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The Literary Development of English

S. Terrie Curran

Traditionally, texts on the history of the English language have approached the subject solely from the point of view of linguistics. English from Cædmon to Chaucer goes one step further, placing the language’s rich history in a cultural context. Curran discusses the impact of Germanic settlers, Viking invaders, and Norman conquerors on the culture and language of Britain and how these changes have impacted the literature of the English people throughout various periods in history. She examines the language starting in the fifth century, using a generous selection of excerpts from Old and Middle English works. The texts, accompanied by interlinear Modern English translations, demonstrate the written language while traditional linguistic methodology establishes the language’s sound patterns. Readers of all backgrounds will better appreciate the rich literary tradition set by the master poets and prose writers of Old and Middle English.

$27.95 list, 290 pages

10-digit ISBN: 1-57766-196-6

13-digit ISBN: 978-1-57766-196-2

© 2002

Table of Contents

1. The Historical Context of Old English

2. The Writing Systems of Old English

3. The Sounds of Old English

4. The Grammatical Structure of Old English

5. The Language of the Literature

6. The Dialects of Old English

7. The Struggle for Survival: 1066 and Its Aftermath

8. The Sounds of Middle English

9. The Grammatical Structure of Middle English

10. The Dialects of Middle English

11. Middle English Prosodies

12. Chaucer and the London Standard