Old English
Grammar and Reader

Robert E. Diamond (Author)

9780814315101

Paperback / softback, published 1 January 1970

304 pages
20.1 x 13.7 x 1.6 cm, 0.325 kg

An excellent introduction Old English. The reader is complete with excellent translations; and the grammar part is clear and suitable for an undergraduate or graduate student. The anthology is well selected." — Choice

This book makes learning Old English easy. It contains a simplified grammar, a minimum of phonology, well-chosen selections from Old English prose, and rich selections from Old English poetry. The texts are in regularized spelling, based on Early West Saxon, so that beginners will not have to wrestle with a shifting orthography. All texts come with facing-page literal translations.

The prose selections include: "The Voyages of Ohthere and Wulfstan"; "The Story of King Cynewulf of Wessex"; "The Wars of King Alfred against the Vikings"; and King Alfred's Preface to Cura Pastoralis. The poetry includes: Caedmon's "Hymn" from Bede's Ecclesiastical History of the English People; The Battle of Brunanburg; The Battle of Maldon; The Dream of Rood from the Vercelli Book; The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Wife's Lament, The Storm Riddles, The Panther, and The Whale from The Exeter Book.