Course Catalogue

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This course provides an introduction to the Old English language, providing the foundation necessary for students to engage with the literature of this culture in its original form.

1x1hr seminar (whole class); 1x1hr tutorial (smaller groups) per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus.

This is one of the Honours options in English Language and Linguistics and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into English Language and Linguistics, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

ENGLANG4010 Old English Literature

ENGLANG5029 Old English Language

None

Examination (90 minutes) - 50%

Class test (50 minutes) - 25%

Portfolio of online tests  - 25%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below. 

This course aims to:

■ develop reading knowledge of Old English prose;

■ build vocabulary (passive and active) of the most frequently occurring words in Old English literature;

■ develop skills in analysing and explaining the structure and grammar of Old English prose.

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ translate an unseen prose passage from Old English accurately into appropriate present-day English;

■ supply the meaning of common Old English words divorced from context;

■ identify and comment on grammatical constructions in an Old English text;

■ apply grammatical knowledge in class exercises, exams and assessments including translation from English into Old English of simple sentences;

■ explain and apply the effect of basic sound changes relevant to understanding and accounting for apparent irregularities in inflexion.

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.