Old English Language and Literature.

Catalog description

This course offers an in-depth introduction to the literature of pre-Conquest England in the original language. While the class will be anchored in philology, it is taught in such a way as to get students reading as quickly as possible, and we will supplement our readings in Old English with some readings in translation. We will spend the first half of the semester on Old English grammar, and the second half reading Beowulf in Old English, though we will visit other texts, historical events, and linguistic ideas along the way. We will also visit the Wade Center and read some of J.R.R. Tolkien's original Old English verse.