Course Sample for Our Classics of English Literature Homeschool Curriculum

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Classics of English Literature

Unit 1 – Old English & Medieval (450–1485)

Week 1: Old English and Middle English

The country of England and the English language did not always exist the way that it does today. One must look back in time to the historical context in order to understand the literature.

Many countries have invaded the British Isles over the years, beginning with the Romans in 55 B.C. Their influence still survives in roadways, the public baths, and the famous Hadrian’s Wall. After the Romans abandoned the British Isles, Germanic peoples crossed the English Channel and conquered the Bretons. This began the Middle Ages in England. First, the Jutes came, followed by the Angles then the Saxons. By A.D. 450, the Anglo-Saxons were in firm control of England and introduced the language of Old English.

Old English is so far different from Modern English that it looks like a foreign language. Some of the letters are the same Roman letters that are currently used, and other letters have long since disappeared and are not used anymore. The sentence structure follows similar rules to ancient Latin by using inflections and special endings on words. Even the vocabulary is different from Modern English.

Because of its roots from Germanic peoples, many words in Modern English are similar to German words. Once the Celts had been conquered, every language afterwards had similar characteristics because they all had an Indo-European language background. Each people group brought different vocabulary words to the language. The Celts contributed place names while religious terms came from Latin. The Scandinavians brought words about everyday items. Then the French added in words about politics, aristocratic living, and professions.

Like any language, Old English changed over time. As other people groups invaded England, including the Vikings, they brought new spellings and new vocabulary to the language. Over time, English changed from a language ruled by inflections to a language controlled by words and vocabulary. By 1100, Old English had changed enough that linguists now consider it to be Middle English.

As far as languages go, Middle English was very turbulent. The language was consistently changing for the next 350 years. Early settlers used Celtic words, the Saxons had brought German words, the Vikings contributed Scandinavian words, and later the Normans introduced French words. Spellings were changing and becoming standardized. Even the vowels changed sounds and purpose during this time.

With the variety of changes in the language came a new form of English as a language.