Opening Lines of Beowulf In Old English

Hillsdale College Professor of English Justin A. Jackson reads the opening lines of "Beowulf" in its original Old English.
Watch Professor David M. Whalen on the liberal arts at Hillsdale College: • The Liberal Arts at Hi...
Hillsdale College website: www.hillsdale.edu/

[@inyourface668]

time travel would be a real pain in the ass

[@ShabazzTBL]

Yeah it seems anything further back than the 1400s would start to get pretty hard to understand.

[@yarkiebrown6377]

Lol yeah

[@ineragos1552]

Блять я вообще русский, я ничего не понял.

[@samirius6730]

@@ineragos1552 Никто не понимает не волнуйся 😅

[@sylamy7457]

@@ShabazzTBL Errm anything past 1700s would become pretty difficult.

[@mariananesi3963]

I had a college professor who could speak old English. I was thoroughly impressed.

[@rj8767]

I had a professor so into it he could barely spell in modern English.

[@tzenophile]

But how does anyone know?

[@perseveremediaproductions4950]

same

[@BestFilmproducer]

My German professor is actually better at it than my English professor at my minor. This makes sense, of course, as Old English is actually much closer to Old High German than modern English.

[@duanebarry2817]

One of my college professors used to drink Olde English 800.

[@pedrogaleano6722]

A native Spanish speaker, it took me an approximate of 6 years to get a grasp on Shakespeare's language. This will take me six decades

[@swordspiritghirahim]

As a native English speaker, this would probably take me as long as it would to learn any other Germanic language. Essentially, this is another language lol. Shakespeare is like Dante for the Italian language and this would be like someone reading in latin. I know Spanish comes out of Latin, but since I’m not a native speaker of Italian or Spanish, so I have to reference for how easy it’d be to understand for a native speaker of any Latin based language. I get what you mean, though. I started learning Spanish when I was 10 and Italian when I was 18 and I still don’t think I can fully grasp older texts from either language…

[@generalsupreemo9776]

Jorge Luis Borges taught Old English at "Oxbridge."

[@nathanbradford2833]

Shakespeare did not speak Old English. He spoke early in modern english.

[@ovecka17]

that would be because this is an entirely different language saying this is the same language as modern english is like saying spanish is the same as latin

[@gnevescoelho]

@@swordspiritghirahim latin is waaay easier to learn to any speaker of the major romance languages (portuguese, italian, spanish, french and romanian) than Old English is to english speakers.

[@clemandax9242]

I looked into the Canterbury Tales and was surprised how much I could understand, especially if I listened and read it at the same time, so I decided to see how much harder Beowulf is to understand, and I can’t understand a word. And people think Shakespeare’s hard.

[@speakerleora]

When I taught Shakespeare in high school I always played Beowulf in Old English first, then Chaucer in Middle English, then gave them Shakespeare in (relatively) Modern English. They understood it!

[@michaelflores9220]

@@speakerleora Understood Beowulf? Are you sure?

[@linn3014]

Well of course Shakespeare isn't hard. It's what is known as early modern English and therefore not that different from modern English. Old English is a completely different story. Also not that surprising, considering the amount of time and numerous foreign invasions between Beowulf and Shakespeare.

[@clemandax9242]

Roelinde Kamst I know all that, my point is that it’s Shakespeare that people complain about being difficult in school

[@sanjivjhangiani3243]

English, from around Chaucer's time onward, is a blend of Old English and Northern French. So, when you read Chaucer, you are getting an early version of the language we speak now, but OE is really different.

[@Harjawaldar]

And afterwards, he smoked his pipe

[@yarkiebrown6377]

Lol

[@crondawg101]

and stroked his beard

[@JonnyBoyUltra161]

He legit has a pipe in his pocket

[@ashmckinlay1402]

it sounds so familiar yet so different. certainly parts that are understandable though, and phonetically it sounds quite similar to traditional west country English and lowland Scots, which would make sense. really well made piece, it's almost like hearing through a real time portal to ango Saxon England. I would suggest to anyone who found this interesting to research the frisian language as well as that split off at the stem of what we now call old English and as such retains features of old English that modern English has now lost/replaced.

[@nancycrayton2738]

I like your suggestion about Frisian.

[@AdamJSkater93]

It's actually probably more East Anglican

[@ashmckinlay1402]

@@AdamJSkater93 Yes that's very true!

[@andrewdevine3920]

It sounds familiar to me as a fan of Tolkien...

[@johndorney7812]

I am a native English speaker and I can't understand a single word!

[@MyMarina101]

I studied Old English at university...it is utterly fascinating, rich to almost the sphere of music while it also has a colourful imagery and complexity. I understand Tolkien now. It really is incredibly bewitching...I think my peers and I may have been taking it a little far with our attempts at chat up lines though...

[@robjackson5245]

Agreed. But I speak American English and it sounds way closer to this guy than to what is typical England English. This is how the average northern Englishman spoke and speaks to this day. In fact, even in the south, the average Englishman spoke like this. Because that accent we associate with English was strictly a monarchy thing. Only in the 15th and 16th centuries did English people start to resemble anything that we see today. But that's a misomer to, plenty of British accents sound like this guy. Fanciness does not = Latin, and people are dumb. And fancy classes were common in Sweden and the Germanic world. So tired of how morons think everything bad was Roman. Germanics contributed to the Allied arrogance more. Canada is like a crossroads between the two.

[@davidbouvier8895]

​@@robjackson5245I assume that being American explains why you utterly ignore the significant parts of Canada where French (largely derived from that spoken in north western France), and not English, is the first language. But stick around for a few more decades, there's a good chance that Spanish will outstrip English south of the 49th parallel. How's that for a great replacement conspiracy theory?

[@robjackson5245]

@@davidbouvier8895 First of all I did not ignore Canada. I know about Quebec, we're talking English first and foremost.

[@robjackson5245]

@@davidbouvier8895 And Canada in general came later. Canada was founded by statists who were loyal to the British/Scottish crown. The colonies that would make up the Northern USA were founded by Brits (rich, middle class and poor alike) who were divorced of British culture and were dissidents willing to give up everything they had for a new land where they could worship freely (which is partially the story of the USA) In the 17th century, as the accent we know of as British was starting to form (Roger Moore comes to mind).

[@robjackson5245]

@@davidbouvier8895 Canada was 18th century. Even moreso 19th century. We're talking the Puritans, 17th century, and to a lesser extent, Jamestown, also 17th century, which were the earliest British ventures into the Americas (notwithstanding Panama which was founded by Scotland, I believe, in the 16th century, predating the Spanish arrivals there)

[@PitbullTerror88]

for some reason i'd like to hear him yell 'You shall not pass!' in this old english

[@ImNotJoshPotter]

Tolkien was inspired by this book and utilized a great deal of old norse and old english in his naming.

[@douglasdaniel4504]

þu diht ne deorgeat! (I think-- online translator....).

[@rikustorm13]

FUS RO DAH 😂

[@jacklang3314]

@@ImNotJoshPotter he also translated his own version of Beowulf, it ended up being published after his death.

[@ugadugaga4972]

@@jacklang3314 he didnt like it though. He personally felt it wasnt up to snuff and used it mostly for teaching. Doubt he would enjoy it published.

[@pissyourselfandshitncoom2172]

I watched this at 1.5 speed. It's beneficial because people always like to read Old English very slowly.

[@abbanova8048]

I tried 1.5, but it felt breathless and rushed. 1.25 flowed better - not quite conversational, more ruminative :D

[@To-mos]

When is the last time you heard an average person speak/write Old English? It takes much repetition and usage to become fluent in a new dialect especially reading one.

[@shizmanbeat]

Beneficial if all you care about it your time and nothing else. I see this same comment on so many other videos, most likely by children i would think, since none of you have any patience. Enjoy life a little more. Chill out and relax. Life isn't about how much you can cram into one little day.

[@pissyourselfandshitncoom2172]

@@shizmanbeat Time wasn't my concern at all, I have all the time I could want. It just sounds unnatural and breaks my immersion when read slowly, nobody would have talked so slow 1000+ years ago.. I don't know, would they?

[@raediaufar5003]

It's a poem and also folktale, you rarely heard people recite stories and poems quickly

[@TheSeanoops]

God this language is so beautifully dichotomous. The words exude romance and strength, I love it. Hearing this gives me chills!

[@michaelflores9220]

Dictionary time for dichotomous!

[@chrisdiaz9011]

No you just like the delivery lol

[@LordVader1094]

@@chrisdiaz9011 The delivery isn't even that good lol, the language itself is.

[@tunistick8044]

it sounds agressive

[@RolandCarson-ys5pl]

Romance and strength aren’t dichotomous, they are just two adjectives. You aren’t as smart as you think you are, buddy.

[@zniesmaczony]

I thought Rasputin was dead...

[@sschmid127]

zniesmaczony 😂

[@SavageSwan25]

lol!

[@ddonahue3436]

you can't kill Rasputin . . .

[@jaychowdhury116]

I thought the same exact thing when i saw the thumbnail!

[@anibalcesarnishizk2205]

You read my mind 😁😁😁😆😆😆

[@genevievestockmann5534]

He looks like the sort of man who could speak old english, and I mean that as a huge compliment.

[@sasha.t3737]

Do you tho.....😭😭😭

[@jeanettefriedman60]

Let us remember the might of kings. Thank you, Dr. Jackson. He is equally fascinating reading Hebrew in the Bible study course. I was lucky enough to attend an intimate performance in Norfolk, VA. of a bard reciting Beowulf, with his lyre, which all bards carried with them .He also used spoons as percussive accompaniment. Not all the lines, but certain sections have specific accompaniment, and the words are sung. The specific songs helped the bards remember the words, and what came next in the narrative. That is how people like Hal Holbrook and Julie Harris remembered where they were in their 1.5 hour monologues as Mark Twain and Emily Dickinson. The Greek playwrights used song and imagining verses adorning the different pillars of the auditorium, left to right, to remember long passages. It is not impossible, and even 100 years ago, there were people in the Norse countries would could recite substantial pieces of Beowulf in the Old English. People back then would have recognized them and appreciated them. It is remarkable how moving it was, and how you almost had those words on the tip of your tongue. It felt like a distant cousin raised in a far away country telling a tale. The actor was such a great communicator, with voice and body language, and so educated in the language, he held us spellbound, and we often didn't need the modern English banner on the proscenium to follow along. Of course, we already knew the story. It was in two acts, also, to give the bard a chance to eat dinner and ease his sore throat with the king (probably lucky people backstage with him for 20 minutes). I purchased the DVD of his performance, and I still watch it occasionally. It remains magical. As proof, I offer the fact that my 16 year old daughter went along with me, and got a real thrill out of it. You can hear the famous swimming contest, see the slaughter in the great house, you can visualize the fight with Grendel and the severing of his arm, his sinister mother, and the final encounter with the dragon. Later in the week, I asked if she would like to see my copy of Seamus Heaney's translation, considered the best one yet. It has the Old English on one page, and the English facing on the other, with short footnotes. That was exciting for her. I pointed out the compound alliterative noun images and the rhythms used. She is still entranced by this experience. But then, we are an unusual family. I am a Mensan with advanced degrees in Music and English Literature, and " 'satiably curious!" on a host of subjects, while she is studying Forensic Biology, and also has a curious mind. She will be an autodidact too, because of her wonderful, inquiring mind. She is also a champion at Minecraft, which is totally uninteresting to me!

[@lianakriebel]

I thoroughly enjoyed your comment, and now I’m going to have to find that copy of Beowulf. The closest I’ve come to reading/watching the story is when it came up in a Star Trek Voyager episode.

[@AnglicanXn]

JRR Tolkien used to begin his class on Beowulf (or perhaps Anglo-Saxon) by striding into the classroom, loudly reciting these opening lines. I heard a recording of it, and it is marvelous. Prof Jackson is superb; I really enjoyed hearing him recite. It is interesting to see some words in this that Tolkien used in TLTR in speaking of Rohan and its people. I had to read The Canterbury Tales in Middle English my first year of college; it was a challenge but not nearly as overwhelming as this would be.

[@nycsocal1]

I understood "That was a good king" 👍 😅 Amazing performance of these lines. Old English sounds awesome.

[@randomaccount349]

Same here, along with small things like “hie” being “he”

[@bondfall0072]

I wish there was a full recording of this. His voice is hypnotic. I love the story of Beowulf and i would love to hear this read to me as a I drift off to sleep.

[@blankblank1813]

I just discovered this video. I may be a few years late to the party but I thoroughly enjoyed the reading. It's amazing how different our language is today.

[@jameshamilton7102]

He's just reading it backwards

[@thefrenchpoet3160]

Lol, so true!

[@TheSeanoops]

LOL

[@yarkiebrown6377]

Ha, lol yeah

[@eddie-nv9ez]

if you read Beowulf backwards, you summon the Jabberwocky!

[@willbest1547]

I'd never heard that before. I'll bet he had some fun learning to speak it.

[@MrShepperson]

Now, speak it back with a French accent like you are a mercenary from Bordeaux trying to chat up a Saxon women and you basically have English...

[@idot3331]

Mercenary from Bordeaux... Mentlegen.

[@hatejethro1164]

@@idot3331 I tawess thaw uhot did.

[@user_____M]

Talk to me like one of your French mercenaries.

[@andrewdevine3920]

You're forgetting the Vikings and the influence they had on Old English. For example giving it some of its basic pronouns because the native ones were too similar to each other. Yes, I know it was a joke, but I'm a pedant.

[@kdawson2010]

😂😂 English is absolutely the mutt child of Europe.

[@galrjkldd]

Seriously? why does everyone want to set this to music? it's musical enough as it is. The added music just gets in the way.

[@rustyshackleford9027]

I agree 100 percent

[@garykramer5665]

Totally agree.

[@forcemaster9922]

galrjkldd agree

[@ChrisJohnson-vi3ed]

Beowulf was an oral narrative, written for a King. I imagine that it would have been told over several nights, and they would have had music to go along with it. I feel it fits.

[@mattmcgee645]

Beowulf was originally sung, so it's somewhat appropriate. However, I do agree that this specific music doesn't fit.

[@alanc1491]

Thank you, Hillsdale. Who in the world are the 88 people who gave this a thumbs down? How did they even find this vid?

[@jk-gn2fu]

Those are the poor ogres who got slain by Beowulf...

[@belamoure]

I loved the sound of it all, so earthy, warm, meaty and steamy.

[@elizabethwaken7957]

You lost me at "meaty and steamy."

[@VCYT]

i'l take the meaty an steamy if a western saxon lady provides it.

[@burningapartmentbuilding]

seems like ur describing a turd

[@subaginisabalingam1410]

hearing that makes me uncomfortable.

[@DonATimm]

Reminds me of the observation that if you read a grocery list of vegetables in French it sounds like a seduction, while if you read it in German it sounds like a declaration of war.

[@abdelrahmanmustafa8937]

What a beautiful language

[@CHRB-nn6qp]

As an Englishman, I wish this language survived to this day. It feels so much richer and more distinct than modern English, I can just feel the culture of my ancestors from the words.

[@revolutionine]

I feel this 100%. I’m English and Irish living in the US and I have absolutely no identity when it comes to my own culture. My great grandparents were all child or teenage immigrants. There’s a weird feeling of isolation in not knowing your own roots or ancestral history; this language feels like it’s something I should know or at least be educated in. I know it’s a part of who I am, yet I’m completely ignorant to it.

[@chrisstucker1813]

You can thank the brutal Normans for that. England died in 1066

[@guswilliams9603]

@@revolutionineYour culture isn’t English or Irish, it is American descended from English and Irish. Your culture is just as unique as any other.

[@robjackson5245]

​@@chrisstucker1813the Normans were not brutal

[@chrisstucker1813]

@@robjackson5245 yes they were . The Norman rule meant English people lost many freedoms they used to enjoy under Anglo Saxon rule. You never hear of the feudal system? English people lost their land and their right to own land. They also became second class citizens in the face of new Norman aristocracy - English was now the language of the peasant. Even today most members of the English elite aristocracy all have surnames of Norman origin.

[@agent_meister477]

I could listen to this all day...

[@tomgeorge6163]

I had to learn (memorize) the introduction to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in old English when I was in the 9th grade. I am 67 now. I don't think high school is what it used to be.

[@cochisequinnzell4070]

I learned the opening lines to Beowulf in Old English in 4th grade for extra credit. I'm now 18. Schools are doing just fine.

[@Superiorform4]

I hate to be pedantic, but just in case it interests you: The Canterbury Tales were written in the late 1300s, which puts them firmly in Middle English. By this time, most of the really alien bits of Old English have disappeared, and a well-read modern speaker can probably get the gist of it. Shakespeare is only 300 years later, and most modern speakers would get by fine in Shakespeare's time. Boewulf is in Old English, and none of us would have a chance at understanding it. English underwent massive and rapid changes after the 1066 Norman conquest of England. Our noble class was made nearly entirely French, and English obviously changed super quickly.

[@BIGAPEGANGLEADER]

clearly high school back then wasn't much if you can't tell the difference between the english in chaucer's stories and the ancient english displayed here. they're very different.

[@user-iw8km2no5e]

@@Superiorform4 your noble "french" class was destroyed in Red and White Roses war. And he became English again

[@DancingTillIDie]

Wonderful. I need to learn Olde English. Bless you Hillsdale College for supporting this.

[@DOSBoxMom]

The only other example I can recall of spoken Old English is Eowyn's lament for her dead cousin Theodred in the film version of The Two Towers. (Apparently Peter Jackson decided that Old English was a "close enough" stand-in for the language of the Rohirrim.)

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

Tolkien was one of the few people speaking and translating Old English, and to show how the language of the Rohirrim relates to the Common Speech he used old English.

[@marijanewernsman6134]

Old English is close to Anglo-Saxon, so yeah.

[@jonniebrim6531]

I could seriously listen to this guy all day lol so freaking cool man 😎

[@coloraturaElise]

I had an English professor in college who could read Middle English but said he was 'rusty' in Old English, and Beowulf is what he chose to read to us....lots of glottals is mostly what I remember.

[@joesfotos]

Loved the story. Well told. Could almost understand a word or two of the Old English intro afterward. Must have made an impression on my 79 years old mind- - 95% on quiz!

[@NeciaGamez]

Sounds like Jon Snow if he was a sim.

[@erickmejia4602]

Ah dun wanih

[@CheapSeats]

This was awesome. Thank you for the actual subtitles too!

[@RavenclawFtW3295]

I once saw a kid describe the language of the Declaration of Independence as "old English." I wish I had this video to show him.

[@donovangomez8114]

The music tone of the introduction fits the work. I'm reading an English translation as I followed along. Sad in the begining then picks up in the middle, remember these men were fierce and brutal in their ways. They even left Rome on their knees at times. As an elegy this book glorifies this hero, reminisces his memory, and is a legend for Generations to come. Thank you Charlemagne the Frankish King, father of Europe, for preserving this fine work. Today, this tale has been watered down with different translations. Yet still brings out the spirit of men! Brutal and stunning! Great work!

[@deathlarsen7502]

how lucky are Hillsdale students. I hope they recognize this while they are there

[@joemomma7460]

You’re tripping, Hellsdale is a prison

[@deathlarsen7502]

@@joemomma7460 and why do you say that? bc you didn't get accepted

[@janetprice85]

I thank the Lord I recieved an old fashioned classical education with a strict core curriculum at GSU back when it was primarily a teachers college. I breezed through graduate work at a big university.

[@standardnerd9840]

I played this out loud in my man cave and a portal opened up behind me, now I can travel to Narnia at will! Thanks KZbin!

[@biker-boy6116]

Imagine ur in a Forrest in black night and you hear this..

[@abbyc4779]

*accidentally summons a demon while trying to read it*

[@jamesmerone]

Right. I thought he was reading the necrocomicon from Evil Dead.

[@janetprice85]

I read it in the original dialect for senior English in high school. It was interesting to hear the roots of English.

[@Irrelevant402]

After taking a class in Old English I certainly was not going to complain about Shakespeare being tricky again. I mean I did poorly in the class but I enjoyed it.

[@Evannator1]

I'm moved to tears

[@alanolson6913]

I was a German major in college with a minor in linguistics. For a project during the year, we were to choose a language and learn a passage from a story or a royal decree of some sort or the words of a poem. I chose the Lords Prayer in Anglo Saxon. Fascinating how close some of the pieces are to modern English. Maybe not the spelling but the pronunciation is rather similar. That was 50 - plus years ago and there are still whole passages I can recall. This Old English reading is fascinating.

[@fishbait9858]

It is so weird. It sounds English but all mixed up. Incredible

[@robjackson5245]

That is English and it's not as non-understandable as it looks.

[@MystiqWisdom]

I got "that" and "after". Amazing those two words didn't change (?)

[@GRQJOYEUX]

English was a beautiful language

[@benthomason3307]

English: "Ah! I see you found my old higschool yearbook photos! ...Oh my God I can't believe I dressed that way."

[@toddwebb7521]

Pretty sure I can come closer to understanding Old High German than this era of English

[@tordb]

This is my jam!

[@ReneMatuscak]

its so interesting that some words are same like in Modern English :)

[@EnDSchultz1]

+Putin is The Best! Indeed. Spelled differently but sound almost the same: Thaet waes god cyning! (That was a good king!) Lange hwile (a long while)

[@OurHourglass]

I'm listening, not understanding much but a word or two... and then a whole sentence comes alive and I'm following! It's as if I've awoken from sleep and have had my morning coffee!!... nope, it's back to gibberish and I wonder if I've had a stroke. Wait, there were a few words... and they're gone again.

[@capital_coyote9076]

Ok but why is it strangely calming...

[@martinconnors5195]

It's startling to know, that Old English sounded like this; then fast forward hundreds of years and the language evolves

[@keltus_warrior6491]

What is Professor Wright (actor Derek Jacobi) saying in Old English in the movie "Tolkien", as Wright comments to John Robert R. Tolkien on the quad and then reading from a textbook in class at Oxford?

[@sidvicious4186]

beautiful..

[@debravinsand4876]

This is fantastical!!! ❤

[@ValBlanc19]

Wonderful

[@marystein7174]

I Googled the name of "Boom Boom Bessinger", a professor at NYU who was famous back in my day for his recording of these lines. I was never able to get a recording of his performance, but I wonder if any of you know it? Eventually I got a Norman Davis and Nevill Coghill tape that I was able to use, supplemented by the Caedmon Cassette "Kemp Malone on Old English Poetry." How times have changed. I'm 80 years old now, and retired, but still thrilled by the great poets and writers who used to work not only to entertain but to edify kings.

[@danharte6645]

I've recently started to study and the battle of brunanburh in Anglo Saxon. It's starting to slowly come together but my goal is to be able to recite it fluently and naturally. It's a beautiful language!

[@philomelodia]

God bless you. I hope you are safe in these times of pandemic.

[@nancypatterson2215]

This may sound strange, but growing up in East Tennessee, a very isolated region until a few decades ago, I actually understood most of what he read. I know our Southern Appalachian dialect, diction & vocabulary, is archaic. The language came over to America by Scots & Ulster Scots settlers. They were very religious Presbyterians but could get a bit rowdy with whiskey, dancing, & fiddle music. & the more Puritan settlers/English/German refused to be associated with them. So they all got together & decided to send these religious Presbyterians, who also loved their whiskey, fiddle, dance, & storytelling on friday evenings out west as border settlements. These people were some of the best fighters as well. After securing the western boundaries for the more gentle types of folks, many stayed & grew roots. 3rd & 4th generations settled down in the Blueridge & The Great Smoky Mountains. They were extremely independent, their communities were more like extremely large clan gatherings. Their settlements were fortified forts with everyone inside at night. The fought constantly with native americans, but later many married native Americans. When the Revolutionary War started, Scot/Irish in The Southern campaign mostly ignored it & didn't want to side with wigs or torries. However, British Col Banastrate Tarleton happened. The Scots Irish was appalled by the actions of a man who refused a large company of surrendering Patriots, quarter. Many soldiers were even taking off their linens, to wave as flags to beg for quarter. Col Bueford's men were treated unmerciful & fouly. For that time forth, all Patriot troops gave that human slaughter the name, "Beuford's Quarter & vowed to never forget the war atrocities committed by that bloddy butcher, who cowardly murdering surrendered soldiers. That large community of patriots where neighbors to the east of The Over Mountain Men. At that time, war was strict, but so were the rules. Even in war, in those times, war was fought by officers & gentlemen & the etiquettes of war were determined by tactics, skill, leadership, chivalry, gallantry, & honor. Tarleton & the men he ordered trotted their horses across the battle field 4 or 5 times giving the bayonet & or sword the most uppercut to all surrendered men who were still moving, underneath the dead soldiers on top of them. By the 5th time, all US patriots were dead or left to die, without anyone to bury their bodies. Anyway, The Over Mountain Men had built up a righteous anger when Col Ferguson threatened to burn their fort & to take revenge for Bueford's Quarter. The Over Mountain Men clashed with fury on King's Mountain with Ferguson & his troops, later to fight Bloody Ban at Cow Pens, & allowing the British army to track their quick light Army to Virginia detouring them further away from British supply lines. They lead Cornwallis into Virginia, then over to Yorktown. Checkmate the war is over. Sorry, back to language. Many Brit Lit books that most Appalachian students could read & understand were Chaucer, Shakespeare, Milton, Blake, ECT.. The language is slowly dying out because of more diversity & free movement. However, it's interesting that The Southern Appalachian has been 1 of the most isolated regions of The English Language. It's the oldest, most isolated region in the English language. It still spoke an old form, simular to Elizabethian English, but with a Scottish Flavor, with rolling R's & an intrusive R, in many pronunciations. It did have centuries to change, but this was a very highly unique people who were & many still are resistant to change. That's 1 way the people were ao isolated, it was by choice. However, most of these folks are the nicest that you will ever meet anywhere in the world. It would be interesting to read Shakespeare again, but in my Grandmother's pronunciation of that old Elizabethian English, with a bit of a Scottish flavor tounge

[@robjackson5245]

A Dixie accent proper sounds more like England English though. Southern doesn't mean = Dixie.

[@robjackson5245]

Scots didn't like the Federalists either. They were the main ones who were Jeffersonian

[@justinschuyler]

It just started raining here. Thanks alot

[@VCYT]

You can hear the rhythm of nowadays English in his reading !

[@iamcharizard5468]

+VC YT Most likely because his native language is English. I've heard this read in a completely different rhythm too.

[@78olanordmann]

+VC YT You can most certainly hear the rhythm of Norwegian.

[@SirSelby]

That is an absurd statement. German and English have vastly different grammar from one another.

[@VCYT]

absolutely, an the celts apparently shaped old English !

[@VCYT]

then the other rhythm is the wrong one, as this is how English sounds today, an sprang from the old version, which the native celts influenced.

[@wholeNwon]

I attended a Catholic prep school (high school) and we used to recite The Lord's Prayer in old English. In college, Chaucer was taught in middle English and that was really fun. I'm old now and can still recite the Prologue.

[@TechMickMIUI]

Respect!!!

[@sasha.t3737]

My highschool teacher made us memorize (most of ) this except for a grade. it was pretty cool tho😭

[@GWwise3642]

Really cool stuff!

[@thewhizardh474]

To bad we didn't keep this language. It sounds beautiful.

[@DarthCookieKS]

TheWhizard h we didn't have the chance to keep this language, the language was lost after the Normans came and Old English became over simplified as it was the language of the lower class

[@ImNotJoshPotter]

@@DarthCookieKS High time for an eald englisc comeback.

[@smakyakproductions4466]

The Angles and the Normans would probably say the same about English. Anyways, it would be near *impossible* to keep the language, since language change is natural and near impossible to prevent.

[@anastasiapuppy8910]

Ikr. So sad. It would be so cool to speak old english. It disappointing that it disappeared.

[@OurHourglass]

@@smakyakproductions4466 Same. I was going to say, "we *did* keep it, though." It's just heavily renovated, like an olde house.

[@KevTheImpaler]

I started studying Old English. It is a foreign language. The grammar is like German, but it does not sound like German or look like German. I am struggling with it, but it is still early days.

[@robjackson5245]

I can understand some of the basic things. He does say "That was good"

[@jimpassaro]

you can still hear the contemporary American accent through the Old English. Was that just me? Would love to hear this by maybe a Dutch speaker or someone that might have a more accurate accent, although not sure who that'd be. Maybe a linguist expert, rather than a literature expert

[@recnepsgnitnarb6530]

If you're going to read that professor, put some emphasis into it! It's an epic poem!

[@nancycrayton2738]

It has a metre - more like a song than prose. I thought it was done brilliantly.

[@camsnyder2636]

Sounds like Norwegian or Swedish and same with how it's written.

[@pleaseenteraname.5857]

Shinobi V 101 Old English has more Germanic origins than modern English. Modern English is more romantic.

[@frakkintoasterluvva7920]

Succ You mean, more Romance.

[@sean030774]

English IS a Germanic language. Over the years, we have borrowed from the romance languages to create new words and corrupt English in its true form. You can see this if you use words such as bookcraft instead of literature or forekind instead of ancestor. I love the way the old English sounds. It is beautiful.

[@DrPacman]

@@sean030774 however i am glad english is not like that. it was so complex

[@JamesMartinelli-jr9mh]

A Brythonic language with Germanic lexicon: a Brit thinking in old Welsh using Anglo, Saxon,and Jute vocabulary. BTW in SE Britain the substratum of such Brythonic was Latin.

[@jameshatzopoulos9885]

Great reading!😃

[@redrufus444]

When I speak "Old English" try as I might, can not shake the Texas Lingo....Bravo Professor!!!!....

[@OH-pc5jx]

Wish it had been captioned with a contemporary translation

[@jeanettefriedman60]

It's worth looking for.

[@justamir1558]

It's very beautiful

[@DarkHeartedMusician]

Awesome.

[@albertkoshy9678]

"I read beowulf in Old English"

[@Philosopher-pv4ul]

As an English teacher in training, and especially hearing this, I never want anyone to call Shakespeare “old English” ever again

[@shanelesa587]

After he said all that my couch started flying bro it sounded like a whole spell lmao

[@lamex42]

Oh my gosh, elvish language by JRR Tolkien sounds exactly like this!

[@yourcomforter5755]

His languages are inspired by Old English, Old Norse, Frisian, Welsh, Icelandic and other such languages. He loved the Anglo-saxons, the Vikings and welsh mythology and folklore in general.

[@lamex42]

@@yourcomforter5755 I know 😍

[@kaibroeking9968]

Goes to show how much language changes in the course of a millenium, and how long a time a millenium really is!

[@sillig1763]

Turn on the closed captioning and listen again. Glad they took the trouble.

[@sillig1763]

Just found this translation: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qXW7nquCecejbcU

[@edgyswordsmanmanga4051]

Whats the name of the background song?

[@nikocarter5701]

Does anyone know the name of the song in the back?

[@leverage2279]

I imagined sitting in Theoden's hall among the Rohirrim..and they might have sounded like this.

[@almcmemeshack8443]

I got the "Dat was goed cyning" or however it's spelled

[@carlpeng2580]

He accidentally summoned Grendel in my toilet.

[@rogueriderhood1862]

How on earth did that turn into modern English?

[@bujin1977]

With a little help from the French.

[@rogueriderhood1862]

@@bujin1977 For which this Englishman is very grateful!

[@Coupal1]

It is incredible to me to know that my ancestors spoke this English!

[@aristompulis1332]

ME TOO I HAD A COLLEGE PROF MACMURRAY COLLEGE J-VILLE ILL. YOU TAKE THINGS FOR GRANTED I WISH I COULD GO BACK INTO A TIME MACHINE & RECORD IT.

[@Kazuo1G]

I wonder if Welsh is a descendant language, because I'm hearing very similar pronunciations and character-usage analogues.

[@DottoreSM]

welsh is a celtic language and english is a germanic language, completely different origins

[@CdRullzzz]

He's just making it up as he goes

[@P1MPST1K]

It’s a lot easier to understand if u have knowledge of other Germanic languages. More of modern day English is derived from French brought over by William the Conqueror during the 1000s CE, than from the original Anglo-Saxon language brought to Britain from modern day Denmark/PlattDeutschland. Whereas old English was entirely Germanic, middle/modern English is a very complex Romance/German hybrid language. Example: Modern English you say “my name is _”. German you say “Ich heiße _”(btw that funny letter makes an Sz sound not a b). Old English people would say something like “Ic hatte _”.

[@0x00a]

In German you could also say "Mein Name ist..." . Also, the bulk of common, daily spoken English is still about 70% germanic on average (old english and old norse derived). However, french did seep in quite a bit into daily speech. Latin is mostly scientific and legal language, but some common latin words were adopted in the 1700 and 1800 (via, prior, etc.)

[@robjackson5245]

Depends, American English and northern England English and, to a lesser extent, Canadian English is gutteral and Germanic. The romanticized rich man's English is a southern thing mostly. Those are the ones who sound Latin in their Latin English accents.

[@robjackson5245]

The common English person, north or south, did not speak London English. Middle English is mostly something those in the south spoke. Again it depends.

[@johnloony68]

I have just finished reading Beowulf (the Liuzza parellel-text translation) and I was curious to find a reading so that I can compare with my attempts at pronunciation. I notice that this reader pronounces the “ea” diphthong a bit more like a long æ rather than “éa”. I sometimes found it tricky to remember when to palatalise the g, especially if it’s after a front vowel but before a consonant or a back vowel. But the book specifically tells me not to worry too much because it’s a dead language anyway, and that any modern rendition is only an approximation.

[@tomjackson501]

Brilliant

[@alexsimonelis164]

You should post the modern English translation bedside the old English.

[@michielvdvlies3315]

I'm from the Netherlands i think reading the words would make more sense to me ;-)

[@nicolascharon9783]

What's the music?

[@taurica6522]

*He is casting the spell by reading the scroll?*