9. Old English
Nū scylun hergan hefaenrīcaes
Uard,
metudæs maecti end his
mōdgidanc,
uerc Uuldurfadur, suē hē uundra
gihwaes,
ēci dryctin ōr āstelidæ
hē ǣrist scōp aelda barnum
heben til hrōfe, hāleg scepen.
Thā middungeard moncynnæs
Uard,
eci Dryctin, æfter tīadæ
firum foldu, Frēa allmectig.[11]
Modern English translation
Now [we] must honor the guardian of
heaven,
the might of the architect, and his purpose,
the work of the father of glory[b]
as he, the eternal lord, established the
beginning of wonders;
he first created for the children of men[c]
heaven as a roof, the holy creator
Then the guardian of mankind,
the eternal lord, afterwards appointed
the middle earth,
the lands for men,[d] the Lord almighty.
10.
11. Beowulf (ca. 1000)
Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, comes to the aid of
Hrothgar, the king of the Danes, whose mead
hall in Heorot has been under attack by a monster known
as Grendel. After Beowulf slays him, Grendel's
mother attacks the hall and is then also defeated.
Victorious, Beowulf goes home to Geatland (Götaland in
modern Sweden) and later becomes king of the Geats.
After a period of fifty years has passed, Beowulf defeats
a dragon, but is mortally wounded in the battle. After his
death, his attendants cremate his body and erect a tower
on a headland in his memory.
37. Nominative Accusative Genitive Dative
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among the foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
43. Tense: Present, Preterit, Past Participle
(infinitives have no tense)
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among the foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
44. Mood:
Infinitive Indicative Subjunctive
So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among the foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
45. So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among the foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
46. So. The Spear-Danes in days gone by
and the kings who ruled them had courage and greatness.
We have heard of those princes’ heroic campaigns.
There was Shield Sheafson, scourge of many tribes,
a wrecker of mead-benches, rampaging among the foes.
This terror of the hall-troops had come far.
A foundling to start with, he would flourish later on
as his powers waxed and his worth was proved.
In the end each clan on the outlying coasts
beyond the whale-road had to yield to him
and begin to pay tribute. That was one good king.
47. What to take from Chapter Five (lecture and
textbook)
• When and where did Old English develop?
• What are the centuries of the Old English period?
• What/who are couple of the main authors/pieces of literature?
• Why/where did language and literature flourish during this period?
• What is the story of Beowulf and when was it written?
• What is inflection (and what is declension and conjugation) and why is it
important in Old English?
• Be able to identify the declension of a noun (case, person, number)
• Be able to identify the conjugation of a verb (tense, person, number, mood,
voice)
