Henry Sweet

Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer is possibly the most popular Old English textbook ever written, and with good reason. It is brief and accessible without being unduly simplistic. Students will find that the grammar and glossary make the sample texts far less daunting than they might expect, and will give them the confidence to read more widely in Old English. Henry Sweet (1845-1912) was a leading expert on phonetics and Old English and was partly the basis for the character of Henry Higgins in Shaw's Pygmalion. He was appointed Reader in Phonetics at the University of Oxford in 1901.

First published in 2005. An excellent introduction to Old English, this book begins with an elementary grammar, ably preparing students for the thirty-four texts that follow. Among the carefully selected stories, verses and histories can be found a wide sampling of dialects: West Saxon, Northumbrian, late and early Kentish and early Mercian. A comprehensive glossary is included.

Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Primer

This popular reader--a standard since its first edition in 1876--helps students acquire a sound elementary knowledge Old English by studying of a rich variety of poetry and prose. Selections cover a wide range of dialects and genres, from an early Northumbrian form of Caedmon's Hymn and ninth-century Kentish charters to the complete texts of The Dream of the Rood and Wulfstan's Address to the English, with ample literary and historical notes.

The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon