Department of Germanic Studies

The purpose of the course is to study Old Saxon as a West Germanic dialect; that is, with emphasis on its relations to the Old High German and Old English dialects. The readings will be from Heliand and Genesis, and special attention will be given to problems of manuscript transmission, "Heimat des Dichters", dialect mixture, and meter. Lectures on Old Saxon phonology and morphology will be held within a comparative frame (Old High German, Old English, Old Norse, Gothic), and briefer discussions of syntax etc. will be given in conjunction with the translations (as the features emerge in the texts).

Your grade will be based on class participation, a written midterm, a final, and an oral presentation on a topic of your choice. By midterm time you should have decided on your topic. Please see me for approval.

Text: Heliand und Genesis. Ed. Otto Behagel. 10th revised edn by Burkhard Taeger. Altdeutsche Textbibliothek 4. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer Verlag, 1993.