This schedule should correspond to the hardcopy you received at the start of the year, except it incorporates any changes announced in class. If you find any discrepancies between the online schedule and your hardcopy or local softcopy, please download the latest pdf version and recycle the older one.
Please note: the material covered in the quizzes appears in the form of a link in the right-hand column about a week ahead of each quiz. Thus, for instance, click on "quiz 2" in the row for Mon 27/9 to find the materials to study for that day. This information is also announced in class every Friday, but posting it here ensures that no misunderstandings arise.
fall | day | topic | read/learn/translate (grammar §, text # from M&R) | exam/deadline |
wk1 | Mon 13/9 | historical introduction; language preliminaries | ||
Wed 15/9 | phonetics and inflection | §§1–14, 187–193 | ||
Fri 17/9 | pronouns and weak nouns | §§15–25; article: Wormald | ||
wk2 | Mon 20/9 | phonology and strong nouns | In Parentheses vocab p. 1 | quiz 1 |
Wed 22/9 | strong nouns | §§26–62 | ||
Fri 24/9 | adjectives and declension patterns; A Colloquy | §§63–81 | ||
wk3 | Mon 27/9 | an introduction to verbs; bēon | §§87–89, 195–205, 127; In Parentheses vocab p. 2 | quiz 2 |
Wed 29/9 | weak verbs; prefixes | §§115–126, 138; #3: A Colloquy, lines 71–107 | ||
Fri 1/10 | sound changes and strong verbs | §§90–109 | ||
wk4 | Mon 4/10 | strong verb conjugation and anomalous verbs | §§110–114, 128–130; In Parentheses vocab p. 3 | quiz 3 |
Wed 6/10 | modals | §§206–211; #3: A Colloquy, lines 108–149 | ||
Fri 8/10 | verb recognition and classificaton | §§131–134; #3: A Colloquy, lines 179–216 | ||
wk5 |
| Thanksgiving; no class | ||
Wed 13/10 | adverbs and numerals | §§135, 82–86; In Parentheses vocab p. 4 | quiz 4 | |
Fri 15/10 | prepositions; the Bible in Anglo-Saxon England | §§213–214; #2: The Fall of Man, lines 1–16; article: Godden | ||
wk6 | Mon 18/10 | word order and sentence structure | §§143–153; #2: The Fall of Man, lines 17–42; In Parentheses vocab p. 5 | quiz 5 |
Wed 20/10 | grammar review | |||
Fri 22/10 | archaeology | #2: Abraham and Isaac, lines 43–79 | ||
wk7 | Mon 25/10 | #4: Preface to Genesis, lines 2–43; strong verb cheatsheet b–d | quiz 6 | |
Wed 27/10 | #4: Preface to Genesis, lines 44–80 | |||
Fri 29/10 | manuscripts | #4: Preface to Genesis, lines 81–125; read: Baker | ||
wk8 | Mon 1/11 | #4: Life of St. Edmund, lines 126–159; cheatsheet e–g | quiz 7 | |
Wed 3/11 | corpus overview | §§247–251; #4: Life of St. Edmund, lines 160–196; article: Treharne & Pulsiano | ||
Fri 5/11 | research methods | #4: Life of St. Edmund, lines 197–250 | ||
wk9 |
| Fall break; no class | ||
Wed 10/11 | #4: Life of St. Edmund, lines 251–297; cheatsheet h–r | quiz 8 | ||
Fri 12/11 | hagiography | #4: Life of St. Edmund, lines 298–331; article: Lapidge | ||
wk10 | Mon 15/11 |
#5: Preface to Gregory, lines 1–39; | quiz 9 | |
Wed 17/11 | #5: Preface to Gregory, lines 40–81 | |||
Fri 19/11 | The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle | #6: Cynewulf and Cyneheard (all) | ||
wk11 | Mon 22/11 |
#7: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, lines 1–38; | quiz 10 | |
Wed 24/11 | #7: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, lines 39–78 | |||
Fri 26/11 | Bede | #9: Bede on Cædmon, lines 1–44 | assignment 1 due | |
wk12 | Mon 29/11 | #8: Bede on the conversion of Edwin, lines 1–38 | quiz 11 | |
Wed 1/12 | #8: Bede on the conversion of Edwin, lines 39–78 | |||
Fri 3/12 | term wrap-up | |||
wk13 | Mon 6/12 | final class: in-class grammar test | grammar test | |
spring | day | topic | read/translate (text # from M&R) | exam/deadline |
wk1 | Mon 10/1 | digital resources | #10a: Prose Consolation of Philosophy, lines 1–32 | |
Wed 12/1 | excursion to the Dictionary of Old English | article: Scragg | ||
Fri 14/1 | verse | #10b: Metres of Boethius, lines 1–27; M&R appendix C | ||
wk2 | Mon 17/1 | #10b: Metres of Boethius, lines 28–53 | quiz 1 | |
Wed 19/1 | #10b: Metres of Boethius, lines 54–84 | |||
Fri 21/1 | textual criticism | handout: Prose Consolation intro, ch. 27, title and lines 1–44 | ||
wk3 | Mon 24/1 | handout: Prose Consolation, ch. 27, lines 45–89 | ||
Wed 26/1 | #12: The Battle of Maldon, lines 1–41 | |||
Fri 28/1 | Vikings | #12: The Battle of Maldon, lines 42–88 | ||
wk4 | Mon 31/1 | #12: The Battle of Maldon, lines 89–148 | quiz 2 | |
Wed 2/2 | #14: The Dream of the Rood, lines 1–34 | |||
Fri 4/2 | Christianity in Northumbria | #14: The Dream of the Rood, lines 35–74; article: Ó Carragáin and North | ||
wk5 | Mon 7/2 | #14: The Dream of the Rood, lines 75–109 | ||
Wed 9/2 | #14: The Dream of the Rood, lines 110–156 | |||
Fri 11/2 | the elegies | #15: The Wife’s Lament, lines 1–53; article: Orchard | assignment 2 due | |
wk6 | Mon 14/2 | #16: The Wanderer, lines 1–36 | quiz 3 | |
Wed 16/2 | #16: The Wanderer, lines 37–69 | |||
Fri 18/2 | #16: The Wanderer, lines 70–115 | |||
wk7 |
| reading week; no class | ||
| reading week; no class | |||
| reading week; no class | |||
wk8 | Mon 28/2 | #17: The Seafarer, lines 1–38 | ||
Wed 2/3 | #17: The Seafarer, lines 39–80 | |||
Fri 4/3 | homiletics | #17: The Seafarer, lines 81–124 | ||
wk9 | Mon 7/3 | #22: Sermo Lupi, lines 1–56 | quiz 4 | |
Wed 9/3 | #22: Sermo Lupi, lines 56–124 | |||
Fri 11/3 | biblical poetry | #22: Sermo Lupi, lines 125–184 | ||
wk10 | Mon 14/3 | #20: Judith, lines 1–32a | ||
Wed 16/3 | #20: Judith, lines 32b–77a | |||
Fri 18/3 | Beowulf | #20: Judith, lines 77b–121 | essay due | |
wk11 | Mon 21/3 | #18a: Beowulf, lines 702–738 | quiz 5 | |
Wed 23/3 | #18a: Beowulf, lines 739–790 | |||
Fri 25/3 | Beowulf scholarship | #18a: Beowulf, lines 791–836; article: Tolkien | ||
wk12 | Mon 28/3 | #18a: Beowulf, lines 837–897 | ||
Wed 30/3 | #18b: Beowulf, lines 1306–1344 | |||
Fri 1/4 | Beowulf as performance | #18b: Beowulf, lines 1345–1398 | ||
wk13 | Mon 4/4 | #18c–d: Beowulf, lines 2247–2266, 3156–3182 | ||
Wed 6/4 | wrap-up |
Baker, Peter S. “Reading Old English Manuscripts.” Introduction to Old English, 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, 2007. 153–160.
Godden, Malcolm. “Biblical Literature: The Old Testament.” Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 206–226.
Lapidge, Michael. “The Saintly Life in Anglo-Saxon England.” Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 243–263.
Ó Carragáin,Éamonn, and Richard North. “The Dream of the Rood and Anglo-Saxon Northumbria.” Richard North and Joe Allard, eds. Beowulf and Other Stories. Harlow: Pearson, 2007. 160–188.
Orchard, Andy. “Not What It Was: The World of Old English Elegy.” Karen Weisman, ed. The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010. 101–117.
Scragg, Donald G. “The Nature of Old English Verse.” Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 55–70.
Tolkien, J.R.R. “Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.” Proceedings of the British Academy 22 (1936): 245–295.
Treharne, Elaine, and Phillip Pulsiano. “An Introduction to the Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Vernacular Literature.” Phillip Pulsiano and Elaine Treharne, eds, A Companion to Anglo-Saxon Literature (Oxford: Blackwell, 2001). 3–10.
Wormald, Patrick. “Anglo-Saxon Society and Its Literature.” Malcolm Godden and Michael Lapidge, eds. The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991. 1–22.
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