Peter S. Baker - Introduction to Old English

Contents Introduction to Old English Praise for previous editions
Bakers Introduction is the kind of book that students of Old English and their teachers have been waiting for for a long time. Hugh Magennis, Queens University Belfast
This is a truly outstanding textbook for todays student of Old English. Written in lucid and friendly prose, Baker brings the language to life in a manner that will inspire students. Elaine Treharne, University of Leicester
Peter Bakers Introduction to Old English offers an innovative combination of the traditional and the cutting edge. Beginning with the basics of the language, the chapters proceed through intelligently paced levels so that by the end the user is reading the most sophisticated literature in Old English. Daniel G.

Donoghue, Harvard University
Peter Bakers excellent new book, a combined grammar and reader, deserves to find a central place in the university teaching of Old English. It is unabashedly designed to be accessible to absolute beginners, but students who progress attentively through the whole book will in fact find themselves in command of a great deal of what makes Old English language and literature tick the sections on poetry in particular deserve to be read by all students beginning the translation of Old English for the first time. Notes and Queries
The new edition is a solid tool that both an independent student and a classroom full of students will find useful. The books approach is balanced. It includes just the right amount of explanatory text while also offering grammar tools and exercises. The selection of readings is varied and exemplary.

Much thought was put into the choice, quantity, and order of the other texts in the anthology. I would certainly recommend this book for an introductory course in Old English Bakers new edition is a pleasure to read and would be a pleasure to use in the classroom. Comitatus
Excellent introduction designed to provide reading knowledge He [Baker] constructs the book to encourage beginning students to start translating almost immediately. The Medieval Review

This third edition first published 2012
2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd Edition history: Blackwell (1e 2003 and 2e 2007) Wiley-Blackwell is an imprint of John Wiley & Sons, formed by the merger of Wileys global Scientific, Technical and Medical business with Blackwell Publishing. Registered Office
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The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK For details of our global editorial offices, for customer services, and for information about how to apply for permission to reuse the copyright material in this book please see our website at www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell . The right of Peter S.

Baker to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks.

All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. (Peter Stuart), 1952
Introduction to Old English / Peter S. Baker. 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-0-470-65984-7 (pbk.)
1. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN: 978-0-470-65984-7 (pbk.)
1.

English languageOld English, ca. 4501100. 2. English languageOld English, ca. 4501100Grammar. I.

Title.
PE135.B34 2012
429.82421dc23 2011035196 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Preface This Introduction to Old English is for students whose interests are primarily literary or historical rather than linguistic. It aims to provide such students with a guide to the language that is detailed enough to enable them to read with facility, but it omits a great deal of the historical linguistic material that has traditionally been included even in beginning grammars. The linguistic material that the student needs in order to read Old English well is presented here as morphological feature rather than as historical sound change. For example, i-mutation is understood as one of several ways of inflecting nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs. Its origin as a phonological change is treated briefly, as a sidelight rather than as an essential fact.

Students who are interested in learning more about the history of the English language than is presented here may consult one of the grammars or linguistics texts listed in the References and discussed under Further Reading. This book assumes as little as possible about the students knowledge of traditional grammar and experience of learning languages. Technical terminology is avoided where possible, and, where unavoidable, it is defined in simple terms. A brief grammar review is provided for those who need help with grammatical terminology. The contents of this book are accessible via the Internet. The grammar may be consulted at the website of the Richard Rawlinson Center for Anglo-Saxon Studies at Western Michigan University ( http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/resources/IOE/index.html ) and the texts in the anthology are available on-line at the Old English Aerobics website ( http://faculty.virginia.edu/OldEnglish/ ).

Additional texts will be added to the Old English Aerobics website from time to time; these will be presented in such a way that they can either be used on-line or printed as a supplement to this book. The author and his publishers expect that students will find it a convenience to have this material available via the Internet as well as in printed form. I would like to thank both the Rawlinson Center and Blackwell Publishing for agreeing to an innovative publishing venture. I would also like to thank James R. Hall of the University of Mississippi, Dan Wiley of Hastings College, and an anonymous reader for the Rawlinson Center for a number of valuable suggestions. Most of all I am indebted to my students at the University of Virginia who for the past two years have used this book and helped me to refine it.

Among these students I am especially grateful to Samara Landers and John Bugbee for specific suggestions. P. S. B. Preface to the Second Edition This new edition includes many revisions intended to clarify obscure points in the grammar. se) have been subdivided so as to make it easier to determine the definition of any cited instance.