The Cambridge Old English Reader

Rating:
Summary: This is the one!
Review: So much Old English literature is presented to us in translation that we are at risk of losing the knowledge of the language.

Not with this, however - the best anthology of Old English literature currently available. I've enjoyed digging around among the 56 prose and verse texts, which mingle old favourites with less familiar works. A reference grammar and comprehensive glossary are included at the end of the book.

The texts are grouped thematically, in sections including: Teaching and Leaning (including bits from old medical lore), Recording (which includes some of the law codes of, e.g. King Ethelbert of Kent - the first notable Christian convert).

Of course all the usually anthologised bits by King Alfred, Aelfric, etc. are there, plus the poems the Wanderer, Seafarer, and Dream of the Rood. But how nice to see some of the rarer stuff, which really give an insight into both Anglo-Saxon life and writing.

It's beautifully laid out and easy to use, incorporating a reference grammar and glossary at the back. The likelihood of ruining this book with your own annotations is nil: Modern English word glosses and explanatory notes are considerately placed on the page you're reading.

Highly recommended.