#  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](/glossary). 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