2.

for verbs with l + consonant after the vowel, the ablaut pattern is -(i)e-, -ea-, -u-, -o-;

(or -o-), -u-, -u-;

3.

for verbs with r or h + consonant after the vowel, the ablaut pattern is -eo-, -ea-, -u-, -

4.

otherwise, the ablaut pattern is generally -e-, -æ-, -u-, -o-.

o-;

The text in lesson 2 contains the verb singan 'sing'; the text in lesson 1 contains gieldan 'yield, pay'; our text in this lesson contains feohtan ' ght'; and for the 4th subclass, of which no

example appears in our texts, we arbitrarily select berstan 'burst'. We conjugate these four to illustrate the strong verbs in Class III, which exhibit variations in ablaut (columns 1, 2, 3, and 4) as described above. Strong III

 

1

 

2

 

3

In nitive

 

singan 'sing'

 

gieldan 'yield'

 

feohtan '

In ected In n.

 

tō singanne

 

tō gieldanne

Imperative Sg.

 

sing

 

Imperative Pl.

 

singað

 

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4

ght'

 

berstan 'burst'

 

tō feohtanne

 

tō berstanne

gield

 

feoht

 

berst

gieldað

 

feohtað

 

berstað

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Pres. Participle

 

singende

 

gieldende

 

feohtende

 

berstende

Past Participle

 

sungen

 

golden

 

fohten

 

borsten

Gerund

 

singenne

 

gieldenne

 

feohtenne

 

berstenne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

1 Sg.

 

singe

 

gielde

 

feohte

 

berste

2 Sg.

 

singest

 

gieldest

 

feohtest

 

berstest

3 Sg.

 

singeð

 

gieldeð

 

feohteð

 

bersteð

Plural

 

singað

 

gieldað

 

feohtað

 

berstað

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

singe

 

gielde

 

feohte

 

berste

Plural

 

singen

 

gielden

 

feohten

 

bersten

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

1 Sg.

 

sang, song

 

geald

 

feaht

 

bærst

2 Sg.

 

sunge

 

gulde

 

fuhte

 

burste

3 Sg.

 

sang, song

 

geald

 

feaht

 

bærst

Plural

 

sungon

 

guldon

 

fuhton

 

burston

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

sunge

 

gulde

 

fuhte

 

burste

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Plural

 

sungen

 

gulden

 

fuhten

 

bursten

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong III verbs found in our lesson texts includes begin, bind, cringe, nd, spring, wind, and yell, two of which became weak.

15 Preterite-Present Verbs in Class III Some verbs in Old English (and other Germanic languages) underwent a regular change in meaning with consequent morphological evolution; in particular, the preterite forms of certain strong verbs came to have present-tense meanings, and in order to convey preterite sense these verbs acquired new, weak past-tense in ectional endings. These are called preterite-present verbs, and they are organized into classes depending on the ablaut patterns of their forebears. For example, certain verbs in Strong Class III gave rise to [all and only] Preterite-Present Class III verbs. The evolutionary change may be described as follows: 1.

the old in nitive, gerund, imperative, and all present forms were lost;

2.

the old preterite singular form (with 2nd ablaut vowel intact) was then used for the new present 1st/3rd person singular;

3.

the old preterite plural stem (with 3rd ablaut vowel intact) was then used in the new in nitive, gerund, imperative, and remaining present forms;

4.

the old past participle stem (with 4th ablaut vowel intact) was then used for the new

5.

the old past participle, unchanged, retained its grammatical role.

preterite forms, which acquired weak (-d or -t) endings;

N.B. By no means do we imply a strict evolutionary sequence, 1-4! It is merely simpler to describe the end results in this way. Also the preterite-present verb paradigms, despite the seemingly complete "rules" (above) used in reconstruction, are in practice seldom fully attested; hence, such reconstructions must be taken with the usual grain of salt. There are four principal parts of every preterite-present verb; these are always its in nitive, its 3rd person present singular, its present plural, and its preterite singular; the past participle is not included because, from these four forms, one may (in theory) construct the complete conjugation. The preterite > present evolution, whatever the historical details, affected certain verbs in Strong Verb Classes I-VI; a number of these verbs became modals, exempli ed by modern English 'can', 'could', 'may', 'might', 'should', etc.

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The text in lesson 2 contains the preterite-present verb cunnan 'can, be able to', which evolved into modern English can and could; the text in this lesson contains the preterite-present verb

unnan 'grant, bestow'. We conjugate these two to illustrate the preterite-present verbs in Class III. Pret-Pres. III

 

1

 

2

In nitive

 

cunnan 'can'

 

unnan 'grant'

In ected In n.

 

tō cunnanne

 

tō unnanne

Imperative Sg.

 

cunn

 

unn

Imperative Pl.

 

cunnað

 

unnað

Pres. Participle

 

cunnende

 

unnende

Past Participle

 

cūðen

 

ūðen

Gerund

 

cunnenne

 

unnenne

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

cann, conn

 

ann

2 Sg.

 

cunnest

 

unnest

3 Sg.

 

cann, conn

 

ann

Plural

 

cunnon

 

unnon

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

cunne

 

unne

Plural

 

cunnen

 

unnen

 

 

 

 

 

 

1

Preterite Indicative

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2

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1 Sg.

 

cūðe

 

ūðe

2 Sg.

 

cūðest

 

ūðest

3 Sg.

 

cūðe

 

ūðe

Plural

 

cūðon

 

ūðon

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

cūðe

 

ūðe

Plural

 

cūðen

 

ūðen

As usual, spelling variations abound in surviving texts. Another modern English verb descended from an OE Preterite-Present III verb found in our lesson texts is dare.

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Old English Online Lesson 4 Jonathan Slocum The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan relates certain travels attributed to Ohthere, whose story along with that of one Wulfstan was included in King Alfred's translation from Latin of the Compendious History of the World by Paulus Orosius (d. 420). Ohthere was a Norwegian hunter, whaler, and trader who tells among other things of his voyages north and east of the Scandinavian peninsula, round the Kola peninsula to the White Sea (all of these terms being modern). Orosius' History did not include Ohthere's tale, nor that of Wulfstan; rather, these stories were composed or copied from an unknown source and inserted into the Anglo-Saxon translation of the History. While their factual bases cannot be veri ed, both of these stories contain far less fanciful narrative and much more apparent fact than is normally found in popular medieval travelers' tales. Not all the places and peoples mentioned in the Voyages can be identi ed with certainty, but what can be pinned down ts very well with geography and a ninth-century setting. Reading and Textual Analysis Our selection includes lines 63-97, found on pp. 19-20 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. In it, we read of the geography and peoples of Scandinavia, and of an apparent (?) half-circumnavigation of the British Isles, heading west and north from Wessex, where Ohthere is presumably located while narrating this story, past Ireland on the way around Scotland to Norway and a port in the south thereof. (There are several other theories concerning the route, signalling its uncertain identi cation.) Our selection ends with his mention of a great sea to the east. Hē sǣde ðæt Norðmanna land wǣre swȳþe lang and swȳðe smæl.

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hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he sǣde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of say -- said ðæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that Norðmanna -- proper noun, masculine; genitive plural of Norwegian, lit. north-man -- of the Norwegians land -- strong noun, neuter; nominative singular of land, realm, country -- the land wǣre -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of be, happen -- was swȳþe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- very lang -- adjective; nominative singular of long -- long and -- conjunction; and -- and swȳðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- very smæl -- adjective; nominative singular of small, narrow -- narrow Eal þæt his man āþer oððe ettan oððe erian mæg, þæt līð wið ðā sǣ; eal -- adjective; nominative singular of all -- all þæt -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of who, which, that -- that his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- a man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- man āþer -- correlative conjunction; either -- either oððe -- correlative conjunction; or -- ... ettan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of graze, pasture -- graze oððe -- correlative conjunction; or -- or erian -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of plow -- plow mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- can þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of that -- ... līð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular present of lie, extend, be situated -- extends wið -- preposition; against, along -- alongside ðā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of sea, lake -- sea and þæt is þēah on sumum stōwum swȳðe clūdig;

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and -- conjunction; and -- but þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of that -- it is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is þēah -- adverb; yet, though, however -- however on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in sumum -- adjective; dative plural of some, a certain -- certain stōwum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of place -- places swȳðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- very clūdig -- adjective; nominative singular of rocky -- rocky and licgað wilde mōras wið ēastan and wið uppon emnlange þǣm bȳnum lande. and -- conjunction; and -- and licgað -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural present of lie, extend, be situated -- lie wilde -- adjective; accusative plural of wild, untamed -- wild mōras -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of moor; mountainous region -- moors wið ēastan -- adverb; to the east -- to the east and -- conjunction; and -- and wið uppon -- adverb; upwards, above -- above emnlange -- preposition; along -- beside þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- the bȳnum -- adjective; dative singular neuter of inhabited, occupied -- inhabited lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land On þǣm mōrum eardiað Finnas. on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- the mōrum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of moor; mountainous region -- moors eardiað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of live, dwell -- live Finnas -- proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of Finns -- Finns And þæt bȳne land is ēasteweard brādost, and symle swā norðor swā smælre.

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and -- conjunction; and -- ... þæt -- de nite article; nominative singular neuter of the -- the bȳne -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of inhabited, occupied -- inhabited land -- strong noun, neuter; nominative singular of land, realm, country -- land is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is ēasteweard -- adverb; eastward -- to the east brādost -- adjective; superlative of broad, open -- broadest and -- conjunction; and -- and symle -- adverb; ever, always -- ever swā -- adverb; so, thus -- ... norðor -- adverb; comparative of north(wards) -- further north swā -- adverb; so, thus -- ... smælre -- adjective; comparative of small, narrow -- narrower Ēastewerd hit mæg bīon syxtig mīla brād, oþþe hwēne brādre; ēastewerd -- adverb; eastward -- to the east hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- may bīon -- anomalous verb; in nitive of be, become, exist -- be syxtig -- numeral; sixty -- sixty mīla -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of mile -- miles brād -- adjective; nominative singular of broad, open -- wide oþþe -- correlative conjunction; or -- or hwēne -- adverb; somewhat, a little -- somewhat brādre -- adjective; comparative of broad, open -- more and middeweard þrītig oððe brādre; and -- conjunction; and -- and middeweard -- adverb; mid-ward, middling -- towards the middle þrītig -- numeral; thirty -- thirty oððe -- correlative conjunction; or -- or brādre -- adjective; comparative of broad, open -- more

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and norðeweard hē cwæð, þǣr hit smalost wǣre, þæt hit mihte bēon þrēora mīla brād tō þǣm mōre; and -- conjunction; and -- ... norðeweard -- adverb; northward -- to the north hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it smalost -- adjective; superlative of small, narrow -- narrowest wǣre -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of be, happen -- was þæt -- conjunction; so/in order that -- so that hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it mihte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite optative of may, be able to -- might bēon -- anomalous verb; in nitive of be, become, exist -- be þrēora -- numeral; genitive plural of three -- three mīla -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of mile -- miles brād -- adjective; nominative singular of broad, open -- wide tō -- preposition; (in)to -- towards þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the mōre -- noun, masculine; dative singular of moor; mountainous region -- moor and se mōr syðþan, on sumum stōwum, swā brād swā man mæg on twām wucum oferfēran;

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and -- conjunction; and -- ... se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the mōr -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of moor; mountainous region -- moor syðþan -- adverb; afterwards -- afterwards on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in sumum -- adjective; dative plural of some, a certain -- some stōwum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of place -- places swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as brād -- adjective; nominative singular of broad, open -- wide swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- might on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in twām -- numeral; feminine plural of twain, two -- two wucum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of week -- weeks oferfēran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of traverse -cross and on sumum stōwum swā brād swā man mæg on syx dagum oferfēran. and -- conjunction; and -- and on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in sumum -- adjective; dative plural of some, a certain -- some stōwum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of place -- places swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as brād -- adjective; nominative singular of broad, open -- wide swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- might on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in syx -- numeral; six -- six dagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of day -- days oferfēran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of traverse -cross

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Ðonne is tōemnes þǣm lande sūðeweardum, on ōðre healfe þæs mōres, Swēoland, oþ þæt land norðeweard; ðonne -- adverb; then, when -- then is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is tōemnes -- preposition; alongside -- alongside þǣm -- demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of that -- that lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land sūðeweardum -- adjective; dative singular of southward -- on the south on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on ōðre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of other, next, second -- the other healfe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of half, part, side -- side þæs -- de nite article; genitive singular masculine of the -- of the mōres -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of moor; mountainous region -- moors Swēoland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of Sweden -- Sweden oþ -- preposition; until, up to, as far as -- as far as þæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of that -- that land -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of land, realm, country -- land # Norway norðeweard -- adverb; northward -- to the north and tōemnes þǣm lande norðeweardum, Cwēna land. and -- conjunction; and -- and tōemnes -- preposition; alongside -- alongside þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- that lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land norðeweardum -- adjective; dative singular neuter of northward -- on the north Cwēna -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of Cwenas, Cwena people -of the Cwena people # a Finnish tribe land -- strong noun, neuter; nominative singular of land, realm, country -- the land Þā Cwēnas hergiað hwīlum on ðā Norðmen ofer ðone mōr, hwīlum þā Norðmen on hȳ.

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þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the Cwēnas -- proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of Cwenas, Cwena people -- Cwenas hergiað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of harry, raid, ravage -- conduct raids hwīlum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of while, time -- sometimes on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- against ðā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the Norðmen -- proper noun, masculine; accusative plural of Norwegian, lit. north-man -- Norwegians ofer -- preposition; over, across -- across ðone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the mōr -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of moor; mountainous region -- moor hwīlum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of while, time -- sometimes þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the Norðmen -- proper noun, masculine; nominative plural of Norwegian, lit. north-man -- Norwegians on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- against hȳ -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of he, she, it -- them And þǣr sint swīðe micle meras fersce geond þā mōras; and -- conjunction; and -- ... þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there sint -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of be, become, exist -are swīðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- very micle -- adjective; nominative plural of much, great -- large meras -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of mere, lake, sea -- lakes fersce -- adjective; nominative plural of fresh -- fresh-water geond -- preposition; over, through(out) -- throughout þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the mōras -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of moor; mountainous region -- moors and berað þā Cwēnas hyra scypu ofer land on ðā meras, and þanon hergiað on þā Norðmen;

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and -- conjunction; and -- ... berað -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person plural present of bear, carry -- carry þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the Cwēnas -- proper noun, masculine plural; nominative of Cwenas, Cwena people -- Cwenas hyra -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their scypu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of ship -- ships ofer -- preposition; over, across -- over land -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of land, realm, country -- the land on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- onto ðā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the meras -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of mere, lake, sea -- lakes and -- conjunction; and -- and þanon -- adverb; thence, from there -- from there hergiað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present of harry, raid, ravage -- raid on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- ... þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the Norðmen -- proper noun, masculine; accusative plural of Norwegian, lit. north-man -- Norwegians hȳ habbað swȳðe lȳtle scypa and swȳðe lēohte. hȳ -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they habbað -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural present of have, possess -- have swȳðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- very lȳtle -- adjective; accusative plural of little, small -- small scypa -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of ship -- ships and -- conjunction; and -- and swȳðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- very lēohte -- adjective; accusative plural of light, easy -- light Ōhthere sǣde þæt sīo scīr hātte Hālgoland þe hē on būde.

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Ōhthere -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Ohthere -- Ohthere sǣde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of say -- said þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above sīo -- de nite article; nominative singular feminine of the -- the scīr -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of shire, district, division -- district hātte -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular passive of call, name; order -- is called # relic of medio-passive Hālgoland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of Helgeland -Helgeland þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- which hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in būde -- irregular verb; 3rd person singular preterite of dwell, live -lived Hē cwæð þæt nān man ne būde be norðan him. hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above nān -- contraction; adverb not + inde nite article; a, an, one -- no man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one ne -- adverb; not -- ... # double negative, for emphasis būde -- irregular verb; 3rd person singular preterite of dwell, live -lived be norðan -- adverb; north of -- north of him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him Þonne is ān port on sūðeweardum þǣm lande, þone man hǣt Scīringes hēal.

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þonne -- adverb; then, when -- ... is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- (there) is ān -- inde nite article; nominative singular of a, an, one -- a port -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of port, harbor -- port on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in sūðeweardum -- adjective; dative singular of southward -- the south of þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- that lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land þone -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; accusative singular masculine of who, which, that -- which man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one hǣt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present of call, name; order -- calls Scīringes hēal -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Skiringssal -- Skiringssal Þyder hē cwæð þæt man ne mihte geseglian on ānum mōnðe, gyf man on niht wīcode, and ǣlce dæge hæfde ambyrne wind;

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þyder -- adverb; thither -- there hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one ne -- adverb; not -- not mihte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite optative of may, be able to -- could geseglian -- weak verb, class II; in nitive of sail -sail on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in ānum -- inde nite article; dative singular masculine of a, an, one -- a mōnðe -- noun, masculine; dative singular of month -- month gyf -- conjunction; if -- if man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- at niht -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of night -- night wīcode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of camp, lodge -- anchored # (near the shore) and -- conjunction; and -- and ǣlce -- adjective; instrumental singular of all, any -- each dæge -- noun, masculine; instrumental singular of day -- day hæfde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of have, possess -- had ambyrne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of favorable, fair -- (a) favorable wind -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of wind -- wind and ealle ðā hwīle hē sceal seglian be lande.

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and -- conjunction; and -- and ealle -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of all -- all ðā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of while, time -- while hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of shall, ought to -- shall seglian -- weak verb, class II; in nitive of sail -- sail be -- preposition; at, by, near -- near lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land And on þæt stēorbord him bið ǣrest Īraland, and þonne ðā īgland þe synd betux Īralande and þissum lande. and -- conjunction; and -- ... on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- to þæt -- de nite article; accusative singular neuter of the -- the stēorbord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of starboard, lit. stear(ing)board -- starboard him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- of him # the traveler bið -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is ǣrest -- adverb; superlative of ere, before, formerly -- rst Īraland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of Ireland -- Ireland and -- conjunction; and -- and þonne -- adverb; then, when -- then ðā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the īgland -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of island -- islands # (Hebrides?) þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- which synd -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural present indicative of be, become, exist -are betux -- preposition; between -- between Īralande -- proper noun, neuter; dative singular of Ireland -- Ireland and -- conjunction; and -- and þissum -- demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of this -- this lande -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land

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Þonne is þis land oð hē cymð tō Scīrincges hēale, and ealne weg on þæt bæcbord Norðweg.

þonne -- adverb; then, when -- then is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- continues þis -- demonstrative article; nominative singular neuter of this -- this land -- strong noun, neuter; nominative singular of land, realm, country -- land oð -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -one cymð -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present of come -- comes tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to Scīrincges hēale -- proper noun, masculine; dative singular of Skiringssal -- Skiringssal and -- conjunction; and -- and ealne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of all -- all weg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of way -- the way on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on þæt -- de nite article; accusative singular neuter of the -- the bæcbord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of larboard, port side -- port side Norðweg -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of Norway, lit. way leading north -- Norway Wið sūðan þone Scīringes hēal fylð swȳðe mycel sǣ ūp in on ðæt lond;

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wið sūðan -- adverb; to the south -- to the south of þone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the Scīringes hēal -- proper noun, masculine; accusative singular of Skiringssal -- Skiringssal fylð -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present of fall, ow -- ows swȳðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- (a) very mycel -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of much, great -- large sǣ -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of sea, lake -- sea ūp -- adverb; up, upwards -- up in -- preposition; in, into -- in on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- to ðæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of that -- that lond -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of land, realm, country -- land sēo is brādre þonne ǣnig man ofer sēon mæge. sēo -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular feminine of he, she, it -- it is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is brādre -- adjective; comparative of broad, open -- wider þonne -- adverb; then, when -- than # (with comparative above) ǣnig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of any -- any man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- man ofer -- preposition; over, across -- across sēon -- strong verb, class V; in nitive of see, look -- see # or sēon, seah, sāwon/sǣwon, sewen mæge -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present optative of may, be able to -- is able to And is Gotland on ōðre healfe ongēan, and siððan Sillende.

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and -- conjunction; and -- ... is -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is Gotland -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of Goth land -- Jutland on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on ōðre -- adjective; dative singular feminine of other, next, second -- the other healfe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of half, part, side -- side ongēan -- adverb; against, back -- opposite and -- conjunction; and -- and siððan -- adverb; since, when, afterwards -- thereafter Sillende -- proper noun, neuter; nominative singular of Zealand -- Zealand Sēo sǣ līð mænig hund mīla ūp in on þæt land. sēo -- de nite article; nominative singular feminine of the -- the sǣ -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of sea, lake -- sea līð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular present of lie, extend, be situated -- extends mænig -- adjective; nominative singular of many -- many hund -- numeral; hundred -- hundred(s) mīla -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of mile -- of miles ūp -- adverb; up, upwards -- up in -- preposition; in, into -- in on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- to þæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of that -- that land -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of land, realm, country -- land # Norway

Lesson Text

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Hē sǣde ðæt Norðmanna land wǣre swȳþe lang and swȳðe smæl. Eal þæt his man āþer oððe ettan oððe erian mæg, þæt līð wið ðā sǣ; and þæt is þēah on sumum stōwum swȳðe clūdig; and licgað wilde mōras wið ēastan and wið uppon emnlange þǣm bȳnum lande. On þǣm mōrum eardiað Finnas. And þæt bȳne land is ēasteweard brādost, and symle swā norðor swā smælre. Ēastewerd hit mæg bīon syxtig mīla brād, oþþe hwēne brādre; and middeweard þrītig oððe brādre; and norðeweard hē cwæð, þǣr hit smalost wǣre, þæt hit mihte bēon þrēora mīla brād tō þǣm mōre; and se mōr syðþan, on sumum stōwum, swā brād swā man mæg on twām wucum oferfēran; and on sumum stōwum swā brād swā man mæg on syx dagum oferfēran. Ðonne is tōemnes þǣm lande sūðeweardum, on ōðre healfe þæs mōres, Swēoland, oþ þæt land norðeweard; and tōemnes þǣm lande norðeweardum, Cwēna land. Þā Cwēnas hergiað hwīlum on ðā Norðmen ofer ðone mōr, hwīlum þā Norðmen on hȳ. And þǣr sint swīðe micle meras fersce geond þā mōras; and berað þā Cwēnas hyra scypu ofer land on ðā meras, and þanon hergiað on þā Norðmen; hȳ habbað swȳðe lȳtle scypa and swȳðe lēohte. Ōhthere sǣde þæt sīo scīr hātte Hālgoland þe hē on būde. Hē cwæð þæt nān man ne būde be norðan him. Þonne is ān port on sūðeweardum þǣm lande, þone man hǣt Scīringes hēal. Þyder hē cwæð þæt man ne mihte geseglian on ānum mōnðe, gyf man on niht wīcode, and ǣlce dæge hæfde ambyrne wind; and ealle ðā hwīle hē sceal seglian be lande. And on þæt stēorbord him bið ǣrest Īraland, and þonne ðā īgland þe synd betux Īralande and þissum lande. Þonne is þis land oð hē cymð tō Scīrincges hēale, and ealne weg on þæt bæcbord Norðweg. Wið sūðan þone Scīringes hēal fylð swȳðe mycel sǣ ūp in on ðæt lond; sēo is brādre þonne ǣnig man ofer sēon mæge. And is Gotland on ōðre healfe ongēan, and siððan Sillende. Sēo sǣ līð mænig hund mīla ūp in on þæt land.

Translation

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He said that the land of the Norwegians was very long and very narrow. All that a man can either graze or plough extends alongside the sea; but it is however in certain places very rocky; and wild moors lie to the east and above, beside the inhabited land. On the moors live Finns. The inhabited land is broadest to the east, and ever narrower further north. To the east it may be sixty miles wide, or somewhat more; and towards the middle, thirty or more. To the north, he said, there it was narrowest, so that it might be three miles wide towards the moor; the moor afterwards, in some places, (is) as wide as one might cross in two weeks; and in some places as wide as one might cross in six days. Then alongside that land on the south, on the other side of the moors, is Sweden, as far as that land to the north; and alongside that land on the north, the land of the Cwena people. The Cwenas sometimes conduct raids against the Norwegians across the moor, sometimes the Norwegians against them. There are very large fresh-water lakes throughout the moors; the Cwenas carry their ships over the land onto the lakes, and from there raid the Norwegians; they have very small and very light ships. Ohthere said that the district is called Helgeland, which he lived in. He said that no one lived north of him. There is a port in the south of that land, which one calls Skiringssal. He said that one could not sail there in a month, if one anchored at night, and each day had a favorable wind; and all the while he shall sail near land. To the starboard of him is rst Ireland, and then the islands that are between Ireland and this land. Then this land continues until one comes to Skiringssal, and all the way on the port side (is) Norway. To the south of the Skiringssal a very large sea ows up into that land; it is wider than any man is able to see across. Jutland is on the other side, opposite, and thereafter Zealand. The sea extends many hundreds of miles up into that land.

Grammar 16 The Anomalous Verb bēon Old English bēon 'to be, become' represents another anomalous verb inherited from Proto-

Germanic; this verb survives in modern English in the forms be, been, being. As with wesan (see lesson 1), not all potential variants are found in surviving texts.

bēon 'be'

 

Present Indicative

 

Present Subjunctive

 

Imperative

1 Sg.

 

bēo

 

bēo

 

 

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2 Sg.

 

bist

 

bēo

 

bēo

3 Sg.

 

biþ

 

bēo

 

 

Pl.

 

bēoþ

 

bēon

 

bēoþ

There are neither preterite forms nor participles. There is a so-called "in ected in nitive" form, tō

bēonne '(in order) to be', which introduces a purpose. 17 The Anomalous Verb eom/is

The third Old English 'to be' verb has no [surviving] in nitive form; some authorities identify it by

its 1st person singular form eom 'am', others by its 3rd singular form is 'is'. There are even fewer basic forms than with the other 'to be' verbs:

ēom 'am'

 

Present Indicative

 

Present Subjunctive

1 Sg.

 

ēom

 

sīe

2 Sg.

 

eart

 

sī

3 Sg.

 

is

 

sēo

Pl.

 

sind(on)

 

sī(e)n

The su x -on of sindon is sometimes present, sometimes absent, in the texts; an alternate

spelling of the sind variant is sint. Variations in the subjunctive forms include sīe for both the 2nd/3rd singular, and the e in the plural may be present or absent. Negative contractions include nēom, neart, and nis (see lesson texts 8 and 9).

18 Strong Verbs in Class IV Strong Class IV verbs exhibit the four-vowel ablaut pattern -e-, -æ-, -ǣ-, -o- (or -u-) -- where the ablaut vowel is followed by -l-, -r-, or -m- -- in theory. In practice, some verbs in this class exhibit the effects of sound changes like those that affected Strong III verbs (recall its 4 subclasses). Again we will provide 4 example conjugations. Our text in this lesson contains the verb beran 'bear, carry' -- the theoretical standard-bearer for this verb class, although it does exhibit an unusual vowel change in the present indicative

2nd/3rd person singular. The text in lesson 1 contains cuman 'come', which is truly exceptional;

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we arbitrarily select scieran 'shear' and, looking ahead to genumen (past participle of

geniman) in lesson 10, niman 'take', which are rather less exceptional than cuman, to

ll out

the conjugation table. Strong IV

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

In nitive

 

beran 'bear'

 

scieran 'shear'

 

niman 'take'

 

cuman 'come'

In ected In n.

 

tō beranne

 

tō scieranne

 

tō nimanne

 

tō cumanne

Imperative Sg.

 

ber

 

scier

 

nim

 

 

Imperative Pl.

 

berað

 

scierað

 

nimað

 

cumað

Pres. Participle

 

berende

 

scierende

 

nimende

 

cumende

Past Participle

 

boren

 

scoren

 

numen

 

cumen, cymen

Gerund

 

berenne

 

scierenne

 

nimenne

 

cumenne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

1 Sg.

 

bere

 

sciere

 

nime

 

cume

2 Sg.

 

birst, birest

 

scierest

 

nimest

 

cumest, cymest

3 Sg.

 

birð, bireð

 

sciereð

 

nimeð

 

cumeð, cymeð

Plural

 

berað

 

scierað

 

nimað

 

cumað

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

bere

 

sciere

 

nime

 

cume

Plural

 

beren

 

scieren

 

nimen

 

cumen, cymen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

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1

 

2

 

3

 

4

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1 Sg.

 

bær

 

scear

 

nam

 

cōm, cwōm

2 Sg.

 

bǣre

 

scēare

 

nāme

 

cōme

3 Sg.

 

bær

 

scear

 

nam

 

cōm, cwōm

Plural

 

bǣron

 

scēaron

 

nāmon

 

cōmon, cwōmon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

bǣre

 

scēare

 

nāme

 

cōme, cwōme

Plural

 

bǣren

 

scēaren

 

nāmen

 

cōmen

Another modern English verb descended from an OE Strong IV verb found in our lesson texts is break, although in OE brecan, the liquid -r- precedes the ablaut vowel -- yet another exception to the "rules."

19 Preterite-Present Verbs in Class IV Preterite-Present verbs were introduced and described in lesson 3, §15. Our text in this lesson (as well as lessons 1 & 2) contains the preterite-present verb sculan 'shall, ought to', which

evolved into modern English shall and should; the text in lesson 3 contains onmunan 'esteem, remember, think worthy', formed from the pre x on- plus the verb munan 'remember'. We conjugate these two to illustrate the preterite-present verbs in Class IV. Pret-Pres. IV

 

1

 

2

In nitive

 

sculan 'shall'

 

munan 'remember'

In ected In n.

 

tō sculanne

 

tō munanne

Imperative Sg.

 

scul

 

mun

Imperative Pl.

 

sculað

 

munað

Pres. Participle

 

sculende

 

munende

Past Participle

 

scolen

 

munen

Gerund

 

sculenne

 

munenne

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Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

sceal

 

man, mon

2 Sg.

 

sculest

 

munest

3 Sg.

 

sceal

 

man, mon

Plural

 

sculon

 

munon

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

scule

 

mune

Plural

 

sculen

 

munen

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

scolde

 

munde

2 Sg.

 

scoldest

 

mundest

3 Sg.

 

scolde

 

munde

Plural

 

scoldon

 

mundon

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

scolde

 

munde

Plural

 

scolden

 

munden

20 Strong Verbs in Class V

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This class is yet another with 4 subclasses. The nominal four-vowel ablaut pattern is -e-, -æ-,

-ǣ-, -e-; however, once again, ancient sound changes not discussed here resulted in variations that we illustrate with 4 example conjugations. The text in lesson 2 contains the verb sprecan 'speak, say'; the texts in lessons 1 & 3 contain

ongietan 'grasp, understand', formed from the pre x on- plus the verb gietan 'get'; our text in this lesson contains the verbs licgan 'lie, extend, be situated' and sēon 'see, look'. We conjugate these four to illustrate the strong verbs in Class V; as usual, the 4th column exhibits the greatest variability. Strong V

 

In nitive

 

In ected In n.

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

'speak'

 

gietan 'get'

 

licgan 'lie'

 

sēon, seo͡n 'see'

 

tō sprecanne

 

tō gietanne

 

tō licganne

 

tō sēonne, tō sǣgon

Imperative Sg.

 

spræc

 

giet

 

lige

 

seoh

Imperative Pl.

 

sprecað

 

gietað

 

licgað

 

sēoð

Pres. Participle

 

sprecende

 

gietende

 

licgende

 

sēonde

Past Participle

 

sprecen

 

gieten (ongyten)

 

legen

 

sewen, sawen

Gerund

 

sprecenne

 

gietenne

 

licgenne

 

sēonne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

sprecan

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

1 Sg.

 

sprece

 

giete (ongite)

 

licge

 

sēo

2 Sg.

 

sprecest

 

gietest (ongitst)

 

ligest, ligst

 

siehst

3 Sg.

 

sprceð, spricð

 

gieteð (ongit)

 

ligeð, lið

 

siehð (gesyhð)

Plural

 

sprecað

 

gietað

 

licgað

 

sēoð

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

sprece

 

giete

 

licge

 

sēo

Plural

 

sprecen

 

gieten

 

licgen

 

sēon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

1 Sg.

 

spræc

 

geat

 

læg

 

seah

2 Sg.

 

sprǣce

 

gēate

 

lǣge

 

sāwe

3 Sg.

 

spræc, spæc

 

geat

 

læg

 

seah

Plural

 

sprǣcon, sprǣcan

 

gēaton

 

lǣgon

 

sāwon, sǣgon (gesāwon, gesēgan)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

 

4

Singular

 

sprǣce

 

gēate

 

lǣge

 

sāwe

Plural

 

sprǣcen

 

gēaten

 

lǣgen

 

sāwen

N.B. Not by any means are all of the many spelling variations, found in OE texts, listed above -nor are they in general, in our conjugation tables. A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong V verbs found in our lesson texts includes bid, forgive, give, quoth ("the Raven..."), and wreak.

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Old English Online Lesson 5 Jonathan Slocum In the year 897, King Alfred the Great decided to deal with marauding bands of Danish Vikings, who would raid coastal areas all around the southern part of England. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle relates his activities that year, and the generally satisfactory outcome. Reading and Textual Analysis The Chronicle story is generally self-explanatory. After setting the stage, it notes the events that followed Alfred's construction of new warships to counter the Vikings. He dispatches nine of them on a mission. Six pirate ships are spotted beached on a riverbank near the sea, with guards posted, while raiders plunder inland. When the guards spy Alfred's vessels, they launch three of their ships to engage the English. Our selection includes lines 159-193, found on p. 37 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. Ðā þæs on sumera on ðysum gēre tōfōr se here, sum on Ēastengle, sum on Norðhymbre.

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ðā -- adverb; then, when -- ... þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of that -- ... on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in sumera -- noun, masculine; dative singular of summer -- summer on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in ðysum -- demonstrative article; dative singular neuter of this -- this gēre -- noun, neuter; dative singular of year -- year tōfōr -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of disperse, separate -- dispersed se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the here -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of (enemy) army -- enemy # the Danish army: the Vikings sum -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of some, a certain -- some on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- into Ēastengle -- proper noun, masculine plural; accusative of East Angles, East Anglia -- East Anglia sum -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of some, a certain -- some on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- into Norðhymbre -- proper noun, masculine plural; accusative of Northumbrians, Northumbria -- Northumbria Ond þā þe feohlēase wǣron him þǣr scipu begēton, ond sūð ofer sǣ fōron tō Sigene.

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ond -- conjunction; and -- ... þā -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural of that -- those þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who feohlēase -- adjective; nominative plural of moneyless, lit. without cattle -without money wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were him -- 3rd person pronoun; used as re exive he, she, it -- themselves þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there scipu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of ship -- ships begēton -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of get, acquire -- got ond -- conjunction; and -- and sūð -- adverb; south(wards) -- south ofer -- preposition; over, across -- over sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of sea, lake -- the sea fōron -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of go, ride, travel -- went tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to Sigene -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of Seine -- the Seine Næfde se here, Godes þonces, Angelcyn ealles forswīðe gebrocod, ac hīe wǣron micle swīþor gebrocede on þǣm þrim gēarum mid cēapes cwilde ond monna;

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næfde -- adverb; not + weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite have, possess -- had not se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the here -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of (enemy) army -- enemy # the Danish army: the Vikings Godes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of God, Deity -- of God þonces -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of thanks, grace, mercy -- (by) the mercy # adverbial genitive Angelcyn -- proper noun, neuter; accusative singular of English, lit. Angle kin -- the English ealles -- adjective; genitive singular of all -- altogether # adverbial genitive forswīðe -- adverb; utterly, excessively -- entirely gebrocod -- weak verb, class II; past participle of crush; hurt, a ict -- crushed ac -- conjunction; and, but, however -- but hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were micle -- adverb; much, very -- much swīþor -- adverb; comparative of very, exceedingly -- more gebrocede -- weak verb, class II; past participle crush; hurt, a ict -- a icted on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in þǣm -- demonstrative article; dative plural of that -- those þrim -- numeral; dative plural of three -- three gēarum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of year -- years mid -- preposition; with -- by cēapes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of cattle -- of cattle cwilde -- noun, masc/fem/neut; dative singular of disease, plague, pestilence -pestilence ond -- conjunction; and -- and monna -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of man, person -- of men ealles swīþost mid þǣm þæt manige þāra sēlestena cynges þēna þe þǣr on londe wǣron forðfērdon on þǣm þrym gēarum.

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ealles -- adjective; genitive singular of all -- of all swīþost -- adverb; superlative of very, exceedingly -- most mid -- preposition; with -- among þǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- them þæt -- de nite article; nominative singular neuter of the -- ... manige -- adjective; nominative plural of many -- many þāra -- de nite article; genitive plural of the -- (of) the sēlestena -- adjective; comparative better -- best cynges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of king -- of the king's þēna -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of thane, warrior -- thanes þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in londe -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- the land wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were forðfērdon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of die, depart, lit. go forth -- died on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- within þǣm -- demonstrative article; dative plural of that -- those þrym -- numeral; dative plural of three -- three gēarum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of year -- years Þāra wæs sum Swīðulf biscop on Hrōfesceastre, ond Cēolmund ealdormon on Cent,

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þāra -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive plural of that -- of these wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was sum -- adjective used as substantive; nominative singular masculine of some, a certain -- one Swīðulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Swithulf -- Swithulf biscop -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of bishop, prelate -- bishop on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Hrōfesceastre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of Rochester -Rochester ond -- conjunction; and -- and Cēolmund -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Ceolmund -Ceolmund ealdormon -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of nobleman, lit. older man -- (a) nobleman on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Cent -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of Kent -- Kent ond Beorhtulf ealdormon on Ēastseaxum, ond Wulfred ealdormon Hāmtūnscīre, ond -- conjunction; and -- and Beorhtulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Bertulf -- Bertulf ealdormon -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of nobleman, lit. older man -- (a) nobleman on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Ēastseaxum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of East Saxons, Essex -- Essex ond -- conjunction; and -- and Wulfred -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Wulfred -- Wulfred ealdormon -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of nobleman, lit. older man -- (a) nobleman Hāmtūnscīre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of Hampshire -(in) Hampshire ond Ealhheard biscop æt Dorceceastre, ond Ēadulf cynges þegn on Sūðseaxum,

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ond -- conjunction; and -- and Ealhheard -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Elhard -- Elhard biscop -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of bishop, prelate -- bishop æt -- preposition; at, against -- at Dorceceastre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of Dorchester -Dorchester ond -- conjunction; and -- and Ēadulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Eadulf -- Eadulf cynges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of king -- the king's þegn -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of thane, warrior -- thane on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Sūðseaxum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of South Saxons, Sussex -- Sussex ond Beornulf wīcgerēfa on Winteceastre, ond Ecgulf cynges horsþegn, ond -- conjunction; and -- and Beornulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Bernuff -- Bernuff wīcgerēfa -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lit. wick-reeve -governor on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Winteceastre -- proper noun, feminine; dative singular of Winchester -Winchester ond -- conjunction; and -- and Ecgulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Egulf -- Egulf cynges -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of king -- the king's horsþegn -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of horse-thane -horse-thane ond manige ēac him, þēh ic ðā geðungnestan nemde.

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ond -- conjunction; and -- and manige -- adjective; nominative plural of many -- many ēac -- adverb; also, even, moreover -- also him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- with them þēh -- adverbial conjunction; yet, though, however -- though ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I ðā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the geðungnestan -- adjective used as substantive; superlative grown, excellent, distinguished -- most distinguished nemde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of name, call -- have named Þȳ ilcan gēare drehton þā hergas on Ēastenglum ond on Norðhymbrum Westseaxna

lond swīðe be þǣm sūðstæðe mid stælhergum, ealra swīþust mid ðǣm æscum þe hīe fela gēara ǣr timbredon.

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þȳ -- de nite article; instrumental singular neuter of the -- (in) the ilcan -- adjective; instrumental singular neuter of same -- same gēare -- noun, neuter; instrumental singular of year -- year drehton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of a ict, harass -- harassed þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the hergas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of (enemy) army -- plunderers on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Ēastenglum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of East Angles, East Anglia -- East Anglia ond -- conjunction; and -- and on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- ... Norðhymbrum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of Northumbrians, Northumbria -- Northumbria Westseaxna -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of West Saxons, Wessex -- of the West Saxons lond -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of land, realm, country -- the land swīðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- greatly be -- preposition; at, by, near -- around þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- the sūðstæðe -- noun, neuter; dative singular of south shore -- southern shore mid -- preposition; with -- with stælhergum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of marauding army -marauding bands ealra -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of all -- of all swīþust -- adverb; superlative of very, exceedingly -- most mid -- preposition; with -- with ðǣm -- de nite article; dative plural of the -- ... æscum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of ash (tree), spear; boat, ship -- ships þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- which hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they fela -- indeclinable adjective; much, many -- many gēara -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of year -- years ǣr -- adverb; ere, before, formerly -- before timbredon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of build, construct -- built

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Þā hēt Ælfred cyng timbran lang scipu ongēn ðā æscas; þā -- adverb; then, when -- then hēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of call, name; order -- ordered Ælfred -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Alfred -- Alfred cyng -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of king -- King timbran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of build, construct -- (his men) to build # subject understood lang -- adjective; accusative plural of long -- long scipu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of ship -- ships ongēn -- preposition; against, back -- against ðā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the æscas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of ash (tree), spear; boat, ship -(Danish) ships þā wǣron fulnēah tū swā lange swā þā ōðru; þā -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were fulnēah -- adverb; almost, very nearly -- almost # "full nigh" tū -- numeral; nominative plural neuter of twain, two -- twice swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as lange -- adjective; nominative plural of long -- long swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the ōðru -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of other, next, second -others sume hæfdon LX āra, sume mā;

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sume -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of some, a certain -some hæfdon -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of have, possess -- had LX -- numeral; sixty -- 60 āra -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of oar -- (of) oars sume -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of some, a certain -some mā -- adjective; anomalous comparative of much, great -- more # (idiomatic) þā wǣron ǣgðer ge swiftran ge unwealtran ge ēac hīerran þonne þā ōðru; þā -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were ǣgðer -- conjunction; both...and -- both ge -- conjunction; both...and, either...or -- ... swiftran -- adjective; comparative swift -- swifter ge -- conjunction; both...and, either...or -- and unwealtran -- adjective; comparative steady -- steadier ge -- conjunction; both...and, either...or -- and ēac -- adverb; also, even, moreover -- also hīerran -- adjective; comparative high -- higher þonne -- adverb; then, when -- than # (with comparative above) þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the ōðru -- adjective used as substantive; nominative plural of other, next, second -others nǣron nāwðer ne on Frēsisc gescæpene ne on Denisc, būton swā him selfum ðūhte þæt hīe nytwyrðoste bēon meahten.

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nǣron -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -- (they) were # double negative, for emphasis nāwðer -- conjunction; neither...nor -- neither ne -- adverb; not -- ... # double negative, for emphasis on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on Frēsisc -- proper adjective; accusative singular of Frisian -- the Frisian gescæpene -- strong verb, class VI; past participle shape, create -- shaped ne -- adverb; not -- nor on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on Denisc -- proper adjective; accusative singular of Danish -- the Danish (model) būton -- conjunction; unless; except (that) -- but swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- as him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- (to) he selfum -- re exive pronoun; dative singular of self, same -- himself ðūhte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of seem, appear; think -- (it) seemed þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- ... # correlative with þæt below hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they nytwyrðoste -- adjective; superlative useful -- most useful bēon -- anomalous verb; in nitive of be, become, exist -- be meahten -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite subjunctive of may, be able to -- might Þā æt sumum cirre þæs ilcan gēares cōmon þǣr sex scipu tō Wiht, ond þǣr mycel yfel gedydon, ǣgðer ge on Defenum ge wel hwǣr be ðǣm sǣriman.

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... æt -- preposition; at, against -- at sumum -- adjective; dative singular masculine of some, a certain -- a certain cirre -- noun, masculine; dative singular of occasion, time, turn -- time þæs -- de nite article; genitive singular neuter of the -- (of) the ilcan -- adjective; genitive singular neuter of same -- same gēares -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of year -- year cōmon -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite of come -- came þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there sex -- numeral; six -- six scipu -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of ship -- ships # i.e., Danish Viking ships tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to Wiht -- proper noun, feminine; accusative singular of (Isle of) Wight -- (the Isle of) Wight ond -- conjunction; and -- and þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there mycel -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of much, great -- much yfel -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of evil, mischief, wickedness -- mischief gedydon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of act, do, bring to pass -- did ǣgðer -- conjunction; both...and -- both ge -- conjunction; both...and, either...or -- ... on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in Defenum -- proper noun, masculine plural; dative of Devonians, Devonshire -Devonshire ge -- conjunction; both...and, either...or -- and wel hwǣr -- adverb; almost everywhere -- almost everywhere be -- preposition; at, by, near -- near ðǣm -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the sǣriman -- noun, masculine; dative singular of seashore, seacoast -seacoast Þā hēt se cyng faran mid nigonum tō þāra nīwena scipa;

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- then hēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of call, name; order -- ordered se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the cyng -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of king -- king faran -- strong verb, class VI; in nitive of go, ride, travel -- to go mid -- preposition; with -- with nigonum -- numeral; dative plural of nine -- nine tō -- preposition; (in)to -- (of) þāra -- de nite article; genitive plural of the -- the nīwena -- adjective; genitive plural of new, fresh -- new scipa -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of ship -- ships ond forfōran him þone mūðan foran on ūtermere. ond -- conjunction; and -- and forfōran -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of obstruct, get in front of -- (they) blocked him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- ... # the Danes' escape via... þone -- de nite article; accusative singular masculine of the -- the mūðan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of mouth of a river, estuary -mouth of the river foran -- adverb; before, in front -- in front on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- (of) ūtermere -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of outer sea, open sea -the open sea Þā fōron hīe mid þrim scipum ūt ongēn hīe, ond þrēo stōdon æt ufeweardum þǣm mūðan on drȳgum;

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þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... fōron -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of go, ride, travel -- rode hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they mid -- preposition; with -- with þrim -- numeral; dative plural of three -- three scipum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of ship -- ships ūt -- adverb; out -- out ongēn -- preposition; against, back -- against hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of he, she, it -- them # Alfred's men ond -- conjunction; and -- and þrēo -- numeral; nominative plural neuter of three -- three stōdon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of stand -- remained æt -- preposition; at, against -- ... ufeweardum -- adjective; dative singular of upward -- upwards (of) þǣm -- de nite article; dative singular neuter of the -- the mūðan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of mouth of a river, estuary -- river mouth on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on drȳgum -- adjective; dative singular of dry -- dry (ground) wǣron þā men uppe on londe of āgāne. wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -(had) þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the men -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of man, person -- men uppe -- adverb; up, above -- up on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- inlonde -- strong noun, neuter; dative singular of land, realm, country -- land of -- preposition; from, of -- ... āgāne -- anomalous verb; past participle of pass, occur, lit. away go -- gone away

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Þā gefēngon hīe þāra þrēora scipa tū æt ðǣm mūðan ūteweardum, ond þā men ofslōgon, ond þæt ān oðwand; þā -- adverb; then, when -- ... gefēngon -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person plural preterite of take, seize -- took # gefangen or gefongen hīe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þāra -- de nite article; genitive plural of the -- of the þrēora -- numeral; genitive plural of three -- three scipa -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of ship -- ships tū -- numeral; accusative plural neuter of twain, two -- two æt -- preposition; at, against -- at ðǣm -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the mūðan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of mouth of a river, estuary -- river mouth ūteweardum -- adjective; dative singular masculine of outward -- outer ond -- conjunction; and -- and þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the men -- strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of man, person -- men ofslōgon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of slay, destroy -- slew ond -- conjunction; and -- and þæt -- de nite article; nominative singular neuter of the -- the ān -- inde nite article; nominative singular of a, an, one -- (other) one oðwand -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of escape -- escaped on þǣm wǣron ēac þā men ofslægene būton fīfum...

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on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on þǣm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were ēac -- adverb; also, even, moreover -- also þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the men -- strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of man, person -- men ofslægene -- strong verb, class VI; past participle of slay, destroy -- slain būton -- preposition; without, except for -- except for fīfum -- numeral; dative plural of ve -- ve

Lesson Text

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Ðā þæs on sumera on ðysum gēre tōfōr se here, sum on Ēastengle, sum on Norðhymbre. Ond þā þe feohlēase wǣron him þǣr scipu begēton, ond sūð ofer sǣ fōron tō Sigene. Næfde se here, Godes þonces, Angelcyn ealles forswīðe gebrocod, ac hīe wǣron micle swīþor gebrocede on þǣm þrim gēarum mid cēapes cwilde ond monna; ealles swīþost mid þǣm þæt manige þāra sēlestena cynges þēna þe þǣr on londe wǣron forðfērdon on þǣm þrym gēarum. Þāra wæs sum Swīðulf biscop on Hrōfesceastre, ond Cēolmund ealdormon on Cent, ond Beorhtulf ealdormon on Ēastseaxum, ond Wulfred ealdormon Hāmtūnscīre, ond Ealhheard biscop æt Dorceceastre, ond Ēadulf cynges þegn on Sūðseaxum, ond Beornulf wīcgerēfa on Winteceastre, ond Ecgulf cynges horsþegn, ond manige ēac him, þēh ic ðā geðungnestan nemde. Þȳ ilcan gēare drehton þā hergas on Ēastenglum ond on Norðhymbrum Westseaxna lond swīðe be þǣm sūðstæðe mid stælhergum, ealra swīþust mid ðǣm æscum þe hīe fela gēara ǣr timbredon. Þā hēt Ælfred cyng timbran lang scipu ongēn ðā æscas; þā wǣron fulnēah tū swā lange swā þā ōðru; sume hæfdon LX āra, sume mā; þā wǣron ǣgðer ge swiftran ge unwealtran ge ēac hīerran þonne þā ōðru; nǣron nāwðer ne on Frēsisc gescæpene ne on Denisc, būton swā him selfum ðūhte þæt hīe nytwyrðoste bēon meahten. Þā æt sumum cirre þæs ilcan gēares cōmon þǣr sex scipu tō Wiht, ond þǣr mycel yfel gedydon, ǣgðer ge on Defenum ge wel hwǣr be ðǣm sǣriman. Þā hēt se cyng faran mid nigonum tō þāra nīwena scipa; ond forfōran him þone mūðan foran on ūtermere. Þā fōron hīe mid þrim scipum ūt ongēn hīe, ond þrēo stōdon æt ufeweardum þǣm mūðan on drȳgum; wǣron þā men uppe on londe of āgāne. Þā gefēngon hīe þāra þrēora scipa tū æt ðǣm mūðan ūteweardum, ond þā men ofslōgon, ond þæt ān oðwand; on þǣm wǣron ēac þā men ofslægene būton fīfum...

Translation

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In summer in this year the enemy dispersed, some into East Anglia, some into Northumbria. Those who were without money got themselves ships there, and went south over the sea to the Seine. The enemy had not, by the mercy of God, entirely crushed the English altogether, but they were a icted much more in those three years by pestilence of cattle and of men; most of all among them many of the best of the king's thanes who were there in the land died within those three years. One of these was Swithulf, bishop in Rochester, and Ceolmund, a nobleman in Kent, and Bertulf, a nobleman in Essex, and Wulfred, a nobleman in Hampshire, and Elhard, bishop at Dorchester, and Eadulf, the king's thane in Sussex, and Bernuff, governor in Winchester, Egulf, the king's horse-thane, and many also with them, though I have named (only) the most distinguished. In the same year the plunderers in East Anglia and Northumbria greatly harassed the land of the West Saxons around the southern shore with marauding bands, most of all with ships which they built many years before. Then King Alfred ordered (his men) to build long ships (to be used) against the (Danish) ships; they were almost twice as long as the others; some had 60 oars, some more. They were both swifter and steadier and also higher than the others; they were shaped neither on the Frisian nor on the Danish (model), but as it seemed -- to he himself -- they might be most useful. At a certain time of the same year there came six ships to (the Isle of) Wight, and did much mischief there, both in Devonshire and almost everywhere near the seacoast. Then the King ordered (his men) to go (out) with nine of the new ships; and they blocked the mouth of the river in front of the open sea. They rode out against them with three ships, and three (others) remained upwards of the river mouth on dry (ground); the men had gone away, up inland. They took two of the three ships at the outer river mouth, and slew the men, and the (other) one escaped; the men on it were also slain, except for ve...

Grammar 21 De nite/Demonstrative Articles/Pronouns The de nite articles may as well be considered suppletive, as they are di cult to predict. There are two numbers (singular, plural), three genders in the singular (masculine, feminine, neuter), and ve cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental). Singular

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Masculine

 

Feminine

 

Neuter

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Nom.

 

se 'the'

 

sēo, sīo

 

ðæt, tæt

Gen.

 

ðæs

 

ðǣre

 

ðæs

Dat.

 

ðǣm, ðām

 

ðǣre

 

ðǣm, ðām

Acc.

 

ðone

 

ðā

 

ðæt, tæt

Ins.

 

ðȳ, ðē, ðon

 

ðǣre

 

ðȳ, ðē, ðon

The plural forms do not exhibit gender; or, alternately, one might say that all three genders have the same form in each case: Plural

 

M/F/N

Nom.

 

ðā

Gen.

 

ðāra, ðǣra

Dat.

 

ðǣm, ðām

Acc.

 

ðā

Ins.

 

ðǣm, ðām

Alternative spellings are common, including of course ð rendered as þ. The neuter form ðæt looks familiar to a modern English speaker because it survived as the demonstrative article/pronoun 'that'. In Old English, the de nite article above also served as the demonstrative article/pronoun 'that, those', with the difference that the pronoun was stressed and the masculine nominative form is therefore usually spelled sē.

Corresponding to 'that, those', modern English has the demonstrative 'this, these', which is derived from the Old English neuter demonstrative form ðis: Singular

 

Masculine

 

Feminine

 

Neuter

Nom.

 

ðes 'this'

 

ðēos

 

ðis

Gen.

 

ðis(s)es

 

ðisse, ðeosse

 

ðis(s)es

Dat.

 

ðis(s)um

 

ðisse, ðeosse

 

ðis(s)um

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Acc.

 

ðisne

 

ðās

 

ðis

Ins.

 

ðȳs, ðīs

 

---

 

ðȳs, ðīs

Again the plural forms do not indicate distinct gender: Plural

 

M/F/N

Nom.

 

ðās 'these'

Gen.

 

ðissa, ðeossa

Dat.

 

ðis(s)um, ðeos(s)um

Acc.

 

ðās

Ins.

 

ðis(s)um, ðeos(s)um

In some forms an s might be doubled or singled, as indicated; other variant spellings are also shown. Again, when used as a demonstrative pronoun, stress was applied and is therefore usually indicated by spelling the masculine nominative form as ðēs.

22 The Numerals The OE word for 'one', ān, was not well distinguished as it served also in the role of inde nite article (for example, in this lesson text); as such it could be in ected (for example, the

[inherently singular] dative ānum in lessons 3 and 4), and combined with the negative particle

ne (for example nān in lesson 4).

In theory the OE words for 'two' and 'three', twēgen,

twā, tū and þrīe, þrēo, þrēo respectively,

re ect gender -- like pronouns -- depending on what the forms referred to (i.e., what they were counting), but only the nominative/accusative forms show distinct gender. When nominal referents have different genders, the neuter form is normal. In practice the use of relevant gender forms is inconsistent. Grammatical number is, of course, inherently plural. The in ected forms for 'two' and 'three' are shown in the following tables. 'two'

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Neut.

Nom.

 

twēgen

 

twā

 

tū, twā

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Gen.

 

twēgra

 

twēgra

 

twēgra

Dat.

 

twǣm

 

twǣm

 

twǣm

Acc.

 

twēgen

 

twā

 

tū, twā

Spelling Notes The r in genitive twēgra is optional, or can be replaced by e; the dative can be spelled twām as in the lesson 4 text. The pronoun bēgen 'both' (not shown) is in ected like twēgen,

twā, tū, but

exhibits many variations. 'three'

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Neut.

Nom.

 

þrīe

 

þrēo

 

þrēo

Gen.

 

þrēora

 

þrēora

 

þrēora

Dat.

 

þrīm

 

þrīm

 

þrīm

Acc.

 

þrīe

 

þrēo

 

þrēo

Spelling Notes The dative þrīm can be spelled þrim, as in our lesson text; the long ē vowels can be long ī (þrīo,

þrīora).

Higher-Order Numerals Higher-order numerals (above 'three', e.g. fīf ' ve' and nigon 'nine' in this lesson) may also be in ected for case, but they identify no gender; however, in ection is normally absent when the numeral is used adjectivally to modify a noun. The in ectional case endings, when used, were nominative/accusative -e, genitive -a, and dative -um. Some unin ected cardinal forms are listed in the following table: Cardinals

 

0 + ...

 

10 + ...

 

10 * ...

1=

 

(ān)

 

endlefan

 

 

2=

 

(twā)

 

twelf

 

twēntig

3=

 

(þrēo)

 

þrēotīene

 

þrītig

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4=

 

fēower

 

fēowertīene

 

fēowertig

5=

 

fīf

 

fīftīene

 

fīftig

6=

 

siex

 

siextīene

 

siextig

7=

 

seofon

 

seofontīene

 

seofontig

8=

 

eahta

 

eahtatīene

 

eahtatig

9=

 

nigon

 

nigontīene

 

nigontig

10 =

 

tīen

 

 

 

hund

Spelling Notes The spelling of fēower can also be fīower; of siex, six or sex or syx; of seofon, siofon; of tīen,

tȳn; of endlefan, endleofan or endlufan; of hund, hundred. The -tīene su x is also spelled tēne or -tȳne. Roman numerals might also be used, as for example LX in our lesson text. 23 Preterite-Present Verbs in Class V Preterite-Present verbs were introduced and described in lesson 3, §15. Our text in this lesson, as well as texts in other lessons, contains the preterite-present verb magan 'may, be able to', which evolved into modern English may and might; we illustrate Class V with magan and another preterite-present verb, nugan 'su ce'. Pret-Pres. V

 

1

 

2

In nitive

 

magan

 

nugan

In ected In n.

 

tō maganne

 

tō nuganne

Imperative Sg.

 

mag

 

nug

Imperative Pl.

 

magað

 

nugað

Pres. Participle

 

magende

 

nugende

Past Participle

 

meahten

 

nohten

Gerund

 

magenne

 

nugenne

 

 

 

 

 

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Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

mæg

 

neah

2 Sg.

 

magest

 

nugest

3 Sg.

 

mæg

 

neah

Plural

 

magon

 

nugon

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

mage

 

nuge

Plural

 

magen

 

nugen

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

meahte

 

nohte

2 Sg.

 

meahtest

 

nohtest

3 Sg.

 

meahte

 

nohte

Plural

 

meahton

 

nohton

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

meahte

 

nohte

Plural

 

meahten

 

nohten

24 Strong Verbs in Class VI The nominal four-vowel ablaut pattern is -a-, -ō-, -ō-, -a-; ancient sound changes resulted in variations that we illustrate with 3 example conjugations.

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Our text in this lesson (and others) contains the verbs standan 'stand', and gescieppan 'shape, create' formed from the pre x ge- (discussed elsewhere) plus the verb scieppan 'create'; the

text in lesson 3 contains the verb ofslean 'slay, destroy', formed from the pre x of- plus the verb

slean 'strike'. We conjugate these three to illustrate the strong verbs in Class VI, which as usual exhibit spelling variations (not all listed here) due to sound changes including dialectal differences. Strong VI

 

In nitive

 

In ected In n.

1

 

standan, stondan

2

 

3

'create'

 

slean 'strike'

scieppan, scyppan

'stand'

 

 

tō standanne

 

tō scieppanne

 

tō sleanne

Imperative Sg.

 

stand

 

sciepp

 

sleah

Imperative Pl.

 

standað

 

scieppað

 

sleað

Pres. Participle

 

standende

 

scieppende

 

ende

Past Participle

 

standen

 

sceapen, scepen

 

slagen, slægen

Gerund

 

standenne

 

scieppenne

 

enne

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

1 Sg.

 

stande

 

scieppe

 

slege (?)

2 Sg.

 

standest

 

scieppest

 

slegest (?)

3 Sg.

 

standeð, stent, stynt

 

scieppeð

 

slegeð (?)

Plural

 

standað, stondað

 

scieppað

 

slegað (?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

Singular

 

stande

 

scieppe

 

slege (?)

Plural

 

standen

 

scieppen

 

slegen (?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

 

3

1 Sg.

 

stōd

 

scōp, scēop

 

slōh, slōg

2 Sg.

 

stōde

 

scōpe

 

slōge

3 Sg.

 

stōd

 

scōp, scēop

 

slōh, slōg

Plural

 

stōdon, stōdan

 

scōpon, scēopon

 

slōgon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

 

3

Singular

 

stōde

 

scōpe

 

slōge

Plural

 

stōden

 

scōpen

 

slōgen

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong VI verbs in our lesson texts includes wade, withstand.

25 Strong Verbs in Class VII Strong Class VII is the "dumping ground" for the otherwise unclassi ed strong verbs in Old English. The four-vowel ablaut patterns are quite variable, except that the two preterite vowels generally distribute the patterns into 2 subclasses: the -ē--preterite subclass with the pattern -, -ē-, -ē-, -; and the -ēo--preterite subclass with the pattern -, -ēo-, -ēo-, -.

In these patterns, the fourth ablaut vowel is generally the same as the rst. (Naturally, our example from this lesson violates that principle! Aside from being unusual in other ways.) Our text in this lesson contains the verb gefōn 'take, seize', formed from the pre x ge- plus the

verb fōn 'take, seize'; the text in lesson 4 contains feallan 'fall, ow'. We conjugate these two to illustrate the strong verbs in Class VII. Strong VII

 

1

 

2

In nitive

 

fōn 'seize'

 

feallan 'fall'

In ected In n.

 

tō fōnne

 

tō feallanne

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Imperative Sg.

 

fōh

 

feall

Imperative Pl.

 

fōð

 

feallað

Pres. Participle

 

fōnde

 

feallende

Past Participle

 

fongen

 

feallen

Gerund

 

fōnne

 

feallenne

 

 

 

 

 

Present Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

fō

 

fealle

2 Sg.

 

fēhst

 

feallest

3 Sg.

 

fēhð

 

fealleð

Plural

 

fōð

 

feallað

 

 

 

 

 

Present Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

fō

 

fealle

Plural

 

fōn

 

feallen

 

 

 

 

 

Preterite Indicative

 

1

 

2

1 Sg.

 

fēng

 

fēoll

2 Sg.

 

fēnge

 

fēolle

3 Sg.

 

fēng

 

fēoll

Plural

 

fēngon

 

fēollon

 

 

 

 

 

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Preterite Subjunctive

 

1

 

2

Singular

 

fēnge

 

fēolle

Plural

 

fēngen

 

fēollen

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Strong VII verbs in our lesson texts includes beat, hang, hold, sleep, and wax (grow).

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Old English Online Lesson 6 Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann A century after Alfred the Great, Danish Vikings still controlled a substantial part of Northumbria -- an area referred to as the Danelaw. From there and elsewhere, they continually raided southern areas of England. In an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 991, there is a simple report that Alderman Byrhtnoth was slain at Maldon; no other details are preserved in that source. However, a surviving fragment of an epic poem records the event and, in so doing, presents what is surely the most magni cent portrait of Anglo-Saxon comitatus loyalty in Old English literature. In August of that year, Danish forces had sailed to the mouth of the Panta (now Blackwater) River in Essex, and established a garrison on an island; Byrhtnoth arrived with an Essex levy, intending to drive the invaders away. As the tide ebbed and the Vikings struggled to cross a narrow ford, easily defended by the English, the Danish leader boldly asked to be allowed to advance unimpeded and establish a position on the shore prior to resuming a proper ght. Byrhtnoth -- proud and over-con dent -- acceded to this request. It was a fatal mistake. Byrhtnoth and many noble comrades fell in battle, and the English suffered utter defeat. Reading and Textual Analysis The Battle of Maldon seems to have been written not long after the engagement itself, although the poet has no doubt put his own words into the mouths of the warriors. Those attributed to Byrhtwold in lines 312-319, after Byrhtnoth had fallen, capture the spirit of the brave who stayed to ght though the battle was lost: "Thought must be the sterner, heart the bolder, mood must be the stouter, as our strength lessens. Here lies our lord all cut down, brave on the ground; forever may he lament who thinks now to run away from this battle. I am old in life: I will not go away, but I resolve to lie myself beside my lord, by the man so loved." This speech must have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien a thousand years later, though he gave different words to the lone "Anglo-Saxon" rider of Rohan who would defend the body of the king from the Nazgûl Lord and his fell beast: "Do what you will; but I will hinder it, if I may. ... You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless! For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him" (from The Battle of the Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King).

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The Battle of Maldon represents the last known Old English epic poem written before the Norman invasion. Our selection includes lines 295-325, found on p. 120 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. Ðā wearð borda gebræc;         brimmen wōdon, gūðe gegremode;         gār oft þurhwōd fǣges feorhhūs.

ðā -- adverb; then, when -- then wearð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of become, happen -- (there) was borda -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of board, shield -- of shields gebræc -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite of break, destroy, subdue -- (a) breaking brimmen -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of sailor, lit. sea man -seamen wōdon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of wade, stride over -- advanced gūðe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of battle -- by battle gegremode -- weak verb, class II; past participle enrage -- enraged gār -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of spear -- spear oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often þurhwōd -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of pierce, penetrate -- pierced fǣges -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of doomed, fated -- (a) doomed feorhhūs -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of body, lit. life-house -- body       Forð þā ēode Wīstān, Þūrstānes sunu,         wið þās secgas feaht;

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forð -- adverb; forth, thence -- forth þā -- adverb; then, when -- then ēode -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of go, walk, move -- went Wīstān -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Wistan -- Wistan Þūrstānes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of Thurstan -Thurstan's sunu -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of son -- son wið -- preposition; against, along -- against þās -- demonstrative article; accusative plural of this -- the secgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of man, warrior -- men feaht -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of ght -- fought hē wæs on geþrange         hyra þrēora bana,

ǣr him Wīgelmes bearn         on þām wæle lǣge. hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in geþrange -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of throng, tumult -- the throng hyra -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- of them þrēora -- numeral; genitive plural of three -- of three bana -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of bane, slayer -- the slayer ǣr -- adverb; ere, before, formerly -- before him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- ... Wīgelmes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of Wigelin -- Wigelin's bearn -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of child -- son on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- among þām -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the wæle -- noun, neuter; dative singular of carnage; battle eld -- dead lǣge -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of lie, extend, be situated -- lay Þǣr wæs stīð gemōt:         stōdon fæste wigan on gewinne;

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þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was stīð -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of stiff, stern, brave -- (a) brave gemōt -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of meeting, council, assembly -meeting stōdon -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person plural preterite of stand -- stood fæste -- adverb; fast, rmly, securely -- fast wigan -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of warrior -- ghters on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in gewinne -- noun, neuter; dative singular of battle, strife, struggle -- the strife       wīgend cruncon, wundum wērige;         wæl fēol on eorþan. wīgend -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of warrior -- warriors cruncon -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite of cringe, yield; die -- died wundum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of wound -- (by) wounds wērige -- adjective; nominative plural of weary, exhausted -- exhausted wæl -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of carnage; battle eld -- the slain fēol -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of fall, ow -- fell on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- to eorþan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of earth -- earth Ōswold and Ealdwold         ealle hwīle,

bēgen þā gebrōþru,         beornas trymedon,

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Ōswold -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Oswold -- Oswold and -- conjunction; and -- and Ealdwold -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Ealdwold -Ealdwold ealle -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of all -- all hwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of while, time -- the while bēgen -- pronoun; nominative dual masculine of both -- both þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the gebrōþru -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of brother -- brothers beornas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of man, nobleman -- the men trymedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of exhort, encourage -- encouraged hyra winemāgas         wordon bǣdon

þæt hī þǣr æt ðearfe         þolian sceoldon, unwāclīce         wǣpna nēotan.

hyra -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their winemāgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of dear-, lit. friendkinsman -- kinsmen wordon -- noun, neuter; instrumental plural of word, speech -- by words bǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of bid, beseech, urge -- beseeched þæt -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of who, which, that -- that hī -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there æt -- preposition; at, against -- against ðearfe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of need, requirement -- need þolian -- weak verb, class II; in nitive of endure, hold out -endure sceoldon -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of shall, ought to -- should unwāclīce -- adverb; bravely, unwaveringly -- unwaveringly wǣpna -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of weapon -- (their) weapons nēotan -- strong verb, class II; in nitive of use, employ -use

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Byrhtwold maþelode,         bord hafenode, sē wæs eald genēat,         æsc ācwehte, hē ful baldlīce         beornas lǣrde:

Byrhtwold -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Byrhtwold -Byrhtwold maþelode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of speak, address, harangue -- spoke bord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of board, shield -- (his) shield hafenode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of raise, lift up -- raised sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was eald -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of old -- (an) old genēat -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of companion, retainer -retainer æsc -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of ash (tree), spear; boat, ship -- (his) ash spear ācwehte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of shake, brandish; quiver -- shook hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he ful -- adverb; fully, completely -- full baldlīce -- adverb; boldly -- boldly beornas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of man, nobleman -- the men lǣrde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of teach, advise, exhort -- exhorted 'Hige sceal þē heardra,         heorte þē cēnre,

mōd sceal þē māre,         þē ūre mægen lȳtlað.

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hige -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of heart, mind, soul -- thought sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of shall, ought to -- must be þē -- adverb; the -- the heardra -- adjective; comparative of stern, strong -- sterner heorte -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of heart -- heart þē -- adverb; the -- the cēnre -- adjective; comparative of bold -- bolder mōd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of mood, mind -- mood sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of shall, ought to -- must be þē -- adverb; the -- the māre -- adjective; comparative of great, stout -- stouter þē -- conjunction; as -- as ūre -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of I -- our mægen -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of might, strength -- strength lȳtlað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of lessen, diminish -- lessens Hēr līð ūre ealdor         eall forhēawen, gōd on grēote;

hēr -- adverb; here -- here līð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular present of lie, extend, be situated -- lies ūre -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of I -- our ealdor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of elder, parent, prince -- lord eall -- adverb; all -- all forhēawen -- strong verb, class VII; past participle hew, cut down -- cut down gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of good, excellent -- brave on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on grēote -- noun, neuter; dative singular of grit, dust, earth -- the ground       ā mæg gnornian

sē ðe nū fram þīs wīgplegan         wendan þenceð.

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ā -- adverb; always, ever -- forever mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- may gnornian -- weak verb, class II; in nitive of mourn, lament -- lament sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he ðe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who nū -- adverb; now -- now fram -- preposition; from -- away from þīs -- demonstrative article; instrumental singular masculine of this -this wīgplegan -- noun, masculine; instrumental singular of battle, lit. war-play -battle wendan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of wend, turn, go -- to run þenceð -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present of think, intend, resolve -- thinks Ic eom frōd fēores:         fram ic ne wille, ac ic mē be healfe         mīnum hlāforde be swā lēofan men         licgan þence.'

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ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I eom -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -am frōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of old, wise, experienced -- old fēores -- strong noun, masc/neut; genitive singular of life -- life fram -- preposition; from -- away ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I ne -- adverb; not -- not wille -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular present indicative of wish, be willing -- will ac -- conjunction; and, but, however -- but ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I mē -- 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of I -- myself be -- preposition; at, by, near -- behealfe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of half, part, side -- side mīnum -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective I -- my hlāforde -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of lord, master -- lord be -- preposition; at, by, near -- by swā -- adverb; so, thus -- so lēofan -- adjective; dative singular of lief, dear, beloved -- loved men -- strong noun, masculine; dative singular of man, person -- the man licgan -- strong verb, class V; in nitive of lie, extend, be situated -- to lie þence -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular present of think, intend, resolve -- resolve Swā hī Æþelgāres bearn         ealle bylde Godrīc tō gūþe:

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swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- so hī -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative plural of he, she, it -- them Æþelgāres -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of Aethelgar -Aethelgar's bearn -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of child -- son ealle -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of all -- all bylde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of cheer, encourage -- cheered Godrīc -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Godric -- Godric tō -- preposition; (in)to -- in gūþe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of battle -- battle       oft hē gār forlēt,

wælspere windan         on þā wīcingas,

swā hē on þām folce         fyrmest ēode, hēow and hȳnde,         oð þæt hē on hilde gecranc;

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oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he gār -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of spear -- spear forlēt -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of leave, abandon -- loosed wælspere -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of deadly spear -- deadly spear windan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of wind, twist, turn -- to spin on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- into þā -- de nite article; accusative plural of the -- the wīcingas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of Viking, pirate -- Vikings swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- as hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- into þām -- de nite article; dative singular masculine of the -- the folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of folk, people -- host fyrmest -- adjective; superlative of rst -- foremost ēode -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of go, walk, move -- went hēow -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of hew, cut down, kill -- killed and -- conjunction; and -- and hȳnde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of despise, injure, insult -- injured oð þæt -- adverbial conjunction; until -- until hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in hilde -- strong noun, feminine; dative singular of battle, war -- battle gecranc -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of cringe, fall, perish -- fell næs þæt nā se Godrīc         þe ðā gūðe forbēah.

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næs -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -- was not þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of that -- that nā -- adverb; no, nor, not (at all) -- ... # double negative, for emphasis se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the Godrīc -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of Godric -- Godric þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who ðā -- de nite article; accusative singular feminine of the -- the gūðe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of battle -- ght forbēah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of ee from -- ed from

Lesson Text

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Ðā wearð borda gebræc;         brimmen wōdon, gūðe gegremode;         gār oft þurhwōd fǣges feorhhūs.         Forð þā ēode Wīstān, Þūrstānes sunu,         wið þās secgas feaht; hē wæs on geþrange         hyra þrēora bana, ǣr him Wīgelmes bearn         on þām wæle lǣge. Þǣr wæs stīð gemōt:         stōdon fæste wigan on gewinne;         wīgend cruncon, wundum wērige;         wæl fēol on eorþan. Ōswold and Ealdwold         ealle hwīle, bēgen þā gebrōþru,         beornas trymedon, hyra winemāgas         wordon bǣdon þæt hī þǣr æt ðearfe         þolian sceoldon, unwāclīce         wǣpna nēotan. Byrhtwold maþelode,         bord hafenode, sē wæs eald genēat,         æsc ācwehte, hē ful baldlīce         beornas lǣrde: 'Hige sceal þē heardra,         heorte þē cēnre, mōd sceal þē māre,         þē ūre mægen lȳtlað. Hēr līð ūre ealdor         eall forhēawen, gōd on grēote;         ā mæg gnornian sē ðe nū fram þīs wīgplegan         wendan þenceð. Ic eom frōd fēores:         fram ic ne wille, ac ic mē be healfe         mīnum hlāforde be swā lēofan men         licgan þence.' Swā hī Æþelgāres bearn         ealle bylde Godrīc tō gūþe:         oft hē gār forlēt, wælspere windan         on þā wīcingas, swā hē on þām folce         fyrmest ēode, hēow and hȳnde,         oð þæt hē on hilde gecranc; næs þæt nā se Godrīc         þe ðā gūðe forbēah.

Translation

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Then there was a breaking of shields; seamen advanced, enraged by battle; often spear pierced a doomed body. Then Wistan went forth, Thurstan's son, (and) fought against the men; he was the slayer of three of them in the throng, before Wigelin's son lay among the dead. There was a brave meeting: ghters stood fast in the strife; warriors died, exhausted by wounds; the slain fell to earth. Oswold and Ealdwold all the while, both the brothers, encouraged the men, beseeched their kinsmen by words that against need they should endure there, (and) unwaveringly use their weapons. Byrhtwold spoke, (and) raised his shield; he was an old retainer; he shook his ash spear (and) full boldly exhorted the men: "Thought must be the sterner, heart the bolder, mood must be the stouter, as our strength lessens. Here lies our lord all cut down, brave on the ground; forever may he lament who thinks now to run away from this battle. I am old in life: I will not (go) away, but I resolve to lie myself beside my lord, by the man so loved." So Aethelgar's son Godric cheered them all in battle: often he loosed spear, deadly spear to spin into the Vikings, as he went foremost into the host; he killed and injured, until he fell in battle; that was not the Godric who ed from the ght.

Grammar 26 The Anomalous Verb gān The text in lesson 2 introduced the suppletive 3rd person singular preterite indicative form ēode of the anomalous verb gān 'go, walk, move', also found in this lesson text. (Contrast with the modern English go, went, where the preterite form was borrowed from that of the verb wend,

went.) The text in lesson 3 added the plural ēodon. These and other forms are re ected in the following table:

gān 'go'

 

Indicative

 

Subjunctive

 

Imperative

1 Sg. Pres.

 

gā

 

gā

 

 

2 Sg. Pres.

 

gǣst

 

gā

 

gā

3 Sg. Pres.

 

gǣð

 

gā

 

 

Pl. Pres.

 

gāð

 

gān

 

gāð

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Sg. Pret.

 

ēode

 

ēode

 

 

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2 Sg. Pret.

 

ēodest

 

ēode

 

 

3 Sg. Pret.

 

ēode

 

ēode

 

 

Pl. Pret.

 

ēodon

 

ēoden

 

 

The present participle was gangende (or gānde) and the past participle was gegān (with geoptional: see §29 below). Of course, spelling differences might replace eth ð with thorn þ in present indicative and imperative forms.

27 Old English, a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) language The basic word order of Old English, a.k.a. Anglo-Saxon, came to have the subject in rst position and the verb in the second position. The order is not as consistent as in modern English, however, but is often modi ed for reasons of emphasis. The structure is clearest in prose, but also observed in verse when the poet does not modify it for emphasizing elements or in keeping with metrical requirements. In Beowulf line 5 (lesson 1), for example, the verb oftēah is nal in the verse because of the meter, but in line 6 egsode precedes the object in accordance with the basic order. The order is more closely maintained in the less rigorous verse of Caedmon in lesson 2, as in his rst sentence (line 41), Nū

wē sculan herian heofonrīces Weard 'Now we shall praise the

Lord of heaven', and in much of Bede's preceding prose, as in line 21 and following with the sequences hē

wæs 'he was', hē for 'he went', hē geseah 'he saw', but modi

ed for the sake of

emphasis in the rst two words of the passage and later as well. From other evidence it is clear that, earlier in time, the verb was placed last in the sentence as in the rst three lines of Beowulf, but that the order was not as strict as in modern English.

28 Word Order in Clauses with Compound Verbs Compound verbs made up of auxiliaries and participles generally place the participle last in the clause, as in Beowulf 12 wæs lesson 2) Wæs...

æfter cenned 'was then born' and in line 20 of Bede's account (in

geseted 'was... appointed'. This order is also generally observed for in nitives introduced by other auxiliaries, as in line 20 of Beowulf sceal... gewyrcean 'should... accomplish' and in passages such as line 23 of Bede's account Ne con ic nōht singan 'I can not sing', though not in line 41 cited above. As in simple clauses, the order is more free than in modern English. Several clauses in our lesson text, poetry though it be, bear this out.

29 The Pre x ge- Indicating Completed Action

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The pre x ge- is used with verbs in the past tense to indicate completed action in contrast with continuing action. In the passage in lesson 2, for example, geleornade 'learned' implies 'had

acquired mastery' [though of course negated in that passage by other words], as opposed to the pre x for- in forlēt which indicates an ongoing process. Other forms with ge- may be

examined in the same way for their implication, such as geseah, gesette, gewāt, and gesceōp in lesson 2, and numerous examples in other lesson texts; it has the same implication when used with the past participle, e.g. gegremode in the second line of our text.

30 Noun In ection Noun in ection is used to signal case and number. Six cases are reconstructed for ProtoGermanic (PGmc): nominative, vocative, genitive, dative, accusative, and instrumental. In Old English, the rst two forms had merged into one, as had dative and instrumental for nouns; for that matter, many OE nouns had a single form for nominative and accusative, meaning there were but three distinct forms in the singular and three in the plural. This is an unmistakable sign that word order was becoming an increasingly important component of syntax, which trend continued into the modern English period. The OE cases and their basic uses are: Nominative, the case of the subject and the predicate noun; Accusative, the case of the direct object, also following prepositions that indicate direction or movement; Genitive, the case indicating possession and relationship; Dative, the case of the indirect object, also following certain prepositions that indicate place or agent; Instrumental (not distinguished from dative among nouns), the case indicating means of action. In Indo-European languages, noun in ection is effected through su xes known as endings. In Proto-Indo-European (PIE) and early PGmc, endings were attached directly to roots. But a xes were added to roots already in late PIE to form bases, also known as stems, and endings were then attached to these stems. When a stress accent evolved in PGmc, it generally fell on the root; weakly stressed syllables (a xes and endings) were then often reduced. However, the declension classes in late PGmc and, accordingly, OE are labelled based on the earlier stems. These fall into 3 broad categories: 1.

root nouns (few members);

2.

vocalic stems (most common);

3.

consonant stems.

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Nouns are assigned to speci c declension classes on the basis of their PGmc stem a xes (as in categories 2 and 3 above) or lack thereof (as in category 1) because these left traces -- if not always obvious to the student -- in Old English. Gender may have an effect on the stem a xes, and therefore on in ection: nouns are not in ected to show gender, but rather are in ected based [in part] on it. Declension classes may be strongly, even exclusively, associated with gender. We list, here, three examples of common noun in ections; elaboration of declension classes will follow in subsequent lessons.

Case

 

Masc. Sg.

eorl

 

Masc. Pl.

 

'earl'

 

eorlas

 

 

eorles

 

eorla

 

eorle

 

eorlum

Nom/Acc.

 

Gen. Dat/Inst.

Fem. Sg.

lufu

 

Fem. Pl.

 

Neut. Sg.

 

Neut. Pl.

'word'

 

word

word

'love'

 

lufu

 

 

lufe

 

lufa

 

wordes

 

worda

 

lufe

 

lufum

 

worde

 

wordum

Because OE instrumental case forms of nouns (though not yet of pronouns and adjectives) had merged with the datives, so that those forms were the same, the instrumental case forms of nouns are not elaborated in our grammar. But while OE accusative noun forms were merging with the nominatives, there were yet some differences; therefore, accusative forms are listed, even though they are often the same as the nominative forms.

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Old English Online Lesson 7 Jonathan Slocum and Winfred P. Lehmann Close around the year 1000, an English monk made a copy of an older poem paraphrasing the rst half of the book of Genesis, up to the sacri ce of Isaac. No one knows what he was copying from, but his handiwork (which includes other texts) survives in a single bound volume now located in Oxford's Bodleian Library. The history of the manuscript is rather obscure, up until the time it was bequeathed to the library by Franciscus Junius in 1677, and the history of the Genesis poem in it is even less well known. Nowhere in these texts is authorship ascribed to anyone. Caedmon was the rst individual we know to have been posited as their author, based on Bede's description of his talents and interests, and for a long time the texts were commonly known as -- though not so rmly believed to be -- the poetry of Caedmon. As centuries passed this position continually weakened, and now only part of Genesis (if even that) is thought to be Caedmon's. Centuries of scholarship have settled on few conclusions regarding this work, but it has become clear that the original Genesis poem was in two parts, one of them labelled B being a translation of an Old Saxon poem dated to the early 9th century, and the other labelled A being a native Old English composition (perhaps originally Anglian, though recorded in West Saxon); which of the two poems is older, and how they came to be con ated, is much debated. A well defended position is that Genesis A dates to ca. 700, which would likely make it older than Beowulf, and might possibly be the work of Caedmon, though more likely it is not following the argument that the author was probably literate. Yet it might well represent the work of a poet in Caedmon's Northumbrian school, and with this unoriginal note we surrender all arguments to the scholars. Reading and Textual Analysis Our lesson text describes Noah taking his family into the ark, and there riding out the ood that covered even "the high mountains." Genesis A being a poetic paraphrase, there is no direct correspondence to the Hebrew scriptures, or even to the Latin Vulgate translation of them that the poet arguably must have studied. Our selection includes lines 1356-1391, found on pp. 42-43 in: George P. Krapp, ed. (1931), The Junius Manuscript, New York: Columbia University. The events portrayed are found in Genesis chapter 7.

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Him þa Noe gewat,         swa hine nergend het, under earce bord         eaforan lædan,

weras on wægþæl         and heora wif somed; him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative of he, she, it -- ... þa -- adverbial conjunction; then, when -- then Noe -- proper noun, masculine; Noah -- Noah gewat -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of depart, go -- went swa -- adverb; so, thus -- as hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him nergend -- noun, masculine; preserver, savior -- the savior het -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of call, name; order -- commanded under -- preposition; under -- on earce -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of ark -- the ark bord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of board, shield -- board eaforan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative plural of son, heir -- (his) sons lædan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of lead, bring -- to bring weras -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of man -- men on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- into wægþæl -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of ship, lit. wave-planking -- the ship and -- conjunction; and -- and heora -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their wif -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of wife, woman -- wives somed -- adverb; also, together -- also and eall þæt to fæsle         frea ælmihtig

habban wolde         under hrof gefor to heora ætgifan,         swa him ælmihtig

weroda drihten         þurh his word abead.

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and -- conjunction; and -- and eall -- adjective; all -- all þæt -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of who, which, that -- that to -- adverb; as, for -- for fæsle -- noun, neuter; dative singular of progeny, offspring -- progeny frea -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, master -- the Lord ælmihtig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of almighty -- almighty habban -- weak verb, class III; in nitive of have, possess -have wolde -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of wish, be willing -- would under -- preposition; under -- under hrof -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of roof -- the roof gefor -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of go, proceed -- (he) went to -- adverb; as, for -- as heora -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their ætgifan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of food-giver -- provider swa -- adverb; so, thus -- as him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him ælmihtig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of almighty -- the almighty weroda -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of army, band, host -- of hosts drihten -- noun, masculine; lord, prince, ruler -- Lord þurh -- preposition; through, by (means of) -- by his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular neuter of he, she, it -- his word -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of word, speech -- word abead -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of bid, announce -- bade Him on hoh beleac         heofonrices weard merehuses muð         mundum sinum, sigora waldend,         and segnade earce innan         agenum spedum nergend usser.

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him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him on hoh -- preposition; on(to), upon + noun, masculine; heel; promontory -behind beleac -- strong verb, class II; preterite singular of close, lock, shut -- shut heofonrices -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of kingdom of heaven -- of the kingdom of heaven weard -- noun, masculine; ward, guard, keeper -- the ward merehuses -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of sea-house -- of the ark muð -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of mouth -- the door mundum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of hand -- hands sinum -- 3rd person pronoun; used as adjective he, she, it -- with his sigora -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of victory -- of victories waldend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of wielder, ruler, lord -- the Lord and -- conjunction; and -- and segnade -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of bless, consecrate -- blessed earce -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of ark -- the ark innan -- preposition; in, within -- within agenum -- adjective; dative of own -- with (his) own spedum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of means, riches, success -- riches nergend -- noun, masculine; preserver, savior -- savior usser -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of I -- our       Noe hæfde,

sunu Lameches,         syxhund wintra þa he mid bearnum         under bord gestah, gleaw mid geogoðe,         be godes hæse, dugeðum dyrum.

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Noe -- proper noun, masculine; Noah -- Noah hæfde -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of have, possess -- had sunu -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of son -- son Lameches -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of Lamech -- Lamech's syxhund -- numeral; six hundred -- six hundred wintra -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of winter, year -- (of) years þa -- adverbial conjunction; then, when -- when he -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he mid -- preposition; with -- with bearnum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of child -- children under -- preposition; under -- on bord -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of board, shield -- board gestah -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of mount, ascend -- climbed gleaw -- adjective; nominative singular of wise, prudent -- the wise mid -- preposition; with -- with geogoðe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of youth, youngster -- the young be -- preposition; at, by, near -- at Godes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of God, Deity -- God's hæse -- noun, feminine; dative singular of behest, command -- behest dugeðum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of host, body of retainers; glory -family dyrum -- adjective; dative plural of dear, beloved -- with beloved       Drihten sende regn from roderum         and eac rume let willeburnan         on woruld þringan

of ædra gehwære,         egorstreamas swearte swogan.

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drihten -- noun, masculine; lord, prince, ruler -- the Lord sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of send -- sent regn -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of rain -- rain from -- preposition; from -- from roderum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of sky, heaven -- the heavens and -- conjunction; and -- and eac -- adverb; also, even, moreover -- also rume -- adverb; roomy, spacious -- abundantly let -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of let, allow -- allowed willeburnan -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of well-spring -- wellsprings on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- into woruld -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of world -- the world þringan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of throng, crowd, press -- to throng of -- preposition; from, of -- from ædra -- noun, feminine; artery, channel -- channels gehwære -- adverb; on every side, everywhere -- everywhere egorstreamas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of sea-stream, current -- currents swearte -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of dark, black, swarthy -- dark swogan -- strong verb, class VII; in nitive of resound, roar -- to roar       Sæs up stigon ofer stæðweallas. sæs -- noun, feminine; nominative plural sea, lake -- seas up -- adverb; up, upwards -- up stigon -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of rise, ascend -- rose ofer -- preposition; over, across -- over stæðweallas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of shore-wall -- shorewalls

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      Strang wæs and reðe se ðe wætrum weold; strang -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of strong -- strong wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was and -- conjunction; and -- and reðe -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of erce, cruel -- erce se -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he ðe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who wætrum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of water -- the waters weold -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of wield, direct -- directed       wreah and þeahte manfæhðu bearn         middangeardes wonnan wæge,         wera eðelland;

wreah -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of hide, cover -- covered and -- conjunction; and -- and þeahte -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of cover, conceal -- hid manfæhðu -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of wickedness -wickedness bearn -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of child -- the children middangeardes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of middle-earth, world -- of the world wonnan -- adjective; dative singular masculine of dark -- with dark wæge -- noun, masculine; dative singular of wave, billow -- billow wera -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of man -- of men eðelland -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of native land -- the land hof hergode,         hygeteonan wræc metod on monnum.

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hof -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of court; dwelling -- dwelling place hergode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of harry, raid, ravage -- ravaged hygeteonan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of injury, insult -havoc wræc -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of wreak, force; tell, utter -- wreaked metod -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of creator -- the Creator on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on monnum -- strong noun, masculine; dative plural of man, person -- men       Mere swiðe grap

on fæge folc         feowertig daga, nihta oðer swilc. mere -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of mere, lake, sea -- the sea swiðe -- adverb; very, exceedingly -- rmly grap -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of grasp, seize -- seized on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- upon fæge -- adjective; accusative singular of doomed, fated -- doomed folc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of folk, people -- people feowertig -- numeral; forty -- forty daga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of day -- (of) days nihta -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of night -- (of) nights oðer -- adjective; other, next, second -- another swilc -- pronoun; such -- such       Nið wæs reðe,

wællgrim werum;

nið -- noun, masculine; enmity, hostility -- anger wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was reðe -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of erce, cruel -- erce wællgrim -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of erce, cruel -- cruel werum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of man -- to men

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      wuldorcyninges

yða wræcon         arleasra feorh of flæschoman.

wuldorcyninges -- noun, neuter; glory, praise + strong noun, masculine; genitive singular king -- of the King of Glory yða -- strong noun, feminine; nominative plural of wave -- the waves wræcon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of wreak, force; tell, utter -- drove arleasra -- adjective; base, dishonorable, wicked -- wicked feorh -- strong noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of life -- life of -- preposition; from, of -- from flæschoman -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of body -body       Flod ealle wreah,

hreoh under heofonum         hea beorgas geond sidne grund         and on sund ahof earce from eorðan

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flod -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of ood, deluge -- the ood ealle -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of all -- all wreah -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of hide, cover -- covered hreoh -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of erce, wild, savage -- savage under -- preposition; under -- under heofonum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of heaven, sky -- the heavens hea -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of high -- the high beorgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of hill, mountain -- mountains geond -- preposition; over, through(out) -- on sidne -- adjective; accusative singular of wide, extensive -- ... grund -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of ground, earth -- earth and -- conjunction; and -- and on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on sund -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of sea, water -- the water ahof -- strong verb, class VI; 3rd person singular preterite of raise, lift up -- lifted up earce -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of ark -- the ark from -- preposition; from -- from eorðan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of earth -- the earth       and þa æðelo mid, þa segnade         selfa drihten,

scyppend usser,         þa he þæt scip beleac.

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and -- conjunction; and -- and þa -- demonstrative article; accusative singular feminine of that -- that æðelo -- indeclinable noun, feminine; accusative singular of noble race -- noble race mid -- adverb; within -- within þa -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular feminine of that -- that segnade -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of bless, consecrate -- blessed selfa -- re exive pronoun; nominative singular of self, same -- himself drihten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, prince, ruler -- the Lord scyppend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of shaper, creator -Creator usser -- 1st person pronoun; genitive plural of I -- our þa -- adverbial conjunction; then, when -- when he -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of that -- that scip -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of ship -- ship beleac -- strong verb, class II; preterite singular of close, lock, shut -- closed up

Lesson Text

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Him þa Noe gewat,         swa hine nergend het, under earce bord         eaforan lædan, weras on wægþæl         and heora wif somed; and eall þæt to fæsle         frea ælmihtig habban wolde         under hrof gefor to heora ætgifan,         swa him ælmihtig weroda drihten         þurh his word abead. Him on hoh beleac         heofonrices weard merehuses muð         mundum sinum, sigora waldend,         and segnade earce innan         agenum spedum nergend usser.         Noe hæfde, sunu Lameches,         syxhund wintra þa he mid bearnum         under bord gestah, gleaw mid geogoðe,         be godes hæse, dugeðum dyrum.         Drihten sende regn from roderum         and eac rume let willeburnan         on woruld þringan of ædra gehwære,         egorstreamas swearte swogan.         Sæs up stigon ofer stæðweallas.         Strang wæs and reðe se ðe wætrum weold;         wreah and þeahte manfæhðu bearn         middangeardes wonnan wæge,         wera eðelland; hof hergode,         hygeteonan wræc metod on monnum.         Mere swiðe grap on fæge folc         feowertig daga, nihta oðer swilc.         Nið wæs reðe, wællgrim werum;         wuldorcyninges yða wræcon         arleasra feorh of flæschoman.         Flod ealle wreah, hreoh under heofonum         hea beorgas geond sidne grund         and on sund ahof earce from eorðan         and þa æðelo mid, þa segnade         selfa drihten, scyppend usser,         þa he þæt scip beleac.

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Translation Then Noah went, as the Savior commanded him, to bring his sons on board the ark, men into the ship and their wives also; and all that the Lord Almighty would have for progeny. And he went under the roof as their provider, as the Almighty, the Lord of hosts, bade him by His word. Behind him the Ward of the kingdom of heaven shut the door of the ark with His hands, the Lord of victories, and blessed (those) within the ark with His own riches, our Savior. Noah, Lamech's son, had [was] six hundred years [old] when he climbed on board with (his) children, the wise with the young, at God's behest, with (his) beloved family. The Lord sent rain from the heavens and also abundantly allowed well-springs to throng into the world from channels everywhere, dark currents to roar. Seas rose up over shore-walls. Strong and erce was He who directed the waters; covered and hid wickedness, the children of the world with dark billow, the land of men; the Creator ravaged dwelling place, wreaked havoc on men. The sea rmly seized upon doomed people forty days (and) another such of nights. Anger was erce, cruel to men; the waves of the King of Glory drove wicked life from body. The ood, savage under the heavens, covered all the high mountains on earth and on the water lifted up from the earth the ark and that noble race within, that the Lord himself blessed, our Creator, when he closed up that ship.

Grammar 31 The Root Nouns The declension class with the most ancient origins includes the root nouns, where in ection is based on the root without an intervening a x (i.e. rather than on a stem formed from the root). This may also be called the radical consonant declension, as the in ectional ending is added to the [ nal] consonant of the radical (i.e. root); yet another label for this class is mutation plurals, as the [nominative/accusative] plural forms often incorporate a vowel change called umlaut. This class includes some neuter nouns, though only masculine and feminine exemplars are listed here.  

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

Nom.Sg.

 

monn 'man'

 

fōt 'foot'

 

tōð 'tooth'

 

bōc 'book'

 

burg 'borough'

Gen.Sg.

 

monnes

 

fōtes

 

tōðes

 

bōce

 

byrig

Dat.Sg.

 

menn

 

fēt

 

tēð

 

bēc

 

byrig

Acc.Sg.

 

monn

 

fōt

 

tōð

 

bōc

 

burg

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Nom.Pl.

 

menn

 

fēt

 

tēð

 

bēc

 

byrig

Gen.Pl.

 

monna

 

fōta

 

tōða

 

bōca

 

burga

Dat.Pl.

 

monnum

 

fōtum

 

tōðum

 

bōcum

 

burgum

Acc.Pl.

 

menn

 

fēt

 

tēð

 

bēc

 

byrig

Spelling Notes As always, in OE, spelling variations abound in the texts; for example, monn may be spelled

mon or mann or man, menn may be spelled men, and a "weak" accusative singular form monnan is also found. Variations are known, too, for forms of the other OE words above.

Other root nouns with umlaut that survived into modern English include goose/geese, louse/lice, mouse/mice, and cow/kine (the last, more prominent in Christmas carols of the 19th century and earlier).

32 The a-stem Strong Nouns The majority of Old English masculine and neuter nouns (but no feminine nouns) fall into the astem declension class; this class also includes the ja-stem and wa-stem nouns. To illustrate

where the label for this declension class originated (cf. lesson 6, §30), the following table shows the reconstructed evolution of one masculine word, for 'day', from Proto-Germanic (PGmc) roota x-ending (i.e., stem + ending) to OE:

a-stem

 

PGmc Masc.

 

 

 

OE Masc.

Nom.Sg.

 

*dag-a-z 'day'

 

>

 

dæg 'day'

Gen.Sg.

 

*dag-a-za

 

>

 

dæges

Dat.Sg.

 

*dag-a-i

 

>

 

dæge

Acc.Sg.

 

*dag-a-n

 

>

 

dæg

Nom.Pl.

 

*dag-a-zez

 

>

 

dagas

Gen.Pl.

 

*dag-a:-n

 

>

 

daga

Dat.Pl.

 

*dag-a-miz

 

>

 

dagum

Acc.Pl.

 

*dag-a-nz

 

>

 

dagas

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(N.B. The a-æ alternation illustrates a sound change called Anglo-Frisian Brightening, in which the sound of PGmc /a/ in Anglo-Frisian dialects was "brightened" to ae unless it preceded a

nasal; later, in OE, the ae came to sound like /a/ again when the next syllable contained one of the back vowels /a, o, u/ as in the plural forms above.) Other a-stem, ja-stem, and wa-stem nouns are shown in the tables below, without the evolutionary apparatus.

a-stems

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

 

Neut.

 

Neut.

Nom.Sg.

 

weall 'wall'

 

heofon 'heaven'

 

scip 'ship'

 

wæter 'water'

Gen.Sg.

 

wealles

 

heofones

 

scipes

 

wæteres

Dat.Sg.

 

wealle

 

heofone

 

scipe

 

wætere

Acc.Sg.

 

weall

 

heofon

 

scip

 

wæter

Nom.Pl.

 

weallas

 

heofonas

 

scipu

 

wæteru

Gen.Pl.

 

wealla

 

heofona

 

scipa

 

wætera

Dat.Pl.

 

weallum

 

heofonum

 

scipum

 

wæterum

Acc.Pl.

 

weallas

 

heofonas

 

scipu

 

wæteru

Spelling Notes A nominative/accusative singular form weal is also observed. The -u ending shown in the

nominative/accusative plural form wæteru is not always present: wæter is often observed. The ja-stem nouns had stems ending in -j- plus the vowel, resulting in modi cations of the

nominative ending. The masculine and neuter ja-stems may have variant forms in which -e- or

-i- precede the ending, as in the nominative plurals secgeas of secg 'man' and rīciu of rīce 'kingdom' (not shown), but they usually have the same endings as do the a-stems. ja-stems

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

 

Neut.

 

Neut.

Nom/Acc.Sg.

 

here 'army'

 

ǣfen 'evening'

 

cynn 'kin'

 

wēsten 'waste'

Gen.Sg.

 

heriges

 

ǣfennes

 

cynnes

 

wēstennes

Dat.Sg.

 

herige

 

ǣfenne

 

cynne

 

wēstenne

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Nom/Acc.Pl.

 

herigeas

 

ǣfennas

 

cynn

 

wēstennu

Gen.Pl.

 

herigea

 

ǣfenna

 

cynna

 

wēstenna

Dat.Pl.

 

herigum

 

ǣfennum

 

cynnum

 

wēstennum

Spelling Notes The -i- in all herig- forms is optional (e.g. herges), as is the -e- after -g- where it appears in the plural forms (e.g. herigas or even hergas). The doubling of n shown in forms of ǣfen and

wēsten is optional (e.g. ǣfenes, wēstene), as is its doubling in the nominative/accusative singular/plural forms cynn (e.g. cyn).

The few wa-stem nouns had stems ending in -w- plus the vowel, resulting in modi cations of

the nominative ending. They generally have -u or -o in the nominative/accusative singular (and, in the neuter, the nominative/accusative plural as well), and then -w- before the ending, but

otherwise they are in ected like the a-stems, e.g. masc. bearu, gen. bearwes 'grove, woods', neut.pl. searo, gen.pl. searwa 'armor, device' (neither shown).

wa-stems

 

Masc.

 

Masc/Neut.

 

Neut.

Nom/Acc.Sg.

 

ðēaw 'custom'

 

hlǣw 'mound'

 

hlēow 'protection'

Gen.Sg.

 

ðēawes

 

hlǣwes

 

hlēowes

Dat.Sg.

 

ðēawe

 

hlǣwe

 

hlēowe

Nom/Acc.Pl.

 

ðēawas

 

hlǣwas

 

hlēowu

Gen.Pl.

 

ðēawa

 

hlǣwa

 

hlēowa

Dat.Pl.

 

ðēawum

 

hlǣwum

 

hlēowum

Spelling Notes The noun hlǣw is treated as masculine in some instances, but as neuter in others; in the latter context, the nominative/accusative plural ends in -u as opposed to -as (i.e. hlǣwu). The -w ending after -o- is generally optional (e.g. hlēo); in conjunction with the -u ending in the

nominative/accusative plural also being optional, those forms may be spelled without -wu (e.g.

nom/acc. pl. hlēo). Some nominative/accusative singular forms may end in either -o or -u (e.g. masc. bearo/bearu 'grove, woods', neut. searo/searu 'armor, device').

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33 The o-stem Strong Nouns All nouns in this declension class are feminine; this class also includes the jo-stem and wo-

stem nouns. Long-vowel feminines such as ār 'honor', and nouns with two syllables such as

sāwol 'soul' (not shown), do not have -u in the nominative singular. o-stems

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

Nom.Sg.

 

giefu 'gift'

 

ār 'honor'

 

frōfor 'solace'

 

costung 'temptation'

Gen.Sg.

 

giefe

 

āre

 

frōfre

 

costunga

Dat.Sg.

 

giefe

 

āre

 

frōfre

 

costunga

Acc.Sg.

 

giefe

 

āre

 

frōfre

 

costunga

Nom.Pl.

 

giefa

 

āra

 

frōfra

 

costunga

Gen.Pl.

 

giefa

 

āra

 

frōfra

 

costunga

Dat.Pl.

 

giefum

 

ārum

 

frōfrum

 

costungum

Acc.Pl.

 

giefa

 

āra

 

frōfra

 

costunga

Spelling Notes Forms of gief- may also be spelled gif-. The ending -u in the nominative singular appears only in words with a short root syllable (e.g. giefu or gifu); the nominative singular giefo is also

found. Genitive plural giefa may also be spelled giefena (or gifena), which exhibits a borrowing from the weak n-declension (cf. lesson 8, §36). Middle vowel syncopation, such as in forms of

frōfor (e.g. frōfre), occurs only after a long root syllable. Nouns ending in -ung often have the ending -a (as shown) instead of -e in the singular, but -e forms also occur (e.g. costunge). Nominative/accusative plurals may also be spelled with -e instead of -a (e.g. giefe or gife, frōfre, costunge). jo-stems

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

Nom.Sg.

 

bliss 'bliss'

 

hild 'battle'

 

milts 'mercy'

 

wynn 'joy'

Gen/Dat/Acc.Sg.

 

blisse

 

hilde

 

miltse

 

wynne

Nom/Gen/Acc.Pl.

 

blissa

 

hilda

 

miltsa

 

wynna

Dat.Pl.

 

blissum

 

hildum

 

miltsum

 

wynnum

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Spelling Notes The noun bliss may be spelled blīðs; milts may be spelled milds; the nominative singular wynn may be spelled wyn. The nominative/accusative plurals may also be spelled with -e instead of

-a.

wo-stems

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

Nom.Sg.

 

lǣs 'pasture'

 

mǣd 'meadow'

 

nearu 'distress'

 

stōw 'place'

Gen/Dat/Acc.Sg.

 

lǣswe

 

mǣdwe

 

nearwe

 

stōwe

Nom/Gen/Acc.Pl.

 

lǣswa

 

mǣdwa

 

nearwa

 

stōwa

Dat.Pl.

 

lǣswum

 

mǣdwum

 

nearwum

 

stōwum

Spelling Notes Nominative/accusative plurals may end in -e instead of -a. The -w- in forms of lǣs and mǣd

(with long -ǣ- roots) is optional. The form mǣd may also serve as the accusative singular. The ending -u in the nominative singular appears only in words with a short root syllable (e.g.

near-). Where -w- is preceded by a consonant, a "parasitic vowel" (e, o, or u) may intrude (e.g. nearowe). 34 The i-stem Strong Nouns Nouns in this class are found in all three genders, but few of them are neuter; neuters are

in ected like masculines except they have nal -u rather than -e in the nominative/accusative

plural. The masculine and neuter nouns often borrow case endings from the a-stem declension (cf. §32 above), while feminine nouns often borrow case endings from the o-stem declension (cf. §33 above).

i-stems

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Neut.

Nom.Sg.

 

mere 'sea'

 

dǣd 'deed'

 

sife 'sieve'

Gen.Sg.

 

meres

 

dǣde

 

sifes

Dat.Sg.

 

mere

 

dǣde

 

sife

Acc.Sg.

 

mere

 

dǣd

 

sife

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Nom.Pl.

 

mere

 

dǣde

 

sifu

Gen.Pl.

 

mera

 

dǣda

 

sifa

Dat.Pl.

 

merum

 

dǣdum

 

sifum

Acc.Pl.

 

mere

 

dǣde

 

sifu

Spelling Notes The nominative/accusative plurals of mere may be spelled meras -- borrowed from the a-stem

declension; similarly, wine 'friend' (not shown) exhibits, as its nominative & genitive plurals, both the original forms wine & winigea and the borrowed in ections winas & wina. The feminine noun dǣd exhibits, in addition to the forms above, the accusative singular dǣde and the

nominative/accusative plural dǣda -- both borrowed from the o-stem declension. The same borrowing patterns are observed in other i-stem nouns.

35 The u-stem Strong Nouns There are few surviving members of this declension class, generally in the masculine gender;

those with long root syllables, or that are bi-syllabic like winter 'winter', do not have nal -u in the nominative/accusative singular and are comparable to a-stems so that they may assume that in ection. Most feminine nouns that were u-stems in the earlier languages have fallen

together with the o-stems. Forms of the masculine u-stems may have the endings -o or -a in the nominative/accusative singular, and -u or -o in the dative singular and the nominative/accusative plural.

u-stems

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

Nom.Sg.

 

medo 'mead'

 

sunu 'son'

 

duru 'door'

 

hond 'hand'

Gen.Sg.

 

meda

 

suna

 

dura

 

honda

Dat.Sg.

 

medo

 

suna

 

dura

 

honda

Acc.Sg.

 

medo

 

sunu

 

duru

 

hond

Nom.Pl.

 

meda

 

suna

 

dura

 

honda

Gen.Pl.

 

meda

 

suna

 

dura

 

honda

Dat.Pl.

 

medum

 

sunum

 

durum

 

hondum

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Acc.Pl.

 

meda

 

suna

 

dura

 

honda

Spelling Notes The form medo is often spelled medu; either way, an umlaut process acting on -e- in an

accented syllable, followed by a single consonant and either -o or -u, changes -e- to -eo- -resulting in alternate spellings meodo or meodu. The nominative/accusative singular forms

sunu may be spelled suno or suna; the dative singular form suna may be spelled suno or sunu; and the nominative/accusative plural forms suna may also be spelled suno or sunu. The singular dative form dura may be spelled duru. Forms of hond- may be spelled hand-.

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Old English Online Lesson 8 Jonathan Slocum The Wanderer, with other poems including The Seafarer in lesson 9, falls into a category of poetry referred to as "elegies," which describe attitudes toward life on earth and its inevitable changes; generally the attitudes are of melancholy, if not outright lamentation for the passing of better times as in this poem. The author is unknown, and indeed different parts of the poem might possibly have different authors (see below); therefore the time-frame is uncertain. However, the poem has come to us as part of the Exeter Book, a latter 10th century volume of Anglo-Saxon poetry, and it very probably originated in an even earlier oral tradition. Reading and Textual Analysis The text of The Wanderer presents problems to anyone who would analyze and interpret it in detail -- so much so, that some scholars detect additions to and alterations of the original while others just as strongly maintain that the poem as it has come down to us is greatly or entirely intact. We leave such arguments to the scholars, and present the text as we see it. A thoughtful reader will easily perceive the moving portrayal of profound emotion that has merited centuries of literary attention. Our selection includes lines 1-36, found on pp. 148-149 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. The speaker whose words begin in line 8 has lost his lord and is adrift in a culture that, except for the thinnest veneer of Christianity, seems to provide no guidance to living one's life and nding one's way in a world without kindred. Oft him ānhaga         āre gebīdeð, Metudes miltse,         þēah þe hē mōdcearig geond lagulāde         longe sceolde

hrēran mid hondum         hrīmcealde sǣ, wadan wræclāstas:         wyrd bið ful ārǣd.

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oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- ... ānhaga -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of recluse, wanderer -- the wanderer āre -- strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of honor, favor -- favor gebīdeð -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular present of remain; await; experience; attain -- prays for metudes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of creator -- God's miltse -- strong noun, feminine; genitive singular of mercy, favor, kindness -mercy þēah þe -- conjunction; although, even if -- although hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he mōdcearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of anxious, sorrowful, lit. mood-caring -- sorrowful geond -- preposition; over, through(out) -- across lagulāde -- strong noun, feminine; accusative singular of water-way, ocean journey -- the water-way longe -- adverb; for long (time) -- long sceolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of shall, ought to -- had to hrēran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of move, stir -- stir mid -- preposition; with -- with hondum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of hand -- (his) hands # hrēran mid hondum = 'to row' hrīmcealde -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of ice-cold, frosty -the frosty sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of sea, lake -- sea wadan -- strong verb, class VI; in nitive of wade, stride over -- travel wræclāstas -- strong noun, masculine; accusative plural of path of exile, lit. misery track -- paths of exile wyrd -- strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of fate, destiny -- fate bið -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is ful -- adverb; fully, completely -- utterly ārǣd -- adjective; arranged, inexorable -- inexorable # past ptc. of weak I ārǣdan 'read'

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Swā cwæð eardstapa         earfeþa gemyndig, wrāþra wælsleahta,         winemǣga hryre: swā -- adverb; so, thus -- thus cwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of say, speak -- said eardstapa -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of wanderer, lit. earth-stepper -- the wanderer earfeþa -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of hardship, suffering -- of hardships gemyndig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of mindful -- mindful wrāþra -- adjective; genitive plural of wroth, angry -- cruel wælsleahta -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of slaughter, carnage -- of... carnage winemǣga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of dear-, lit. friend-kinsman -of dear kinsmen hryre -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of death, fall, ruin -- of (the) deaths "Oft ic sceolde āna         ūhtna gehwylce mīne ceare cwīþan:

oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I sceolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 1st person singular preterite indicative of shall, ought to -- must āna -- adjective; alone, single -- alone ūhtna -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of dawn, twilight -- morning gehwylce -- inde nite pronoun; instrumental singular masculine of each, every one -- every mīne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective I -- my ceare -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of care, sorrow -- sorrows cwīþan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of accuse; bewail, lament -- bewail       nis nū cwicra nān, þe ic him mōdsefan         mīnne durre sweotule āsecgan.

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nis -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is (not) nū -- adverb; now -- now cwicra -- adjective; genitive plural of quick, alive -- alive nān -- contraction; adverb not + inde nite article; a, an, one -- none # double negative for emphasis þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- ... ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- to whom mōdsefan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of mind, spirit -mind mīnne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective I -- my durre -- preterite-present verb, class III; 1st person singular present optative of dare -- dare sweotule -- adverb; clearly, plainly -- plainly āsecgan -- weak verb, class III; in nitive of say, relate -speak       Ic tō sōþe wāt

þæt biþ in eorle         indryhten þēaw, ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I tō -- preposition; (in)to -- in sōþe -- noun, neuter; dative singular of truth -- truth # tō sōþe: as a fact, "in sooth" wāt -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular present indicative of know, observe -- know þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above biþ -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- (it) is in -- preposition; in, into -- in eorle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of earl, nobleman, warrior -- (a) warrior indryhten -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of (very) noble -- (a) noble þēaw -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of habit, custom -- custom

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þæt hē his ferðlocan         fæste binde,

healde his hordcofan,         hycge swā hē wille. þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his ferðlocan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of breast, heart, lit. spirit enclosure -- heart fæste -- adverb; fast, rmly, securely -- fast binde -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of bind, tie -- bind healde -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of hold, retain, preserve -- reserve his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his hordcofan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of treasure chamber, lit. hoard cove -- inner thought(s) hycge -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of think, resolve -- think swā -- adverb; so, thus -- as hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wille -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present subjunctive of wish, be willing -- will Ne mæg wērigmōd         wyrde wiðstondan ne se hrēo hyge         helpe gefremman:

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ne -- adverb; not -- not mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- may wērigmōd -- adjective; weary, exhausted + noun, neuter; nominative singular of mood, mind -- the spirit-weary wyrde -- strong noun, feminine; dative singular of fate, destiny -- destiny wiðstondan -- strong verb, class VI; in nitive of withstand, resist -- avoid ne -- adverb; not -- nor se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the hrēo -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of erce, wild, savage -- troubled hyge -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of heart, mind, soul -- mind helpe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of help, aid -- aid gefremman -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of advance, further -- offer for ðon dōmgeorne         drēorigne oft

in hyra brēostcofan         bindað fæste. for ðon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- therefore dōmgeorne -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of lit. glory-desirous -- eager for renown # substantive drēorigne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of dreary, sad -sad(ness) # substantive oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often in -- preposition; in, into -- in hyra -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive plural of he, she, it -- their brēostcofan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of heart, affections -heart(s) bindað -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person plural present of bind, tie -- bury fæste -- adverb; fast, rmly, securely -- deep

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Swā ic mōdsefan         mīnne sceolde

oft earmcearig         ēðle bidǣled, frēomǣgum feor         feterum sǣlan, siþþan geāra iū         goldwine mīnne hrūsan heolstre biwrāh

swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- so ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I mōdsefan -- weak noun, masculine; accusative singular of mind, spirit -spirit mīnne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective I -- my sceolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 1st person singular preterite indicative of shall, ought to -- had to oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often earmcearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of miserable, lit. wretched-caring -- miserable ēðle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of home, native land -- of home bidǣled -- weak verb, class I; past participle of deprive, release -- deprived frēomǣgum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of noble (lit. free) kinsman -kinsmen feor -- preposition; far (from) -- far from feterum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of fetter, shackle -- in shackles sǣlan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of bind -- bind siþþan -- adverb; since, when, afterwards -- since geāra -- adverb; yore, long since -- years # gen. pl. of gēar 'year' iū -- adverb; before, of old -- ago goldwine -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of lit. gold-friend -- lord mīnne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective I -- my hrūsan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of earth, ground -- of the earth heolstre -- noun, masculine; dative singular of cover, concealment -- in the darkness # or should this be heolstor, nom.sg., subj. of biwrāh? biwrāh -- strong verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of cover, conceal -- (I) covered # (subject not speci ed)

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      and ic hēan þonan

wōd wintercearig         ofer waþema gebind, sōhte sele drēorig         sinces bryttan, hwǣr ic feor oþþe nēah         findan meahte

þone þe in meoduhealle         (mīn) mine wisse, oþþe mec frēondlēasne         frēfran wolde, wēman mid wynnum.

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and -- conjunction; and -- and ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I hēan -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of abject, depressed, miserable -- wretched þonan -- adverb; thence, from there -- away wōd -- strong verb, class VI; 1st person singular preterite of wade, stride over -- went wintercearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of sorrowful, lit. winter-caring -- sorrowful ofer -- preposition; over, across -- over waþema -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of wave, sea -- of the waves gebind -- noun, neuter; band, binding, fastening -- the band # freezing? waþema gebind = 'ice'? sōhte -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of seek, desire -- sought sele -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of hall, house -- (a) hall drēorig -- adverb; drearily, sadly -- sadly sinces -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of jewels, riches, treasure -- of riches bryttan -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of giver, distributor -- (a) giver hwǣr -- adverbial conjunction; where -- where ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I feor -- adverb; far (from) -- far oþþe -- correlative conjunction; or -- or nēah -- adverb; near -- near findan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of nd -- nd meahte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 1st person singular preterite indicative of may, be able to -- might þone -- demonstrative used as personal pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -- him þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who in -- preposition; in, into -- in meoduhealle -- noun, feminine; dative singular of mead-hall -- the mead hall mīn -- 1st person pronoun; genitive singular of I -- my mine -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of mind, affection -- mind wisse -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of know, observe -- knew

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oþþe -- correlative conjunction; or -- or mec -- 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of I -- me frēondlēasne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of friend-less -friendless frēfran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of cheer, comfort -comfort wolde -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of wish, be willing -- would wēman -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of attract, entice, treat -- treat mid -- preposition; with -- with wynnum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of joy, delight -- kindness # plural in form       Wāt sē þe cunnað

hū slīþen bið         sorg tō gefēran

þām þe him lȳt hafað         lēofra geholena:

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wāt -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular present indicative of know, observe -- knows sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who cunnað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of seek, explore, experience -- seeks hū -- adverbial conjunction; how -- how slīþen -- adjective; nominative singular feminine of cruel, dire, evil -- cruel bið -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is sorg -- noun, feminine; nominative singular of sorrow, grief, distress -- grief tō -- preposition; (in)to -- as a gefēran -- weak noun, masculine; nominative plural of companion, comrade -comrade þām -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; dative singular masculine of who, which, that -- to him þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -himself lȳt -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of little, small number -- (a) small number # few hafað -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of have, possess -- has lēofra -- adjective; comparative lief, dear, beloved -- (of) dear geholena -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of friend, con dant, protector -friends warað hine wræclāst,         nāles wunden gold, ferðloca frēorig,        nālæs foldan blǣd;

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warað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of guard, protect, occupy -- preoccupies hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him wræclāst -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of path of exile, lit. misery track -- the path of exile nāles -- adverb; not at all -- not wunden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of wind, twist, turn -- twisted gold -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of gold -- gold ferðloca -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of breast, heart, lit. spirit enclosure -- body frēorig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of chill, cold, freezing -- (a) cold nālæs -- adverb; not at all -- not foldan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of earth, ground -- of earth blǣd -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of breath, spirit, life -- the life gemon hē selesecgas         and sincþege, hū hine on geoguðe         his goldwine

wenede tō wiste:         wyn eal gedrēas. ..."

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gemon -- preterite-present verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of remember, be mindful of -- thinks of hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he selesecgas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of retainer, lit. hall hero -retainers and -- conjunction; and -- and sincþege -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of lit. treasure receipt -receipt of treasure hū -- adverbial conjunction; how -- how hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in geoguðe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of youth, youngster -- youth his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his goldwine -- noun, masculine; nominative singular lit. gold-friend -- lord wenede -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of accustom; entertain (joyfully) -- entertained tō -- preposition; (in)to -- at wiste -- noun, feminine; dative singular of feast, food, provision -- feast wyn -- strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of joy, delight -- joy eal -- adverb; all, entirely -- utterly gedrēas -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of fall, fail -- perished

Lesson Text

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Oft him ānhaga         āre gebīdeð, Metudes miltse,         þēah þe hē mōdcearig geond lagulāde         longe sceolde hrēran mid hondum         hrīmcealde sǣ, wadan wræclāstas:         wyrd bið ful ārǣd. Swā cwæð eardstapa         earfeþa gemyndig, wrāþra wælsleahta,         winemǣga hryre: "Oft ic sceolde āna         ūhtna gehwylce mīne ceare cwīþan:         nis nū cwicra nān, þe ic him mōdsefan         mīnne durre sweotule āsecgan.         Ic tō sōþe wāt þæt biþ in eorle         indryhten þēaw, þæt hē his ferðlocan         fæste binde, healde his hordcofan,         hycge swā hē wille. Ne mæg wērigmōd         wyrde wiðstondan ne se hrēo hyge         helpe gefremman: for ðon dōmgeorne         drēorigne oft in hyra brēostcofan         bindað fæste. Swā ic mōdsefan         mīnne sceolde oft earmcearig         ēðle bidǣled, frēomǣgum feor         feterum sǣlan, siþþan geāra iū         goldwine mīnne hrūsan heolstre biwrāh         and ic hēan þonan wōd wintercearig         ofer waþema gebind, sōhte sele drēorig         sinces bryttan, hwǣr ic feor oþþe nēah         findan meahte þone þe in meoduhealle         (mīn) mine wisse, oþþe mec frēondlēasne         frēfran wolde, wēman mid wynnum.         Wāt sē þe cunnað hū slīþen bið         sorg tō gefēran þām þe him lȳt hafað         lēofra geholena: warað hine wræclāst,         nāles wunden gold, ferðloca frēorig,        nālæs foldan blǣd; gemon hē selesecgas         and sincþege, hū hine on geoguðe         his goldwine wenede tō wiste:         wyn eal gedrēas. ..."

Translation

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Often the wanderer prays for favor, God's mercy, although sorrowful he long had to stir with his hands the frosty sea across the water-way, travel paths of exile: fate is utterly inexorable. Thus said the wanderer mindful of hardships, of cruel carnage, of the deaths of dear kinsmen: "Often I must bewail my sorrows alone every morning: none is now alive to whom I dare plainly speak my mind. I in truth know that it is a noble custom in a warrior, that he bind his heart fast, reserve his inner thoughts, think as he will. The spirit-weary may not avoid destiny nor the troubled mind offer aid: therefore (those) eager for renown often bury sadness deep in their hearts. So often, miserable, deprived of home, far from kinsmen, I had to bind my spirit in shackles, since years ago (I) covered my lord in the darkness of the earth and I, wretched, went away sorrowful over the band of the waves, sadly sought a hall, a giver of riches, where far or near I might nd him who knew my mind in the mead hall, or would comfort me, friendless, treat (me) with kindness. He knows who seeks how cruel is grief as a comrade to him who himself has a small number of dear friends: the path of exile preoccupies him, not twisted gold, a cold body, not the life of earth; he thinks of retainers and receipt of treasure, how in youth his lord entertained him at feast: joy utterly perished. ..."

Grammar 36 The n-stem Weak Nouns Only a handful of nouns behave like the masculine frēa 'lord' in the table below; none of the others appear in our lesson texts.

n-stems

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Neut.

 

Masc.

Nom.Sg.

 

nama 'name'

 

sunne 'sun'

 

ēage 'eye'

 

frēa 'lord'

Gen.Sg.

 

naman

 

sunnan

 

ēagan

 

frēan

Dat.Sg.

 

naman

 

sunnan

 

ēagan

 

frēan

Acc.Sg.

 

naman

 

sunnan

 

ēage

 

frēan

Nom.Pl.

 

naman

 

sunnan

 

ēagan

 

frēan

Gen.Pl.

 

namena

 

sunnena

 

ēagena

 

frēana

Dat.Pl.

 

namum

 

sunnum

 

ēagum

 

frēaum

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Acc.Pl.

 

naman

sunnan

 

 

ēagan

 

frēan

Spelling Notes The forms of nam- are also spelled nom-. The dative plural frēaum is also spelled frēam. The genitive plural ending -ena may also be spelled -ana, -ona, or -una, or it may be reduced to -

na or -a; the endings -an may be spelled -on. 37 Feminine Abstract Nouns in -u, -o

Few nouns belong to this class, and their forms are so variable that they may be classi ed as "indeclinable" in dictionaries. Frequently, a single form is used for all cases except the

genitive/dative plurals, which end in -a and -um respectively; that other form, however, may end in -u in some sources, or -o in others; sometimes the nominative/accusative plural ends in -e or -a. The following table serves only as a partial sketch, as the term indeclinable cannot be ignored: forms are selected to illustrate variability rather than suggest a non-existent "in ectional pattern," and spelling notes are accordingly irrelevant. Fem. Abstracts

 

'pride'

 

'strength'

Nom.Sg.

 

wlencu

 

strengð

Gen.Sg.

 

wlenco

 

strenge

Dat.Sg.

 

wlence

 

strengu

Acc.Sg.

 

wlenco

 

strengðo

Nom.Pl.

 

wlenca

 

strengðe

Gen.Pl.

 

wlencea

 

strenga

Dat.Pl.

 

wlencum

 

strengðum

Acc.Pl.

 

wlencu

 

strengu

38 The r-stem Nouns These nouns indicate relationships (father, mother, brother, sister, daughter).

r-stems

 

Masc.

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Fem.

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Fem.

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Nom.Sg.

 

Gen.Sg.

fæder

'father'

 

 

fæder

Dat.Sg.

 

Acc.Sg.

mōdor

'mother'

 

 

mōdor

fæder

 

 

fæder

Nom.Pl.

 

Gen.Pl.

brōðor

'brother'

 

 

brōðor

mēder

 

 

mōdor

fæderas

 

 

fædera

Dat.Pl.

 

Acc.Pl.

 

sweostor

dohtor

'sister'

 

'daughter'

 

sweostor

 

dohtor

brēðer

 

sweostor

 

dohtor

 

brōðor

 

sweostor

 

dohtor

mōdru

 

brōðor

 

sweostor

 

dohtor

 

mōdra

 

brōðra

 

sweostra

 

dohtra

fæderum

 

mōdrum

 

brōðrum

 

sweostrum

 

dohtrum

fæderas

 

mōdru

 

brōðor

 

sweostor

 

dohtor

Spelling Notes The genitive singular fæder may be spelled fæderes or fædres; the -e- in the plural forms of

fæder is optional. All nominative singular forms ending in -or may be spelled with the ending ur or -er instead. Umlaut may be applied to the genitive singular mōdor to yield mēder; the nominative/accusative plurals mōdru may be spelled mōdra. The nominative/accusative plurals brōðor may be spelled brōðru. The nominative/accusative plurals sweostor, dohtor may be spelled sweostru or sweostra, dohtru or dohtra. The genitive/dative singulars dohtor may be spelled dehter. Collective plurals of brōðor, sweostor have a pre x ge- (e.g. gebrōðor, gesweostor). 39 The nd-stem Nouns These masculine nouns are derived from present participle forms of verbs. In addition to forms

shown below, our lesson texts include forms of wīgend 'warrior' and scieppend 'creator', which are declined like nergend and wealdend.

nd-stems

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

 

Masc.

Nom.Sg.

 

frēond 'friend'

 

nergend 'savior'

 

wealdend 'ruler'

Gen.Sg.

 

frēondes

 

nergendes

 

wealdendes

Dat.Sg.

 

frēonde

 

nergende

 

wealdende

Acc.Sg.

 

frēond

 

nergend

 

wealdend

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Nom.Pl.

 

frēondas

 

nergendas

 

wealdendas

Gen.Pl.

 

frēonda

 

nergendra

 

wealdendra

Dat.Pl.

 

frēondum

 

nergendum

 

wealdendum

Acc.Pl.

 

frēondas

 

nergendas

 

wealdendas

Spelling Notes The dative singular frēonde may be spelled frīend; the nominative/accusative plurals frēondas may be spelled frīend or frēond. The nominative/accusative plurals nergendas, wealdendas

may be spelled nergend or nergende, wealdend or wealdende. Forms of wealdend- may be spelled waldend-. (And forms of scieppend- may be spelled scyppend-.)

40 The er-stem Nouns The nouns in this declension are all neuter; however, by OE times most of the er-stems had migrated to other declensions, even if this required a change of gender. Few remained, and none of them appear in our lesson texts.

er-stems

 

Neut.

 

Neut.

 

Neut.

Nom.Sg.

 

ǣg 'egg'

 

cealf 'calf'

 

lomb 'lamb'

Gen.Sg.

 

ǣges

 

cealfes

 

lombes

Dat.Sg.

 

ǣge

 

cealfe

 

lombe

Acc.Sg.

 

ǣg

 

cealf

 

lomb

Nom.Pl.

 

ǣgru

 

cealfru

 

lombru

Gen.Pl.

 

ǣgra

 

cealfra

 

lombra

Dat.Pl.

 

ǣgrum

 

cealfrum

 

lombrum

Acc.Pl.

 

ǣgru

 

cealfru

 

lombru

Spelling Notes

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The forms of lomb- can also be spelled lamb-. The nominative/accusative plurals lombru

may be spelled lomber or lomb; in accordance with the last the genitive plural may be spelled

lomba, and the dative plural, lombum.

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Old English Online Lesson 9 Jonathan Slocum The Seafarer, with other poems including The Wanderer in lesson 8, is found in the Exeter Book, a latter 10th century volume of Anglo-Saxon poetry. The poem is an elegy, characterized by an attitude of melancholy toward earthly life while, perhaps in allegory, looking forward to the life to come. As with The Wanderer, authorship of The Seafarer is unknown and the time-frame is uncertain; it may have originated a half century before the Exeter Book was compiled, but much clumsy modi cation is apparent. This is not due to problems with the book itself, as it is undamaged and the penmanship is clear. Whether some corruption is due to secondary Christian in uence is not known, though it seems quite possible. Reading and Textual Analysis Whether a dialogue or a monologue, the poem presents two views of life at sea. Gordon, in his Anglo-Saxon Poetry (op. cit., p. 84), characterizes the debate on one side as "a dialogue in which an old sailor tells of the lonely sufferings of life at sea, and is answered by a youth who urges that it is the hardness of the life which makes it attractive," vs. the other side as "a monologue in which the speaker tells of his sufferings, but also admits the fascination of the sea." Either way, the transcendant message exposes "the eeting nature of earthly pomps and joys." Various parts of this poem, some included in our selection, display signs of textual corruption, disturbing the grammar and poetic structure and making some sections quite di cult to understand. Our selection includes lines 1-43, found on pp. 152-153 in: Charles T. Onions, ed. (1959), Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition, Oxford: Clarendon. Mæg ic be mē sylfum         sōðgied wrecan, sīþas secgan,         hū ic geswincdagum earfoðhwīle         oft þrōwade, bitre brēostceare         gebiden hæbbe, gecunnad in cēole         cearselda fela, atol ȳþa gewealc.

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mæg -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 1st person singular present indicative of may, be able to -- can ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I be -- preposition; at, by, near -- about mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of I -- mysylfum -- re exive pronoun; dative singular of self, same -- self sōðgied -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of lit. true tale -- (a) true tale wrecan -- strong verb, class V; in nitive of wreak, force; tell, utter -- tell sīþas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of journey, voyage -- (of) voyages secgan -- weak verb, class III; in nitive of say -- speak hū -- adverbial conjunction; how -- how ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I geswincdagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of day of toil -- (in) days of toil earfoðhwīle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of lit. hardship-time -- a time of hardship oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often þrōwade -- weak verb, class II; 1st person singular preterite of endure, suffer -- endured bitre -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of bitter, sharp -- bitter brēostceare -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of anxiety, heart-care -- sadness gebiden -- strong verb, class I; past participle of remain; await; experience; attain -- experienced hæbbe -- weak verb, class III; 1st person singular present of have, possess -- have gecunnad -- weak verb, class II; past participle of know; try, test, make trial of -- known in -- preposition; in, into -- on cēole -- noun, masculine; dative singular of keel (of a ship) -- a ship cearselda -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of place of sorrow, care-place -places of sorrow fela -- indeclinable adjective; much, many -- much atol -- adjective; accusative singular neuter of dire, repulsive -- dire ȳþa -- strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of wave -- of the waves gewealc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of rolling, tossing -- tossing

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      Þǣr mec oft bigeat

nearo nihtwaco         æt nacan stefnan, þonne hē be clifum cnossað. þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- where mec -- 1st person pronoun; accusative singular of I -- me oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often bigeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of get, acquire -- kept nearo -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of narrow; full of hardship -- an anxious nihtwaco -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of night-watch -- nightwatch æt -- preposition; at, against -- on nacan -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of boat, ship -- of a ship stefnan -- noun, masculine; dative singular of stem; prow, stern -- the prow þonne -- adverb; then, when -- when hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- it be -- preposition; at, by, near -- beneath clifum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of cliff -- the cliffs cnossað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of drive, pitch -- drives       Calde geþrungen

wǣron fēt mīne         forste gebunden, caldum clommum;         þǣr þā ceare seofedun hāt(e) ymb heortan;         hungor innan slāt merewērges mōd.

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calde -- adjective; dative singular masculine of cold -- cold geþrungen -- strong verb, class III; past participle of throng, crowd, press -- pressed wǣron -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of be, happen -were fēt -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of foot -- feet mīne -- 1st person pronoun; used as adjective I -- my forste -- noun, masculine; dative singular of frost -- by the frost gebunden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of bind, tie -- bound caldum -- adjective; dative plural masculine of cold -- (in) frigid clommum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of bond, fetter; grasp -- fetters þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- where þā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- ... ceare -- noun, feminine; nominative plural of care, grief, sorrow -- sorrows seofedun -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of sigh, lament -- sighed hāte -- adjective; nominative plural feminine of hot, fervid -- hot ymb -- preposition; at, around -- around heortan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of heart -- (my) heart hungor -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of hunger -- hunger innan -- preposition used as adverb; in, within -- within slāt -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of slit, tear -- gnawed merewērges -- adjective; sea-weary -- a sea-weary mōd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of mood, mind -- mood       Þæt se mon ne wāt,

þe him on foldan         fægrost limpeð, hū ic earmcearig         īscealdne sǣ winter wunade         wræccan lāstum winemǣgum bidroren         ...

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þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of that -- ... se -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine of the -- the mon -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- man # appositive = 'he' ne -- adverb; not -- not wāt -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular present indicative of know, observe -- does ... know þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- ... him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- to whom on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on foldan -- noun, feminine; dative singular of earth, ground -- earth fægrost -- adverb; superlative of fairly, beautifully -- most happily limpeð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of befall, happen -- (everything) happens hū -- conjunction; how -- how ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I earmcearig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of miserable, lit. wretched-caring -- wretched īscealdne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of ice-cold -- an ice-cold sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of sea, lake -- at sea winter -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of winter, year -- winter wunade -- weak verb, class II; 1st person singular preterite of dwell, live, remain -- spent wræccan -- weak noun, masculine; genitive singular of wretch, exile -- of exile lāstum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of track, footprint -- in the paths winemǣgum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of dear-, lit. friend-kinsman -- kinsmen bidroren -- strong verb, class II; past participle of bereave, deprive of -- bereft of bihongen hrīmgicelum:         hægl scūrum flēag.

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bihongen -- strong verb, class VII; past participle of hang round -- behung hrīmgicelum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of icicle -- with icicles hægl -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of hail -- the hail scūrum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of shower -- in showers flēag -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of ee, y -- ew Þǣr ic ne gehȳrde         būtan hlimman sǣ, īscaldne wǣg,         hwīlum ylfete song:

þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I ne -- adverb; not -- no(thing) gehȳrde -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular preterite of hear (of) -- heard būtan -- preposition; without, except for -- but hlimman -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of roar, resound -- roar sǣ -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of sea, lake -- the sea īscaldne -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of ice-cold -- ice-cold wǣg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of wave, billow -- billow hwīlum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of while, time -- sometimes ylfete -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of swan -- of a swan song -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of song -- the song dyde ic mē tō gomene         ganetes hlēoþor and huilpan swēg         fore hleahtor wera, mǣw singende         fore medodrince.

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dyde -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of do, make -made ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I mē -- 1st person pronoun; dative singular of I -- my own # "for myself" tō -- preposition; (in)to -- for gomene -- noun, neuter; dative singular of pastime, pleasure, entertainment -amusement ganetes -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of gannet, goose -- the gannet's hlēoþor -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of song, sound -- song and -- conjunction; and -- and huilpan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of curlew? water-bird -- the waterbird's swēg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of noise, sound -- call fore -- preposition; for, before -- for hleahtor -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of laughter, jubilation -- the laughter wera -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of man -- of men mǣw -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of mew, sea-gull -- mew singende -- strong verb, class III; present participle of sing, compose -- singing fore -- preposition; for, before -- for medodrince -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of mead-drink -mead-drink(ing) Stormas þǣr stānclifu bēotan,         þǣr him stearn oncwæð īsigfeþera;         ful oft þæt earn bigeal ūrigfeþra.

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stormas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of storm, tempest; attack -storms þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- there stānclifu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of stony cliff -- stony cliffs bēotan -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person plural preterite of beat, pound, strike -- pounded þǣr -- adverb; there, where -- where him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative plural of he, she, it -- to them # to the royal forces (which now greatly outnumbered those of Cyneheard) stearn -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of tern, sea-swallow -- seaswallow oncwæð -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of answer, reply to -- replied īsigfeþera -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of lit. icy-feathered -- with frosted wings ful -- adverb; fully, completely -- ... oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often þæt -- demonstrative article; accusative singular neuter of that -- ... # the referent is highly uncertain earn -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of eagle -- the eagle bigeal -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of yell, scream, screech -- screamed ūrigfeþra -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of lit. deweyfeathered -- dewey-winged       Nǣnig hlēomǣga

fēasceaftig ferð         frēfran meahte. nǣnig -- contraction; adverb not + adjective; any -- no hlēomǣga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of lit. protector-kinsman -protective kinsmen # corrupt text? fēasceaftig -- adjective; poor, destitute -- the poor ferð -- noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of mind, soul, spirit -- in spirit frēfran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of cheer, comfort -cheer meahte -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of may, be able to -- might

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For þon him gelȳfeð lȳt         sē þe āh līfes wyn gebiden in burgum,         bealosīþa hwōn, wlonc and wīngāl,         hū ic wērig oft in brimlāde         bīdan sceolde.

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for þon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- because him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- ... gelȳfeð -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present of grant; believe, trust -- trusts lȳt -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of little, small number -- little sē -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he þe -- relative particle; that, which, who -- who āh -- preterite-present verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of have, possess -- has līfes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of life -- life's wyn -- strong noun, feminine; nominative singular of joy, delight -- joy gebiden -- strong verb, class I; past participle of remain; await; experience; attain -- experienced in -- preposition; in, into -- in burgum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of enclosure, stonghold -- cities bealosīþa -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of peril, calamity. lit. harmjourney -- (with) perils hwōn -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of tri e -- few wlonc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of proud -- proud and -- conjunction; and -- and wīngāl -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of intoxicated, lit. wine-gay -- intoxicated hū -- conjunction; how -- how ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I wērig -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of weary, exhausted -exhausted oft -- adverb; often, frequently -- often in -- preposition; in, into -- in brimlāde -- noun, feminine; dative singular of path of the sea, lit. sea lane -the sea lane bīdan -- strong verb, class I; in nitive of bide, endure, remain -- remain sceolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 1st person singular preterite indicative of shall, ought to -- must

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Nāp nihtscua,         norþan snīwde,

hrīm hrūsan bond;         hægl fēol on eorþan, corna caldast.

nāp -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of grow dark, obscure -- grew dark nihtscua -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of night's cover -- night's shadow norþan -- adverb; from the north -- from the north snīwde -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of snow -- it snowed hrīm -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of rime, hoar-frost -- hoar-frost hrūsan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of earth, ground -- the soil bond -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of bind, tie -- bound hægl -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of hail -- hail fēol -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of fall, ow -- fell on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- upon eorþan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of earth -- earth corna -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of corn, grain -- of grains caldast -- adjective; superlative of cold -- the coldest       For þon cnyssað nū

heortan geþōhtas,         þæt ic hēan strēamas, sealtȳþa gelāc         sylf cunnige;

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for þon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- therefore cnyssað -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present of beat, strike -- it strikes nū -- adverb; now -- now heortan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of heart -- of the heart geþōhtas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of thought -- the thoughts þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I hēan -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of abject, depressed, miserable -the humble strēamas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of stream -- streams sealtȳþa -- strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of lit. salt-wave -- of sea waves gelāc -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of tumult, commotion -- the tumult sylf -- re exive pronoun; self, same -- (my)self cunnige -- weak verb, class II; 1st person singular present subjunctive of seek, explore, experience -- (should) test monað mōdes lust         mǣla gehwylce ferð tō fēran,         þæt ic feor heonan elþēodigra         eard gesēce.

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monað -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present of warn, exhort, admonish -- urges mōdes -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of mood, mind -- the mind's lust -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lust, desire, pleasure -- desire mǣla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of time, occasion -- times gehwylce -- inde nite pronoun; instrumental singular masculine of each, every one -- at all ferð -- noun, masc/neut; accusative singular of mind, soul, spirit -- the spirit tō -- preposition; (in)to -- to fēran -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of go, travel -- travel þæt -- conjunction; so/in order that -- so that ic -- 1st person pronoun; nominative singular of I -- I feor -- adverb; far (from) -- far heonan -- adverb; hence -- hence elþēodigra -- adjective used as noun; alien, foreign, strange -- of foreigners eard -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of home, land -- the land gesēce -- weak verb, class I; 1st person singular present of seek, desire -- seek For þon nis þæs mōdwlonc         mon ofer eorþan,

ne his gifena þæs gōd,         ne in geoguþe tō þæs hwæt, ne in his dǣdum tō þæs dēor,

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for þon -- conjunction; because, therefore -- because nis -- contraction; adverb not + anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is not þæs -- adverb; so -- so mōdwlonc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of haughty, lit. mood-proud -- proud mon -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- a man ofer -- preposition; over, across -- on eorþan -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of earth -- earth ne -- adverb; not -- nor his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his gifena -- strong noun, feminine; genitive plural of gift, favor -- of ... gifts þæs -- adverb; so -- so gōd -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of good, excellent -- generous ne -- adverb; not -- nor in -- preposition; in, into -- in geoguþe -- noun, feminine; dative singular of youth, youngster -- youth tō þæs -- adverb; so -- quite so hwæt -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of bold, valiant -- bold ne -- adverb; not -- nor in -- preposition; in, into -- in his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his dǣdum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of deed, action -- deeds tō þæs -- adverb; so -- quite so dēor -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of brave, valiant -- valiant       ne him his dryhten tō þæs hold,

þæt hē ā his sǣfōre         sorge næbbe,

tō hwon hine Dryhten         gedōn wille.

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ne -- adverb; not -- nor him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of he, she, it -- to him his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his dryhten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, prince, ruler -- lord tō þæs -- adverb; so -- quite so hold -- adjective; gracious, favorable -- gracious þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he ā -- adverb; always, ever -- never # negative sense from næbbe, below his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his sǣfōre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of sea-voyage -- sea travel sorge -- noun, feminine; dative singular of sorrow, grief, distress -- anxiety næbbe -- contraction; adverb not + weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present subjunctive have, possess -- has # negative used above tō hwon -- interrogative pronoun; instrumental singular of why -- to what end hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of he, she, it -him dryhten -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of lord, prince, ruler -- the Lord gedōn -- anomalous verb; past participle of act, do, bring to pass -- bring wille -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of wish, be willing -- will

Lesson Text

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Mæg ic be mē sylfum         sōðgied wrecan, sīþas secgan,         hū ic geswincdagum earfoðhwīle         oft þrōwade, bitre brēostceare         gebiden hæbbe, gecunnad in cēole         cearselda fela, atol ȳþa gewealc.         Þǣr mec oft bigeat nearo nihtwaco         æt nacan stefnan, þonne hē be clifum cnossað.         Calde geþrungen wǣron fēt mīne         forste gebunden, caldum clommum;         þǣr þā ceare seofedun hāt(e) ymb heortan;         hungor innan slāt merewērges mōd.         Þæt se mon ne wāt, þe him on foldan         fægrost limpeð, hū ic earmcearig         īscealdne sǣ winter wunade         wræccan lāstum winemǣgum bidroren         ... bihongen hrīmgicelum:         hægl scūrum flēag. Þǣr ic ne gehȳrde         būtan hlimman sǣ, īscaldne wǣg,         hwīlum ylfete song: dyde ic mē tō gomene         ganetes hlēoþor and huilpan swēg         fore hleahtor wera, mǣw singende         fore medodrince. Stormas þǣr stānclifu bēotan,         þǣr him stearn oncwæð īsigfeþera;         ful oft þæt earn bigeal ūrigfeþra.         Nǣnig hlēomǣga fēasceaftig ferð         frēfran meahte. For þon him gelȳfeð lȳt         sē þe āh līfes wyn gebiden in burgum,         bealosīþa hwōn, wlonc and wīngāl,         hū ic wērig oft in brimlāde         bīdan sceolde. Nāp nihtscua,         norþan snīwde, hrīm hrūsan bond;         hægl fēol on eorþan, corna caldast.         For þon cnyssað nū heortan geþōhtas,         þæt ic hēan strēamas, sealtȳþa gelāc         sylf cunnige; monað mōdes lust         mǣla gehwylce ferð tō fēran,         þæt ic feor heonan elþēodigra         eard gesēce. For þon nis þæs mōdwlonc         mon ofer eorþan, ne his gifena þæs gōd,         ne in geoguþe tō þæs hwæt,

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ne in his dǣdum tō þæs dēor,         ne him his dryhten tō þæs hold, þæt hē ā his sǣfōre         sorge næbbe, tō hwon hine Dryhten         gedōn wille.

Translation I can tell a true tale about myself, of voyages speak, how in days of toil I often endured a time of hardship, experienced bitter sadness, have known on a ship places of sorrow, much dire tossing of the waves. Where an anxious night-watch often kept me on the prow of a ship when it drives beneath the cliffs. My feet were pressed cold, bound in frigid fetters by the frost; where sorrows sighed hot around my heart; hunger gnawed within, a sea-weary mood. The man does not know, to whom everything happens most happily on earth, how wretched I spent an ice-cold winter at sea in the paths of exile bereft of kinsmen... behung with icicles: the hail ew in showers. There I heard nothing but the sea roar, ice-cold billow, sometimes the song of a swan: I made for my own amusement the gannet's song and the water-bird's call for the laughter of men, mew singing for meaddrinking. Storms there pounded stony cliffs, where sea-swallow replied to them with frosted wings; often the eagle screamed dewey-winged. No protective kinsmen might cheer the poor in spirit. Because he trusts little who has experienced life's joy in cities, with perils few, proud and intoxicated, how often I must remain exhausted in the sea lane. Night's shadow grew dark, from the north it snowed, hoar-frost bound the soil; hail fell upon earth, the coldest of grains. Therefore it strikes now the thoughts of the heart, that I the humble streams, the tumult of sea waves myself should test; the mind's desire urges at all times the spirit to travel, so that I seek far hence the land of foreigners. Because (there) is not a man on earth so proud, nor of his gifts so generous, nor in youth quite so bold, nor in his deeds quite so valiant, nor to him his lord quite so gracious, that he never has anxiety (about) his sea travel, (or) to what end the Lord will bring him.

Grammar 41 The Anomalous Verb dōn The text in lesson 2 introduced the 3rd person singular preterite indicative form dyde of the

anomalous verb dōn 'do, make'. The preterite dyde is found also in this lesson text, along with

the related in nitive gedōn 'act, do, bring to pass', and the plural preterite dydon is found in the following lesson. Forms of dōn are re ected in the following table:

dōn

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Indicative

 

Subjunctive

 

Imperative

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1 Sg. Pres.

 

dō

 

dō

 

 

2 Sg. Pres.

 

dēst

 

dō

 

dō

3 Sg. Pres.

 

dēð

 

dō

 

 

Pl. Pres.

 

dōð

 

dōn

 

dōð

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1 Sg. Pret.

 

dyde

 

dyde

 

 

2 Sg. Pret.

 

dydest

 

dyde

 

 

3 Sg. Pret.

 

dyde

 

dyde

 

 

Pl. Pret.

 

dydon

 

dyden

 

 

The present participle is dōnde, and the past participle is gedōn. The modern English forms do, did, and the so-called "King James English" forms dost, doth, are descended from forms of dōn.

42 Re exive Pronouns Various forms of the pronoun self appear in our lesson texts, including sylf and sylfum in this lesson and other forms in lessons 5 and 7. However, re exive pronouns equivalent to modern English 'myself', 'yourself', etc., had not yet developed in Old English. Instead, forms of the personal pronouns ic, ðū, and hē, example mē in dyde

hēo, hit might be used without self in a re

exive sense (for

ic mē in this lesson text); or in some instances one of these might be followed by a form of the [separate] pronoun self (for example mē sylfum in this lesson text); or sometimes a form of self appears alone (for example sylf in this lesson text), leaving the question of "who?" up to the hearer/reader of the text.

43 Weak Adjective Declension The declension of an OE adjective can be either weak (a.k.a. de nite) or strong (a.k.a. inde nite), depending on context. This is unlike noun in ection, in which a noun itself belongs to either a weak or a strong declension category. Weak adjective declension rules, which employ fewer distinct in ectional endings, tend to be used in the following situations: 1.

the adjective follows a demonstrative or possessive pronoun; or

2.

it is in the vocative case (used for direct address); or

3.

it is a comparative or superlative form; or

4.

it is used in poetry.

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These rules are not applied with absolute consistency, but they do represent strong tendencies. The gender, case, and number of an adjective depend on those of the noun it modi es. (Adjectives have no inherent grammatical gender.) Verb participles are declined like adjectives; and ordinal numerals, in particular, are in ected using weak adjective declension with but two exceptions. The following table illustrates weak adjective declension using OE gōd 'good, excellent', which

appears in our lesson text; the endings in this declension can be seen to parallel those in the nstem weak noun declension (lesson 8, §36) where, among other things, plural forms do not vary with gender. Weak

 

Sg.Masc.

 

Sg.Fem.

 

Sg.Neut.

 

Plural

Nom/Voc.

 

gōda

 

gōde

 

gōde

 

gōdan

Gen.

 

gōdan

 

gōdan

 

gōdan

 

gōdena

Dat.

 

gōdan

 

gōdan

 

gōdan

 

gōdum

Acc.

 

gōdan

 

gōdan

 

gōde

 

gōdan

Spelling Notes Adjectives ending in -h (e.g. hēah 'high', wōh 'wrong', not shown) are in ected with contraction, including but not limited to loss of -h (e.g. hēan, genitive plural wōna). The ending -an may be spelled -on; the genitive plural ending -ena may be spelled -ra; the dative plural ending -um may be spelled -un or -on.

44 Strong Adjective Declension When the "rules" for weak adjective declension (1-4 in §43) do not apply, strong declension is used. The forms again depend on the gender, case, and number of the noun being modi ed; however, they also depend on the stem-vowel of the adjective itself (review §32 in lesson 7 for the meaning of "stem"). There are only two strong declension categories to which an adjective stem can be assigned: 1. 2.

a-stems, o-stems, and some u-stems; or ja-stems, jo-stems, wa-stems, wo-stems, i-stems, and the remaining u-stems.

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The adjective gōd 'good, excellent', which appears in our lesson text, belongs to the rst

category; we use it to illustrate the 1st strong adjective declension. The adjective gearo (also

spelled gearu) 'prepared, ready', which appears in the text for lesson 3, is used to illustrate the 2nd strong adjective declension. Strong 1

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Neut.

Nom.Sg.

 

gōd

 

gōd

 

gōd

Gen.Sg.

 

gōdes

 

gōdre

 

gōdes

Dat.Sg.

 

gōdum

 

gōdre

 

gōdum

Acc.Sg.

 

gōdne

 

gōde

 

gōd

Ins.Sg.

 

gōde

 

 

 

gōde

Nom.Pl.

 

gōde

 

gōda

 

gōd

Gen.Pl.

 

gōdra

 

gōdra

 

gōdra

Dat.Pl.

 

gōdum

 

gōdum

 

gōdum

Acc.Pl.

 

gōde

 

gōda

 

gōd

Ins.Pl.

 

gōdum

 

gōdum

 

gōdum

Spelling Notes The ending -re may be spelled -ere; the ending -um may be spelled -on or -an. The

nominative/accusative plural, either feminine or neuter, may be spelled gōde. The ending -ra may be spelled -era.

Strong 2

 

Masc.

 

Fem.

 

Neut.

Nom.Sg.

 

gearo

 

gearo

 

gearo

Gen.Sg.

 

gearwes

 

gearore

 

gearwes

Dat.Sg.

 

gearwum

 

gearore

 

gearwum

Acc.Sg.

 

gearone

 

gearwe

 

gearo

Ins.Sg.

 

gearwe

 

 

 

gearwe

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Nom.Pl.

 

gearwe

 

gearwa

 

gearwe

Gen.Pl.

 

gearora

 

gearora

 

gearora

Dat.Pl.

 

gearwum

 

gearwum

 

gearwum

Acc.Pl.

 

gearora

 

gearora

 

gearora

Ins.Pl.

 

gearwum

 

gearwum

 

gearwum

Spelling Notes The feminine forms gearore may be spelled gearre; similarly, the genitive plural forms gearora may be spelled gearra.

45 Spelling Variation As noted previously, several times, OE spelling was never fully standardized -- although King Alfred did make an attempt to do so. Rather, words were spelled as they sounded, which presents both bene ts and drawbacks to those studying the language. We present a table below that may help the reader nd an unknown word if it doesn't appear, as originally spelled, in a dictionary. This table does not attempt to help the reader parse & remove in ectional endings, other a xes, or ablaut effects -- that task is addressed throughout these lessons. Instead, the table below suggests "equivalent spellings" -- letter sequences that may be substituted for one another because OE scribes made such substitutions based on ne details of the sounds they heard. Each row lists, left to right, "equivalent spellings." There is no signi cance to the order of elements right of the '=' sign; the rows are alphabetized, top to bottom. The entries in this table are drawn, with augmentation, from Henry Sweet (1896, op. cit.) who notes, "unaccented vowels are disregarded."

a

 

=

 

æ

 

ea

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

æ

 

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Old English Online Lesson 10 Jonathan Slocum In lesson 1 of this series, we glossed the opening lines to the major Old English poem Beowulf, the only surviving heroic epic of its era. The issues of authorship, text genre, time frame, and historical background were dealt with in the introduction to that lesson, to which the reader is referred for discussion. Notable with respect to the text for this lesson is its description of burial customs of the time, which agree strikingly well with those inferred from modern archaeological digs. Reading and Textual Analysis In this lesson we gloss the closing lines of Beowulf, which describe the beloved hero's funeral. Our selection includes lines 3156-3182, found on pp. 119-120 in: Friedrich Klaeber, ed. (1950), Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. This section immediately follows the description of the funeral pyre: the ames have died out, the smoke has thinned and disappeared, and the women have sung their last dirge. The people of the Weder tribe then proceed to build a mound encompassed by a wall, visible from the sea, and lay inside the burial offerings. The warrior Geats sing his praises and depart, and the poet closes with a nal comment be tting the occasion. Geworhton ðā         Wedra lēode

hlǣw on hliðe,         sē wæs hēah ond brād, wæglīðendum         wīde gesȳne,

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geworhton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of perform, achieve, accomplish -- built ðā -- de nite article; nominative plural of the -- the Wedra -- proper noun, neuter; genitive plural of Weder -- of the Weders lēode -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of person, member of tribe -- people hlǣw -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of mound -- a mound on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- upon hliðe -- noun, neuter; dative singular of cliff, hill -- the hill sē -- demonstrative used as relative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of that -- which wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was hēah -- adjective; nominative singular of high -- high ond -- conjunction; and -- and brād -- adjective; nominative singular of broad, open -- wide wæglīðendum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of lit. wave-traveler -- to seafarers wīde -- adverb; widely, far -- from afar gesȳne -- strong verb, class V; past participle of see, observe -- visible ond betimbredon         on tȳn dagum beadurōfes bēcn,         bronda lāfe

wealle beworhton,         swā hyt weorðlīcost foresnotre men         findan mihton.

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ond -- conjunction; and -- and betimbredon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of build, construct -- they constructed on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in tȳn -- numeral; ten -- ten dagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of day -- days beadurōfes -- adjective; bold, heroic -- the hero's bēcn -- noun, neuter; beacon, sign -- beacon bronda -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of re, ame -- from the ames lāfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of remnant, what is left -- the ash(es) wealle -- noun, masculine; dative singular of wall, rampart -- with a wall beworhton -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of work, construct, cover -- they enclosed swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- as hyt -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it weorðlīcost -- adverb; superlative of worthily, honorably -- most worthily foresnotre -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of clever, prudent -prudent men -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of man, person -- men findan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of nd -- devise mihton -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of may, be able to -- might Hī on beorg dydon         bēg ond siglu, eall swylce hyrsta,         swylce on horde ǣr nīðhēdige men         genumen hæfdon;

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hī -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of he, she, it -- they on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- on beorg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of hill, mountain -- the barrow dydon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of do, make -placed bēg -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of ring, crown -- a crown ond -- conjunction; and -- and siglu -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of brooch, jewel, necklace -- jewels eall -- adverb; all -- all swylce -- adverb; such (manner), thus, likewise -- such # with swylce below hyrsta -- noun, feminine; accusative plural of armor, ornament -- accoutrements swylce -- adverb; such (manner), thus, likewise -- as # with swylce above on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- from horde -- noun, neuter; dative singular of hoard, treasure -- the treasure ǣr -- adverb; ere, before, formerly -- earlier nīðhēdige -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of lit. battle-resolved -hostile men -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of man, person -- men genumen -- strong verb, class IV; past participle of seize, take -- seized hæfdon -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of have, possess -- had forlēton eorla gestrēon         eorðan healdan, gold on grēote,         þær hit nū gēn lifað eldum swā unnyt,         swā hit ǣror wæs.

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forlēton -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person plural preterite of leave, abandon -- they let eorla -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of earl, nobleman, warrior -- of noblemen gestrēon -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of wealth, treasure -- the wealth eorðan -- noun, feminine; genitive singular of earth -- the earth healdan -- strong verb, class VII; in nitive of hold, retain, preserve -- hold gold -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of gold -- gold on -- preposition; on(to), upon -- in grēote -- noun, neuter; dative singular of grit, dust, earth -- the dust þær -- adverb; there, where -- where hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it nū -- adverb; now -- ... gēn -- adverb; still, yet, further -- still lifað -- weak verb, class III; 3rd person singular present of live -remains eldum -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; dative of men -- to men swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- as unnyt -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of useless -- useless swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- as hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it ǣror -- adverb; comparative of ere, before, formerly -- ere wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of be, happen -was Þā ymbe hlǣw riodan         hildedēore, æþelinga bearn,         ealra twelfe,

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þā -- adverbial conjunction; then, when -- then ymbe -- preposition; at, around -- around hlǣw -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of mound -- the mound riodan -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of ride -- rode hildedēore -- adjective; nominative plural masculine of lit. battle-bold -brave in battle æþelinga -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of nobleman, prince -- of noblemen bearn -- noun, neuter; nominative plural of child -- the sons ealra -- adjective; genitive plural masculine of all -- in all twelfe -- numeral; twelve -- twelve woldon care cwīðan,         ond kyning mǣnan, wordgyd wrecan,         ond ymb wer sprecan;

woldon -- anomalous verb; 3rd person plural preterite indicative of wish, be willing -- they wished care -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of care, grief, sorrow -- grief cwīðan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of accuse; bewail, lament -- to voice ond -- conjunction; and -- and kyning -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of king -- the king mǣnan -- weak verb, class I; in nitive of moan, relate, speak of -- bemoan wordgyd -- strong noun, neuter; accusative singular of lay, elegy -- an elegy wrecan -- strong verb, class V; in nitive of wreak, force; tell, utter -- to recite ond -- conjunction; and -- and ymb -- preposition; at, around -- about wer -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of man -- the man sprecan -- strong verb, class V; in nitive of speak, say -- speak eahtodan eorlscipe         ond his ellenweorc duguðum dēmdon,

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eahtodan -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of praise, esteem -- they exalted eorlscipe -- indeclinable noun, masculine; accusative singular of nobility, heroic deeds -- nobility ond -- conjunction; and -- and his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his ellenweorc -- noun, neuter; accusative plural of work of courage -courageous deeds duguðum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of host, body of retainers; glory -highly dēmdon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of deem, judge; praise -- praised —         swā hit gedēfe bið,

þæt mon his winedryhten         wordum herge, ferhðum frēoge,         þonne hē forð scile of lichaman         lǣded weorðan.

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swā -- adverbial conjunction; so, thus -- thus hit -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular neuter of he, she, it -- it gedēfe -- adjective; nominative singular neuter of tting, seemly -- tting bið -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular present indicative of be, become, exist -- is þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above mon -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of man, person -- one his -- 3rd person pronoun; genitive singular masculine of he, she, it -- his winedryhten -- noun, masculine; accusative singular of lit. friend-lord -lord wordum -- noun, neuter; dative plural of word, speech -- in words herge -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular present optative of praise, extol -- should honor ferhðum -- noun, masc/neut; dative plural of mind, soul, spirit -- in spirit frēoge -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular present optative of love -- should love þonne -- adverb; then, when -- when hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he forð -- adverb; forth, thence -- forth scile -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present optative of shall, ought to -- shall of -- preposition; from, of -- from lichaman -- weak noun, masculine; dative singular of body, esh -- the body lǣded -- weak verb, class I; past participle of lead, bring -- led weorðan -- strong verb, class III; in nitive of become, happen -- be Swā begnornodon         Gēata lēode

hlāfordes hryre,         heorðgenēatas;

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swā -- adverb; so, thus -- thus begnornodon -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of mourn, lament -- mourned Gēata -- proper noun, masculine; genitive plural of Geat -- of the Geats lēode -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of person, member of tribe -- the people hlāfordes -- strong noun, masculine; genitive singular of lord, master -- of their lord hryre -- strong noun, masculine; accusative singular of death, fall, ruin -- the death heorðgenēatas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of lit. hearthcompanion -- friends cwǣdon þæt hē wǣre         wyruldcyninga manna mildust         ond monðwǣrust, lēodum līðost         ond lofgeornost.

cwǣdon -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person plural preterite of say, speak -- they said þæt -- subordinating conjunction; that -- that # correlative with þæt above hē -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of he, she, it -- he wǣre -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite subjunctive of be, happen -- was wyruldcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of earthly king -- of earthly kings manna -- strong noun, masculine; genitive plural of man, person -- of men mildust -- adjective; superlative of mild, gentle -- the gentlest ond -- conjunction; and -- and monðwǣrust -- adjective; superlative of kind, gentle -- kindest lēodum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of person, member of tribe -- to people līðost -- adjective; superlative of kind, gracious -- the most gracious ond -- conjunction; and -- and lofgeornost -- adjective; superlative of eager for praise -- the most eager for praise

Lesson Text

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Geworhton ðā         Wedra lēode hlǣw on hliðe,         sē wæs hēah ond brād, wæglīðendum         wīde gesȳne, ond betimbredon         on tȳn dagum beadurōfes bēcn,         bronda lāfe wealle beworhton,         swā hyt weorðlīcost foresnotre men         findan mihton. Hī on beorg dydon         bēg ond siglu, eall swylce hyrsta,         swylce on horde ǣr nīðhēdige men         genumen hæfdon; forlēton eorla gestrēon         eorðan healdan, gold on grēote,         þær hit nū gēn lifað eldum swā unnyt,         swā hit ǣror wæs. Þā ymbe hlǣw riodan         hildedēore, æþelinga bearn,         ealra twelfe, woldon care cwīðan,         ond kyning mǣnan, wordgyd wrecan,         ond ymb wer sprecan; eahtodan eorlscipe         ond his ellenweorc duguðum dēmdon, —         swā hit gedēfe bið, þæt mon his winedryhten         wordum herge, ferhðum frēoge,         þonne hē forð scile of lichaman         lǣded weorðan. Swā begnornodon         Gēata lēode hlāfordes hryre,         heorðgenēatas; cwǣdon þæt hē wǣre         wyruldcyninga manna mildust         ond monðwǣrust, lēodum līðost         ond lofgeornost.

Translation

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The people of the Weders built upon the hill a mound, which was high and wide, visible to seafarers from afar, and they constructed in ten days the hero's beacon; they enclosed the ashes from the ames with a wall, as prudent men might most worthily devise it. They placed on the barrow a crown and jewels, all such accoutrements as hostile men had earlier seized; they let the earth hold the wealth of noblemen, gold in the dust, where it still remains as useless to men as it ere was. Then around the mound rode (those) brave in battle, the sons of noblemen, twelve in all; they wished to voice (their) grief, and bemoan the king, to recite an elegy, and speak about the man; they exalted (his) nobility and highly praised his courageous deeds, -- thus it is tting, that one should honor his lord in words, should love (him) in spirit, when he shall be led forth from the body. Thus the people of the Geats mourned the death of their lord, (his) friends; they said that he was of earthly kings of men the gentlest and kindest, to (his) people the most gracious and the most eager for praise.

Grammar 46 Texts Klaeber, Friedrich, ed. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition. Boston: Heath, 1950. Krapp, George P., ed. The Junius Manuscript. New York: Columbia University Press, 1931. Onions, Charles T., ed. Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse, 14th edition. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1959.

47 Dictionaries Borden, Arthur R. A Comprehensive Old-English Dictionary. Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1982. Bosworth, Joseph. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Edited and enlarged by T. Northcote Toller. London: Oxford University Press, 1898 (repr. 1972). Hall, J.R. Clark. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th edition. Cambridge: University Press, 1960. Sweet, Henry. The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1896.

48 Grammars Bright, James W. An Anglo-Saxon Reader, 4th edition. New York: Holt, 1929. Cassidy, Frederic G., and Richard N. Ringler, eds. Bright's Old English Grammar & Reader, 3rd edition. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1971.

49 Translations

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Gordon, Robert K. Anglo-Saxon Poetry. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1926. Green eld, Stanley B. A Readable Beowulf. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1982. Kennedy, Charles W. An Anthology of Old English Poetry. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960. Lehmann, Ruth P.M. Beowulf: an Imitative Translation. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1988. McCallum, James D., ed. English Literature: The Beginnings to 1500. New York: Scribner, 1960. Swanton, Michael. Beowulf. Manchester: University Press, 1978. Wells, David M. A Critical Edition of the Old English Genesis A with a Translation. Ann Arbor: University Micro lms, 1970.

50 Histories Baugh, Albert C. and Thomas Cable. A History of the English Language, 3rd ed. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1978. Bourcier, Georges. An Introduction to the History of the English Language. Cheltenham, England: Stanley Thornes, 1981. Gneuss, Helmut. Language and History in Early England. Aldershot, Great Britain; Brook eld, Vermont: Variorum, 1996. Swanton, Michael. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, rev. ed. London: Phoenix, 2000.

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