Week 1 (Aug 23-25)

• First Meeting – introductions and class policies
• Pronouncing and Reading Old English (Guide, pp. 1-7 and §§1-9, 215-26)
• images of Anglo-Saxon artifacts in the British Museum (including Sutton Hoo burial objects) can be found via Compass, the British Museum’s online collection of images: enter the site here, and search under “Anglo-Saxon”
• a good collection of links to Anglo-Saxon sites can be found here
• an complete online Introduction to Old English has been published by Peter Baker and can be found here
• Baker’s accompanying workbook is called Old English Aerobics. Exercises from this text are noted below.

Week 2 (Aug 28 - Sep 1)

• pronouns and the definite article (Guide §§15-21)
• the class handout on pronouns is here
• to review pronouns online, visit Peter Baker’s OE Aerobics here
• if you need to review basic grammar terms and concepts, visit this section of the site.
• The verb beon “to be” (Guide §127)
• reading: “The Fall of Man” (p. 174)

Week 3 (Sep 4 - 8)

• No Class Sep 4: Labor Day
• Nouns and Adjectives (Guide §§22-86)
• reading “Abraham and Isaac” (p. 178)
• the class handout on nouns is here
• Peter Baker’s “magic sheet” of OE inflections can be downloaded here
• exercises from OE Aerobics on nouns are here; exercises on adjectives are here

Week 4 (Sep 11 - 15)

• Weak Verbs (Guide §§115-134)
• The Strong Verb System (Guide §§87-114)
• Reading: Alfred, ‘Preface’ to Pastoral Care (p. 204)
• class handout on weak and strong verbs is here
• exercises from OE Aerobics on verbs are here
• An excellent essay by Timothy Graham on “The Opening of King Alfred’s Preface to the Old English Pastoral Care,” is online here
• A bibliography of works on Alfred can be found here

Week 5 (Sep 18 - 23)

• More Strong Verbs
• Other Kinds of Verbs (Guide, §§124-130)
• Reading: Alfred’s ‘Preface’ to Pastoral Care continued.
• class handout on other verb classes is here

Week 6 (Sep 25 - 29)

• adverbs (Guide §135), comparison (Guide, §§74-76)
• Reading: Bede’s Account of the poet Cædmon (p. 220)
• the class handout on adverbs is here
• exercises from OE Aerobics on prepositions, adverbs, and conjunctions are here and here
• Bede’s story in Latin can be found here
• Learn more about the Venerable Bede at “Bede Net” online here

Week 7 (Oct 2 - 6)

• Reading: “Bede’s Account of the poet Cædmon” continued.
• Midterm Exam Oct 6
• A copy of the midterm exam can be found here

Week 8 (Oct 9-13)

• Reading: Ælfric, Preface to Genesis (p. 190)
• A bibliography on Ælfric and later OE prose is here
• No Class October 13

Week 9 (Oct 16 - 20)

• Reading: Ælfric, Preface to Genesis, continued.

Week 10 (Oct 23 - 27)

• Reading: “The Dream of the Rood” (p. 256)
• Read “Introduction to Meter” (Guide pp. 161-167)
• Text, notes, and study of the poem and the related Ruthwell Cross monument are here
• A relatively painless introduction to Old English meter, and why it matters, can be found in this essay by Tom Bredehoft

Week 11 (Oct 30 - Nov 3)

• Reading: “The Dream of the Rood” continued.
• Reading: “The Wanderer” (p. 268)

Week 12 (Nov 6 - 10)

• Reading: “The Wanderer” continued.
• Reading: “The Wife’s Lament” (p. 264)

Week 13 (Nov 13 - 17)

• Reading: “The Wife’s Lament” continued.
• Reading: “The Battle of Maldon” (p. 241)
• Wendy Collier’s “Bibliography of the Battle of Maldon” can be found here

Week 14 (Nov 20 - 24)

• Reading: “The Battle of Maldon” continued.
• No Class Nov. 22 and 24: Thanksgiving Break

Week 15 (Nov 27 - Dec 1)

• Reading: “The Battle of Maldon” continued.

Week 16 (Dec 4 - 6)

• Reading: “The Battle of Maldon” continued.
• Discussion of Final Exam and Project

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