Beowulf and the Old English Bard!

[The2ndAmendment]

For anyone interested in hearing our ancestral Anglo-Saxton tongue, I found a live Bard recording of Beowulf. This is how English was spoken before 1066, well, how English was sung when telling stories (the first link is the Lord's prayer in Old English [Our Father], then the Beowulf links follow)

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQVyol7N1Jo]The Lord's Prayer (Fæder ure) in Anglo Saxon (Old English) - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E806VmFC8io]Beowulf - Grendel's Ambush - YouTube[/ame]
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y13cES7MMd8]Beowulf - "Opening Lines" - YouTube[/ame]

 

[there4eyeM]

I think that we really could say English is the marriage of Anglo-Saxon and Norman French, a new language that evolved 'organically' in a very human, logical, non-intellectual way. Many elements were streamlined compared to other European languages (the universal neuter for object nouns, for example).

And it wasn't just French. Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Celtic, Pictish all had early influences on this new language. The history of our tongue is unique and very interesting.

 

[editec]

The absolute WORST course in Literature I ever took involved reading Beowlf in old English.

The professor and the material were good, so I have to guess that the STUDENT was lacking.

I got an A, but honestly don't think I took much away from that course.

Here let me sum it up for you, shall I?

A bunch of drunken Scandanavians keep getting eaten by a monster.

One of them, Beowulf eventually kills Grendel, then Grendal's mom attacks and he kills that bitch, too

The end.