Introduction to Old English

by Peter S. Baker

Book Overview

Featuring numerous updates and additional anthology selections, the 3rd edition of Introduction to Old English confirms its reputation as a leading text designed to help students engage with Old English literature for the first time.

A new edition of one of the most popular introductions to Old English Assumes no expertise in other languages or in traditional grammar Includes basic grammar reviews at the beginning of each major...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 047065984X
• ISBN13: 9780470659847
• Release Date: February 2012
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Excellent Text

I bought a copy of Baker's Introduction to Old English while taking a graduate course in order to supplement the other texts used. I found this to be a fantastic resource for the solo learner. The explanations were precise yet easy to understand and the exercises helped to illuminate the grammar points. I really enjoyed the online exercises, standard these days in foreign language courses, which quickly allowed me to grasp concepts. All in all, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in Old English.

Learning Old English? Begin Here

Dr. Baker's "Introduction to Old English" is probably the best book for a person to use who has no previous experience with either Old English or traditional linguistics. I used this book as an undergraduate taking a graduate Old English course and found it most enjoyable and useful. Each chapter is quite easy to follow, and usually contain at least one "mini-text" which are short texts in Old English that you can read along the way. This method is especially useful; by the time you begin with the anthology of literature located in the back of the book, you've already read some simplier passages of Old English. The book is worth its retail price simply for its collection of literature. Included here are the "The Wife's Lament", "The Wanderer", "Wulf and Eadwacer" and excerpts from "Judith" and "Beowulf". This book is even helpful for someone who has no previous study in the history of the English language, although those who do will find this book superbly accesible.

The Best Book for the Solo Learner

Professor Baker's relatively new book is the best one-volume start for someone learning Old English outside of a classroom setting. It is significantly better for this purpose than Mitchell's book, although Baker does not convey quite the same sense of enthusiasm that Mitchell does. In addition to the expected format for a book such as this, which consists of grammar-oriented instruction, graded readings, and a glossary, there are excellent chapters on metrics, manuscript reading, and a fine bibliography and set of recommended readings. He even provides a chapter for the reader who might be deficient in common grammatical terms. The highlight of the book, though, are the links to the online exercises, which provide a much more convenient method of practice. Focused practice is essential when learning a language, and the online exercises are much better than the usual handful of perfunctory exercises provided in graded grammars. In many such books, answers to the exercises aren't even provided. In summary, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn to read and appreciate Old English on their own.

An Excellent Primer and Invaluable Resource

As a learning tool, Peter S. Baker's Introduction to Old English succeeds marvellously in that it is concise and clear without erring on the side of oversimplification. The ordering of chapters is intuitive and the key concepts are easily accreted along the way; in comparatively little time readers will acquire a wealth of knowledge, and in its practicality the book is sure not to intimidate the uninitiated. The basic review of English grammar is both thorough and efficient without being overly pedantic. Unfortunately, more and more students of English are finding themselves ill-equipped and poorly acquainted with the basics of grammar. Baker's review will familiarize them with the grammatical essentials while simultaneously providing a useful review to those more accustomed to them. There is sufficient treatment of the main topics in the text without any superfluous explication that might confuse the introductory reader. Baker's plain English explanations are unambiguous and, where possible, he offers Modern English correlates and analogues that effectively frame the linguistic topic being discussed. The chapters on the style and grammar of poetry are essential resources. Poetry makes up such a significant part of the extant Anglo-Saxon literature that it would be a failure on the part of the author to leave the student stranded in the intricacies of the form. Taking the chapter on reading manuscripts into consideration, as well as the appendices, Baker helps the student build a truly solid foundation upon which to base further study. The glossary, for example, allows students who are as yet unfamiliar Anglo-Saxon word forms to easily find what they are looking for, and will furnish them with the skills they need to approach more ambitious dictionaries. The companion web site provides a variety of resources for the student. The Old English "Magic Sheet" is a tool that students will find invaluable in their initial approach to Anglo-Saxon Literature. As the student refers to it repeatedly in his or her reading, he or she will quickly become more familiar with the forms and may soon be weaned off of it. In each chapter there are references to relevant "Old English Aerobics" exercises online, which can assist students in need of some basic practice with the material. The ability to look up a word, part of speech, or clause with the click of a button is a testament to the work that was put into developing the resource. While I must applaud the author's forward thinking and effective use of the technology, getting online may yet provide challenges at times for certain students, and the exercises themselves can prove somewhat short and elementary. A simple solution to these minor problems might be to include self tutorial exercises in a new edition, or to publish a companion workbook at some point in the future. To my knowledge, no such resource exists in Old English, and it must be said that there is simply no substitute

An easy read

I recently bought this book and found it to be very easy to read, rather than just have lists of grammatical tables like some books I have seen. The author recommends helpful websites throughout the book and makes use of 200 short passages that can be read as you go. All grammar is covered in the beginning chapters, and the following ones are devoted to metre, poetic style, grammar of poetry, how to read old english manuscripts, spelling variants, phonetics, and then an anthology of texts. The glossary is full of translations of every word used in the texts. I think this book is excellent for the beginner who wants to gain a sound overview of the language.