Key Terms for Old English

These terms and dates form part of the discussion of the readings for this section, and you should become familiar with them. You can find them defined separately in the Glossary in the back of our textbook, as well as the online glossary on this site. Some of these terms may also come from our lectures, supplementary readings, and workbook exercises for the unit. You may find it helpful to continually refer back to this list as you progress through the material and lectures of this unit.

Old English
wynn, thorn, eth, ash
long vowel
nominative, accusative, genitive, dative, instrumental
strong and weak verbs
grammatical gender
parataxis vs. hypotaxis
subjunctive
alliteration
Danelaw

449, Hengest and Horsa, legendary Germanic-speaking invaders/settlers of Celtic Britain
ca. 675 Caedmon
ca. 8th century, creation of Beowulf
735 death of Bede
793 Sacking of Lindisfarne, the beginning of Viking incursions
849–899 King Alfred
10th century, Benedictine reform movement
ca. 1000, Beowulf manuscript copied
1066 Norman Conquest