Englisches Seminar
Universität Münster

SPRACHWISSENSCHAFTLICHES PROSEMINAR:
FROM OLD ENGLISH TO MIDDLE ENGLISH

SS 02
Mo 11-13, Room H19
Oliver M. Traxel


The twelfth century is a period of transition in English language history. At the beginning of that century the written language still exhibited many features characteristic of Old English, which during the following decades changed to such an extent that one traditionally comes to talk of it as Early Middle English. This process is particularly visible in the Peterborough Chronicle, which will be one of the main texts to be examined during this semester. The translation and linguistic analysis of further texts, written in the late twelfth or early thirteenth century, are intended to highlight various differences between Early Middle English and the language of the Old English period. Besides the Peterborough Chronicle the focus will be on the homiletic material of the Ormulum and the Ancrene Wisse as well as Layamon's great epic Brut, the first text about King Arthur in the English language.

It is strongly recommended for participants to have some knowledge of Old English or at least to have taken part in a Sprachhistorischer Grundkurs. Those without any previous knowledge of Old English should have read chapter 3 in B. A. Fennell, A History of English (Oxford, 2001:1) [S FA 2001:1], and chapter 5 in C. M. Millward, A Biography of the English Language, 2nd ed. (Fort Worth, 1996) [S FA 1996:3] before classes start. It is recommended to everyone to have a look at pp. xxi-lvi in J. A. W. Bennett and G. V. Smithers, Early Middle English Verse and Prose, 2nd ed. (Oxford, 1968) [ME AAB 1966:2].

The coursebook is J. A. Burrow and T. Turville-Petre, A Book of Middle English, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, 1996) (ISBN 0-631-19353-7), and participants are expected to buy a copy in advance. These are available at Poertgen-Herder in the Salzstr., or at amazon.de.

The main assessment factor for the successful passing of this seminar will be a piece of coursework, which has to be handed in before the end of September. Relevant texts and questions will be handed out in July. Regular participation in all sessions is strongly advised. It is essential that candidates will have visited the following links to get a further impression of the course and to broaden their understanding of the subject matter:

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