An Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse

By Henry Sweet

Book Overview

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1138963577
• ISBN13: 9781138963573
• Release Date: June 2016
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 422 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Good Beginner Book on Anglo-Saxon

A very good book for the beginner college student. The only problem I have with all the books on Anglo-Saxon is they are not layman friendly. They assume everyone one who is studying Old English has a degree. This reader is better than many, but there is a need for less assuming guides. Wyatt Kaldenberg

The Book So Nice I Bought It Twice

Apparently Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader has been used to teach generations of students the language of pre-Conquest England. It's not hard to see why. Sweet's offers users a wide variety of prose and poetry selections on which to hone their skills. An easy to use gloassary makes translations rather easy as the editors let you know which use of a word a particular section is going for (when there's more than one meaning for that word, obviously).About the only drawback I found was the fact that the paperback was a bit flimsy. While I used the book daily in my Anglo-Saxon class, the book began to fall apart after about two weeks. Fortunately I found a used hardcover version of the book and was able to retire my paperback. Don't let this put you off, though, if you want to learn the language. The content is top-notch and very well explained and presented. However, I would recommend you by a grammar book along with this if you choose to buy Sweet's.