Old English History PDF

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ENGLISH SECTION ENGLISH LINGUISTICS I Ellen Simon  PART I. Historical Linguistics: Old, Middle and Modern English  DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ENGLISH SECTION Old English Historical linguist...

DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ENGLISH SECTION ENGLISH LINGUISTICS I Ellen Simon  PART I. Historical Linguistics: Old, Middle and Modern English  DEPARTMENT OF LINGUISTICS ENGLISH SECTION Old English Historical linguistics of English Diachrony: Synchrony: Study across time Study at one time 4 Historical linguistics of English: Old English 1. The name and periodisation of the language 2. Where does the language come from? 3. What did the language look like? 4. What was the lexicon and grammar like? 5. Where is the language preserved? 5 Old English: The name of the language Old English this name emphasizes the continuing development of English Anglo-Saxon Emphasizing continuity Emphasizing differences Emphasizing language, rather Emphasizing culture, rather than than culture language Old  Middle  Modern Celtic Anglo-Saxon Anglo-Norman In Old-English texts: “englisc” English the choice of this name reflects the view that the nature of the language in this early period is very different from what is later to be found under the heading of 6 English Old English: Periodisation social/political linguistic 449 400-500 Anglo-Saxon invasion Development of continental to insular 1066 1100-1150 Norman invasion Developments in phonology and syntax 7 Old English Where did the language come from? 8 Sources 1. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle Originally written in Old English In the south-west of England Around 9th century Annals describing past and current events Eight separate manuscript versions  local variations reflecting local interests Opening Peterborough Chronicle, describing the British Isle. 9  Sources 2. Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum or Ecclesiastical History of the English People/ Nation Written in Latin In Northumbria Completed in 731 Account of the history of Christianity from its beginning to Bede’s day Moore manuscript, fol 128v, showing Caedmon’s hymn. 10 How do we call the first people living in Britain about whose language we know something? 11 Celts in Europe 12 The language of the Celts in Britain Native language in Britain= British Celtic language Modern descendants Welsh Breton Cornish Irish Gaelic Scots Gaelic 13 [Modern descendant: Welsh] Aberystwyth University's Welsh Language Scheme 14 The Celts in Britain The Celts were happily living in Britain until…Britain was invaded by foreigners. Who were these invaders? 15 [Celts fighting Romans in fiction:] Intro to Asterix cartoons: “The year is 50 B.C. Gaul is entirely occupied by the Romans. Well not entirely! One small village of indomitable Gauls still holds out against the invaders. And life is not easy for the Roman legionaries who garrison the fortified camps of Totorum, Aquarium, Laudanum and Compendium…” 16 The Roman Empire 17 Roman rule (43AD – 406AD) The Parker Chronicle (= Text A < The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) explains: 47. In this year Claudius, the second Roman emperor who invaded Britain, conquered most of the land. 18 Roman rule (43AD – 406AD) Official language = Latin, spoken by Roman civil officials Military officers and settlers Britons who had dealings with Romans  Romano-British 19 Threat from the Picts Hadrian’s wall (2nd century AD) But: 406 CE the Romans left! 20 Trouble in the Roman Empire 21 Trouble in Britain The Peterborough Chronicle (< Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) explains: 443. In this year the Britons sent overseas to Rome & asked the Romans for forces against the Picts, but they had none there because they were at war with Attila, king of the Huns & then the Britons sent to the Angles & made the same request to the princes of the Angles. 22 Old English: Where did the language come from? The Peterborough Chronicle explains: 449. In this year Martianus and Valentinianus came to power and reigned seven years. In their days Vortigern invited the Angles here and they then came hither to Britain in three ships, at a place called Ebbsfleet. King Vortigern gave them land in the south-east of this country, on condition that they fought against the Picts. They fought the Picts and were victorious wherever they fought. Then they sent to Anglen, and ordered the Angles to send more help, and reported the cowardice of the Britons and the fertility of the land. So the Angles at once sent a larger force to help the others. … 23 Old English: Where did the language come from? … These men came from three Germanic nations – the Old Saxons, the Angles and the Jutes. From the Jutes came the people of Kent and the Isle of Wight – that is, the people who now live in the Isle of Wight, and the race among the West Saxons who are still called Jutes. From the Old Saxons came the men of Essex, Sussex and Wessex. From Anglen, which has stood waste ever since, between the Jutes and Saxons, came the men of East Anglia, Middle Anglia, Mercia and the whole of Northumbria. 24 25 Old English: Where did the language come from? Bede’s Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum explains: It was not long before such hordes of these alien peoples crowded into the island that the natives who had invited them began to live in terror … They began by demanding a greater supply of provisions; then, seeking to provoke a quarrel, threatened that unless larger supplies were forthcoming, they would terminate the treaty and ravage the whole island. … A few wretched survivors captured in the hills were butchered wholesale, and others, desperate with hunger, came out and surrendered to the enemy for food, although they were doomed to lifelong slavery even if they escaped instant massacre. Some fled overseas in their misery; others, clinging to their homeland, eked out a wretched and fearful existence among the mountains, forests, and crags, ever on the alert for danger. 26 Old English: Where did the language come from? Roman rule (43AD – 406AD) - Anglo-Saxon invasions (ca. 449) Waves of migration of Angles, Saxons and Jutes to England Gradual deposition of the native Celts, who were pushed back to the western parts (Cornwall, Wales) 27 Celtic influence in Old English? Little influence of the indigenous language in Old English Why? Lexical influences that did survive: Geographical names (e.g., Avon, Carlisle, …) Geographical features (e.g., Old English cumb, meaning ‘small valley’, in names like Batcombe, Eastcombe, Cumwhitton, Cumdivock, …) 28 Settlements of Angles, Saxons & Jutes 29 The language: Old English - Languages of the Angles and the Saxons = the base of Old English King Alfred (9th century) played an important role for the language: Christian texts accessible  translations into Old English During his reign Anglo-Saxon Chronicles Year-by-year list of events From Christ till contemporary events But: also influences from other languages Opening Peterborough Chronicle, describing the British Isle. 30 1. Latin influence 6th Century: Christian missionaries Led by Augustine AD 597 Sent by Pope Gregory to convert the Anglo-Saxons Beginning of literary age in a rapidly growing number of monastic centres Latin manuscripts (esp. Bible and religious texts) Old English manuscripts Glossaries (Latin – Old English) Early inscriptions and poems (AD 700), e.g. Cædmon’s hymn Beowulf (manuscript AD 1000, probably composed 8th c.) 31 Latin Latin: lasting source of influence Early loans: contact & trade with Romans candle, belt, street, mass, … Later loans: conversion to Christianity hymn, grammar, priest, chalice … 32 Who invaded Britain from the 8th century onwards? 33  Wars from within Several “kings of England” in different parts of the country Eventually King Alfred of Wessex Wars from without Invading Vikings (8th century onwards) From raids to permanent settlements in 9th C. Truce between King Alfred and King Guthrum in Treaty of Wedmore (886)  Danelaw 10th century: King Cnut (Canute), king of England, Denmark, and Norway Scandinavian place names in England 34 2. Scandinavian influence Close contact and assimilation Lexical influence: Many basic vocabulary came into the language (over 1800) E.g. ‘get’, ‘give’ Words with sk-: skirt, whisk, … Old English heofon  Scandinavian sky Place names -by -thorp -thwait -toft Patronyms: -ing  -son Ellie Goulding vs Boris Johnson 35 Scandinavian influence Grammatical influence Personal pronouns Scandinavian they, them, their instead of Old English hie, hira, him Plural form of verb to be Scandinavian are instead of Old English sindon Verb conjugation 3rd person singular –s in present tense instead of Old English -ð 36 Old English dialects There was no unified, standard language Four main dialects: 1. Mercian: between Thames and Humber 2. Northumbrian: north of Humber  Bede 3. Kentish: present-day Kent + Isle of Wight 4. West-Saxon: south of Thames  King Alfred 37 Time for a little quiz Connect to wooclap.com; code: TIJFRZ 38 Old English What did the language look like? 39 Old English: What did the language look like? Runic alphabet: Old English “run” Whisper, Mystery, Secret?! Sharing of knowledge Continental alphabet: Fuþark 24 characters British alphabet: Fuþork (About) 31 characters 40 Old English: What did the language look like? Few original texts in the runic alphabet survived Inscriptions mostly on weapons, jewellery, etc. 5th or 6th c. by those who owned or made them Carved inscriptions E.g., Franks casket E.g., Ruthwell Cross 41 The Francs casket Northumbrian, 7th or 8th c. (cf. Enc. p. 9) Whale bone box Partly Latin, partly Old English 42 Ruthwell Cross Northumbrian, 8th c. Dumfries, Scotland Life of Christ cf. Enc. p. 9 The Dream of the Rood Krist wæs on rodi Christ was on the cross ic wæs miþ blodæ bistemid I was with blood bedewed 43 Anglo-Saxon artefacts Large number of Anglo-Saxon artefacts were found in the Sutton Hoo ship burial The Dig, ‘a novel based on true events’ - Tells the story of Mrs Pretty, Basil Brown and the excavation of an Anglo-Saxon burial site 44 From runic alphabet to Roman alphabet REPLACED BY Institutionalisation of Christianity Some sounds not present in Roman alphabet  Borrowed from runes ƿ wyn (w): sƿa ʒ yogh (g): ʒod þ thorn (th): þæt ð eth (th): ðeosse [v] æ ash: wæs Peterborough Chronicle (= Text E < Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) 45 no punctuation, only periods for break no capital letters abbreviations Old English characteristics Other things of note No punctuation marks No capital letters (or used differently) Abbreviations: and = 7 (e.g. 7hynde: ‘and struck’), abr.for "and" that = þ 46 Pronouncing Old English You say what you read -> phonetic Many consonant clusters, e.g. /kn/, /gn/,… e.g. Old English cniht vs Modern English knight this was also read the way it was written 47