Old Engli.sh

The Portal to the Language of the Anglo-Saxons

About Old-Engli.sh

The website www.Old-Engli.sh is dedicated to the Anglo-Saxon language. It offers study tools, news on current linguistic research and resource development, a link directory, text editions, trivia articles and more.
About the Anglo-Saxon Language

Old English (OE) is the term used collectively for the earliest dialects of the English language, spoken by the Angles, Saxons and Jutes in England from c. 400-1150. The first OE records date from c. 700 and all in all more than 1,000,000 word tokens in over 400 manuscripts have come down to us. OE prose boasts a wide variety of genres, ranging from legal and religious texts over historical, medical or scientific writing to fiction. The surviving OE poems, such as Beowulf or the Battle of Maldon, are among the finest examples of early Germanic legend and heroic poetry.
About Me

I'm a lecturer in English language and Linguistics at the University of Manchester. I'm maintaining this webpage on the side as a hobby. You can find out more about me by clicking on the My Research tab in the top menu.


Welcome to Old-Engli.sh!


Frēond dēah feor ge nēah. byð near nyttra.
'A friend is good, far or near. Near is better.'
(Durham Proverb No. 2, 11th century)



The latest Old-Engli.sh News

February 2023
Illustration of Old English words starting with L to commemorate the Dictionary of Old English
Old English words with the letter L in front of a head of the god Woden from a 12th century manuscript
The Dictionary of Old English (DOE) 2022 Progress Report has been published. Its most important update concerns word entries beginning with the letter L. The report further details events after the pandemic, including a sad passing, many studious exchanges, and solid financing.


January 2022
DOE Adopt-a-Word funding campaign
Logo of the DOE's Adopt-a-Word funding campaign with the Old English for "We thank you."
The Dictionary of Old English (DOE) 2020 progress report has been published. It showcases the DOE's achievments, which are all the more impressive given the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Notable updates concern words starting with the letter L as well as new staff members and funding.


Old English Trivia of the Day

Article for Wednesday 11 December 2024
Cartoon inflected infinitive Old English
The infinitive after to had an inflectional ending in Old English.


Study Anglo-Saxon!

Old English Language
old-english dictionary anglo-saxon lexicon
An Old English dictionary that's easy to use and accurate
Old-Engli.sh offers its own dictionary page. This online Old to Modern English glossary is simple, comprehensive and ideally suited for the translation of original Old English texts.


Old English Documentaries

Produced in 1992
<i>Before Babel</i> documentary logo
Before Babel A BBC-Horizon documentary
A BBC documentary on language reconstruction, the discovery of the Indo-European language family (of which (Old) English is a member), the hypothesis of language superfamilies and the notion of a mother tongue of all human languages spoken today.


Today's Featured Link

Old English Dictionaries
The Old English Aerobics Glossary
The Old English Aerobics glossary is a very convenient tool that allows searches for about 4,600 high frequency words by headword, attested form, or definition. Furthermore, it is also possible to perform advanced searches on the glossary like partial words or letters in a particular positions.
glossary.oldenglishaerobics.net
The Old English Aerobics Glossary


Find here a collection of free, downloadable Old English text editions and translations, including Apollonius of Tyre. Ælfric's Catholic Homilies, Biblical Translations, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and many other texts. Continue...