Task 1. Look at the pictures below (picture 1) and explain what important cultural and historical event connects them. What is the impact of this event and these people on Britain?
Picture 1
Task 2. Study the map of the Scandinavian invasion onto the British Isles and say what countries they came from, what parts of Britain they occupied, what name their territory got, what areas were preserved by local people.
Task 3. Make the research about the Vikings and do the assignments below.
А. Use the Oxford English Dictionary https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/ to define the following words: a longboat; a warrior; carving; a sword; an axe; pagan; a borough; stirrups.
B. What is the meaning of the word «viking»? What means another name used in reference to the Scandinavians – the Great Heathen Army?
C. Follow the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKE2SFR6Vos. Answer the question. What are false stereotypes connected with Vikings?
D. What English words may serve as testimony of the Viking invasion?
Task 4. А. Look at the pictures below (picture 2) and tell who is portrayed there. What did he get his nickname for?
Picture 2
B. Follow the link https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/dark-ages-barbarians-ii-the-saxons-alfred-video to watch the video about the ruler depicted above. Enumerate his achievement both in times of peace and war.
Task 5. Study the table concerning the Old English vocabulary (table 2) and fill it in with the following words: nunna, wīn, dūn, scōl, disc, fæder, ynce, weall, etan, creda, twā, pund, deofol, piper, hūs, strǣt, scip, port, wīfman, biscop, Avon, ceaster.
Table 2 – Old English vocabulary
Task 6. Study the table concerning wordbulding means in Old English (table 3) and fill it in with the following words according to their model: sēon, folctoƷa, cyninƷ, Loch
Window, Skirt, government hundredmann, frēondscipe, hēah-fæder, helpleas, EnƷlisc, unfrīð, sæliðend
Table 3 – Old English wordbulding
| Simple words | Derivatives | Compound words | Loan words | ||
Task 7. Match the Scandinavian and English etymological doublets. What is their typical initial cluster? Comment upon the semantic and contextual changes in each pair, if any. Old English words Scandinavian words
| Old English words | Scandinavian words |
| 1) whole; 2) craft; 3) shirt; 4) church; 5) from; 6) shriek; 7) ill; | a) kirk; b) sick; c) hale; d) skirt; e) screak/screech; f) skill; g) fro. |
Task 8. Fill in the table with English placenames accorsding to their borrowed final or initial structural elements (table 4); consult the resource https://www.gazetteer.org.uk/. Table 4 – English placenames with borrowed elements
| Source | Borrowing | English placename |
| Celtic | avon-\-avon (a river) | |
| ax-\ex- (water) | ||
| tam-\tham- (dark) | ||
| crick-\creech- (a hill) | ||
| pen- (a hill) | ||
| Germanic (Anglo-Saxon) | -ing (followers of …) | |
| -gham (homestead of the followers of …) | ||
| Latin | -chester (a walled town, camp) | |
| port- (harbour) | ||
| strat- (street) | ||
| wic-\wyc- (Roman settlement) | ||
| eccl- (church) | ||
| Scandinavian | -by (village) | |
| -thorpe (village) | ||
| -thwaite (isolated land) | ||
| -toft (homestead, a piece of ground) |
Advanced Level
Task 9. A. Read the text «THE DESCRIPTION OF BRITAIN» and its rendering into Modern English.
Brittannia, þæt īgland, hit is norþeāstlang; and hīt is eāhta hund mīla lang, and twā hund mīla brād. Þōnne is be sūðan him, on ōðre heālfe þæs sǣs earmes is Gallia Bellica; and on westheālfe, on ōðre heālfe þæs sǣs earmes, is Ibernia, þæt īgland; and on norþheālfe Orcadus, þæt igland, Igbernia, þæt we Scota land hātaþ, hit is on ælce heālfe ymbfangen mid gārsecge…
Early Modern English Variant. Britain, that island, extends a long way north-east; it is 800 miles long and 200 miles broad. Then on south of it on the other side of the arm of the sea is Gallia Bellica, and on the west part of the other side of the sea is the island Hibernia; and on the north part near the Orkney islands, Igbernia, which we called Scotland; it is on every side surrounded by the ocean…
B. Analyze the following compound nouns:
1) norÞēastlang; 2) westheālfe; 3) norÞheālfe.
C. Spell the following Old English words in Modern English:
1) īgland; 2) eāhta; 3) mīl; 4) twā; 5) brad; 6) ōðre.
D. Derive all the 3 degrees of comparison of the following Old English adjectives and give their Modern English equivalents:
1) lang; 2) mycel; 3) lytel.
E. Answer the following Modern English questions in Old English.
1. Is Great Britain 800 miles long?
2. Where was Gallia Bellica situated?
3. What is washed by the ocean?
F. Transcribe the letters þ, ð and f in the following words:
1) norþ, þonne, sūðan, ōðre, norþheālfe, hātað.
2) heālfe, westheālfe, norÞheālfe, ymbfangen.
Task 10. Put the following words into 3 groups: common IE words, common Germanic words, specifically OE words: finƷer палец, wīfman женщина, fæder отец, etan есть, scip корабль, mere море, cwene жена, hūs дом, winter зима, sǣ море, hlāford господин, clǣne чистый, bitter горький, sand песок, trēow дерево, findan находить, lonƷ длинный, beard борода, macean делать, hlǣfdiƷe госпожа, focs лиса, þat тот.
Task 13. Read the text.
Приводимый отрывок взят из известного памятника древнеанглийской поэзии – поэмы «Беовульф». Поэма названа по имени главного героя. События, описываемые в поэме, происходили в Скандинавии. Поэма повествует о том, как Беовульф со своей дружиной прибыл ко дворцу короля Хротгара, чтобы избавить его от чудовища Гренделя, пожирающего по ночам воинов Хротгара. Беовульф побеждает Гренделя, вырвав из его предплечья руку. Преследуя врага, он добирается до логова чудовища, где убивает его. Вторая часть Беовульфа повествует о битве уже старого Беовульфа с огнедышащим драконом, напавшим на его королевство. Убив дракона, Беовульф погибает сам. Представленный отрывок содержит прощальные слова Беовульфа, собирающегося на последнюю битву с Гренделем.
Beowulf maþelode, bearn EaƷþeower ne sorƷa, snotor Ʒuma; sēlre biþ āƷhwǣm þæt hē frēōnd wrecce, þonne hē fela murne. Ūre ǣƷhwylc sceal ende Ʒebindan weorolde līfes; wyrce sē þe mote dōmos ǣr dēāþe; þæt biþ driht-Ʒuman unlifiƷendum æfter selest. Beowulf spoke, EaƷtheow’s son sorrow not, sage man; better ‘tis for every one That he his friend avenge, than that he greatly mourn. Each of us must an end await of this world’s life; let him who can, work high deeds are death; to the warrior that will be when lifeless, afterwards best.
Dictionary
maþelian, wv.2 – to speak
bearn, n.n.a – child
sorƷian, wv. 2 – to worry, to take care of sth.
snotor, adj. – wise, prudent
Ʒuma, n.m.n – man
sēl, adj. – good, worthy
ǣƷhwā, prn. – everyone
frēōnd, n.m.n – friend (frēōƷan – to rejoice, to love)
wreccan, wv. 1 – to avenge
fela, adj., adv. – many, very much
murnan, wv. 1 – to mourn
ǣƷhwylc, prn. – everybody
sculan, prt.-prs. – shall, should
ende, n.n.a – end
Ʒebīdan, sv. 1 – to wait
weorold, n.f.o – world, men and things upon earth; an age, one’s lifetime
līf, n.n.a – life
wyrcan, wv. 1 – to work, to make, to perform
mōt, prt.-prs. – to be allowed, may
dōm, n.m.a – judgement; decree, law; command; power; dignity; free will, choice
ǣr, adv. – before, earlier
dēāþ, n.m.a – death
driht-Ʒuma, n.m.n – lord, creator, judge
unlifiƷend, adj. – lifeless
æfter, prp. - after
1. Find the words that still exist in NE and words that are not used anymore.
2. How did the word meanings changed in their development: sēl,.
3. Give the OE synonyms of the words: maþelian, bearn, Ʒuma, fela.
4. What does the word weorold mean in the compound words: weorold-ende, weorold-lif, weorold-dryhten, weorold-snotor?
5. Form adjectives from the nouns frēōnd, dēāþ, līf With the help of suffixes –lēās и –lic.
6. Define the meaning of the following words: līf-cearu, līfdæƷ, līfian, unlifiƷend. Give their synonyms in NE.
Task 11. Read the extract.
Отрывок из вставки, включенной королем Альфредом в перевод с латинского «Мировой истории» испанского священника Оросия. Текст написан в IX веке на уэссекском диалекте. Он повествует о путешествии норвежскоeго купца Охтхере в северные моря. Охтхере был и в Англии, где встретился с королем Альфредом и рассказал ему о своих путешествиях.
Ōhthere sǣde his hlāforde, Ælfrede cyninƷe, þæt hē ealra Norþmonna norþwest būde. He cwæþ þæt hē būde on þǣm lande norþweardum wiþ þā Westsǣ. Hē sǣde þēāh þæt þæt land sīē swīþe lanƷ norþ þonnan; ac hit is eal wēste, būton on fēāwum stōwum stycce-mǣlum wīciaþ Finnas, on huntoþe on wintra and on sumera on fiscaþe be þǣre sǣ. Hē sǣde þæt hē æt sumum cirre wolde fandian hū lonƷe þæt land norþryhte lǣƷe oþþe hwǣþer ǣniƷ mon benorþan þǣm wēstenne būde. Þā fōr hē norþryhte be þǣm lande; lēt him ealne weƷ þæt wēste land on þǣt stēōr-bord, and þā wīd-sǣ on þǣt bæc-bord, þrīē daƷas. Þā wæs hē swā feor norþ swā þā hwælhuntan firrest faraþ. Þā fōr hē þā Ʒīēt norþryhte swā feor swā hē meahte on þǣm ōþrum þrīm daƷum ƷesiƷlan. Þā bēāƷ þæt land þǣr ēāstryhte oþþe sēō sǣ in þæt land, hē nysse hwæþer, būton hēwisse þæt hē dǣr bād westanwindes and hwōn norþan, and siƷlde þā ēāst be lande, swā-swā hē meahte fēōwer daƷum ƷesiƷlan. Þā sceolde hē þǣr bīdan ryhtnorþanwindes; for-þǣm þæt land bēāƷ þǣr sūþryhte oþþe sēō sǣ in þæt land hē nysse hwæþer. Þā siƷlde hē þonan sūþryhte oþþe be lande, swā-swā hē mehte on fīf daƷum ƷesiƷlan. Þā lǣƷ þǣr ān micel ēā up-in on þæt land. Þā cirdon hīē up-in þā ēā, for-þǣm hīē ne dorston forþ bi þǣre ēā siƷlan for unfriþe; for-þǣm þæt land wæs eall Ʒebūn on ōþre healfe þǣre ēās. Ne mētte hē ǣr nān Ʒebūn land, siþþan hē from his āƷnum hām fōr.
Analyze the italicized sentence and translate it.
A model of Analysis
