INSTRUCTORS:
Old English (sometimes referred to as Anglo-Saxon) is the earliest recorded stage of English, spoken in Britain during the early Middle Ages. A wealth of literature and poetry is written in the language, including justly famous works such as The Battle of Maldon, The Wanderer, and above all Beowulf. Old English is also the starting point for the study of the history of the English language, and a gateway to Germanic philology. This course begins with an introduction to Old English grammar, aiming to provide students with a working reading competency in the language. Students will have the chance to put this knowledge into practice in the second part of the course by reading several of the best shorter poems preserved in the language, culminating with a short excerpt from Beowulf.
Notes for Summer 2024: This Flex course includes recorded lectures by Dr. Michael Drout and Dr. Nelson Goering, and it will be precepted by Dr. Paul Peterson and Dr. Nelson Goering. The Summer 2024 term will include a 1-week summer break during the week of June 17, 2024.
Course Schedule
Week 1
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 1-5
- Overview of the Course, History of Anglo-Saxon England, History of the English Language (Drout)
- Introduction to OE Language: Grammar: Parts of Speech and Word Functions (Drout)
Week 2
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 6-7
- Fundamentals of Old English Grammar: Inflections, Cases, and Pronouns (Drout)
- Response Lecture 1 (Goering)
Week 3
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 8-9
- Fundamentals of Old English Grammar: The Verb System, Irregular Verbs (Drout)
- Response Lecture 2 (Goering)
Week 4
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 10-12
- Fundamentals of Old English Grammar: Demonstratives and Relative Pronouns (Drout)
- Response Lecture 3 (Goering)
Week 5
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 13-15
- Fundamentals of Old English Grammar: Nouns and Verbs (Drout)
- Response Lecture 4 (Goering)
Week 6
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 16-18
- More Old English Grammar: Verbs, cont. (Goering)
- Response Lecture 5 (Goering)
Week 7
- Read: Drout’s Quick and Easy, Chapters 19-20 and Cœdomon’s Hymn (John Pope and R.D. Fulk, p. 4)
- From Grammar to Translating Poetry: Translating Tricks, Cædmon’s Hymn (Drout)
- Other Texts: Old English Prose (Goering)
Week 8
- Read: The Battle of Brunanburh (Pope and Fulk, pp. 5-8)
- Translating and understanding an Old English Poem: The Battle of Brunanburh (Drout)
- Broader Contexts: Old English and its Neighbours (Goering)
Week 9
- Read: The Dream of the Rood (Pope and Fulk, pp. 9-14)
- Old English Christian Poetry: The Dream of the Rood (Drout)
- The Workings of Poetry: Stress and Alliteration (Goering)
Week 10
- Read: The Battle of Maldon (Pope and Fulk, pp. 15-26)
- Old English Battle Poetry: The Battle of Maldon (Drout)
- The Workings of Poetry: Resolution and the Five Types (Goering)
Week 11
- Read: The Wanderer (Pope and Fulk, pp. 27-31)
- Old English Elegaic Poetry: The Wanderer (Drout)
- The Legacy of Old English: Tolkien (Goering)
Week 12
- Other Texts: Poetry (Goering)
- Epic Poetry: A brief taste of Beowulf, Conclusions (Drout)
Required Texts
The Amazon links are provided for convenience only, and we encourage students to purchase texts wherever they wish.
- Drout’s Quick and Easy Old English by Michael Drout (2012)
- Eight Old English Poems edited by John Pope and R.D. Fulk
- This book is a revision by R.D. Fulk of John Pope’s Seven Old English Poems (1981). All the poems for this course are found in the older editions as well, and students are free to use any edition.
Course History
This course has been offered in the following semesters.
| Semester | Preceptor(s) |
|---|---|
| Summer 2024 | Dr. Paul Peterson & Dr. Nelson Goering |
| Summer 2021 | Dr. Paul Peterson, Dr. Nelson Goering & Dr. Larry Swain |
| Spring 2019 | Dr. Nelson Goering & Dr. Larry Swain |
| Summer 2017 | Dr. Nelson Goering |
| Fall 2016 | Dr. Nelson Goering & Dr. Karl Persson |
| Fall 2015 | Dr. Nelson Goering & Dr. Karl Persson |
