Both of these sentences are in English. Why is the first sentence so different? The first sentence is written in Old English, the earliest form of the English language that was spoken from approximately 450 C.E. until 1150 C.E. Understanding the history and characteristics of Old English is important because many impactful Old English texts preserved the language and paved the development of modern English used around the world today.
Old English Language Definition
Old English is the earliest form of the English language. It developed into Middle English, which then evolved into the modern English of today's world. It is useful to learn about Old English because the language had a defining impact on history. Some of the most impactful texts in the English language were also written in Old English, such as the epic poem Beowulf and "The Seafarer."
Fig. 1 - In the 5th Century C.E., Germanic tribes colonized English farmland.
History of the Old English Language
In the 5th century C.E., modern-day England was inhabited by a tribe called the Celts. The Celts were long protected by the Roman military. When the Romans withdrew, the Celts became vulnerable to invasion by Germanic tribes, which gradually colonized England and settled down on its fertile farmland. These people from northern Germany and southern Scandinavia were called Anglo-Saxons, and they brought with them their language—Old English.
Before the arrival of Germanic invaders, the Celts spoke various Celtic languages. Over many centuries, the language of the Celts mostly died out, and the only one that survives today is Gaelic, which is still spoken in small communities of Ireland and Scotland.
The various Germanic languages of the tribes that colonized England in this period are all similar to a language called Frisian, which still exists in the northern part of the Netherlands today. Frisian is the closest language to English and is spoken by less than 500,000 people.
Influence of Christianity
At the end of the 6th century C.E., Christian missionaries like Saint Augustine worked to convert the pagan Anglo-Saxons to Christianity. Most were converted by the end of the 7th century. In addition to changing the Anglo-Saxons' beliefs, the missionaries also changed their language.
Before the arrival of the Christians, the Celts and Anglo-Saxons wrote letters that could be scratched into stones. These letters are called runes and are characterized by easy-to-carve straight lines. The Christians brought with them the Latin language and its rounded Roman alphabet. As a result, Old English developed with a Germanic base mixed with Scandinavian and Celtic loanwords and a profound Latin influence.
Fig. 2 - Anglo-Saxon runes.
Norman Conquest
In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, led an invasion of England called the Norman Conquest. The arrival of these newcomers added a French influence on the English language and ushered in the era of Middle English. Most scholars consider the end of Old English around 1150.
Notable English linguist David Crystal studied the evolution of Old English. His scholarship reveals the complex process of integrating Latin words into Germanic Anglo-Saxon. For instance, he has written about how missionaries adapted German words to express the meaning of a Latin word, like the word gast, which came to mean soul or Holy Ghost. The word trinitas, meaning trinity in Latin, became þriness in Old English, meaning threeness. The Anglo-Saxon words thus conveyed the elements and meaning of Latin words, even if they did not adopt the same form.1
Father of Old English Language
During the time of St. Augustine's missionary work, the earliest English poet, Cædmon, was also hard at work. In the book Ecclesiastical History of the English People (731 C.E.), the historian Bede told the story of Cædmon's life. Cædmon was an illiterate herdsman who tended to the animals at a Northumbrian monastery. The story goes that he had a dream one night in which a man asked him to sing about creation.
Cædmon, who could never sing before, began singing verses about God. The abbess St. Hilda thought God blessed Cædmon, and he became a monk and produced religious poetry. He is best known for his Old English poem "Cædmon's Hymn" (c. 680), which established the patterns of Anglo-Saxon verse and is considered the oldest surviving English poem.
Don't confuse Cædmon, the father of Old English, with Chaucer, who is widely considered the father of the English language and English literature. Chaucer was a poet in the fourteenth century who wrote in Middle English. He is best known for a collection of twenty-four stories called The Canterbury Tales (1387-1400).
Features of the Old English Language
The following traits characterized old English:
Unfixed word order
Many inflections
Long vowels
Short, one-syllable words
Gendered words (feminine, masculine, or neutral)
Past and present tenses
Grammatical gender means that words are assigned a gender. Modern English does not have this element, but other languages like French do. For example, in French, le cahier (the notebook) is masculine, and la chaussette (the sock) is feminine.
Old English Dialects
There are four known dialects of Old English:
Northumbrian
Spoken in northern England and southeastern Scotland, the Northumbrian dialect was known for characteristics like the use of the short a instead of æ. For example, in the West Saxon dialect, the word father was fæder, but in the Northumbrian dialect, it was fader.
Mercian
Spoken in central England, the Mercian dialect was quite similar to the Northumbrian dialect. For example, the word means behaldeê means guard in the Mercian dialect, and behealdan means guard in the Northumbrian dialect.
Kentish in southeastern England
In southeastern England, people spoke the Kentish dialect. It was known for its nasal, high quality, and its similarity to West Saxon. For example, in Kentish, the word man is man while in West Saxon, it is mon.
West Saxon
Spoken in southwestern England, West Saxon eventually became the dominant Old English dialect. It was the most popular for writing manuscripts. As a result, most surviving Old English texts are in West Saxon.
Literary Significance of Old English
Old English was full of descriptive language, allowing writers to craft poetry rich with vivid imagery. For instance, lots of Old English poetry was full of descriptions of mythical creatures and religious ideology, like the line below from the Old English poem "The Wanderer" (late 10th century).2
| Old English | Modern English |
| Ðonne onwæcneð eft winwineleas guma, gesihð him biforanfealwe wegas,baþian brimfuglas,brædan feþra,hreosan hrim ond snawhagle gemenged. | Then the friendless manwakes up again, He sees before himfallow wavesSea birds bathe,preening their feathers,Frost and snow fall,mixed with hail. |
The use of Old English to create descriptive, moving English texts is one of the characteristics that makes it so significant in the history of the English language.
Fig. 3 - Old English had a profound literary impact.
Old English Alphabet
Old English used a different set of letters than modern English. Most of the letters came from the Latin alphabet brought by the Christian missionaries, although two letters, Ƿ and Þ came from the Rune alphabet and two of the Latin letters were modified in design: (Æ, Ð).
The Old English alphabet contained these letters:
A B C D E F G H I K L M N O P Q R S T U X Y Ƿ Þ Ð Æ
Take a close look at the Old English alphabet. What letters from modern English are missing? What letters are new?
Speakers of Old English pronounced letters and blends differently than speakers of Modern English do. For example, the o sound was pronounced a, so the Old English word hū is how in Modern English. And the sh sound was pronounced sc, so the Old English word scēap is sheep in Modern English.
Old English Examples
Old English has different spellings, pronunciations, and inflections than Modern English. However, it laid the groundwork for the linguistic features of Middle and Modern English. For example, consider the following comparison between the Christian Lord's Prayer in Old English and Modern English.3
Old English:
Fæder ure
þu þe eart on heofonum;
Si þin nama gehalgod.
To becume þin rice,
gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg
and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum
and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. soþlice
Modern English:
Our father,
who art in heaven
hallowed be thy name
thy kingdom come
thy will be done, as Earth as it is in heaven
give us this day our daily bread
and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive though who trespass against us
and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen.
Although Old English used different letters, some of its vocabulary, sentence structures, and grammatical patterns are recognizable compared to Modern English. These parallels underscore Old English's enduring influence on the English language.
Old English - Key takeaways
References
1 J.R.R Tolkien. Beowulf: A Translation and Commentary. 2014.
2 David Crystal. "Old English," The British Library. 2018.
3 Siân Echard (Translator). "The Wanderer," University of British Columbia.
4 "Old English Language." McGill University.
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