Resources for Old English Literature
General Resources
- Old
English Pages: Cathy Ball's very useful collection of original
materials and links for the study of Old English language and literature
and Anglo-Saxon culture. Includes access to texts, language lessons,
sound files, and more. (Georgetown U.)
- ORB:
Anglo-Saxon England Index: Very useful collection of links and
original resources; includes literature as well as history, the arts,
etc. Part of the Online Reference Book for Medieval Studies.
(Rhodes C.)
- Angelcynn: A
society dedicated to "Anglo-Saxon living history 400-900
A.D." Useful for background information on a variety of aspects
of Anglo-Saxon culture; a good resource for the non-specialist.
- Old English at UVA:
Peter Baker's site for Old English studies. Particularly useful for
language, but with additional materials and links for literature and
culture. Includes audio selections. (U. of Virginia)
- Internet Medieval
Sourcebook: Useful collection of original materials and links;
primary focus is historical, but includes some attention to
literature. (Fordham U.)
- Netserf: Very useful and extensive
collection of links to resources for all aspects of medieval studies.
Includes significant sections on Anglo-Saxon culture.
- Labyrinth:
Anglo-Saxon Culture: Useful collection of links to resources on
Anglo-Saxon England; does not include resources specifically concerned
with Old English literature. (Georgetown U.)
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Online Texts
- The
Complete Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Poetry: An invaluable resource;
includes texts in Old English (no translations). The only body of Old
English texts on the web which is more complete is the Complete Corpus of
Old English, which is currently available only to three universities.
(Online Books Initiative)
- Labyrinth
Library: Old English: One of the best collections of links
for Old English literature; includes texts in Old English and in modern
translation. (Georgetown U.)
- Beowulf:
The Dobbie edition of the Old English text. (Georgetown U.--Labyrinth
Library) See also Peter Baker's audio
selections from the Old English text. (U. of Virginia)
- Beowulf
in Hypertext: An elegantly designed site, with the Old English
text of the poem, a modern translation (by A. Savage), summaries, notes, and
more. (McMaster U.)
- Beowulf:
An early twentieth-century translation by Francis Gummere. (U. of
Virginia)
- Beowulf:
A modern translation by David Breedon.
- Not Beowulf at
all: "Maurice Sagoff's "Beowulf" (from "ShrinkLits")."
A one-page, irreverent summary of Beowulf, in rhyming couplets.
Well, it's not exactly a scholarly resource ... but it is fun.
(Online Books Initiative)
- "The Seafarer":
Old English text and a choice of three translations. (U. of
Saskatchewan)
- "The
Wanderer": Edition of the Old English text and a "free
translation" into modern English.
- "The Battle of
Maldon": Modern translation of the Old English poem.
See also the useful pages of background
material for the poem, and the maps
and photographs provided by the site.
- Caedmon's Hymn:
The text of the poem in Old English, with a modern translation; link to an
audio file of the poem appears to be out of date. (U. of Virginia)
- Lord's
Prayer: In Old English; version from Corpus Christi College MS 140.
Includes an audio
recording by Cathy Ball; see also Prof. Ball's page on The
Lord's Prayer in English for other versions. (Georgetown U.)
- Apollonius of Tyre:
Just for fun. An adapted translation of the Old English tale.
(Georgetown U.) Try a cross-period comparison with John Gower's
retelling in Book
VIII of the Confessio Amantis (beginning around line 268), and
with William Shakespeare's Pericles,
Prince of Tyre.
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Language, Audio Files, etc.
- Old English at the
University of Calgary: An online course in Old English, with
instruction, texts, exercises, etc. Makes use of sound files, but I
had no luck downloading them. More streamlined access to the course
is available through ORB:
Old English. (U. of Calgary)
- Hwaet! Old
English in Context: Cathy Ball's group of short Old English
lessons, which rely on context rather than grammatical instruction for
language learning. (Georgetown U.)
- Old English at UVA:
Peter Baker's site. Includes a generous selection of sound files and
"Old English Aerobics" language exercises. (U. of
Virginia)
- Learning
Old English: A "basic introduction to Old English with exercises."
Not yet complete, but still useful.
- Readings
of Old English Poetry: A selection of readings, with text and
audio for both Old English and modern English versions.
- Bright's
Old English Glossary: Not a complete Old English dictionary, but
an indispensable tool for anyone who wants to learn the language.
(U. of Pennsylvania)
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Bibliography
- Anglo-Saxon
Studies: A Select Bibliography: Broad and useful
bibliography covering literature as well as other aspects of Anglo-Saxon
culture. (BUBL Information Service)
- Anglo-Saxon
History: A Select Bibliography: Extensive and
well-selected bibliography for Anglo-Saxon historical background.
(W. Michigan U.)
- Old
English Bibliography: Highly selective (and relatively brief)
bibliography on a variety of aspects of Old English literature and
language; subdivided into categories. Especially useful as an
introduction to Old English studies. (U. of Virginia)
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Online Journals
- The Heroic
Age: A Journal of Early Medieval Northwestern Europe:
An online journal "dedicated to the study of Northwestern Europe from
the Late Roman Empire to the advent of the Norman Empire." Full-text articles are
publicly available online.
- Essays in Medieval
Studies: Proceedings of the Illinois Medieval Association.
Full-text articles are publicly available online. (Loyola
U./Chicago)
- The Medieval Review:
Reviews of recent books in medieval studies. All reviews are
publicly available online, in a searchable archive. Published since
1993 (formerly The Bryn Mawr Medieval Review). (Western
Michigan U.)
- Exemplaria:
Journal devoted to medieval literature. Full-text articles of past
issues not available online, but a generous selection of preprints of
articles are publicly available. (U. of Florida)
- Peritia: Journal of the
Medieval Academy of Ireland: Journal of medieval studies which
"has tended to concentrate on the earlier middle ages."
Abstracts of articles from later volumes are publicly available online;
full text available only through print subscription. (University
College/Cork)
- Matheliende:
"The Newsletter of Anglo-Saxon Studies at The University of Georgia."
Short articles, apparently by faculty and graduate students at the U. of
Georgia.
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Arts and Craftsmanship
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Beowulf
Online Texts
- Beowulf:
The Dobbie edition of the Old English text. (Georgetown U.--Labyrinth
Library) See also Peter Baker's audio
selections from the Old English text. (U. of Virginia)
- Beowulf
in Hypertext: An elegantly designed site, with the Old English
text of the poem, a modern translation (by A. Savage), summaries, notes, and
more. (McMaster U.)
- Beowulf:
An early twentieth-century translation by Francis Gummere. (U. of
Virginia)
- Beowulf:
A modern translation by David Breedon.
- SparkNotes:
Beowulf: For those who want a little help with the reading.
Includes background on the poem, sketches of characters, plot summaries,
etc.
Bibliography
-
Beowulf
Bibliography: 1979-1994: "The ... list attempts to cover all scholarship relating to Beowulf published from
1979 through 1994, though the entries for the latter years are not yet complete."
Also includes a little scholarship from before 1979, and a handful of
entries from 1995. (U. of Connecticut)
-
Beowulf:
A Student's Bibliography: Brief annotated bibliography, compiled
"by students for other students." Useful as an
introduction to Beowulf studies. (Georgetown U.)
-
Beowulf
Criticism: Brief and well-selected bibliography. Useful as
an introduction to Beowulf studies. (U. of Virginia)
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