This course is an introduction to Old English, the language spoken by our forebears until the unpleasantness at Hastings — the Norman Conquest. Since Old English is so different from Modern English as to seem like another language, the greatest effort of this class will be to master the rudiments of the structure and vocabulary of the earliest attested form of English. The reward is being able to read an excitingly different corpus of prose and poetry. You will also develop a new appreciation of where our language, culture, and intellectual traditions come from.

Course Requirements:

Daily recitation, weekly quizzes, two-hour exams, a term project (written and oral presentation). Written work also includes regular short modernizations and longer take-home modernizations.