Introduction to Old English

Credits: 15.0
Overlap: None
Prerequisite: None

This module will introduce you to the earliest literature in English, as well as to the earliest recorded form
of the English language. The Old English period (fifth to mid-twelfth century) saw both the conversion of the
English to Christianity and their introduction to writing and reading in the Roman alphabet. Its literature is
accordingly a mixed one, poised between an oral, pagan past and a literate, Christian future. Both prose and
verse texts will be read during the module. On completion of the module, you will be able to read Old English
texts for yourself with the help of a glossary, and you will be well placed to pursue the study of Old English
language and literature to a more advanced level. You will also gain an appreciation of the importance of the
advent of literacy in the period for the development of new literary genres and form, and learn something of
the preoccupations of the oral poetic performances that preceded literacy in England and the continental
Germanic era.

Assessment: 100.0% Coursework
Level: 5