Old English facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Old English |
|
|---|---|
| Ænglisc, Anglisc, Englisc | |
| Region | England (except the extreme southwest and northwest), southern and eastern Scotland, and the eastern fringes of modern Wales. |
| Era | mostly developed into Middle English by the 13th century |
| Language family |
Indo-European
|
| Dialects |
Northumbrian
|
| Writing system | Runic, later Latin (Old English alphabet). |
The Old English language, often called Anglo-Saxon, was spoken in England from 450 AD to 1100 AD. It was spoken by the Anglo-Saxons who came to England from what is now Germany and Denmark.
Old English is very different from Modern English; it has many more Germanic words. It was rarely written down, and when written it was in runes. This is an alphabet completely different from the Latin alphabet used for English today. Old English grammar is difficult, and close to Old German. Latin was used by churchmen like the venerable Bede. Old English slowly turned into Middle English after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Beowulf is written in Old English in an alphabetic script.
Images for kids
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(Pre-)Old English an other West Germanic languages around 580 CE
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Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English King proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.
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The dialects of Old English c. 800 CE
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Her sƿutelað seo gecƿydrædnes ðe ('Here the Word is revealed to thee'). Old English inscription over the arch of the south porticus in the 10th-century St Mary's parish church, Breamore, Hampshire
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The first page of the Beowulf manuscript with its opening Hƿæt ƿē Gārde/na ingēar dagum þēod cyninga / þrym ge frunon... "Listen! We of the Spear-Danes from days of yore have heard of the glory of the folk-kings..."
See also
In Spanish: Idioma anglosajón para niños
