Bolton, W. F., ed. (1994); The
Middle Ages; Penguin History of Literature, vol. 1; Reprint Edition, Penguin USA; ISBN 0-140-17751-5.
Cable, T. (1991); The English Alliterative
Tradition; Middle Ages Series; USA: University of Pennsylvania Press; ISBN 0-812-23063-9.
Clark, J. W. (1959); Early English;
London: André Deutsch. (Deals with Old and Middle English in
some detail.)
Diekstra, Frans (1981); Early and
Middle English Literature; ISBN 9-062-03933-2.
Fichte, Jörg O., and Fritz Kemmler (1994); Alt-
und mittelenglische Literatur: Eine Einführung; ISBN 3-87808-926-0; DM 36,80. (Introduction to Old and Middle English Literature; in German.)
Fernández, Francisco (1982/1993); Historia
de la lengua inglesa; Madrid: Gredos. (History of the English language; in Spanish.)
Fisher, John H. (1996); The Emergence
of Standard English; USA: University Press of Kentucky; ISBN 0-813-10852-7.
Freeborn, D. (1992); From Old English
to Standard English; London: Macmillan; ISBN 0-333-53768-8. (Useful book charting the
development of English from 500s to the 1990's. Includes representative
texts and exercises.)
Gneuß, Helmut (1990); Die Wissenschaft
von der englischen Sprache: Ihre Entwicklung bis zum Ausgang des 19.
Jahrhunderts. Munich. (English history until the 19th century; in German.)
Gruber, Loren C., and Dean Loganbill (1977); In
Geardagum II: Essays on Old and Middle English Language; Society for New Language Study; ISBN 0-936-07203-2.
Kiesby, Torben (1992); A Short History
of the English Language; Aarhus (Denmark): Aarhus University Press; ISBN 87-7288-406-1; 180 pp.; paperback;
DKK 198
McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert McNeil (1986); The
Story of English; New York: Viking; 384 pp., illustrated.
Partridge, A. C. (1982); A Companion
to Old and Middle English Studies; The Language Library; USA: Barnes & Noble; ISBN 0-389-20287-8. (Useful for students.)
Wakelin, M. (1988); The Archaeology
of English; London: Batsford; ISBN 0-7134-5556-X. (All periods of English are
discussed with reference to historical documents.)
Zesmer, David M. (1982); Guide
to English Literature from Beowulf through Chaucer and Medieval Drama; Reprint Edition, Greenwood Pub Group; ISBN 0-313-23619-4.
Old English (Anglo-Saxon)
Grammar
Biddulph, J. (1985); A Handbook of
Mercian: Remarks on the Midland dialect of Late Anglo-Saxon; Pontypridd (Wales); ISBN 0-948565-01-2. (Highly unusual in being a grammar
and guide to an Old English dialect. An easy-to-understand survey.)
Blakeley, L. (?); Teach Yourself Old English;
London: English Universities Press; ISBN 0-340-05810-2. (Standard
Teach Youself type book with grammar, texts and full glossary. A useful
beginning book clearly set out.)
Brook, G.L. (1945); Notes on Some English
Sound-Changes; Leeds: University of Leeds Press.
Brook, G.L. (1955); An Introduction
to Old English; Manchester: Manchester University Press; ISBN 0-7190-0569-8. (A good
primer of Old English with ample grammar and sample texts for practice.
The layout is also clear.)
Campbell, A. (1987); Old English Grammar;
Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-811943-7. (This is
the standard scholarly reference work in English. It goes into great detail
and is not recommended for the beginner.)
Diamond, Robert E. (1973); Old
English Grammar and Reader; Wayne State University Press; ISBN 0-814-31510-0. US $16.95. (Adequate grammar
and a good, well glossed selection of reading texts.)
Dürmüller, Urs, and Hanz Utz (1977); Altenglisch:
Eine Einführung; Anglistische Arb.-H., 00012); Tübingen: Max Niemeyer; ISBN 3-484-40048-X.
DM 19,80. (Introduction to Old English; in German.)
Ellis, A.J., ed. (1973 reprint); On
Early English Pronunciation; Parts 1-4; EETS; Oxford.
Girvan, Ritchie (12931); Angelsaksisch
handboek; Haarlem (Netherlands). (Old English manual; in Dutch.)
Hamer, A.J., and J. Bazire (1984); Language
Laboratory Course in Old English; Liverpool: Liverpool University Press; ISBN 0-85323-085-4. (To be
used with the accompanying cassettes. Very methodical.)
Kispert, Robert J. (1971); Old
English: An introduction; Holt Rinehart & Winston; ISBN 0-030-83256-X.
Lass, Roger (1994); Old English: A historical
linguistic companion; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-45848-X. (For linguists;
covers phonology, in particular, in great detail.)
Lehnert, Martin (1990); Altenglisches
Elementarbuch: Einführung, Grammatik, Texte mit Übersetzung und Wörterbuch; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter; 10th revised edition; ISBN 3-110-12471-8.
DM 19,80 DM. (Introduction to Old English; in German.)
McLaughlin, J. (1983); Old English
Syntax: A handbook; Tübingen: Max Niemeyer; ISBN 3-484-65004-4.
Mitchell, B. (1985); Old English Syntax;
Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2 vols. (The standard work in
English and highly detailed. Designed for scholars.)
Mitchell, B., and Basil Blackwell (1995); An
Invitation to Old English and Anglo-Saxon England; Oxford; ISBN 0-631-17436-2. (This is a fine beginner's book, designed
to make the learning of Old English as painless as possible. As the title
suggests, it also deals with Anglo-Saxon history and culture. For straight
language-learning A Guide to Old English - on which this book is based - is betterrr.)
Mitchell, B., F. C. Robinson (1986-); A
Guide to Old English; Oxford; ISBN 0-631-13625-8. (This is by far the best beginner's book
of Old English. It explains grammar in great detail but at a level the
beginner will understand. There are numerous examples of usage, a large
bibliography split into categories, and the book even has a substantial
reading section with some of the finest Old English literature with a
complete glossary at the back.)
Nielsen, Hans Frede (1998); The
Continental Backgrounds of English and its Insular Development until
1154; Odense (Denmark): Odense University Press; ISBN 87-7838-420-6; 234 pp.; paperback;
DKK 220 DKK
Norman Davis, rev. (1953-); Sweet's
Anglo-Saxon Primer; ISBN 0-19-811178-9. (Useful, but best used in conjunction with other books,
as the lack of detail makes it a less than ideal beginner's book. It
includes adequate grammar, with some sample texts and a glossary.)
Pollington, S. (1994); An Introduction
to the Old English language and its literature; Anglo-Saxon Books; Norfolk; ISBN 1-898-28106-8. (Not a grammar but
a guide to the general characteristics of Old English and its literature.)
Pollington, S. (1996); First Steps
in Old English; Anglo-Saxon Books; Norfolk: Hockwold-cum-Wilton. (Cassette
course with all texts read on the tape. This will also probably become
a correspondance course.)
Quirk, R., and C. L. Wrenn (1955); An
Old English Grammar; London: Methuen's Old English Library; ISBN 0-416-77240-4. (This
is a handy and good beginner's book. It goes into considerable detail
in the footnotes. It deals with Late West Saxon rather than Early West
Saxon with which most primers deal.)
Rask, Rasmus (1817); Angelsaksisk Sproglære;
Stockholm. (Old English textbook; in Danish.)
Ross, A.S.C. (?); The Essentials of Anglo-Saxon
Grammar; Cambridge: Heffer & Sons. (Gives the very basics only.)
Sievers, Eduard von (1899); A
Grammar of Old English; Boston: Ginn. (Now old-fashioned in design but still of use.)
Sievers, Eduard von, and Karl Brunner (1965); Altenglische
Grammatik nach der angelsächsischen Grammatik; Tübingen: Max Niemeyer. (This is the most detailed grammar of Old
English written in any language. Only for the advanced user; in German.)
Sievers, Eduard von, revised by Karl Brunner (1963); Abriss
der altenglischen (angelsächsischen) Grammatik; Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 16th revised edition; ISBN 3-484-40010-2;
12.00 DM. (Introductory grammar; in German.)
Smith, J.J. (?); Introduction to Old English;
(software); Glasgow (Scotland): University of Glasgow.
Weimann, Klaus (1995); Einführung
ins Altenglische; UTB/BRO, 3rd revised edition; ISBN 3-825-21210-6; DM 29.80. (Introduction to
Old English; in German.)
Wright, J. (1925); Old English Grammar;
Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Solid, no-nonsense grammar
with generous use of examples, especially as regards inflection and word-formation.)
Dictionaries, Lexicons & Thesauri
Barney, S. A. (1985); Word-Hoard:
An introduction to Old English vocabulary; New Haven: Yale University Press; ISBN 0-300-03506-3. (A novel way of
learning Old English poetic vocabulary with word elements grouped into
families for easier recall. The groups are frequency-based.)
Bosworth, Joseph, T. Toller, and T. Northcote (1972); Anglo-Saxon
Dictionary; Oxford: Oxford University Press. (This is a standard
large dictionary of Old English. It is designed for advanced users and
scholars and it is remarkable for its wealth of detail.)
Bouterwek, Karl W. (1849, 1968); Ein
angelsächsisches Glossar: Caedmon's des Angelsachsen biblische Dichtungen,
II; Sändig Reprint Verlag; ISBN 3-253-01998-5. (Glossary based on Caedmon's works; in German.)
Clark-Hall, J. R. (1960); A Concise
Anglo-Saxon Dictionary; Toronto: University of Toronto Press; ISBN 0-802-06548-1. (The best
hand-dictionary. This covers all the student's needs.)
Grein, C. W. M., et al. (1974); Sprachschatz
der angelsächsischen Dichter: Carl Winter Verlag; reprint; ISBN 3-8253-2324-2. DM 180.00. (Vocabulary
of Old English poets; in German.)
Holthausen, Ferdinand (1974); Altenglisches
etymologisches Wörterbuch; Carl Winter; ISBN 3-825-30508-2; DM 48.00. (Etymological dictionary. Great
for comparison across old Germanic languages; in German.)
Jember, G. K., and F. Kemmler (1981); A
Basic Vocabulary of Old English Prose: Grundwortschatz altenglische Prosa; Tübingen: F. Max Niemeyer; ISBN 3-484-40087-0. (The only book that
aims to help the student learn the vocabulary of prose, rather than poetry; in English and German.)
Jember, Gregory K. (1984); English-Old
English, Old English-English Dictionary; reissue edition paperback; Westview Press; ISBN 0-891-58006-9. (Useful for
writing Old English.)
Madden, J. F., and F. P. Magoun (1967); A
Grouped Frequency Word-List of Anglo-Saxon Poetry; Harvard University Press; ISBN 0-674-36400-7. (Designed to help the student
learn the poetic language. Words are put into groups according to frequency.)
Pollington, S. (1993); Wordcraft:
Concise dictionary and thesaurus Modern English-Old English; Anglo-Saxon Books; Norfolk; ISBN 1-898281-02-5. (Essential if one
wants to write Old English. It also helps one learn the vocabulary as
synonyms are grouped together under subject headings in the thesarus
section.)
Roberts, Jane, Christian Kay, and Lynne Grundy (1995); A
Thesaurus of Old English; King's College London Medieval Studies X; in 2 vols., xxxv + 1555 pp.; hardback.
(This has become the standard book of Old English synonyms.)
Skeat's English-Anglo-Saxon Vocabulary 1879;
Reprint Languages Information Centre, Pontypridd (Wales) 1990; ISBN 0-948-56568-3.
(Handlist of words Modern English to Old English.)
Sweet, H. (1989); The Student's Dictionary
of Anglo-Saxon; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-198-63107-3. (Quite good
at the poetic lexicon and word compounding.)
Readers & Anthologies
Diamond, Robert E. (1973); Old
English Grammar and Reader: Wayne State University Press; ISBN 0814315100; US $16.95.
Griffiths, Bill (1990); An Anglo-Saxon
Subject Reader - Part 1: The Natural World; London.
Hamer, R. (1970); A Choice of Anglo-Saxon
Verse: Selected with an introduction and a parallel verse translation; London: Faber & Faber; ISBN 0-571-08765-5. (The Old English poetic texts alongside a parallel
Modern English translation. Useful.)
Hill, J. (1983); Old English Minor Heroic
Poems; Durham University Press.
Hulbert; James R. (1957); Bright's
Anglo-Saxon Reader; New York: Henry Holt. (Unusual in also containing quite a full grammar.
There is a good selection of texts which are glossed at the back.)
Magennis, H., and I. Herbison (1990); Discovering
Old English: Guided readings; Belfast (Northern Ireland): Ultonian Press; ISBN 0-9576597-0-7. (A practical
book which helps the reader translate by way of glossaries and a commentary.
It has a small grammar and a glossary at the back.)
Muir, Bernard James (1988); A
Pre-Conquest English Prayer-Book; Henry Bradshaw Society Publications, No. 103; Suffolk: Boydell & Brewer; ISBN 0-950-10095-1.
O'Brien, Katherine (1997); Reading
Old English Texts; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; paperback ISBN 0-521-46970-8.
(Forthcoming)
Quinn, Karen J., and Kenneth P. Quinn (1990); Manual
of Old English Prose; Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, vol. 453; Garland; ISBN 0-824-09032-2.
Quirk, R., et al. (1975); Old
English Literature: A practical introduction; London (England; ISBN 0-7131-5808-5. (Takes a practical view to reading Old
English. The reader is given a minimal grammar and then the texts, with
a running gloss to aid translation.)
Sweet, H., and T. Hoad (1978); A Second
Anglo-Saxon Reader: Archaic and dialectual; Oxford: Oxford University Press. (A good source for non-West Saxon
texts. Much of the material consists of Mercian glosses or Kentish psalms.)
Whitelock, D., ed. (1967-); Sweet's
Anglo-Saxon Reader in Verse and Prose; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-811169-X. (The standard
reader of OE. It includes all the standard reading texts, notes, and
a number of examples of dialects. All texts are fully glossed.)
Wyatt, A.J. (1901); An Elementary Old
English Reader (Early West Saxon); Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Well-suited for the beginner.
Much material is taken from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.)
Wyatt, A.J. (1947); An Anglo-Saxon Reader;
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (A solid reader with a
full glossary. The selection of texts may be better suited to the beginner
than to most readers.)
Dialectology
Biddulph, J. (1985); A Handbook of
Mercian: Remarks on the Midland dialect of Late Anglo-Saxon; Pontypridd (Wales); ISBN 0-948565-01-2.
Biddulph, J. (1995); Northumbrian and
Other Languages of the Old North; Pontypridd (Wales); ISBN 1-897999-01-1.
Bryan, W.F. (1915); Studies in the Dialects
of the Kentish Charters of the Old English Period; Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Skeat, W.W. (1912); English Dialects
from the Eighth Century until the Present Day; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (A very important work which
laid the foundation for later studies.)
Sweet, H., and T. Hoad (1978); A
Second Anglo-Saxon Reader: Archaic and dialectual; Oxford (English): Oxford University Press.
Individual Texts
Dickins, B., and A. S. C. Ross (1951); The
Dream of the Rood; Methuen's Old English Library; London: Methuen. (Includes notes and
a glossary to this popular religious poem.)
Eaton, Trevor (1997); Beowulf:
Unabridged, read in Anglo-Saxon by Trevor Eaton; Pavillion Records (Pavillion Records Limited, Sparrows Green, Wadhurst, East
Sussex, TN5 6SJ England); SHE CDS 9642 2 CD set; approx. 144 minutes.
(Unique being a complete recording of the poem.)
Gordon, I. L. (1960); The Seafarer;
Methuen's Old English Library; London: Methuen. (The standard
edition of this Old English "elegy." It includes notes and a glossary.)
Griffiths, B. (1993); The Battle of
Maldon: Text and translation; Norfolk: Anglo-Saxon Books. (Provides a reproduction of the Old English
manuscript, with transliteration and translation.)
Jack, G. (1994); Beowulf: A student edition;
Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-871044-5. (Clearly
laid out, with parallel glosses and notes. This is the best available student
edition.)
Klaeber, F. D.C. (1950); Beowulf
and the Fight at Finnsburg; Lexington: Heath. (This is by far the most detailed edition. It is also the
most reliable and is the standard text used by scholars.)
Leslie, R.F., ed. (1966); The
Wanderer. Manchester: Manchester University Press. (The standard edition of
this Old English "elegy." It includes notes and a glossary.)
Lucas, P., ed. (1994); Exodus;
Exeter: Exeter University Press. (Standard edition of this often
studied biblically inspired work. It includes copious notes, glossary and
a helpful introduction.)
Plummer, and Earle (1972); Two
of the Saxon Chronicles Parallel with Supplementary Extracts from the
Others; 2 vols; Oxford: Oxford University Press. (This is the standard edition
of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Notes and gloss are included.)
Scragg, D.G. (1981); The Battle of
Maldon; Manchester: Manchester University Press. (The standard edition of
this heroic poem.)
Smith, A.H., ed. (1080); The Parker
Chronicle 832-900; Exeter: Exeter University Press; ISBN 0-85989-099-6. (An extract
from one of the Anglo-Saxon chronicles. Suitable for translation practice.)
Swanton, M. J., transl. (1995); An
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle; Exeter: University of Exeter Press; ISBN 0-85989-353-7. (Extracts
from one of the Chronicles. Useful for beginners.)
Wrenn, C. L., ed. (1973); Beowulf;
London: Harrap; ISBN 0-245-51008-7. (A student edition.)
Texts in Translation
Alexander, M., transl., ed. (1977); The
Earliest English Poems; Penguin Books; ISBN 0-14-044172-7. (Selection of Old English poetry in translation.
A good introductory book to Old English poems.)
Ashdown, M. (1930); English and Norse
Documents relating to the Reign of Ethelred the Unready; Cambridge: Cambridge. (Translation and text of the major documents
of this period.)
Bradley, S. A. J., transl. (1982); Anglo-Saxon
Poetry; Everyman's Library; London: Dent. (A good and varied overall anthology
of poems in translation.)
Clark-Hall, J. R., transl. (1950): Beowulf
and the Finnesburg Fragment; George Allen & Unwin. (This is by far the best translation of the poem. It retains the flavor
of the Old English without being archaic or unnatural.)
Crossley-Holland, K., transl., ed. (1984); The
Anglo-Saxon World: An anthology including the complete Beowulf; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-281632-2. (A well-selected
mixture of poems and prose in translation.)
Garmonsway, G. N., transl., ed. (1972); The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles; Everyman’s Library; London: Dent; ISBN 0-460-8703-6. (The standard
edition of the Chronicles in translation.)
Gordon, R. K., transl. (1950); Anglo-Saxon
Poetry; Everyman's Library; London: Dent. (Includes the complete Beowulf.)
Savage, A., transl. (1982); The
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles; London: Macmillan; ISBN 0-333-4881-4. (This is a very attractive
illustrated edition.)
Swanton, M., transl. (1993); Anglo-Saxon
Prose; Everyman's Library; London: Everyman; ISBN 0-460-87341-5. (Includes
translations of some of the lesser known works.)
Linguistic Studies
Clark, J.W. (1959); Early English;
London: Andre Deutsch.
Frantzen, Allen J. (1990); Desire
for Origins: New Language, Old English, and Teaching the Tradition; New Brunswick and London.
Hans Frede Nielsen Institut, eds. (?); Old
English and the Continental Germanic Languages: A survey of morphological
and phonological interrelations. Innsbruck (Austria): Hans Frede Nielsen Institut für Sprachwissenschaft der
Universität Innsbruck; ISBN 3-851-24558-X.
Hetherington, M. Sue (1982); "The
Recovery of the Anglo-Saxon Lexicon;" in Carl T. Berkhout and Milton McC. Gatch, eds., Anglo-Saxon Scholarship; Boston , pp. 79-89.
Jordan, R. (1906); Eigentümlichkeiten
des anglischen Wortschatzes; Heidelberg. (Lexical features of Old English; in German.)
Lester, G.A. (1996); The Language of
Old and Middle English Poetry; London: Macmillan; ISBN 0-333-48847-4. (An attractive study which
also clearly shows the change in language from Old to Middle English
poetry.)
Meritt, Dean Herbert (1967); Fact
and Lore about Old English Words; New York.
Murphy, Michael (1982); "Scholars
at Play: A short history of composing in Old English"; Old English Newsletter 15.2, pp. 26-36.
Philips, Andrew (1996); The Rebirth
of England and English: The vision of William Barnes; Anglo-Saxon Books; Hockwold-cum-Wilton. (Biography of Barnes and
his attempts to revive Old English words back into English.)
Robinson, Fred C., (1993); "The
Afterlife of Old English: A brief history of composition in Old English
after the close of the Anglo-Saxon eriod"; in The Tomb of Beowulf and Other Essays on Old English; Oxford and Cambridge , pp. 275-303.
Robinson, Orrin W. (1992); Old
English and Its Closest Relatives: A survey of the earliest Germanic
languages; Stanford: Stanford University Press; ISBN 0-8047-1454-1 (cloth), 0-8047-2221-8
(paperback). (Unique work. Invaluable for comparison between Old English
and other Old Germanic languages.)
Simmons, Clare A. (1992); "'Iron-Worded
Proof': Victorian identity and the Old English language", Studies in Medievalism 4, pp. 202-14.
Stanley, E. G. (1990); "Bosworth's
Interest in 'Friesic' for His Dictionary of the Anglo-Saxon Language (1838):
'The Friesic Is Far the Most Important Language for My Purpose'"; Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 31-32, pp. 428-52.
Wrenn, C. L. (1933); "Standard
Old English"; in Transactions of the Philological Society, pp. 65-88. (Discussion of dialect
and standard.)
Wyld, H.C. (1925); "Diction and
Imagery in Anglo-Saxon Poetry"; in Essays and Studies by Members of the English Association, pp. 49-91.
Yorke, B.A.E (1981); "The Vocabulary
of Anglo-Saxon overlordship"; in Anglo-Saxon Studies in Archaelogy and History 2.
Literary Criticism
Berkhout, Carl T., and Milton McC. Gatch, eds. (1982); Anglo-Saxon
Scholarship: The first three centuries; Boston; US $26.00. (Very interesting articles about the early scholars
of Old English.)
Bessinger, J. B., and S. J. Kahrl (1968); Essential
Articles for the Study of Old English Poetry; Hamden.
Brodeur, A. G. (1959); The Art of
Beowulf; Berkeley.
Brunner, Karl (1954); "Why was
Beowulf preserved?"; in Etudes anglaises 7, pp 1-5.
Busse, Wilhelm G. (1987); Altenglische
Literatur und ihre Geschichte: Zur Geschichte des gegenwärtigen Deutungssystems; Droste; ISBN 3-7700-0808-1; DM 78.00.
Chadwick, H. M. (1955); The Study
of Anglo-Saxon; 2nd ed.; Cambridge. (A classic. Chadwick discusses the importance
of the study of Old English and Anglo-Saxon institutions.)
Chambers, R. W., and C. L. Wrenn (1959); Beowulf:
An introduction to the study of the poem; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Detailed discussion of the
background and historicity of Beowulf.)
Fulk, R. D., ed. (1991); Interpretations
of Beowulf: A critical anthology; Bloomington: Indiana University Press; ISBN 0-253-20639-1. (The best
anthology of Beowulf criticism. Includes some seminal articles.)
Godden, M., and M. Lapidge, eds. (1991); The
Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; ISBN 0-521-37794-3. (Designed
for students. It covers most major aspects of poetry and prose and gives
a good grounding in the culture of the time.)
Greenfield, S. B. (1965); A Critical
History of Old English Literature; New York: New York University Press; ISBN 0-8147-2950-9. (A well-esteemed
critical overview of Old English literature.)
Greenfield, S. B. (1972); The
Interpretation of Old English Poems; London: Routledge. (Some thought-provoking views on how Old English
literature could be read.)
Greenfield, S. B. (1989); Hero
and Exile: The art of Old English poetry; London.
Irving, E. (1968); A Reading of Beowulf;
New Haven. ( A well-regarded critical reading of the poem, designed
for students.)
Malone, Kemp (1960); "Grundtvigs
oversættelse af Beowulf"; Grundtvig Studier, pp. 7-25. (Grundtvig's translation of Beowulf; in Danish.)
McGatch, M. C. (1971); Loyalties
and Traditions: Man and his world in Old English literature; New York.
Ogilvy, J. D. A., and D. C. Baker (1983); Reading
Beowulf: University of Oklahoma Press, Norman; ISBN 0-8061-2019-3. (Gives a good
orientation and background for students.)
Payne, Richard C. (1982); "The
rediscovery of Old English poetry in the English literary tradition", in Carl T. Berkhout and Milton McC. Gatch, eds., Anglo-Saxon Scholarship; Boston; pp. 149-166.
Raw, B. C. (1978); The Art and Background
of Old English Poetry; London. (A highly regarded study.)
Robinson, Fred C. (1993); Tomb
of Beowulf: and other essays; Oxford: Basil Blackwell. (A fascinating collection of
essays, with a strong emphasis on English antiquarianism.)
Shippey, T.A. (1972); Old English
Verse; London: Hutchinson University Library; ISBN 0-091-11031-9. (One of
the best guidebooks to Old English poetry available. Of great use to
the student.)
Sisam, K. (1953); Studies in the History
of Old English Literature; Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Historicity of Old English texts
and manuscripts.)
Sisam, K. (1965); The Structure of Beowulf;
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Stanley, E. G. (1966); Continuations
and Beginnings; Nelson. (Fine study of Old English literature.)
Swanton, M. (1987); English Literature
before Chaucer; London: Longman; ISBN 0-582-49242-4.
Tuso, J. F. ,ed. (1975); Beowulf:
A Norton critical edition; New York: W. W. Norton; ISBN 0-393-09225-0. (The Donaldson translation
of Beowulf and much thoughtful critcism from a variety of sources.)
Wilson, R. M. (1972); The Lost Literature
of Medieval England; London. (Discusses what has been lost to us through the ages.)
Wrenn, C. L. (1967); A Study of Old
English Literature; London: Harrap. (Good overview of Old English literature, with numerous
examples.)
Onomastics
Björkman, Erik (1973); Nordische
Personennamen in England in alt - und frühmittel-englischer Zeit>>; Tübingen: Niemeyer; ISBN 3-500-27880-9. (Nordic personal names in
the Old and Early Middle English periods; in German.)
Cameron, Kenneth, and Margareth Gelling, eds. (1976); Place-Name
Evidence for the Anglo-Saxon Invasion and Scandinavian Settlements; Nottingham: English Place-name Society, Nottingham University.
Feilitzen, O. (1937); The Pre-Conquest
Personal Names of the Domesday Book; Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksell.
Förster, Th. (1916); The Continental
Germanic Personal Names in England in Old and Middle English Times; Uppsala.
Gelling, M. (1988); Signposts to the
Past: Place-names and the history of England; Phillimore.
Kousgård-Sørensen, J. (1982); Patronymics
in Denmark and England; London: Viking Society for Northern Research.
Searle, W. G. (1969); Onomasticon
Anglo-Saxonicum; reprint; Hildesheim: Georg Olms. (The best collection of Old English
personal names available.)
Seltén, Bo (1972); The Anglo-Saxon Heritage
in Middle English Personal Names: East Anglia 1100-1399; Lund.
Transition from Old English to Middle English
Allen, Cynthia L. (1995); Case
Marking and Reanalysis: Grammatical relations from Old to Early Modern
English; Oxford: Clarendon Press; ISBN 0-198-24096-1.
Brook, G.L. (1945); Notes on some English
sound-changes; Leeds: University of Leeds Press.
Chambers, R.W. (1990); On the Continuity
of English Prose from Alfred to More and His School; Oxford: Early English Text Society. (A useful study highlighting
the essential continuity of the Old English prose tradition into Middle
English times, despite the Norman Conquest.)
Ellis, A. J., ed. (1973 reprint); On
Early English Pronunciation, Parts 1-4; Oxford: EETS.
Freeborn, D. (1992); From Old English
to Standard English; London: Macmillan; ISBN 0-333-53768-8.
Godden, M., ed. (1994); From Anglo-Saxon
to Early Middle English: Studies presented to E.G.Stanley; Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Lester, G. A. (1996); The Language
of Old and Middle English Poetry; London: Macmillan; ISBN 0-333-4884-7.
Malone, Kemp (1930); "When did
Middle English Begin?", in Curme Volume of Linguistic Studies, pp. 110-117.
Swanton, Michael (1987); English
Literature Before Chaucer; Longman Literature in English Series; London: Longman; ISBN 0-582-49242-4.
Wakelin, M. (1988); The Archaeology
of English; London: Batsford; ISBN 0-7134-5556-X.
Middle
English
Grammar
Bähr, Dieter (1993); Einführung ins
Mittelenglische; UTB /BRO; ISBN 3-8252-0361-1; DM 24.80. (Introduction to Middle English; in German.)
Bennett, J. A. W., and E. V. Smithers (1968); Early
Middle English Verse and Prose; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-871101-8. (Includes a
grammar. The best such book dealing with early Middle English, including
many reading texts and full glossary.)
Brunner, Karl (1967); Abriß der mittelenglischen
Grammatik; Tübingen: Max Niemeyer; ISBN 3-484-40011-0; DM 12.00. (Outline of
Middle English grammar; in German.)
Brunner, Karl (1974); An Outline of
Middle English Grammar; Textbook Binding; Folcroft Library Editions; ISBN 0-841-41371-1.
Burrow, J. A., and T. Turville-Petre (1992); A
Book of Middle English; Oxford , Cambridge: Blackwell; ISBN 0-631-16726-9. (A very useful
book which includes full grammar, many reading texts of different genres,
and a glossary.)
Dürmüller, Urs, and Hans Utz (1974); Mittelenglisch:
Eine Einführung; Tübingen: Max Niemeyer; ISBN 3-484-40040-4; DM 17.80. (Introduction
to Middle English; in German.)
Jones, Charles (1972); Introduction
to Middle English; Irvington; ISBN 0-891-97800-3.
Jordan, Richard (1968); Handbuch
der mittelenglischen Grammatik: Lautlehre; Klaus Carl Winter; ISBN 3-8253-0494-9. DM 55.00. (Manual of Middle
English grammar; in German.)
Jordan, Richard (1974); Handbook
of Middle English Grammar: Phonology; Janua Linguarum Series Practica No. 208; Berlin: Walter
De Gruyter; ISBN 9-027-93302-2.
Mosse, Fernand (1969); Handbook of
Middle English; Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. (Designed for students.
Includes all areas of grammar, as well as texts for reading and a glossary.)
Mossé, Fernand (1986); Mittelenglische
Kurzgrammatik: Lautlehre, Formenlehre, Syntax; Max Hueber; ISBN 3-19-002164-3; DM 33.80. (Concise grammar of Middle English:
Phonology, morphology, syntax; in German.)
Roseborough, Margaret M. (1970); Outline
of Middle English Grammar; Greenwood; ISBN 0-837-14324-1.
Sweet, H. (1948); First Middle English
Primer; Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Not as elementary as the title
suggests, it covers mainly early Middle English.)
Wardale, Edith E. (1937); Introduction
to Middle English; Ams Press; ISBN 0-404-14626-0.
Wright, J. (1973); An Elementary Middle
English Grammar; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-811925-9. (A clear, well
laid-out grammar of Middle English. Should be of primary help to students.)
Readers and Anthologies
Barron, W. R. J. (1987); English
Medieval Romance; Longman Literature in English Series; London: Longman; ISBN 0-582-49220-3.
Bennett, J. A. W., and E. V. Smithers (1968); Early
Middle English Verse and Prose; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-871101-8. (Includes a
grammar. The best such book dealing with early Middle English, including
many reading texts and full glossary.)
Davies, R.T., ed. (1963); Medieval
English Lyrics: A critical anthology; London: Faber & Faber; ISBN 0-571-06571-6.
Dickens, B., and R. M. Bowes (1951); Early
Middle English Texts; Cambridge: Bowes & Bowes.
Duncan, Thomas G., ed. (1996); Medieval
English Lyrics: 1200-1400; Penguin Classics; Penguin USA; ISBN 0-140-43443-7.
Emerson, Oliver F. (1978); Middle
English Reader; Ams Press; ISBN 0-404-14784-4.
Fellows, Jennifer, ed. (1993); Of
Love and Chivalry: An anthology of Middle English romance; London: Everyman's Library; ISBN 0-460-87237-0.
Fernández, Francisco (1998); Middle
English Texts: translation and philological commentary; Valencia: Albatros. 204 pp., paperback
Gardner, John (1973); The Alliterative
Morte Arthure, the Owl and the Nightingale, and Five Other Middle English
Poems in a Modernized Version; Arcturus Books, Ab 116: Southern Illinois University Press; ISBN 0-809-30648-4.
Haskell, Ann S., ed. (1985); A
Middle English Anthology;Waynebook, 50; Reprint Edition Published by Wayne State University Press; ISBN
0-814-31798-7.
Luria, M. S., and R. L. Hoffman, eds. (1974); Middle
English Lyrics: A Norton critical edition; New York: W. W. Norton; ISBN 0-393-09338-7. (Includes helpful notes for
the student.)
Sands, B. (1986); Middle English Verse
Romances; Exeter: University of Exeter Press. (A student edition, fully glossed
including such genres as the Breton Lays.)
Sisam, K. (1921); Fourteenth Century Verse
and Prose; Oxford: Oxford University Press. (Reprinted many times later.)
Turville-Petre, Thorlac (1989); Alliterative
Poetry of the Later Middle Ages: An anthology; Routledge Medieval English Texts: Catholic University of America Press;
ISBN 0-813-20674-X.
Geoffrey Chaucer's Work
and Times
Andrew, Malcolm, ed. (1991); Critical
Essays on Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: University of Toronto Press; ISBN 0-802-05005-0.
Benson, L. D., ed. (1987); The
Riverside Chaucer; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-282109-1. (This is the
standard edition of Chaucer's works. Includes copious notes and full
glosses.)
Brewer, Derek (1992); Chaucer and
His World; Woobridge: Brewer; ISBN 0-859-91365-1.
Burnley, D. (1989); The Language of
Chaucer; London: Macmillan.
Davis, N. et al. (1979); A Chaucer
Glossary; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-19-811171-1. (A helpful student
supplement to Chaucer studies.)
Hussey, M., A. C. Spearing, and J. Winny (1965); An
Introduction to Chaucer; Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (Introductory guide dealing
with literary genres, influences, language and the culture and politics
of the time.)
Kökeritz, Helge, ed. (1979); Guide
to Chaucer's Pronunciation: University of Toronto Press.
Smith, Jeremy, ed. (1989); The
English of Chaucer and His Contemporaries; Aberdeen (Scotland): Aberdeen University Press; ISBN 0-080-36403-9.
Other Authors and Their Works
Anderson, J. J., and A. Cawley (1991); Sir
Gawain and the Green Knight; London: Dent; ISBN 0-460-87101-3. (For students. A glossary is supplied
for translation purposes.)
Barron, W. R. J., and S. C. Weinberg, transls., eds. (1989); Lagamon's
Arthur: The Arthurian section of Lagamon's Brut; Essex: Longman; ISBN 0-582-03485-X. (Provides original text and translation
of the Arthurian section of Lawman's famous alliterative poem. A solid
student edition.)
Benson, Larry D. (1995); King Arthur's
Death: The Middle English stanzaic Morte Arthur and alliterative Morte Arthure; Exeter Medieval English Texts and Studies; Reissue Edition; Exeter: University of Exeter Press; ISBN 0-859-89267-0.
Hudson, Harriet, ed. (1996); Four
Middle English Romances: Sir Isumbras, Octavian, Sir Eglamour of Artois, Sir Tryamour; Middle English Texts; Kalamazoo: Western Michigan University
Press; ISBN 1-879-28863-X.
Langland, William, and A. V. C. Schmidt, eds. (1992); Piers
Plowman: A new translation of the B-Text; The World's Classics; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-192-82587-9.
Mills, Maldwyn, ed. (1993); Six
Middle English Romances; Everyman's Library; Reissue Edition; London: Everyman's Library;
ISBN 0-460-87225-7.
Rumble, Thomas (1965); Breton Lays
in Middle English: Wayne State University Press; ISBN 0-814-31265-9.
Smithers, G. V., ed. (1987); Havelok;
Oxford: Clarendon Press; ISBN 0-198-11939-9.
Tolkien, J. R. R., ed. (1988); Sir Gawain and the Green Knight;
Reissue Edition, Ballantine Books; ISBN 0-345-27760-0. (The standard scholarly
edition of this poem.)
Vantuono, William, transl. (1995); Pearl:
An edition with verse translation: University of Notre Dame Press; ISBN 0-268-03810-4.
References, Linguistic
Studies, and Dialectology
Biddulph, J. (1987); Early Kentish
Dialect: An informal portrait; Pontypridd (Wales); ISBN 0-948565-31-4. (Unique look at the south-eastern dialect
of medieval England.)
Björkman, Erik (1972); Scandinavian
Loan-Words in Middle English; Scholarly Press; ISBN 0-403-00450-0. (Of prime interest to etymologists and
local historians.)
Burnley, J. D., Matsuji Tajima, and David Burnley, eds. (1994); The
Language of Middle English Literature; Annotated Bibliographies of Old and Middle English Literature, vol, 12;. University
of Rochester Press; ISBN 0-859-91405-4.
Gillis, Kristensson (1987); Survey
of Middle-English Dialects, 1290-1350: The West Midland Counties: Chartwell-Bratt.
Ker, W.P. (1962); Medieval English Literature;
Oxford: Oxford University Press. (A classic work, with much emphasis
on the romance genre in Middle English.)
Kurath, H., and S. M. Kuhn, eds. (1954-); Middle
English Dictionary; Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor. (The work for this multi-volume dictionary is ongoing.
Many volumes have now appeared.)
Lester, G.A. (1996); The Language of
Old and Middle English Poetry; London: Macmillan; ISBN 0-333-48847-4.
Lindkvist, H. (1912); Middle English
Place-Names of Scandinavian Origin; Uppsala.
Malone, Kemp (1930); "When did
Middle English Begin?", in Curme Volume of Linguistic Studies, pp. 110-117.
McIntosh, Angus, M. L. Samuels, and Margaret Laing (1989); Middle
English Dialectology: Essays on Some Principles and Problems; Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press; ISBN 0-080-36404-7.
Seltén, Bo (1972); The Anglo-Saxon Heritage
in Middle English Personal Names: East Anglia 1100-1399; Lund.
Literary Criticism and Guidebooks
Bennett, J. A. W. (1990); Middle
English Literature; Oxford History of English Literature, vol. 1; Reprint Edition; Oxford:
Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-198-11970-4.
Brewer, Derek, Jonathan Gibson, eds. (1997); A
Companion to the Gawain-Poet; Arthurian Studies; University of Rochester Press; ISBN 0-859-91433-X.
Burney Trapp, Joseph, ed. (1973); Medieval
English Literature; The Oxford Anthology of English Literature; Oxford: Oxford University
Press; ISBN 0-195-01624-6.
Burrow, John Anthony (1982); Medieval
Writers and Their Work: Middle English literature and its background
1100-1500; Oxford: Oxford University Press; ISBN 0-192-89122-7.
Duboulay, F. R. H. (1991); The
England of 'Piers Plowman': William Langland and his vision of the fourteenth
century; Cambridge: Boydell & Brewer; ISBN 0-859-91312-0.
Edwards A. S. G. (1984); Middle
English Prose: A critical guide to major authors and genres; Rutgers University Press; ISBN 0-813-51001-5.
Hines, John (1993); The Fabliau in English;
Longman Medieval and Renaissance Library; London: Longman; ISBN
0-582-03733-6.
MacHan, Tim (1994); Textual Criticism
and Middle English Texts: University of Press of Virginia; ISBN 0-813-91508-2.
Putter, Ad (1997); An Introduction to
the Gawain-Poet; Longman Medieval and Renaissance Library Series; London: Longman;
ISBN 0-582-22574-4.
Stevens, Martin (1987); Four Middle
English Mystery Cycles: Textual, contextual, and critical interpretations: Princeton University Press; ISBN 0-691-06714-7.
Trigg, Stephanie, ed. (1993); Medieval
English Poetry; Longman Critical Readers; London; Longman; ISBN 0-582-08261-7.
Turville-Petre, Thorlac (1996); England
the Nation: Language, literature, and national identity, 1290-1340; Oxford: Clarendon Press; ISBN 0-198-12279-9.
Veldhoen, N. H. G. E., and H. Aertsen, eds. (1995); Companion
to Early Middle English Literature; Amsterdam (Netherlands): Vu University of Press; ISBN 9-053-83349-8.
Thanks
to Edward Sproston for suggesting
items for inclusion. If you wish
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Introduction
