Introduction to Old English is a leading text designed to help students engage with Old English literature for the first time. The new third edition builds on the success of previous editions and includes numerous chapter updates, as well as expanded coverage of Old English manuscripts, runes, and other inscriptions.

The book's rich pedagogy includes basic grammar reviews at the beginning of each major chapter, covering the basics of Old English. Other features include "minitexts" for practice in reading the language, and a detailed introduction to meter and poetic style to ease the transition from prose to poetry. Additions to the anthology for this new edition include King Alfred's Preface to Pope Gregory the First's sixth-century Pastoral Care, selections from the Old English Riddles, and the epic fragments The Battle of Finnesburh and Waldere.

The third edition of Introduction to Old English confirms its reputation as an essential text for all students encountering the language for the first time.

Preface xii

Preface to the Second Edition xiii

Preface to the Third Edition xiv

How to use this book xv

1 The Anglo-Saxons and Their Language 1

1.1 Who were they? 1

1.2 Where did their language come from? 3

1.3 What was Old English like? 4

1.4 Old English dialects 10

2 Pronunciation 11

2.1 Quick start 11

2.2 More about vowels 16

2.3 More about c and g 18

2.4 Syllable length 20

2.5 Accentuation 20

2.6 On-line pronunciation practice 21

2.7 Summary 21

3 Basic Grammar: A Review 22

3.1 Parts of speech 22

3.2 Phrases 28

3.3 Clauses 29

3.4 Elements of the sentence or clause 30

4 Case 34

4.1 What is case? 34

4.2 Uses of the cases 35

5 Pronouns 41

5.1 Quick start 41

5.2 More about personal and demonstrative pronouns 44

5.3 Interrogative pronouns 45

5.4 Indefinite pronouns 46

5.5 Relative pronouns 47

5.6 Reflexive pronouns 48

5.7 Reciprocal pronouns 48

6 Nouns 50

6.1 Quick start 50

6.2 More about strong nouns 57

6.3 Minor declensions 60

7 Verbs 64

7.1 Quick start 64

7.2 More about endings 68

7.3 More about weak verbs 69

7.4 More about strong verbs 73

7.5 Verbs with weak presents and strong pasts 79

7.6 More about preterite-present verbs 80

7.8 Negation 82

7.9 The verbals 83

7.10 The subjunctive 85

8 Adjectives 89

8.1 Quick start 89

8.2 Strong adjectives 91

8.3 Weak adjectives 92

8.4 Comparison of adjectives 93

8.5 The adjective in the noun phrase 94

9 Numerals 96

9.1 Quick start 96

9.2 Cardinal numbers 97

9.3 Ordinal numbers 98

10 Adverbs, Conjunctions and Prepositions 99

10.1 Quick start 99

10.2 Adverbs 99

10.3 Conjunctions 101

10.4 Correlation 102

10.5 Prepositions 104

11 Concord 106

11.1 Quick start 106

11.2 Subject and verb 107

11.3 Pronoun and antecedent 110

11.4 Noun and modifiers 111

11.5 Bad grammar? 112

12 Word-order 115

12.1 Quick start 115

12.2 Subject-Verb 115

12.3 Verb-Subject 117

12.4 Subject . . . Verb 118

12.5 Correlation 119

12.6 Anticipation 121

12.7 Periphrastic verbs 121

13 Metre 123

13.1 Alliteration 124

13.2 Rhythm 126

14 Poetic Style 133

14.1 Vocabulary 134

14.2 Variation 137

14.3 Formulas 140

15 The Grammar of Poetry 146

15.1 Inflections 146

15.2 Syntax 147

16 Old English in its Material Context 156

16.1 Manuscripts 156

16.2 Runes 163

16.3 Other inscriptions 167

Appendix A Common Spelling Variants 169

A.1 Vowels of accented syllables 169

A.2 Unaccented syllables 170

A.3 Consonants 171

Appendix B Phonetic Symbols and Terms 172

B.1 International Phonetic Alphabet symbols 172

B.2 Phonetic terms 174

Appendix C Further Reading 175

C.1 General works 175

C.2 Grammars 175

C.3 Dictionaries and concordances 176

C.4 Bibliographies 176

C.5 Old English texts and translations 177

C.6 Literary criticism; sources and analogues; metre 178

C.7 History and culture 178

C.8 Manuscripts, art and archaeology 178

C.9 On-line aids 179

C.10 On-line amusements 180

Anthology 181

1 The Fall of Adam and Eve 181

2 The Life of St Æthelthryth 183

3 Cynewulf and Cyneheard 186

4 The Martyrdom of Ælfheah 188

5 Sermo Lupi ad Anglos 191

6 King Alfred's Preface to Gregory's Pastoral Care 197

7 Ohthere and Wulfstan 202

8 The Story of Cædmon 210

9 Boethius on Fame 215

10 A Selection of Riddles 223

11 The Battle of Maldon 227

12 The Wanderer 240

13 The Dream of the Rood 245

14 The Battle of Finnesburh 251

15 Waldere 253

16 Wulf and Eadwacer 257

17 The Wife's Lament 259

18 The Husband's Message 262

19 Judith 264

Textual Notes 275

Glossary 283

References 387

Index 394

Peter S. Baker is Professor of English, specializing in medieval literature and the history of the English language, at the University of Virginia. His previous books include editions of Byrhthferth's Enchiridion (with Michael Lapidge, 1995) and The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle: A Collaborative Edition.