Learn Old English language and find your inner Anglo-Saxon by Anonymous

The classic "old-school" Old English grammar: Quirk and Wrenn's 'An Old English Grammar, (Methuen's Old English Library)' and reader: 'Sweet's Anglo-Saxon Reader in Prose and Verse' were dear old companions. Currently, the standard college level Old English grammar and primer is Bruce Robinson's 'A Guide to Old English', but it's not my favourite.

And now for the goodies (including a section at the end on "Music to enjoy Old English by"!):

Dictionary
If you want something beyond the glossaries available in grammars and anthologies, the classic one is 'A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching, 14)'.

Introductory Level Grammar
Absolute beginner? Self-teaching? You might enjoy 'First Steps in Old English: An Easy to Follow Language Course for the Beginner' by Stephen Pollington. Limited, incomplete, but friendly and non-inhibiting. Pollington's other titles are also worth checking out.

'Introduction to Old English', by Peter Baker of the University of Virginia, ), surveys Old English grammar and applies it to literature, with sections on poetic style, meter, and grammar, interpretation of manuscripts (see Dennis Freeborn's book, below), spelling and phonetics. There's also an anthology of texts and glossary. Additionally, Prof. Baker recommends websites, and you might like to visit his own Old English Aerobics at http://www.engl.virginia.edu/OE/OEA/index.html

I like the relatively recent 'The Earliest English : An Introduction to Old English Language (Learning About Language)'. User-friendly and thorough, it's well worth its hefty price. It both tackles the grammar and explains, at introductory level, phonological developments e.g., breaking of vowels. Useful websites are provided at the end of each section.

Jeremy Smith's 'Essentials of Early English', also available as a downloadable e-book, 'Essentials of Early English' also pursues a linguistic approach. Smith is sensitive to the needs of first-time students. His good introduction on language in general is followed by succinct grammars for English at three stages: Old, Middle, and Early Modern English (useful for Renaissance and Shakespeare). Although the OE examples are restricted to the West Saxon dialect, this is a highly usable book.

From Germanic roots to contemporary English
For those who wish to explore further, Thomas Pyles and John Algeo's 'Origins and Development of the English Language' is a wide-ranging history of English from its beginnings to the present day. It covers grammar, phonetics, and history of writing, among other things. This book is excellent, if a tad dry.

Chapter 4 explores the Indo-European family and the notoriously difficult Germanic phonology. The clear accounts of Grimm's and Verner's Laws are useful for etymology and the further study of Germanic languages. Old and Middle English grammar are well handled in this book, but there is little on dialects.

Simply the best - and palaeographic heaven
My favourite. Brilliant and accessible is Dennis Freeborn's mighty 'From Old English to Standard English'. (NB: Do not despair at the high price - cheaper edition is available on www.halfvalue.com . Anyhow, a 3rd edition will appear in 2006!)

A wealth of facsimile manuscript extracts form what has been described as a series of "case studies", building a history of the language from contemporary commentaries. They range from, e.g., William Caxton to Jonathan Swift. The book is exciting, visual, and user-friendly.

The facsimile manuscript extracts get
1. written out in "normal" script - so you learn to decipher the manuscripts (palaeography!)
2. word-for-word translations (so you develop a feel for the language)
3. Modern English translation (so you appreciate their significance)
Freeborn also provides nuggets of history and criticism, lists of loanwords, and exercises. (Apparently tapes and exercises are also available.)

His treatment of Old and Middle English incorporates crystal clear presentation of the dialects and phonology. But Freeborn also goes through the Renaissance and the 18th century, handling evolution of grammar, vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and handwriting - usually requiring threeor four other books.

It's worth every penny, and will adorn your bookshelf for years! (If you have difficulty getting it, try www.halfvalue.com or contact Palgrave [the academic imprint of Macmillan publishers].)

Anthologies - putting language history into practice
'Old and Middle English: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies)' was rapidly superseded by a second edition, 'Old and Middle English C. 890 - C. 1400: An Anthology (Blackwell Anthologies)'. The oft-anthologised Langland, Chaucer, and Gawain-poet have now been included, with concomitant losses from the first ed. It's still a monumental work. Compiler Elaine Treharne's useful parallel translations render the many literary milestones easy to read.

'The Cambridge Old English Reader' by Richard Marsden, is an attractive major new anthology. Its generous selection of 56 prose and verse texts mingles old faves with less familiar works. There's also a reference grammar and comprehensive glossary. 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.

Music to enjoy Old English by
Finger-picking Brit folk-blues guitarist John Renbourn's classic 'Sir John Alot of Merrie Englandes Musyk Thyng & ye Grene Knyghte' - side 1 for its beautiful 2 a.m. Renaissance feel. Rampant pastoral Englyshnesse also abounds in 'Vaughan Williams: Orchestral Works' - try the Fantasia on Greensleeves and Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, plus the Folk Song Suite.

There's the knockout suite of Renaissance dances by Praetorius: 'Praetorius: Dances from Terpsichore'. Finally, if your studies are taking you thru to 5 a.m., try side 1 of Mike Oldfield's utter classic 'Ommadawn' or Keith Jarrett's 'The Köln Concert', with its sublime encore - six minutes of the most beautiful music ever conceived.