James Wilson Bright

“ I. FROM THE GOSPELS. There is only one known Anglo-Saxon translation of the four Gospels (the remaining books of the New Testament were not translated into Anglo-Saxon) . The dialect is Late West-Saxon. It is not known by whom or at what place this translation was made; its exact date is also undetermined, but it is agreed that this must be close to the year 1000. The translator's original was one of the Vulgate manuscripts. ”

“ The following outline of Anglo-Saxon Grammar is restricted to the West-Saxon Dialect, that form of the language which in the reign of Alfred the Great (871–901) became dominant for literary purposes and maintained that supremacy to the close of the Anglo-Saxon period. ”

“ The period covered by the age of the extant manuscripts is hardly less than three hundred years, from about A.D. 900 to about A.D. 1200. A large number of hands must have wrought from time to time at their production, and, as the work is wholly anonymous and void of all external marks of authorship, the various and several contributions can only be determined by internal evidence" (Earle, Anglo-Saxon Lit.) ”

“ In the medial position between vowels and voiced consonants it has the sound of v; e.g., hlāford, ofer, sealfian, ǣfre.
Note.—In compounds like ā-fyrhtan, of-lystan, etc., f is strictly not in the medial position, and has therefore its usual sound.
(d) g has two values. (1) It almost always represents a voiced spirant, which is either guttural, or palatal (like g in German sagen, or like y in English you) , according to its pronunciation with guttural or with palatal vowels. (2) It is pronounced like g in English go only when doubled, as in frogga, frog ”

“ By the operation of phonetic processes, the Anglo-Saxon system of vowels is made somewhat diversified and complicated. The most important of these processes affecting the radical vowels will now be briefly described.
THE CHANGE OF a INTO æ.
7. The occurrence of the vowel a is very much restricted. In a closed syllable, and in an open syllable followed by e (i) in the next syllable, the vowel a is mostly modified to æ; but a remains unchanged in an open syllable that is followed by a, o, or u in the next syllable. (S. § 49 f.) ”

“ The alliterating syllables have the same initial consonant (but the initial combinations st, sp, and sc are exceptional in alliterating only each with itself, not with any other initial s) , or they have an initial vowel sound, any vowel or diphthong alliterating either with itself or (more commonly) with any other vowel sound. ”

“ She finds that he believes that God rules the world, but does not know what he himself is; and this absence of self-knowledge is the cause of his weakness. In the second book Philosophy presents to Boethius Fortune, who is made to state to him the blessings he has enjoyed, and after that proceeds to discuss with bim the kind of blessings that fortune can bestow, which are shown to be unsatisfactory and uncertain. In the third book Philosophy promises to lead him to true happiness, which is to be found in God alone ”

“ Philosophy proceeds to show that this takes place only in appearance; that vice is never unpunished nor virtue unrewarded. From this Philosophy passes, into a discussíon in reward to the nature of providence and fate, and shows that every fortune is good. ”

“ No metric distinction is made between long and short syllables in the thesis.
6. Alliteration (initial rime, consisting in the agreement of the initial sounds of words or syllables) is employed to unite the two half-lines into the larger rhythmic unit of the complete line. Alliteration is restricted to syllables in the arsis (and marks the most emphatic of these) ; any additional alliteration that may occur in the thesis is to be regarded as accidental and therefore without significance in the structure of the line. ”

“ Him ætīwde Drihten Hǣlende Crīst on þām wege on ansīne fægeres cildes, and him tō cwæð, 'Andrēas, for hwan gǣst þū swā būton wæstme þīnes gewinnes, and þū forlēte þā þe þē bǣdon, and þū nǣre miltsiende ofer heora cild, þā þe þē wǣron fyliende and wēpende? Þāra cirm and wōp tō mē āstāh on heofonas. Nū þonne hwyrfe eft on þā ceastre, and bēo þǣr seofon dagas, oþ þæt þū gestrangie hera mōd on mīnne gelēafan. Gang þonne tō þǣre ceastre mid þīnum discipulum, and gē on mīnne gelēafan gelēofon.' Mid þī hē þis cwæð, Drihten Hǣlend Crīst, hē āstāh on heofonas. ”

“ Ceadwalla was himself slain in this battle, "and the fall of this great hero of the British race left the Englishmen of Bernicia supreme in the north" (Green) . Oswald became one of the greatest of Northumbrian kings, ruling over both Bernicia and Deira, and in large measure restoring the political work of Edwin. Having been converted to Christianity while in exile at Hii, off the western coast of Scotland, where the Irish Columba had set up a mission, the king at once began to labor for the conversion of his people. ”

“ The first book opens with a few verses, in which Boethius describes how hís sorrows had turned his hair gray, and had brought him to a premature old age. As be is thus lamenting, a woman appears to him of dignified lien, whom for a time he cannot distinguish in consequence of his tears, but at last recognizes her as his guardian, Philosophy. ”

“ One of the homilist's favorite themes is the near approach of the end of the world, a subject that so filled the mind of the people at the close of the tenth century.
The student is now introduced to the prose writings of the late West-Saxon period, - a direct continuation of the literary activity begun by Alfred the Great.
XIV. ÆLFRIC'S HOMILY ON THE ASSUMPTION OF ST. JOHN THE APOSTLE. Ælfric is altogether the most important writer of the late West-Saxon period. He was born, probably in Wessex, about the year 955. ”

“ Karinus and Leucius are brought to Jerusalem and led into the temple, where they are adjured to reveal the mysteries they have seen and heard; in compliance they sit down and write.
XX. CÆDMON'S GENESIS: THE OFFERING OF ISAAC. Anglo-Saxon literature first flourished in the Anglian territory (north of the Thames) . In this first period, which culminated about the middle of the eighth century, the greater part of Anglo-Saxon poetry was produced. ”

“ This battle-piece is the most important of the poetic insertions in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. The manuscripts furnish many variant readings; the text here given represents the poem in its generally accepted form.
XXII. THE BATTLE OF MALDON. The supremacy of the West-Saxon kings was broken in the disastrous reign of Æthelred. The Northmen invaded England anew, and ultimately placed a Danish king upon the English throne. The invaders met the bravest resistance at the Battle of Maldon. In 991 they attacked the eastern coasts of England "seemingly with the intention of making a settlement. ”

“ Ic wēne ēac þætte God selle mænegum yfelum men gesǣlða, for ðǣm þe hē wāt hiora gecynd ond hiora willan swā gerādne þæt hī for nānum ermðum bīoð nē þȳ betran, ac þȳ wyrsan. Ac sē gōda lǣce, þæt is God, lācnað hiora mōd mid ðǣm welan; wile þæt hī ongiten hwonon him sē wela cōme, ond ōlecce þǣm þe lǣs hē him þone welan āfyrre, oððe hine þǣm welan, ond wende his þēawas tō gōde, ond forlǣte ðā unþēawas ond þā yfel þe hē ǣr for his ermðum dyde. Sume bīoð þēah þȳ wyrson gif hī welan habbað, forðǣm hī ofermodigað for ðǣm welan, ond his ungemetlīce brūcað. ”

“ In passing from the pronunciation of the vowel to that of the consonant, a glide-sound is produced which is a more or less definite guttural vowel. This may be observed in pronouncing well as wœ-al; there as thœ-ar or the-ur; fire as fi-ur or fi-or. It is this glide-vowel that has supplied the second element of these short diphthongs.
Palatalization
10. The palatals g, c, and sc, in the initial position change a following æ into ea; ǣ (=Germanic ē) into ēa; and e into ie (i, y; see 3, Note) . (S § 75.)
(a) Thus, æ into ea: *gæf (7) > geaf, gave; *gæt > geat, got; *cæf > ceaf, chaff; Lat. ”

“ Sōðlīce fram Gode hē is send, and hē is Godes þēowa.' Sē hālga Andrēas him tō cwæð, 'Mīne bearn, ne ondrǣdaþ gē ēow, for þon þe þās þe on þīs wætere syndon, eft hīe libbað. Ac þis is for ðon þus geworden, þæt gē gelēofon on mīnum Drihtne Hǣlendum Crīste.' Sē hāliga Andrēas þā gebæd tō Drihtne and cwæð, 'Mīn Drihten Hǣlende Crīst, send þīnne þone Hālgan Gāst þæt [hē] āwecce ealle þā þe on þisse wætere syndon, þæt hīe gelīefon on þīnne naman.' Drihten þā hēt ealle ārīsan þe on þām wætere wǣron. And æfter þissum sē hāliga Andrēas hēt cyrican getimbrian on þǣre stōwe þǣr sē swer stōd. ”

“ Fōron þā ūp be Temese oþ þæt hīe gedydon æt Sǣferne; þā ūp be Sǣferne. Þā gegaderode Æþerēd ealdormon, ond Æþelm ealdorman, ond Æþelnōþ ealdorman, ond þā cinges þegnas þe þā æt hām æt þǣm geweorcum wǣron, of ǣlcre byrig be ēastan Pedredan, ge be westan Sealwuda ge be ēastan, ge ēac be norþan Temese, ond be westan Sǣfern, ge ēac sum dǣl þæs Norðwēalcynnes. Þā hīe þā ealle gegaderode wǣron, þā offōron hīe þone here hindan æt Buttingtūne, on Sǣferne staþe, ond hine þǣr ūtan besǣton on ǣlce healfe, on ānum fæstenne. ”

“ Note.—When the preceding ǫn (< an) occurs before a voíceless spirant, f, ð, s, the nasal disappears, and, in compensation, the vowel is lengthened into ō. Under the same conditions, in and un become ī and ū. (S. §§ 66, 185.)
Thus, sōfte (< *sǫnfte) , softly , tōð (< *tǫnð) , tooth; ōðor (< *ǫnðor) , other; gōs (< *gǫns) , goose; sīð (Goth. sinþs) , a going, swīð (Goth. swinþs) , strong, mūð (Goth. munþs) , mouth.
BREAKING
9. Before r+consonant, l+consonant,h+consonant, and h final, the vowels æ (from a. 7) , e, i are “broken” into short diphthongs, æ becoming ea, and e, i becoming eo, io. ”

“ Ōðer ðing is ēce, þæt hæfð fruman on næfð nǣnne ende, ond wāt hwonne hit onginð, ond wāt þæt hit nǣfre ne geendað, þæt sint englas, on monna sāula. Þridde ðing is ēce, būton end on būton anginne, þæt is God. Betweoh þǣm þrīm is swīðe micel tōscēad. Gif wit þæt eall sculon tōsmēagian, þonne cume wit late tō ende þisse bēc, oððe nǣfre. Ac ān þing ðū scealt nēde þǣr ǣr witan, for hwȳ God is gehāten sīo hēhste ēcnes.' Ðā cwæð ic 'Hwȳ?' Ðā cwæð hē, 'For ðon þe wē witon swīðe lȳtel ðæs ðe ǣr ūs wæs, būton be gemynde ond be geāscunge ”

“ Ond hīe ðā swā dydon: worhton ðā tū geweorc on twā healfe þǣre ēas. Þā hīe ðā þæt geweorc furþum ongunnen hæfdon, ond þǣr tō gewīcod hæfdon, þā onget sē here þæt hīe ne mehton þā scipu ūt brengan. Þā forlēton hīe hīe, ond ēodon ofer land þæt hīe gedydon æt Cwātbrycge be Sǣfern, ond þǣr gewerc worhton. Þā rād sēo fird west æfter þǣm herige, ond þā men of Lundenbyrig gefetedon þā scipu, ond þā ealle þe hīe ālǣdan ne mehton tōbrǣcon, ond þā þe þǣr stælwyrðe wǣron binnan Lundenbyrig gebrohton. Ond þā Deniscan hæfdon hira wīf befæst innan Ēastengle ǣr hīe ūt of þǣm geweorce fōron. ”

“ IX. IT IS BETTER TO SUFFER AN INJURY THAN TO INFLICT ONE. This extract is from the fourth book of the Boethius; see Notes to 'Orpheus and Eurydice'.
X. PROVIDENCE AND FATE. This extract is also from the fourth book of the Boethius. It is a very free paraphrase of the original.
XI. THE NATURE OF GOD. The translator has here constructed a brief chapter of clear and simple statements on the basis of the much fuller and somewhat involved discussion at the close of the original. ”

“ The Anglo-Saxon prose version is assigned to the tenth century, although MS. C probably belongs to the latter part of the eleventh.
XIX. THE HARROWING OF HELL. Among once popular literary sources the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus holds an important place. Christ's Descent into Hell was a favorite theme in Anglo-Saxon poetry, and afterwards in the Mystery Plays of the early drama. ”

“ Sōðlīce mīn lārēow Crīst sumne cniht þe gewilnode þæs ēcan līfes þysum wordum lǣrde, þæt hē sceolde ealle his welan becēapian, and þæt wurð ðearfum dǣlan, gif hē wolde fulfremed bēon, and hē syððan hæfde his golðord on heofenum, and ðǣr tō ēacan þæt ēce līf.' Grāton ðā sē ūðwita him andwyrde, 'Þās gymstānas synde tōcwȳsede for ȳdelum gylpe, ac gif ðīn lārēow is soð God, gefēg ðās bricas tō ansundnysse, þæt heora wurð mæge þearfum fremian.' Iōhannes þā gegaderode ðǣra gymstāna bricas, and beseah tō geofonum, þus cweðende, 'Drihten Hǣlend, nis ðē nān ðing earfode ”

“ Eft cwæð sē apostol Iōhannes, 'Gāð tō ðǣre sǣ strande, and feccað mē papolstānas.' Hī dydon swā; and Iōhannes þā on Godes mæsgenðrymme hī geblētsode, and hī wurdon gehwyrfede tō dēorwurðum gymmum. Þā cwæð sē apostol, 'Gāð tō smiððan, and fandiað þises goldes and ðissera gymstāna.' Hī ðā eōdon, and eft cōmon, þus cweðende, 'Ealle ðās goldsmiðas secgað þæt hī nǣfre ǣr swā clǣne gold nē swā rēad ne gesāwon; ēac ðās gymwyrhtan secgað þæt hī nǣfre swā dēorwurðe gymstānas ne gemētton.' Þā cwæð sē apostol him tō, 'Nimað þis gold and ðās gymstānas, and farað, and bicgað ēow landāre ”

“ Ond þā sōna æfter þǣm on ðȳs gēre fōr sē here of Wīrhēale in on Norðwēalas, for þǣm hīe ðǣr sittan ne mehton: þæt wæs for ðȳ þe hīe wǣron benumene ǣgðer ge þæs cēapes ge þæs cornes, ðe hīe gehergod hæfdon. Þā hīe ðā eft ūt of Norðwēalum wendon mid þǣre herehȳðe þe hīe ðǣr genumen hæfdon, þā fōron hīe ofer Norðhymbra lond ond Ēastengla, swā swā sēo fird hīe gerǣcan ne mehte, oþ þæt hīe cōmon on Ēastseaxna lond ēasteweard, on ān īgland þæt is ūte on þǣre sǣ, þæt is Meresīg hāten. ”