The ancient and invaluable second introduction to Old English language and literature. ( )

I’ve found this very helpful for translation practice – it contains more than thirty pieces, mainly in West Saxon dialect, with helpful glossary and notes. There is an interesting mixture of prose and poetry – excerpts from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, Beowulf and Bede’s history; also charters, riddles and poems such as ‘The Wanderer’ and ‘The Seafarer’. There are also documents, hymns and other religious material in other dialects.
This book was useful in extending vocabulary and increasing fluency in translation, and to gain exposure to different styles and purposes of writing. As a beginner, I found Teach Yourself Old English and Peter S. Baker’s Introduction to Old English more helpful than this book, as the introductory grammar and vocabulary were more at my skill level. This book was more useful in maintaining and extending these skills once I had a greater understanding of grammar, a larger vocabulary and better recall of both.

10th edition, revised C. T. Onions

Anglo-Saxon/Reader