ENGL 407

Fall 2015 All Classes

All Classes

Introduction to Old English

SHOW FINAL EXAM SCHEDULE

Credit: 3 OR 4 hours.

Introduction to the form of English spoken and written prior to about AD 1100. Exploring concepts of cultural, historical, and linguistic change, students will learn to read Old English texts in the original. Readings include examples from the prose tradition (e.g., Bede's story of the poet Caedmon and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle) as well as poetic texts (e.g., The Dream of the Rood and The Wanderer).

Same as MDVL 407. 3 undergraduate hours. 4 graduate hours.

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ENGL 407 class schedule data for fall 2015
	CRN	Type	Section	Time	Day	Location	Instructor	Section Details
	49440	Lecture-Discussion	1G	12:30PM -1:45PM	TR	136 Davenport Hall	Wright, C	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/15-12/09/15 Credit: 4 hours Section Info: this pure contemplation / of a language of the dawn?Jorge Luis Borges, ?On Embarking on the Study of the Anglo-Saxon Language? In this course you will learn to read Old English prose and poetry in the original language, which was spoken by the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of England from the sixth through eleventh centuries. This was the native language of Caedmon, who wrote the earliest surviving English poem (?C�dmon?s Hymn?); of King Alfred, who prevented the Vikings from conquering England, and who then undertook a revival of learning by translating into English ?those books which it is most necessary for all to know?; of the anonymous author of Beowulf, who memorialized a Germanic hero?s battles with a man-eating monster, his vengeful mother (the monster?s, that is), and a dragon; and of abbot �lfric and archbishop Wulfstan, who preached in English for those who could not understand Latin, the official language of the medieval church. We will begin with some easy prose readings (the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis, and a school dialogue about Anglo-Saxon ?career choices?), and as you gradually master the basics of Old English grammar we will work our way up to more literary narrative prose such as Bede?s story of C�dmon?s miraculous transformation from cowherd to poet; King Alfred?s manifesto on education reform; and �lfric?s story of the martyrdom of King Edmund, slain by Vikings invaders (featuring Edmund?s decapitated talking head). Then in the second half of the semester we will read some of the finest shorter Old English poems, including The Wanderer and The Seafarer, two elegiac poems of exile; The Battle of Maldon, recounting the heroic defeat of an English army by the Vikings; The Dream of the Rood, a mystical vision of the Crucifixion, as told by the Cross; and The Wife?s Lament, about a woman abandoned by her former lover. Along the way we will learn about aspects of Anglo-Saxon history, culture, and art. Restriction(s): Restricted to Graduate - Urbana-Champaign.
	49439	Lecture-Discussion	1U	12:30PM -1:45PM	TR	136 Davenport Hall	Wright, C	Part of Term: 1 Date Range: 08/24/15-12/09/15 Credit: 3 hours Section Info: this pure contemplation / of a language of the dawn?Jorge Luis Borges, ?On Embarking on the Study of the Anglo-Saxon Language? In this course you will learn to read Old English prose and poetry in the original language, which was spoken by the Anglo-Saxon inhabitants of England from the sixth through eleventh centuries. This was the native language of Caedmon, who wrote the earliest surviving English poem (?C�dmon?s Hymn?); of King Alfred, who prevented the Vikings from conquering England, and who then undertook a revival of learning by translating into English ?those books which it is most necessary for all to know?; of the anonymous author of Beowulf, who memorialized a Germanic hero?s battles with a man-eating monster, his vengeful mother (the monster?s, that is), and a dragon; and of abbot �lfric and archbishop Wulfstan, who preached in English for those who could not understand Latin, the official language of the medieval church. We will begin with some easy prose readings (the story of Adam and Eve from Genesis, and a school dialogue about Anglo-Saxon ?career choices?), and as you gradually master the basics of Old English grammar we will work our way up to more literary narrative prose such as Bede?s story of C�dmon?s miraculous transformation from cowherd to poet; King Alfred?s manifesto on education reform; and �lfric?s story of the martyrdom of King Edmund, slain by Vikings invaders (featuring Edmund?s decapitated talking head). Then in the second half of the semester we will read some of the finest shorter Old English poems, including The Wanderer and The Seafarer, two elegiac poems of exile; The Battle of Maldon, recounting the heroic defeat of an English army by the Vikings; The Dream of the Rood, a mystical vision of the Crucifixion, as told by the Cross; and The Wife?s Lament, about a woman abandoned by her former lover. Along the way we will learn about aspects of Anglo-Saxon history, culture, and art. Restriction(s): Restricted to Undergrad - Urbana-Champaign.