PHILOLOGY 2; Introduction to Old English Language and Literature
Translations
WEEK 2
‘The Fall of Adam and Eve’
This reading is from a translation of the first several books of the Old Testament by two writers--one anonymous,
the other Ælfric, pupil of St. Æthelwold, monk of Cerne, and later abbot of Eynsham. The present extract is from
Ælfric's section of the work. For a facsimile of the magnificently illustrated manuscript, see C. R. Dodwell and P. A.
M. Clemoes, ed., The Old English Illustrated Hexateuch (Copenhagen, 1974), and for a complete text see Samuel J.
Crawford, ed., The Old English Version of the Heptateuch, Ælfric's Treatise on the Old and New Testament, and His
Preface to Genesis (1922; repr. London, 1969).
[1] Ēac swylċe sēo nǣddre wæs ġēapre ðonne ealle ðā ōðre nȳtenu ðe God ġeworhte ofer eorðan. And sēo nǣddr
e cwæð tō ðām wīfe: "Hwī forbēad God ēow ðæt ġē ne ǣtonof ǣlcon trēowe binnan Paradīsum?"
[2] Þæt wīf andwyrde: "Of ðǣra trēowa wæstme ðe synd on Paradīsum wē etað:
[3] and of ðæs trēowes wæstme þe is onmiddan neorxnawange, God bebēad ūs ðæt wē ne ǣton, ne wē ðæt trēow
ne hrepodon, ðī lǣs ðe wē swelton."
[4] Ðā cwæð sēo nǣdre eft tō ðām wīfe: "Ne bēo ġē nāteshwōn dēade, ðēah ðe ġē of ðām trēowe eton.
[5] Ac God wāt sōðlīċe ðæt ēowre ēagan bēoð ġeopenode on swā hwylċum dæġe swā ġē etað of ðām trēowe; and
ġē bēoð ðonne englum ġelīċe, witende ǣġðer ġe gōd ġe yfel."
[6] Ðā ġeseah ðæt wīf ðæt ðæt trēow wæs gōd tō etenne, be ðām
ðe hyre ðūhte, and wlitiġ on ēagum and lustbǣre on ġesyhðe; and ġenam ðā of ðæs trēowes wæstme andġeǣt, an
d sealde hyre were: hē ǣt ðā.
WEEK 3
The Life of St. Aethelthryth part 1
St. Æthelthryth, the seventh-century abbess of Ely, was one of Anglo-Saxon England's most widely venerated
saints. This life of her by Ælfric was written in the last years of the tenth century. Ælfric's collection of saints' lives
was edited by Walter W. Skeat, Ælfric's Lives of Saints, Early English Text Society 76. 82. 94, 114 (Oxford, 1881-
1900).
[1] Wē wyllað nū āwrītan, þēah
ðe hit wundorliċ sȳ, be ðǣre hālgan sancte Æðeldrȳðe þām Engliscan mǣdene, þe wæs mid twām werum and swā
ðēah wunode mǣden, swā
swā þā wundra ġeswuteliað þe hēo wyrċð ġelōme. [2] Anna hātte hyre fæder, Ēastengla cynincg, swȳðe Cristen ma
n, swā
swā hē cȳdde mid weorcum, and eall his tēam wearðġewurðod þurh God. [3] Æðeldrȳð wearð þā forġifen ānum ea
ldormenn tō wīfe. [4] Ac hit nolde se ælmihtiga God þæt hire mæġðhād wurde mid hǣmede ādylegod, ac hēoldhī
on clǣnnysse, for ðan
þe hē is ælmihtiġ God and mæġ dōn eall þæt hē wile, and on manegum wīsum his mihte ġeswutelað.
[5] Se ealdorman ġewāt þā
ðā hit wolde God, and hēo wearð forġifen Ecfride cynincge, and twelf ġēar wunode unġewemmed mǣden on þæs
cynincges synscype, swā
swāswutele wundra hyre mǣrða cȳðaþ and hire mæġðhād ġelōme. [6] Hēo lufode þone Hǣlend þe hī hēold unwe
mme, and Godes ðēowas wurðode. [7] Ān þǣra wæs Wilfridbisceop, þe hēo swȳðost lufode, and hē sǣde Bēdan þ
æt se cyning Ecfrid him oft behēte myċel on lande and on fēo, ġif hē lǣran mihte Æðeldrȳðe his ġebeddan þæt hēo
brucehis synscipes. [8] Nū cwæð se hālga Beda, þe þās bōc ġesette, þæt se ælmihtiga God mihte ēaðe ġedōn nū on
ūrum dagum þæt Æðeldrȳð þurhwunode unġewemmed mǣden,þēah ðe hēo wer hæfde, swā
, swā on ealdum dagum hwīlon ǣr ġetīmode þurh þone ylcan God þe ǣfre þurhwunað mid his ġecorenum hālgum, s
wā swā hē sylf behēt.
[1] [2] Her father was called Anna, the East Angles king, a very Christian man, just as he made known with
works/deeds, and all his family was exalted by God. [3] Æðeldrȳð was then given away to a ruler as a wife. [4] But
the almighty God did not wish that her virginity was destroyed with sexual intercourse, but she was kept in her
chastity, because he is the almighty God and can do all that he wishes, and his might reveals in many ways. [5] The
ruler/nobleman departed when God wished and said she was given to/married to king Ecfride and remained for 12
years and undefiled virgin in the king’s marriage. [6] She loved the Saviour who preserved her undefiled and loved
God’s servants. [7] One of those was bishop Wilfrid, who she loved very and he said to Bēdan that the king Ecfrid
him often promised a great deal in land and in riches If he could persuade Aethelthryth, his wife, that she partook
in sexual intercourse. [8] Now, said the Holy Beda, who composed this book that the Almighty God was able to
easily bring about now in our days that Aethelthryth remained undefiled virgin, although she had a husband, as in
old days sometimes formerly happened by means of the same God who always remains with his elect Saints, as he
himself promised.
WEEK 4
The Life of St. Aethelthryth part 2
[12] Þā on þām eahteoðan ġēare siððan hēo abbudisse wæs, hēo wearð ġeuntrumod, swā
swā hēo ǣr wītegode, swā þæt ān ġeswel wēox on hire swūran myċel under þāmċynnbāne, and hēo swīðe þancod
e Gode þæt hēo on þām swūran sum ġeswinc þolode. [13] Hēo cwæð: "iċ wāt ġeare þæt iċ wel wyrðe eom þæt mī
n swūra bēo ġeswenċt midswylċere untrumnysse, for ðan
þe iċ on iugoðe frætwode mīnne swūran mid mæniġfealdum swūrbēagum, and mē is nū ġeþūht þæt Godes ārfæst
nyss þone gylt āclǣnsiġe,þonne mē nū þis ġeswel scȳnð for golde, and þes hāta bryne for hēalicum ġymstānum."
[14] Þā wæs þǣr sum lǣċe on ðām ġelēaffullum hēape, Cynefryð ġehāten, and hī cwǣdon þā sume þæt se lǣċe sc
eolde āscēotan þæt ġeswell. [15] Þā dyde hē sōna swā, and þǣrsāh ūt wyrms. [16] Wearð him þā ġeðūht swilċe hē
o ġewurpan mihte, ac hēo ġewāt of worulde mid wuldre tō Gode on þām ðriddan dæġe syððan se dolh wæs ġeope
nod, andwearð bebyrġed swā swā hēo bæd sylf and hēt, betwux hire ġeswustrum, on trēowenre ċyste.
[12] Then in the eight year since she was an abbess, she became sick, just as she predicted before, so that a
tumour grew large on her neck under the chinbone, and she thanked God very much that she suffered some
hardship on the neck. [13] She said: I know well that I am fully worthy that my neck is afflicted with such illness,
because in youth I adorned my neck with numerous necklaces and now it seems to me that God’s Grace cleanses
the guilt when now this tumour shines in place of gold and this hot burning in place of fine gemstones. [14] Then
there was a certain physician in that faithful company, named Cynefryð, and then some of them said that the
physician should pierce the tumour. [15] then he immediately did so, and there issued out pus. [16] … seemed as if
she could recover, but she departed from this world with glory to God on the third day after the wound was
opened, and was buried just as she asked and commanded herself among her sisters, in a wooden coffin.
WEEK 5
The Life of St. Aethelthryth part 3
[17] Þā wearð hire swustor Sexburh ġehādod tō abbudissan æfter hire ġeendunge, sēo ðe ǣr wæs cwēn on
Cantwarebyriġ. [18] Þā wolde sēo Sexburh æfter syxtȳne ġēarum dōn hire swustor bān of ðǣre byrġene ūp and
beran intō þǣre ċyrċan; and sende þā ġebrōðra tō sēċenne sumne stān tō swilċere nēode, for ðan þe on þām
fenlande synd fēawa weorcstāna. [19] Hī rēowan þā tō Grantanċeastre, and God hī sōna ġehradode, swā þæt hī
þǣr ġemētton āne mǣre þrūh wið þone weall standende, ġeworht of marmstāne eall hwītes blēos bufan þǣre
eorðan and þæt hlyd ðǣrtō ġelimplīċe ġefēġed, ēac of hwītum marmstāne, swā swā hit macode God. [20] Þā
nāman ðā ġebrōðra blȳðelīċe þā ðrūh and ġebrōhton tō mynstre, myċċlum ðanciġende Gode; and Sexburh sēo
abbudisse hēt slēan ān ġeteld bufan ðā byrġene, wolde þā bān gaderian. [21] Hī sungon ðā ealle sealmas and
līċsang þā hwīle þe man ðā byrġene bufan ġeopenode. [22] Þā læġ hēo on ðǣre ċyste swilċe hēo lǣġe on slǣpe,
hāl eallum limum, and se lǣċe wæs ðǣr ðe þæt ġeswell ġeopenode, and hī scēawode ġeorne. [23] Þā wæs sēo
