Old English Language Training

The ancestor of Middle and Modern English, Old English was the dominant spoken language of early medieval England and it continued to be spoken widely well beyond the Norman Conquest of 1066. A ri​ch body of literature survives in Old English, not least the famous epic ‘Beowulf’, as well as far lesser known pieces of prose and verse, including riddles, homilies, wills and saints’ lives. For students wishing to explore the communities and societies of England in the Early and High Middle Ages, knowledge of Old English can unlock a myriad of exciting possibilities.

This short course, available for graduate students at CHASE-affiliated institutions, aims to develop participants’ ability to read (in print and manuscript) and to interpret Old English texts. Students will be introduced to the grammar of the language, while they will also be introduced to a range of key and exemplary literature within the surviving corpus.

Classes will run online for two hours per weekday (10am to 12 noon) from Tuesday 6th to Monday 12th January 2026. There will be no formal assessment and no prior knowledge of medieval languages is required, but students will be expected to undertake some translation work as homework throughout the course.

The expected learning outcomes are as follows:

• Knowledge of the grammar, vocabulary and literary corpus of Old English
• Confidence in engaging with and translating Old English texts
• An awareness of the existing resources for research in Old English
• An appreciation of the range and breadth of Old English literary and historical studies

If you would like to participate in the training, please include a brief summary of why you would like to participate, what you are working on, and any relevant prior linguistic experience.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the course coordinator, Dr Robert Gallagher (r.d.gallagher@kent.ac.uk).

Image credit: London, British Library, Vitellius A. XV, fol. 132r.

This training is open to:

• CHASE funded doctoral researchers,
• Arts and Humanities PGRs at CHASE member institutions,
• Staff at CHASE partner organisations, [note: non exhaustive list]
• Arts and Humanities PGRs (via the AHRC mailing list)

By registering for CHASE training events, you are requesting a place on the training programme or selected sessions that form part of the programme.

You will receive confirmation of your place via email from the booking platform. Please scroll down to the “additional information” section for further details of how to attend, any necessary preparation prior to the training, and any other key information.

If you are allocated a place and can no longer attend please cancel your place via Eventbrite or email training@chase.ac.uk.CHASE training is free to attend and events are often oversubscribed with a waiting list. Failure to notify us of non-attendance in good time (ideally 5 days before the training event) means it becomes more difficult to reallocate your place. Repeated failure to notify us of non-attendance may mean that your access to future training is limited.