• Professor: Fidel Fajardo-Acosta
• Course: ENG 701: Seminar in Medieval Literature (Special Topic: Old English Language and Literature)
• Class Time: Thursdays 4:00-6:00 PM
• Classroom: Humanities Center (HC) Room 308
• Course Dates: Thursday, January 13-Thursday, May 4, 2000
• Office Hours: Tuesdays 1:00-2:15 & Thursdays 2:00-3:45 and by appointment (notice that posted office hours are subject to cancellation without previous notice, call to be sure)
• Office: Hitchcock Communication Arts Building (CA) Room 304 A
• Office Telephone: (402) 280-2522
• E-mail: fajardo@creighton.edu
• Web Home Page: http://mockingbird.creighton.edu/english/fajardo/

This course offers a study of the language and literature of the Anglo-Saxon (Old English) period (A.D. 449-1066). Course work will deal with the grammar, syntax, and vocabulary of Old English, as well as reading and translation of Anglo-Saxon prose and poetry. Readings will include texts such as The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, The Wanderer, The Seafarer, The Dream of the Rood, The Battle of Maldon, and Beowulf.

TEXTBOOKS (Available at Creighton Bookstore):

• Bruce Mitchell & Fred C. Robinson, A Guide to Old English, 5^th ed., Blackwell Publishers (1992)
• Howell D. Chickering, ed. & H. Jr. Chickering, Beowulf : A Dual-Language Edition, Anchor Books/Doubleday, (1977)
• John Richard Clark Hall, Herbert D. Meritt, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4^th Reprint Edition, University of Toronto Press (1984)
• Kevin Crossley-Holland, The Anglo-Saxon World: An Anthology, Oxford University Press (1999)

Some Web Sites:

• Voice of the Shuttle: Medieval Literature (Old and Middle English)(excellent bibliographical references and other resources): http://vos.ucsb.edu/shuttle/eng-med.html
• Cathy Ball, Georgetown University Old English Pages: http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/oe/old_english.html
  • The Englisc List: A Forum for Composition in Old English (an amusing site if you want to learn how to speak/write in Old English): http://www.georgetown.edu/cball/englisc/index.html

Other recommended materials available at the Reinert Alumni Library include the following:

• The Cambridge Companion to Old English Literature, edited by Godden and Michael Lapidge (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991)
• A New Critical History of Old English Literature, Stanley B. Greenfield and Daniel G. Calder, (New York : New York University Press, 1986).
• The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, ed. Dorothy Whitelock, David Douglas, and Susie Tucker (London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, 1965)
• The Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records : A Collective Edition, edited by George Philip Krapp and Elliott Van Dobbie, (New York : Columbia University Press, 1931-1953). Six volumes:
• Vol. 1: The Junius Manuscript
• Vol. 2: The Vercelli Book
• Vol. 3: The Exeter Book
• Vol. 4: Beowulf and Judith
• Vol. 5: Paris Psalter and Boethius
• Vol. 6: Anglo-Saxon Minor Poems

In addition to the Hall & Meritt dictionary that you will purchase for this class, you may also find useful the following dictionaries in the Reference Collection at the Reinert Alumni Library:

• A Short Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon Poetry : In a Normalized Early Orthography, Jess B. Bessinger (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1960), REINERT/ALUM REFERENCE PE279 .B4
• An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Based on the Manuscript Collections of Late Joseph Bosworth, edited and enlarged by T. Northcote Toller (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1898). REINERT/ALUM REFERENCE PE279 .B5 1898
• Supplement to An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary : Based on the Manuscript Collections of Bosworth, by T. Northcote Toller (London ; New York : Oxford University Press, 1973). REINERT/ALUM REFERENCE PE279 .B5 Suppl.

Both exams will feature exercises in translation, textual commentary, and interpretation, as well as questions on Old English literary and political history, culture, and language.

Students will design and pursue a project (paper, creative work, web site, etc.) related to any aspect of the course materials. All projects must be presented to the class. Projects may be papers (7-15 pp., analytical and/or research, MLA format) dealing with any features of the language, literature, or culture of the Anglo-Saxon period, including close readings/analyses of any of the literary texts studied (quotations from texts must be in Old English and accompanied by appropriate translation). In general, students are encouraged to choose material and media which are interesting and stimulating and should not feel limited to traditional academic topics or techniques. All projects however must demonstrate substantial effort, thought, and understanding/incorporation of the course's issues and materials.

Students will also be graded according to preparation, participation, accomplishment, development, and involvement in the course.

All performance will be graded on a 0-100 point scale where 0-59 = F, 60-69 = D, 70-79 = C, 80-89 = B, and 90-100 = A. Notice that the course grade may not exceed the percentage of class time attended (thus, a student attending only 75 % of the total class time may not receive a course grade higher than C). Originality and personal effort are expected of all work. All students in the class are expected to observe the University's guidelines on student conduct as described in Creighton University's Student Handbook (see "Code of Conduct," and especially the section on "Academic Misconduct" dealing with problems of plagiarism, cheating, etc.).

Students must make sure to complete the reading by the date indicated. Class work will involve discussion of Anglo-Saxon literary and political history, culture, language as well as in-class reading and translation of original texts. It is important that students prepare at home by reading the original text, consulting dictionaries, and taking notes. Students will be called on during class to translate selected portions of the texts and answer questions on their grammatical and other features.

• Introduction.
  • Outline of the History of English
  • Historical Outline of the Anglo-Saxon Period.
  • Outline of the Anglo-Saxon Language
  • "An Introduction to Anglo-Saxon Studies," Guide to Old English, Ch. 6, pp. 118-143

• "Introduction," Crossley-Holland Anthology, pp. x-xii
• "The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle," Crossley-Holland Anthology, pp. 33-43
• "Preliminary Remarks on the Language," Guide to Old English, Ch. 1, pp.11-12
• "Orthography and Pronunciation," Guide to Old English, Ch. 2, pp. 13-16.
• "Selections from Anglo Saxon Chronicle," Guide to Old English pp. 212-215 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "The Elegies," Crossley-Holland Anthology, pp. 46-60.
• "Inflexions" (Nouns, Pronouns, and Adjectives), Guide to Old English, Ch. 3, pp. 17-35.
• "The Wanderer," Guide to Old English, pp. 268-275 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "Inflexions" (Strong Verbs, Grimm's Law, Verner's Law, Weak Verbs, Anomalous Verbs, Adverbs), Guide to Old English, Ch. 3, pp. 35-54.
• "The Wanderer," Guide to Old English, pp. 268-275 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "Word Formation," Guide to Old English, Ch. 4, pp. 55-60.
• "The Seafarer," Guide to Old English, pp. 276-282 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "Syntax" (Word Order, Sentence Structure, Noun Clauses, Adjective Clauses, Adverb Clauses), Guide to Old English, Ch. 5, pp. 61-99.
• "The Seafarer," Guide to Old English, pp. 276-282 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "Christian Poems," Crossley-Holland Anthology, pp. 194-205.
• "Syntax" (Parataxis, Concord, etc), Guide to Old English, Ch. 5, pp. 99-117.
• "The Dream of the Rood," Guide to Old English, pp. 256-263 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "Heroic Poems," Crossley-Holland Anthology, pp. 2-21.
• "The Battle of Maldon," Guide to Old English, pp. 241-252 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• "The Battle of Maldon," Guide to Old English, pp. 241-252 (translate and be ready to answer questions on the Old English text)

• Beowulf, Chickering dual-language edition (read translation and consult the facing original text)
• Beowulf (Beowulf's Fight with Grendel), Guide to Old English, pp.283-290

• Beowulf (Beowulf's Fight with Grendel), Guide to Old English, pp.283-290

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