This essential Middle English textbook, now in its third edition, introduces students to the wide range of literature written in England between 1150 and 1400. New, thoroughly revised edition of this essential Middle English textbook. Introduces the language of the time, giving guidance on pronunciation, spelling, grammar, metre, vocabulary and regional dialects. Now includes extracts from 'Pearl' and Chaucer's 'Troilus and Criseyde'. Bibliographic references have been updated throughout. Each text is accompanied by detailed notes.
"A direct, clear, and user-friendly introduction to the sound of Chaucer's language, as well as to aspects of Chaucer's vocabulary and principal metrical form."--Back cover.
This highly respected anthology of medieval English literature features poetry, prose and popular tales from Arthurian legend and classical mythology. Includes notes on each extract, appendices, and an extensive glossary by J. R. R. Tolkien.
An Introduction to Middle English combines an elementary grammar of the English language from about 1100 to about 1500 with a selection of texts for reading, ranging in date from 1154 to 1500. The grammar includes the fundamentals of orthography, phonology, morphology, syntax, regional dialectology, and prosody. In the thirty-eight texts for reading are represented a wide range of Middle English dialects, and the commentary on each text includes, in addition to explanatory notes, extensive linguistic analysis. The book includes many useful figures and illustrations, including images of Middle English manuscripts as an aid to learning to decipher medieval handwriting and maps indicating the geographical extent of dialect features. This introduction to Middle English is based on the latest research, and it provides up-to-date bibliographical guidance to the study of the language.
This volume is the first to make the Middle English Breton lays available to teachers and students of the Middle Ages. Breton lays were produced by or after the fashion of Marie de France in the twelfth century and claim to be "literary versions of lays sung by ancient Bretons to the accompaniment of the harp." The poems edited in this volume are considered distinctly "English" Breton lays because of their focus on the family values of late medieval England. With the volume's helpful glosses, notes, introductions, and appendices, the door is opened for students to study Middle English poetry and the medieval family alike.
In order to succeed in school and beyond, students in grades 6-12 need to understand and use both academic language and discipline-specific vocabulary. This book describes effective practices for integrating vocabulary study with instruction in English language arts, history/social studies, and math and science, and for helping students become independent, motivated word learners. The expert authors present a wealth of specific teaching strategies, illustrated with classroom vignettes and student work samples. Connections to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are highlighted throughout; an extensive annotated list of print and electronic resources enhances the book's utility.
Tolkien's first job, on returning home from World War I, was as an assistant on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. He later said that he had "learned more in those two years than in any other equal part of his life." The Ring of Words reveals how his professional work on the OED influenced Tolkien's creative use of language in his fictional world. Here three senior editors of the OED offer an intriguing exploration of Tolkien's career as a lexicographer and illuminate his creativity as a word user and word creator. The centerpiece of the book is a wonderful collection of "word studies" which will delight the heart of Ring fans and word lovers everywhere. The editors look at the origin of such Tolkienesque words as "hobbit," "mithril, "Smeagol," "Ent," "halfling," and "worm" (meaning "dragon"). Readers discover that a word such as "mathom" (anything a hobbit had no immediate use for, but was unwilling to throw away) was actually common in Old English, but that "mithril," on the other hand, is a complete invention (and the first "Elven" word to have an entry in the OED). And fans of Harry Potter will be surprised to find that "Dumbledore" (the name of Hogwart's headmaster) was a word used by Tolkien and many others (it is a dialect word meaning "bumblebee"). Few novelists have found so much of their creative inspiration in the shapes and histories of words. Presenting archival material not found anywhere else, The Ring of Words offers a fresh and unexplored angle on the literary achievements of one of the world's most famous and best-loved writers.
Designed for introductory courses in Old English, Word-Hoard offers a vocabulary of some 2000 words drawn from the poems that beginning students normally read. Exploiting the natural curiosity we feel about our own language, Stephen Barney draws etymological connections, provides mnemonic aids, and introduces the student to cultural and literary concepts as well as words. This second edition of his valuable book has been completely reset in a format that improves its clarity and conciseness. Reviews of the earlier edition: "An excellent piece of work. . . . It makes learning the basic vocabulary of Old English, especially of the poetry, an adventure in ideas, adding in short compass the fascination of etymology and even semantics to the otherwise laborious and at first crude efforts to understand the texts."--John C. Pope "It obviously reflects enthusiasm and a great deal of hard work, and it will serve very well the students for whom it is intended."--Thomas D. Hill, Speculum "There is nothing quite like it in the literature. . . . Such a book would have been enthusiastically greeted years ago. It is doubly welcome today."--Choice Stephen A. Barney is professor of English at the University of California at Irvine.
