Old English Online

Our selection is drawn from the major Old English poem Beowulf. It is the only surviving heroic epic of its era, and the lone early manuscript dates from ca. 1000 A.D. The date of the poem's composition is uncertain, but probably lies in the 7th or 8th century on the basis of its language. While the story in its legendary monster aspects is not factual, it is considered quite reliable in its historical details, for example concerning 6th century armor, weaponry, burial customs, and the names of Germanic tribal leaders. Set in a factual background, it might almost be considered historical fiction.

In the manuscript the work appears -- at first glance -- to be prose. However, analysis quickly shows that it is composed in Germanic alliterative verse, where [reconstructed] lines consist of two sections and have four major stresses, of which the third is most important. They are marked by alliteration; the consonants must be the same to alliterate, but the vowels may alliterate with one another as in lines 3, 6, and so on. The first half-line may have two alliterating syllables; the second rarely does. The alliterating words are generally substantives. The final stress is often filled by a verb, an indication that verbs were weakly stressed and that the typical sentence intonation was like that of modern English.

Reading and Textual Analysis

Our selection consists of the first 25 lines. This section of the poem relates the legendary arrival of Scyld as a baby on the Danish coast, where he grows up to become king of the Danes. He had a son whose name is assumed on the basis of metrical analysis to have been Beow, which was changed in the manuscript to Beowulf in keeping with the name of the hero of the poem, who does not appear until several hundred lines later; these lines deal with the Scyldings until the arrival of the hero, who then frees them from the monster Grendel, thereafter from Grendel's mother, and finally from a dragon who inflicts a mortal wound on Beowulf. Much of the poem relates the situation at the court, with its celebration of the death of monsters and Beowulf's recital of his adventures.

Our selection includes lines 1-25, found on pp. 1-2 in: Friedrich Klaeber, ed. (1950), Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition, Boston: Heath. Our translation, as generally in our lessons, is prose rather than poetry, and tends to be literal.

HWÆT, WÉ GÁR-DEna         in géardagum
þéodcyninga         þrym gefrúnon,
hú ðá æþelingas         ellen fremedon!

• hwæt -- interrogative pronoun; accusative singular neuter of <hwá, hwá, hwæt> who, what -- Lo
• wé -- 1st person pronoun; nominative plural of <ic> I -- we
• Gár-Dena -- proper noun, masculine plural; genitive of <gár-Dene> spear-Danes -- of Spear-Danes
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
• géardagum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <géar-dæg> lit. year-day -- days of yore
• þéodcyninga -- noun, masculine; genitive plural of <ðéod-cyning> lit. people-king -- of folk-kings'
• þrym -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <þrymm> glory, renown -- prowness
• gefrúnon -- strong verb, class III; 1st person plural preterite of <gefrínan, gefrán, gefrúnon, gefrúnen> learn, hear of -- have heard
• hú -- adverbial conjunction <hú> how -- how
• ðá -- definite article; nominative plural of <se, séo, ðæt> the -- the
• æþelingas -- strong noun, masculine; nominative plural of <æðeling> nobleman, prince -- princes
• ellen -- noun, neuter; accusative singular of <ellen> valor, courage -- deed(s) of valor
• fremedon -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural preterite of <fremman, fremede, fremed> do, perform -- wrought

Oft Scyld Scéfing         sceaþena þréatum,
monegum mægþum         meodosetla oftéah,
egsode eorlas,         syððan ærest wearð
féasceaft funden;

• oft -- adverb <oft> often, frequently -- often
• Scyld Scéfing -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Scyld Scéfing> Scyld Scefing -- Scyld Scefing
• sceaþena -- weak noun, masculine; genitive plural of <sceaða> enemy, warrior -- of enemies
• þréatum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <ðréat> band, troop -- (from) bands
• monegum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <monig> many -- (from) many
• mægþum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <mægþ> tribe, nation -- tribes
• meodosetla -- noun, neuter; genitive plural of <medu-setl> lit. mead-seat -- mead-benches
• oftéah -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <oftéon, oftéah, oftugon, oftogen> deny, deprive -- wrested
• egsode -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person singular preterite of <egsian, egsode, egsod> terrify -- terrified
• eorlas -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <eorl> earl, nobleman, warrior -- earls
• syððan -- adverb <syððan> afterwards -- since
• ærest -- adverb; superlative of <ær> ere, before, formerly -- first
• wearð -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <weorðan, wearð, wurdon, worden> become, happen -- (he) was
• féasceaft -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <féasceaft> poor, destitute -- abandoned # as a baby
• funden -- strong verb, class III; past participle of <findan, fond, fundon, funden> find -- found

        hé þæs frófre gebád,
wéox under wolcnum         weorðmyndum þáh,
oð þæt him æghwylc         ymbsittendra
ofer hronráde         hýran scolde,
gomban gyldan;

• hé -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <hé, héo, hit> he, she, it -- he
• þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sé, séo, ðæt> that -- for that
• frófre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <frófor> relief, solace, consolation -- consolation
• gebád -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <gebídan, gebád, gebidon, gebiden> remain; await; experience; attain -- received
• wéox -- strong verb, class VII; 3rd person singular preterite of <weaxan, wéox, wéoxon, wéaxen> wax, grow -- (he) grew
• under -- preposition <under> under -- under
• wolcnum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <wolcen> sky, heaven -- the heavens
• weorðmyndum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <weorðmynd> glory, honor, reverence -- honors
• þáh -- strong verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <ðéon, ðáh, ðigon, ðigen> thrive, prosper -- won
• oð þæt -- adverbial conjunction <oð þæt> until -- until
• him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hé, héo, hit> he, she, it -- him
• æghwylc -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <æghwilc> all, every -- all
• ymbsittendra -- strong verb, class V; present participle; genitive plural of <ymbsittan, ymbsæt, ymbsæton, ymbseten> besiege, lit. sit round -- (of the) peoples
• ofer -- preposition <ofer> over, across -- across
• hronráde -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hron-rád> sea, lit. whale-road -- the sea
• hýran -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <híeran, híerde, híered> hear, obey; belong -- obey
• scolde -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- had to
• gomban -- weak noun, feminine; accusative singular of <gombe> tribute -- tribute # "weak feminine" is speculative
• gyldan -- strong verb, class III; infinitive of <gieldan, geald, guldon, golden> yield, pay -- pay

        þæt wæs gód cyning!

• þæt -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative singular neuter of <sé, séo, ðæt> that -- that
• wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was
• gód -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <gód> good, excellent -- (a) good
• cyning -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <cyning> king -- king

Ðæm eafera wæs         æfter cenned
geong in geardum,         þone God sende
folce tó frófre;

• ðæm -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <sé, séo, ðæt> he, she, it -- (to) him
• eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- a child
• wæs -- anomalous verb; 3rd person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was
• æfter -- adverb <æfter> after(wards), then -- then
• cenned -- weak verb, class I; past participle of <cennan, cennede, cenned> beget, conceive, bring forth -- born
• geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- a young (man)
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
• geardum -- noun, masculine; dative plural of <geard> yard, enclosure; dwelling -- the court # singular in meaning
• þone -- demonstrative used as 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <sé, séo, ðæt> he, she, it -- him
• God -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <God> God, Deity -- God
• sende -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person singular preterite of <sendan, sende, sened> send -- sent
• folce -- noun, neuter; dative singular of <folc> folk, people -- the people
• tó -- preposition <tó> (in)to -- to
• frófre -- noun, feminine; dative singular of <frófor> relief, solace, consolation -- for solace

        fyrenðearfe ongeat,
þé híe ær drugon         aldorléase
lange hwíle;

• fyrenðearfe -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <fyren-ðearf> dire distress -- the dire distress
• ongeat -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <ongietan, ongeat, ongéaton, ongieten> grasp, understand -- (he) perceived
• þé -- relative particle <þe> that, which, who -- which # Klaeber reconstructs "þé" where MS has only "þ"
• híe -- 3rd person pronoun; nominative plural of <hé, héo, hit> he, she, it -- they
• ær -- adverb <ær> ere, before, formerly -- before
• drugon -- strong verb, class II; 3rd person plural preterite of <dréogan, dréag, drugon, drogen> endure, suffer -- suffered
• aldorléase -- noun, masculine <ealdor> elder, parent, prince + adjective; nominative plural masculine <léas> without, bereft of -- lordless
• lange -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <lang> long -- (for a) long
• hwíle -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <hwíl> while, time -- time

        him þæs Líffrea,
wuldres Wealdend         woroldáre forgeaf,

• him -- 3rd person pronoun; dative singular masculine of <hé, héo, hit> he, she, it -- him
• þæs -- demonstrative pronoun; genitive singular neuter of <sé, séo, ðæt> that -- for that
• Líffrea -- proper noun, weak masculine; nominative singular of <Líf-frea> lit. Life-lord -- the Lord of Light
• wuldres -- noun, neuter; genitive singular of <wuldor> glory, praise -- of Glory
• wealdend -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <wealdend> wielder, ruler, lord -- the Wielder
• woroldáre -- noun, feminine; accusative singular of <worold-ár> worldly honor -- world honor
• forgeaf -- strong verb, class V; 3rd person singular preterite of <forgifan, forgeaf, forgéafon, forgiefen> give, grant -- gave

Béowulf wæs bréme         -- blæd wíde sprang --
Scyldes eafera         Scedelandum in.

• Béowulf -- proper noun, masculine; nominative singular of <Béo-wulf> bear, lit. bee wolf -- Beowulf # Danish king, son of Scyld Scefing: not the hero of this poem
• wæs -- anomalous verb; 1st person singular preterite indicative of <wesan> be, happen -- was
• bréme -- adjective; nominative singular of <bréme> famous, renowned -- renowned
• blæd -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <blæd> blade, leaf -- the fame
• wíde -- adverb <wíde> widely, far -- far
• sprang -- strong verb, class III; 3rd person singular preterite of <springan, sprang, sprungon, sprungen> spring, burst forth, spread -- spread
• Scyldes -- proper noun, masculine; genitive singular of <Scyld> Scyld -- (of) Scyld's
• eafera -- weak noun, masculine; nominative singular of <eafora> son, heir -- son # nominative (?) according to Klaeber
• Scedelandum -- proper noun, neuter; dative plural of <Scedeland> Danish land -- Danish lands
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in

Swá sceal geong guma         góde gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum         on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde         eft gewunigen
wilgesíþas,         þonne wíg cume,
léode gelæsten;

• swá -- adverbial conjunction <swá> so, thus -- thus
• sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- should
• geong -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <geong> young -- (a) young
• guma -- noun, masculine; nominative singular of <guma> man, hero -- man
• góde -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <gód> good, excellent -- good # (i.e., a good outcome)
• gewyrcean -- weak verb, class I; infinitive of <gewyrcan, geworhte, geworht> perform, achieve, accomplish -- accomplish
• fromum -- adjective; dative plural feminine of <from> bold, brave, splendid -- (with) splendid
• feohgiftum -- noun, feminine; dative plural of <feoh-gift> money-, lit. cattle-gift -- money-gifts
• on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- (while) in
• fæder -- noun, masculine; genitive singular of <fæder> father -- (his) father's
• bearme -- noun, masculine; dative singular of <bearm> bosom, lap -- bosom
• þæt -- conjunction <þæt> so/in order that -- so that
• hine -- 3rd person pronoun; accusative singular masculine of <hé, héo, hit> he, she, it -- him
• on -- preposition <on> on(to), upon -- ...
• ylde -- indeclinable noun, masculine plural; nominative of <ylde> men -- men
• eft -- adverb <eft> afterwards, thereupon -- afterwards
• gewunigen -- weak verb, class II; 3rd person plural present optative of <gewunian, gewunode, gewunod> remain with, stand by -- stand by
• wilgesíþas -- noun, masculine; nominative plural of <wilgesíð> dear companion -- dear companions
• þonne -- adverb <þonne> then, when -- when
• wíg -- noun, neuter; nominative singular of <wíg> war, strife -- war
• cume -- strong verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present optative of <cuman, cwóm, cwómon, cumen> come -- comes
• léode -- noun, masculine; accusative plural of <léod> person, member of tribe -- the people # Klaeber, in error, reads 'np.' (nom.pl.)
• gelæsten -- weak verb, class I; 3rd person plural present optative of <gelæstan, gelæste, gelæset> serve, stand by -- to serve

        lofdædum sceal
in mægþa gehwære         man geþeon.

• lofdædum -- strong noun, feminine; dative plural of <lof-dæd> praiseworthy deed -- (by) praiseworthy deeds
• sceal -- modal (preterit-present) verb, class IV; 3rd person singular present indicative of <sculan, sceal, sculon, scolde> shall, ought to -- is sure to
• in -- preposition <in> in, into -- in
• mægþa -- noun, feminine; genitive plural of <mægþ> tribe, nation -- (of the) nations
• gehwære -- pronoun; dative singular feminine of <gehwá> each, everyone -- all
• man -- strong noun, masculine; nominative singular of <monn> man, person -- (a) man
• geþeon -- strong verb, class I; infinitive <geþéon, geþáh, geþigon, geþigen> thrive, prosper -- prosper

Lesson Text

HWÆT, WÉ GÁR-DEna         in géardagum
þéodcyninga         þrym gefrúnon,
hú ðá æþelingas         ellen fremedon!

Oft Scyld Scéfing         sceaþena þréatum,
monegum mægþum         meodosetla oftéah,
egsode eorlas,         syððan ærest wearð
féasceaft funden;         hé þæs frófre gebád,
wéox under wolcnum         weorðmyndum þáh,
oð þæt him æghwylc         ymbsittendra
ofer hronráde         hýran scolde,
gomban gyldan;         þæt wæs gód cyning!

Ðæm eafera wæs         æfter cenned
geong in geardum,         þone God sende
folce tó frófre;         fyrenðearfe ongeat,
þé híe ær drugon         aldorléase
lange hwíle;         him þæs Líffrea,
wuldres Wealdend         woroldáre forgeaf,
Béowulf wæs bréme         -- blæd wíde sprang --
Scyldes eafera         Scedelandum in.
Swá sceal geong guma         góde gewyrcean,
fromum feohgiftum         on fæder bearme,
þæt hine on ylde         eft gewunigen
wilgesíþas,         þonne wíg cume,
léode gelæsten;         lofdædum sceal
in mægþa gehwære         man geþeon.

Translation

Lo, we have heard of Spear-Danes in days of yore, of folk-kings' prowness, how the princes wrought deeds of valor.

Often Scyld Scefing wrested mead-benches from bands of enemies from many tribes -- terrified earls -- since first he was found abandoned. (He received consolation for that.) He grew under the heavens, thrived with honors until all peoples across the sea had to obey: pay him tribute. That was a good king!

Then a child was born to him, a young man in the court; God sent him to the people for solace. He perceived the dire distress which they suffered before, lordless for a long time. For that the Lord of Light, the Wielder of Glory, gave him worldly honor. Beowulf was renowned; the fame of Scyld's son spread far in Danish lands. Thus should a young man accomplish good with splendid money-gifts while in his father's bosom, so that afterwards men stand by him, dear companions to serve the people when war comes. In all nations, a man is sure to prosper by praiseworthy deeds.

Grammar

1. The Alphabet and Sound System

As noted in the Series Introduction, spelling in Old English (OE) was never fully standardized, but instead the "continental" sounds of the Latin alphabet determined how words were spelled -- and this varied from one dialect and time to another. Several letters were added to the Latin alphabet for sounds that were not covered by it, but one of them (wynn) is generally replaced by Latin 'w' to avoid confusing it with the look-alike thorn; further, modern editors have typically added long marks (macrons) over vowels to distinguish their pronunciation from short vowels.

Regarding pronunciation, there are no "silent" letters in Old English.

Some pairs of consonants (digraphs) have special pronunciation:

The vowels have continental values:

Diphthongs are generally pronounced as the first vowel followed quickly by the second; for long diphthongs, lengthen the first vowel sound only.

2. Verb Inflection

Verbs are classed in two conjugations, weak and strong, in accordance with their means of producing the preterite (i.e. past) tense. This is produced by addition of a suffix -de (or -te) in weak verbs, e.g. híere, híerde 'hear, heard', or by internal vowel change called ablaut in strong verbs, e.g. binde, band 'bind, bound'. There are three classes of weak verbs, and seven classes of strong verbs; in addition there are six classes of preterite-present verbs, based on strong verb classes 1-6 in the present tense but incorporating weak verb suffixes in the preterite. These verb classes will be detailed in this and successive lessons.

As in modern English, there is only an active inflection; passives are formed with the auxiliaries béon 'be', wesan 'be', and also with weorðan 'become' plus the infinitive. There are two tenses: present and preterite; three moods: indicative, subjunctive, and imperative, each with two numbers: singular and plural; the plural in each mood has one form throughout, except in the preterite subjunctive which may have two. There are also three "nominal" forms: the gerund, present participle, and past participle.

N.B. A fourth mood, the optative, is occasionally noted in our glosses and other reference works; it is quite similar to the subjunctive mood, and indicates a wish or hope. But as the optative was in the process of being lost from Germanic languages in general, and is seldom if ever categorically distinguished from subjunctive in OE -- older texts often use the term "optative" exclusively, while newer texts often use the term "subjunctive" exclusively -- it will be ignored as such in our verb conjugations and discussion.

The present indicative and subjunctive as well as the present participle are given here for the strong verb bindan 'bind, fetter', and the weak verb híeran 'hear, obey' from our text.

3. The Preterite System of Verbs

Verbs have preterite (past tense) forms in the indicative and the subjunctive. As is clear from the examples below (again using bindan 'bind, fetter' and híeran 'hear, obey'), the number of potential forms has been greatly reduced, especially in the subjunctive.

4. The Anomalous Verb wesan

So-called anomalous verbs have forms that are not always morphologically predictable (e.g., by adding inflectional suffixes), but are instead "suppletive," and hence must be learned ('supplied') by rote. They are, accordingly, neither weak nor strong. Modern English was, were provides a contemporary example of suppletion, which is commonly observed among Indo-European languages for the most basic verbs, pronouns, and a few other parts of speech.

Old English inherited from Proto-Germanic, its ancestral tongue, three different anomalous verbs for 'to be', none of them exhibiting [in surviving texts] a complete repertoire of forms. OE wesan (the infinitive) survives as a verb only in the two modern English forms was, were, although a relic is also observed in the word wassail, originally a salutation meaning 'be healthy'.

There are no present forms other than the participle wesende 'being'. As is often true in OE, forms of wesan were subject to alternative spelling, which includes in lesson 3 the 3rd person plural preterite indicative forms wæran and wærun 'were'.

As in modern English, forms of the auxiliary wesan are used with the past participle to produce passives. An example in our lesson text is wæs cenned 'was born' (Beowulf 12), where the past participle lacks the prefix ge-; examples in the lesson 3 text are wæs geseted 'was appointed' and wæs gedémed 'was deemed'. N.B. Passives can also be made with the auxiliary weorðan 'become', cf. the use in German of werden for the passive, as in Beowulf 6-7 wearð ... funden 'was found'.

The auxiliary wesan is also used as in modern English with the present participle to indicate ongoing action, as in wæs gongende 'was going' and sprecende wæs 'was speaking' (lesson 2).

5. Weak Verbs in Class I

As noted earlier, the weak preterite forms are produced by addition of the suffix -de (or -te) -- akin to modern English 'lived' formed from the infinitive 'live'. Here we begin to lay out full verb conjugations starting with Class I of the weak verbs. We use the same verb híeran 'hear' that was introduced above, and other verbs with minor conjugational differences:

• métan 'meet' (see text in lesson 3) because, in a devoiced context, t appears in place of d in the preterite suffix;
• werian 'wear' (also in lesson 3) because, for some verbs, the stem includes a residual -i- in certain forms;
• fremman 'perform' (this lesson) because, in certain forms like the infinitive, the final stem consonant is geminated.

Barring certain verbs that are exceptional owing to their derivational history, the same stem (e.g., híer-) is employed in every form of a weak verb, though possibly with residual -i- or gemination. The suffixes are all standard for their person, number, tense, mood, etc., with possible devoicing.

The three "principal parts" of a weak verb are always its infinitive, its 1st/3rd person preterite singular, and its past participle. From these three forms, one may construct the complete conjugation.

A sampling of modern English verbs descended from other OE Weak I verbs found in our lesson texts includes deem, greet, leave, name, seek, send, set, think, wend, and work.

N.B. While conjugation tables like the above often attempt to list "all possible" forms of a verb, it is seldom the case that all such forms are attested in surviving OE texts. Rather, the forms are reconstructed using rules that have been deduced by [others] studying the verbs that are attested. Often, therefore, ignorance is being obscured. It is also true that attested verb forms may demonstrate exceptions to the rules: real languages are never so simple as linguists would have them be!