A Guide to Old English - Paperback

by Bruce Mitchell (Author), Fred C. Robinson (Author)

A comprehensive introduction to Old English, combining simple, clear philology with the best literary works to provide a compelling and accessible beginners' guide.

• Provides a comprehensive introduction to Old English
• Uses a practical approach suited to the needs of the beginning student
• Features selections from the greatest works of Old English literature, organized from simple to more challenging texts to keep pace with the reader
• Includes a discussion of Anglo-Saxon literature, history, and culture, and a bibliography directing readers to useful publications on the subject
• Updated throughout with new material including the first 25 lines from Beowulf with detailed annotation and an explanation of Grimm's and Verner's laws

Back Jacket

A Guide to Old English is a detailed but accessible introduction to the Old English language for beginners. The language section offers a simple yet comprehensive language reference, including sections on orthography and pronunciation, inflexions, word formation, and syntax. The guide then provides an anthology of the best Old English literary works, with explanatory notes and a detailed glossary, which has been arranged carefully from the simplest texts to the more challenging, to facilitate students' language development.

Whilst retaining many of the elements of previous editions, which have made it so attractive to teachers and students of Old English for over 50 years, the eighth edition of the Guide has been updated in response to feedback from users to include the following additions:

• facsimile of the manuscript page from the beginning of Beowulf
• the first 25 lines of Beowulf, with an exceptionally detailed set of annotations aimed at preparing the student for a thorough study of the poem
• an explanation of Grimm's and Verner's Laws
• text revisions throughout to make the Guide as accessible as possible for undergraduate readers

The book also offers a discussion of Anglo-Saxon literature, history, and culture, and a bibliography directing readers to useful publications on the subject.

Altogether, this is a comprehensive introduction to Old English, combining simple, clear philology with the best literary works to provide a compelling and accessible beginners' guide.

Author Biography

Fred C. Robinson is Douglas Tracy Smith Professor Emeritus at Yale University. He is a Fellow and past President of the Medieval Academy of America, and has received many honors. He has written extensively on Beowulf, Old English, and English and American literature and language of all periods.

Bruce Mitchell is late Fellow Emeritus of St. Edmund Hall, University of Oxford.