Old English E 364P Fall 2014 Blockley T TH 9:30-11:00 CAL 200 Unique # 35905 (Crosslist 395N #36120)
Description: The earliest vernacular compositions in English, dating from the seventh century to some decades beyond the Norman Conquest in the eleventh, are our sources for Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon. In this course we will learn how to read them with healthy skepticism, an on-line concordance, and the glossaries of various editions. We will begin with the prose and read extracts from proverb collections, vernacular chronicles, and saints’ lives. We will do some transcription from facsimiles of manuscripts to discover what editors put in and leave out in producing texts. We will spend most of the course reading the most-studied verse compositions, including The Wanderer, heroic poems like The Battle of Brunanburh, The Battle of Maldon, and Judith, enigmatic first-person poems like The Dream of the Rood, The Wife’s Lament, and possibly some riddles. There will be daily translation, homework exercises and grammar quizzes as necessary, a midterm exam covering the grammar of prepared translations, and a final exam or, with previous negotiation by October 15th, a brief but formal presentation culminating in a written project.
Texts: J. C. Pope and R. D. Fulk, Eight Old English Poems (Norton, 2001) P. S. Baker, Introduction to Old English, 3nd ed (Wiley Blackwell, 2012) and online Clark-Hall Concise Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon (finding out more than the contextual glosses for the prose passages in Baker) optional: Michael Barnes, A New Introduction to Old Norse: Grammar (ACMRS, 2003) (Barnes’ book is very helpful in dismissing ‘false friends’ from Modern English syntax) [Higham and Ryan, [An Introduction to] The Anglo-Saxon World (Yale, 2013) DOE online corpus (and DOE for A-F, when available), through UT Libraries
Requirements & Grading: Daily* translation and participation, quizzes, exercises 55% Midterm 25% Final exam or project 20% No makeup quizzes. More than two unexcused absences incurs a penalty.
*Participation grade profiles: A volunteers frequently and is well-prepared, having done the reading and translation for the day carefully B volunteers weekly and is well-prepared, having done the reading and translation for the day C does not usually volunteer but is usually well-prepared when asked to participate D does not volunteer and is frequently poorly prepared F consistently unprepared
Schedule: Week I 28 August Introduction Abstract Case with personal pronouns (see bottom of syllabus) 2
Reading made-up sentences, Durham Proverbs (separate handout) Request an online account for the OE Aerobics http://www.oldenglishaerobics.net associated with Baker’s textbook
Week II September 2-4 quiz on OE forms of be and have Gender and case of pronouns, demonstrative pronoun/adjectives se, seo, ðæt Continue to check out new Baker exercises The strong/weak distinction for nouns and adjectives The fall, pp. 181-82 Baker 3rd edition
Week III September 9-11 Strong and weak adjectives, Case complementation of verbs, number agreement and verbs The life of St Aethelthryth ( Baker, pp. 183-88)
Week IV September 16-18 Tense and mood of strong and weak verbs Cynewulf and Cyneheard
Week V September 23-25 Gender of nouns, i-stem, and other sub-classes of strong and weak noun inflection Martyrdom of Aelfheah, from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1012 Grammar review with sightreading [possibly from Sweet’s sith]
Week VI September 30-October 2 More about strong and weak classes of the verb Grammar midterm (25%) October 2nd
Week VII October 7-9 Still more on the verb: preterite-presents Brunanburh, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle for 937 (in Pope and Fulk, not available in Baker)
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Week VIII October 14-16 Battle of Maldon (Pope and Fulk, also see Baker—it is instructive to compare the two editions)
Week IX October 21-23 Finish Maldon (to 158 for 23rd, Lottery for assigning mini-texts to individuals or groups
Week X October 28-30 Wanderer, start Dream of the Rood and mystery text transcription Again, compare Fulk’s notes with Baker’s on these poems
Week XI November 4-6 Finish Rood, and begin Judith (Baker only)
Week XII November 11-13 Continue with Judith
Week XIII November 18-20 Finish Judith; possibly begin Wulf and Eadwacer, Wife’s Lament (or next week)
Week XIV November 25th brief (5 minute) class presentations on mini-texts (e.g. Riddles) as semester review
Thanksgiving holiday
Week XV December 2-4
The Wanderer and review for final exam
Final exam: Wednesday, December 10th 9-noon (yes; the first exam of finals week. Eala)
4 example of case inflections from Ælfric’s Grammar (late 10th century):
Nom. hi pueri discunt þās cild leorniað þa cild Gen. horum puerorum doctrina [bona est] ðissera cildra lar [is gōd] ðara cildra lar, ðæra cildra lar Dative his pueris ministro þisum cildum ic ðēnige þæm cildum, þam cildum Accusative hos pueros flagello ðas cild ic swinge ðæt cild
[Vocative o pueri cantate bene ēalā gē cild singað well
Ablative ab his pueris doctus sum fram þisum cildum ic eom gelǽred
Instrumental sing. ðy cilde hit ic rǽd/slog]
Eac we cweðað, ðæt mon mōte mid his hlāforde feohtan orwīge, gif mon on ðone hlāford fiohte; swa mot se hlāford mid ðy men feohtan.
Pronunciation:
Ic miht on siðe weorðan wis Hū nū brūn cū Hē wæs nǽfre ðǽr late. Hit mæg rēocan. Gē sculon þæt ðing beran dæges ond slǽpan nihtes.
Policies:
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Religious Holy Days By UT Austin policy, you must notify me of a pending absence at least fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If you must miss a class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day, I will give you an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time after the absence.
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Five-Minute Presentations Baker Minitexts lottery 21 October 2014
Minitext A Psalm 1 p. 46 Baker ______
R. Marsden’s brief intro, description online of Paris Psalter
Tuesday before Thanksgiving
Minitext B p. 63 ______Greg’s Dialogues Benedict (demon and stone)
Minitext C p 87 ______Wulfstan on Creed Anaphoric,subjunctive
Minitext D p 93 ______Brother Edward Aelfric’s letter
( for full text see OEN 40.3 Mary Clayton ed., a Google doc)
Minitext F p. 103 ______(Princeton) Vision of Hell
Minitext G p 113 ______riddles of Solomon and Saturn
Minitext H p 120 ______Orosius Caligula
Verse texts
Minitext I p 131 ------Riddle 80 (horn)
Minitext J p 144 ------Maxims (of queen)
Minitext K p 151 ------Grendel’s mere from clause boundaries
(Peter Kitson)
Plus the two transcriptions:
The erotic riddles 44 and 45 from Exeter
The Laws of Ine (section 6, on fighting in various locations, including in beorscipe)
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Chapter 2 (2.5) accentuation For each word in the following list, mark with an acute accent the syllable that bears the primary accent. Example: éngel. hicgan think ġeopenode opened paradīsum paradise (dative) neorxnawange paradise (dative) nacod naked nacode naked (plural) hēafod head forðsī%e death foregenġa predecessor bīwist sustenance hangelle hanging thing ansȳn face, sight ansund whole onfunde found out andswaru answer ondrǣdan be a aid andweorc material bedǣlan deprive benorðan to the north of betoniċe betony beþenċan consider ofermōd pride ofer ll overeating ofersēon observe ofslōh slew ofspring offspring o orfian pelt to death tōcyme arrival tōdǣlan divide tōforan before forþbringan bring forth undearninga openly yrringa angrily ǣrendġewrit letter ġeendað end (present plural) geendung ending, death onsendon sent (past plural) unlyfiġende not living (adj.) ġestōdon stood (past plural) abbudisse abbess abbodas abbots ġemartiredon martyred þrēottēoða thirteenth ġewelhwǣr everywhere Westseaxna of the West Saxons