Assignment #2/Old English

Old English (Anglo-Saxon)

go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_english

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beowulf

read: article pages

answer: the following questions

1. When was Old English spoken?
A) was spoken and written in parts of what are now England and southern Scotland between the mid-5th century and the mid-12th century.

2. Name 4 language groups which influenced the development of Old English.
A)Germanic ,Latin ,Viking AND Celtic origins.

3. In the Phonology section, name 5 phonetical differences between Old English & Modern English.
A)

4. Are there any similarites between Old English and Modern English? Name them.
A)


5. In the Orthography section, enlarge the picture of the runic alphabet. How many letters (runes) are there in this alphabet?
A)34 letters

6. Which epic poem was originally written in Old English?
A) Beowulf.


7. In the See Also section, click on: Beowulf. Appoximately when was Beowulf written?
A)dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript from between the 8th to the 11th century.

8. Even though Beowulf was written in England, the story takes place in which countries?
A)Beowulf was written in England, but is set in Scandinavia.

9. In the poem, which 3 antagonists does Beowulf battle or fight against?
A)Grendel, a Dragon, Grendel's mother.


10. What happens to Beowulf at the end of the story?
A)Beowulf and his warriors come to fight the dragon, but only one of the warriors, a brave young man named Wiglaf, stays to help Beowulf, because the rest are too afraid.
Beowulf kills the dragon with Wiglaf's help, but Beowulf dies from the wounds he has received. In addition, the immense hoard of the dragon is buried with the hero.

11. Who was the author of Beowulf?
A)Beowulf is an Old English heroic epic poem of anonymous authorship, dating as recorded in the Nowell Codex manuscript.

12. What were the titles and the dates of the two film versions of Beowulf?
A)Beowulf has been adapted a number of times for other novels, theater, and cinema, including the 1999 film Beowulf (1999 film) with Christopher Lambert and Rhona Mitra,
the 2005 film Beowulf and Grendel and the 2007 animated film Beowulf directed by Robert Zemeckis.