Old English facts for kids

Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, was a language spoken in England. People used it from about 450 AD (which means 'after the birth of Jesus') until around 1100 AD. The Anglo-Saxons spoke this language. They were groups of people who came to England from areas that are now Germany and Denmark.

Old English is very different from the Modern English we speak today. It has many more words that come from Germanic roots. At first, it was not written down very often. When it was, people used an alphabet called runes. This alphabet looks completely different from the Latin alphabet we use for English now.

The grammar of Old English was quite complex. It was similar to the grammar of Old German. Important churchmen, like the respected Bede, often used Latin for writing. Old English slowly changed into Middle English after the Norman Conquest in 1066. This was when William the Conqueror and his army from Normandy took control of England.

One famous story written in Old English is Beowulf. It tells an epic tale and was written using an alphabetic script.

Images for kids

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  (Pre-)Old English an other West Germanic languages around 580 CE

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  Alfred the Great statue in Winchester, Hampshire. The 9th-century English King proposed that primary education be taught in English, with those wishing to advance to holy orders to continue their studies in Latin.

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  The dialects of Old English c. 800 CE

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  Her sƿutelað seo gecƿydrædnes ðe ('Here the Word is revealed to thee'). Old English inscription over the arch of the south porticus in the 10th-century St Mary's parish church, Breamore, Hampshire

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  The first page of the Beowulf manuscript with its opening Hƿæt ƿē Gārde/na ingēar dagum þēod cyninga / þrym ge frunon... "Listen! We of the Spear-Danes from days of yore have heard of the glory of the folk-kings..."

See also

In Spanish: Idioma anglosajón para niños