1. Te Germanic language family. General characteristics. Classification of G.lang. & ancient G. tribes.
I- Old G. Lang. :
1. East G. L. ( Vindili) :
 Gothic(4c.AD)
 Vandalic
 Burgundian
2. North G. L. (Hilleviones)
 Old Norse or Old Scandinavian (2-3c. AD) Futhark
 Old Icelandic (12c.AD)
 Old Norwegian (13c.AD)
 Old Danish(13c.AD)
 Old Swedish (13c.AD)
3. West G.( Ingvaeones, Istaevones, Herminones):
 Anglian
 Frisian
 Langobardian
 Jutish
 Saxon
 Franconian
 High German:
-Alemanic
-Thüringian
-Swabian
-Bavarian
 OE (7c. AD)
 Old Saxon (9c. AD)
 OHG (8c. AD)
 Old Dutch (12c. AD)
II- Modern Lang.
1.West Germ.
 English
 German
 Dutch
 Flamish
 Frisian
 Yiddish
 Afrikaans
2. North G. L.
 Icelandic
 Norwegian
 Danish
 Swedish
 Faroese
3. East G.L. - extinct
Characteristics
1.
All the G.L. of past & present have common linguistic features, some of these features are shared
by other groups in the IE family, others are specifically Germanic.
2.
The Germanic group of lang. acquired their specific distinctive features after the separation of
the ancient Germanic tribes from other IE tribes and prior to their expansion and disintegration that is during
the period of the Proto Germanic language ( unattested). The aim is to provide the general idea of what the
PGLang was like, to point out its linguistic ftatures. Theese PGfeatures, inherited by the descendant l-ges,
represent the common features of the Germanic group.
3.
Other common features developed later in the course of individual history of separate Germanic
l-ges as a result of similar tendencies from PG causes. On the other hand many Germanic features have been
disguised, transformed and even lost in later history.
Germanic languages possess several unique features, such as the following:
1.
A large class of verbs that use a dental suffix (/d/ or /t/) instead of vowel alternation (IndoEuropean ablaut) to indicate past tense; these are called the Germanic weak verbs; the remaining verbs with
vowel ablaut are the Germanic strong verbs
2.
The shifting of stress accent onto the root of the stem and later to the first syllable of the word
3.
Another characteristic of Germanic languages is the verb second or V2 word order. This feature
is shared by all modern Germanic languages except modern English
4.
Strict differentiation of short and long vowels
5.
Tendency for assimilation and reduction
6.
A great number of fricatives, small number of plosives
7.
No palatal consonants at all.
1.
Eng. as a world language.
English is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era, in the fifth
century AD when Germanic tribes began to move from their homes in Northern Germany and Jutland in order
to settle in what was then still a Celtic country — Britannia. Historically, English originated from several
dialects, now collectively termed Old English, which were brought to the island of Great Britain by AngloSaxon settlers beginning in the 5th century. English was further influenced by the Old Norse language of
Viking invaders. At the time of the Norman conquest(1066), Old English developed into Middle English. As a
result of influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States
since the mid 20th century, Eng. has become the lingua franca in many parts of the world. Approximately 375
million people speak English as their first language.English today is probably the third largest language by
number of native speakers, after Mandarin Chinese and Spanish. The countries with the highest populations of
native English speakers are, in descending order: United States (215 million), United Kingdom (61 million),
Canada (18.2 million),Australia (15.5 million), Nigeria (4 million),Ireland (3.8 million), South Africa (3.7
million), and New Zealand (3.6 million) 2006. Eng. is the dominant language or in some instances even the
required international language of communications, science, business, aviation, entertainment, radio and
diplomacy. English is the language most often studied as a foreign language in the European Union (by 89% of
schoolchildren). Books, magazines, and newspapers written in English are available in many countries around
the world. English is also the most commonly used language in the sciences. In 1997, the Science Citation
Index reported that 95% of its articles were written in English, even though only half of them came from
authors in English-speaking countries.
2.
Word stress in PG & its morphological consequences.
I.1.Proto-Indo-European (PIE) – musical accent (музичний наголос)
Proto-Germanic – stress accent (силовий наголос)
Example from Classical Greek:
mētēr “mother” (Nominative case)
mētéros “of a mother” (Genitive case)
I.2.Weakening and loss of unstressed syllables:
For example:
PIE *bheronom “to bear” > PG *beranan > OE beran > ME beren > bere > PDE bear
 In PIE there were two ways of word accentuation:
1.
musical pitch(tone)
2.
force(dynamic) stress
The position of stress was free & moveable. It could fall on any syllable of a word: on a root morpheme,
on an affix, or even on the ending. It could be shifted both in form-building & word –building.
 In PG force stress became the only type of stress used. In early PG the stress was still moveable, but in
late PG the position of stress was fixed on the first syllable (either root or prefix). The verbal prefixes were
unstressed, the nominal & adjectival prefixes were stressed.
Consequences: the vowels of non-initial syllables became unstressed & therefore they were weakened &
could be lost. The 1st syllable of a word was given a special prominence.
3. The PG phonology. The consonants.
Early PG (15/5c. BC - 1/4c. AD)---- separation of PG from the west IE (centum branch) to its
stabilization as a separate system.
Features:
 the existence of the fixed & moveable stress types
 there didn’t exist any difference between stressed & unstressed syllables.
Late PG (4/7c. – 11/16c. AD)---- from stabilization of PG to its dispersal into separate groups of
G.dialects .
Features:
 the dynamic stress was fixed on the first root syllable
 the opposition between stressed & unstressed syllables.
Common features in PG: -a great number of fricatives, small number of plosives; - no palatal consonants
at all, as in other Centum languages.
Such a quantity of fricatives appeared in PG as a result of sound shifting described as Grimm’s Law and
Verner’s Law.

B, d, g, gw were positional variants of v, ð, h, hw initially, after nasals and when doubled

J (non-syllabic i) – “i” in the final position and before consonants Nom. Sg. harjis – Akk. Sg. hari

w (non-syllabic u) “u” after short vowel, in final position and before “s”: Gen. Sg. trivis – Nom.Sg.
triu

syllabic sonorants “m”, “n”, “r”, “l” lost their syllabic function and became non-syllabic because
there developed “u” before them “um”, “un”, “ur”, “ul” . Syllabic sonorants “i” and “u” became vowels.
4.Grimm’s Law. (1822 was first published in “Deutch Grammar”)
I
IE voiceless plosives >Germanic voiceless
act fricatives
L pater > E father
p
>
f
R три > E three
t
>
Ө
R кепка > E hat
k
>
h
L quod > Gt ha
w
w
k
>
h
I
IE voiced plosives
> G. voiceless plosives
I act
b
>
p
R болото> E pool
d
>
t
R два > E two
g
>
k
R иго > E yoke
gw
>
kw
Gr gune > OE cwene
I
II
act
IE voiced aspirated plosives > G. voiced
plosives
bh
>
b
dh
>
d
gh
>
g
gwh
>
gw
Skr bhratar > E brother
Skr madhu > OE medu
Skr *gh > Gt gast, L hostis
IE seŋgwh > Gt siggwan
Exepcions:
1.
The shifting didn’t take place after fricatives(f, Ө,h) & s:
L stare – Gt standan
2.
The second of the consonants didn’t undergo shifting:
L octo Gt ahtau
1k>h
12
12
2t= t
5. Voicing of fricatives in PG (Vern’s L.) 1877
V.L. explains some correspondences of consonants which seemed to contradict G.L and were regarded as
exceptions for a long time. According to V.L., all the early Proto Germanic voiceless fricatives f , Ө, h which
arose under G.L. and also s inherited from PIE, became voiced between vowels, if the preceding vowel was
unstressed. In the absence of these conditions, they remain voiceless. The voicing occurred in early PG at the
time when the stress was not yet fixed on the root morpheme. The process of voicing can be shown as a step in
a succession of consonant changes in pre-historical reconstructed forms.
PIE
>
early PG
> late PG
> Gothic > OE
pater
>
faӨar > faðar
>
faðar
> fadar
>
fæder
IE
>
PG
p
>
f
>
v
>
b
t
>
Ө
>
ð
>
d
k
>
h
>
j
>
g
G.L
V.L: (voicening)
V.L.:(hardening)
Changes by V.L. appear regularly in the strong conjugation of verbs of the 2, 3, 5 Classes:
2 Class. OE: ceosan – ceas – curon – coren
3 Class weorðan – wearþ – wurdon – worden
5 Class: cweðan – cwæþ – cwædon – cweden
wesan – wæs – wæron – weron.
One more consonant(voiceless fricative) is affected by V.L. If the preceding vowel is unstressed, “s” in
Germanic l-ges becomes voiced and changes into “z”, and “z” changer into “r”.
s
>
z
>
r
This change is called Rhotacism and took place in North and West Germanic l-ges except Gothic.
Goth: hausjan
OE: hieran
Goth: kiusan – kaus – kusum – kusans
OE: ceosan – ceas – curon – coren
The consonant “s” became “r” in past plural form and in past participle because in early PG they had a
stressed suffix, while the infinitive and past singular had always stresses on the root.
6. The West Germanic lengthening of consonants.
Every consonant except “r” is lengthened if it is preceded by a short vowel and followed by the sonorant
“j”(i) or by the sonorants “w”, ”l”, ‘r’, “n”, “m”. Before “j” the process of lengthening was the strongest, before
“m”- the weakest . There appeared long consonants as a result of the doubling and an opposition based on the
quantity between short and long consonants. If voiced fricatives were doubled, they became voiced plosives: a
long “f” later develops into long “b”, denoted by “bb”, “ʒ”- “cʒ”, “ð” – “dd”…
The essence of this process appears to be assimilation. The consonant is assimilated to the preceding
sound after producing palatal mutation (i-umlaut) in the root.
The lengthening might have been connected with changes in division of words into syllables:
Goth.: b|idjan> b|idjan>biddan
Consonants were not lengthened after a long vowel
OIcel sitja>OE sittan>OHG sizzen
Goth.: bidjan>OE biddan>OHG bitten
Goth.: saljan>OE sellan
But: Goth. domjan>OE deman (because after a long vowel)
7.The second consonant-shifting.
I ACT. PG p, t, k > OHG ff, zz, hh (in the middle of the word, or at the end of the word after
vowels) > f, z, h
E.g.: p > ff, f: Goth. skip, OE. scip, PDE ship, OHG. scif; Goth slepan, PDE sleep, OHG slafan, ModG
schlafen.
f > zz, z: Goth. wato, PDE water, OHG wazzar, ModG Wasser;
k > hh, h: Goth brikan, PDE break, OHG brehhan, ModG brechen
II ACT. p, t, k > OHG pf, tz, kh (at the beginning of the word, in the middle after l, r, m. n)
p > pf: OS appul, PDE apple, OHG aphul, ModG Apfel;
t > tz: Goth taihun, OHG zehan, ModG Zehn; Goth tuggo, PDE tongue, OHG zunga, ModG Zunge;
k > kh: Goth. drigkan, PDE drink, South G trinchan.
III ACT
b, d, g > OHG p, t, k (Alammanic, Bavarian)
b > p: Goth. bairan, PDE bear, South G peran, ModG gebären;
d > t: Goth dags, OE dæg, PDE day, OHG tac, ModG Tag;
g > k: Goth. gasts, PDE guest, South G kast, Mod G Gast.
NB: In all the West Germanic languages almost any consonant could be geminated (doubled) before or
following j, and before other consonant as well. Thus in addition to the simple consonants we also have to
reckon with the doubles pp, tt, kk. This distinction is important, as the geminates were affected quite differently
by the consonant shift the singles were.
8. The ablaut in the Indo –European l-ges & Germanic l-ges.
Ablaut is an independent vowel intergange unconnected with any phonetic condition; different vowels
appear in the same environment,surrounded by the same sound.
The rise of ablaut is partly connected with the movement of z stress: In PIE the accent was free, in
Germanic it was retracted to the initial syllable.

Vowel graduation did not reflect any phonetic changes but was used as a special independent
device to differentiate between words & grammatical forms built from the same root.
The principal gradation series used in the IE l-ges was e/o/zero. In Germanic l-ges it was i/a/zero. Each
members of such a series is called a grade (stupin).
There are 2 types of ablaut:
1. quantitative (altenation of short & long vowels).
IE e>zero, o>zero, short e> long e, short o> long o.
Gr. pater- patros(gen.)
Lat. sedo – sedi
Germ. e>zero, a > zero, short e > long e, short a > long o
OE ber – beron
2. qualitative ( the vowels differ in quality- change of front vowels into back)
IE e>o
везу-возити; нести-ноша.
Germ. i/e > a, i>u
Got. drigkan- dragk
OE þencan- þank
Merowingi – Nibelungi
3. qualitative – qualitative
IE e> o> zero.
Рус. беру- сбор-брать
Germ. i/e > a,
a >long o
OHG beran – barn- giburt
OE faran – for – foron – faren
There are 5 classes of ablaut:
I: i: - ia – i – i
II: iu – au –u – u
III: i – a – u – u
IV: i – a – ē – u
V: i - a – ē – i.
Ablaut is used in strong verbs in Gothic l-ges.
I class: reisan “вставати” – rais – risum – risans
II class: kiusan “вибирати” – kaus – kusum – kusans
III class: bindan “зв”язувати”– band – bundum – bundans
IV class: stilan “красти” - stal – stēlum – stulans
V class: giban “давати” – gaf – gēbum – gibans
The vowels played an important part in the grammar of Proto-Indo-European, because of the way they
alternated in related forms (as in Modern English sing, sang, sung, and this system descended to ProtoGermanic. There were several series of vowels that alternated in this way. Each member of such a series is
called a grade (ступінь), and the whole phenomenon is known as gradation or ablaut. One such series in PIE,
for example was ĕ, ŏ and zero. This series was used in some of the strong verbs: the e-grade appeared in the
present tense, the o-grade in the past singular, and the zero-grade in the past plural and the past participle (in
which the accent was originally on the ending). This is the series that was used in sing, sang, sung, though it
was blurred by the vowel changes, which took place in Proto-Germanic. PIE ŏ regularly changed to PG ă, as it
has been shown before.
9.The vowels.
1. The basic vowel symbols are a, e, i, o, u. They could be both short and long. The set of vowels in
Proto-Germanic can be represented in the following way:
back vowels: ā, ō, ū; front vowels: ī, ē.
Note: According to Zhluktenko, originally there were only four long vowels in PG : æ, ī, ū, ō. Later in
West Germanic languages æ > ā. Apart from ē, that developed from PIE ē through æ, in Old Germanic
languages there appeared one more ē that resulted from diphthong ai in unstressed syllable (Goth. haihait).
In tracing vowel changes in Old Germanic languages we have to distinguish between stressed and
unstressed syllables, since these give different results.
There was a strict difference between short and long vowels. There were 8 monophthongs and 3
diphthongs in PG.
PG Vowels
Front
Back
Short
i, e
a, u
Long
i, e
o, u
Diphthongs: /ai/, /eu/, /au/.
IE short /a/ and /o/ merged in PG short /a/.
IE short /i/, /e/, /u/ could correspond to PG /e/, /i/, /o/.
IE long vowels were unchanged. /i/>/i/, /u/>/u/. IE long /a/ and /o/ merged in PG long /o/.
In Early PG there were 4 long vowels: /i/, /u/, /o/ /e/. Then appeared /a/.
High підняття
i
Front
u
e
Mid
a
Low
o
Back
10. Umlaut – is a case of regressive assimilation, when the vowel is changed under the influence of the
following vowel.
1) i-umlaut (Front Mutation)
2) u-umlaut (Back Mutation)
I-Umlaut /a/, /o/, /u/ change into /e/, if the following vowel is /i/, /i/ or /j/.
Later i, i and j disappeared or changed to e. (dailjan – delan)
I-Umlaut in OE took place in prewritten period on the territory of the British Isles.
*a> æ> e
*a> æ
*o> e
*o> oe> e
*u> y:
*u> y
I-Umlaut in OHG
In OHG Mutation took place starting from the 8th century.
a> a(e)
a>æ
o> ö
o> oe
u> ü
U-Umlaut (Back Mutation)
OE: 7-8 centuries
The short frot vowels æ, e, I were diphthongized when the back vowels u, o, a were present in the
following syllable.
i> io
OE sifon> siofon
e> eo
OE efor> eofor
æ> ea OE saro> searu
This process differs from I-Umlaut in 3 respects:

it effected almost exclusively short vowels

it effected only front vowels

its results are less unifor m
Palatal mutation before ‘h’
e>
eo>
ie>
i
OE cneht> cneoht> cnieht> cniht
11. Inflectional system of PG.
Simplification of the inflectional system
It is often asserted that Germanic languages have a highly reduced system of inflections as compared with
Greek, Latin, or Sanskrit. Although this is true to some extent, it is probably due more to the late time of
attestation of Germanic than to any inherent "simplicity" of the Germanic languages. It is in fact debatable
whether Germanic inflections are reduced at all. Other Indo-European languages attested much earlier than the
Germanic languages, such as Hittite, also have a reduced inventory of noun cases. Germanic and Hittite might
have lost them, or maybe they never shared in their acquisition.
Inflections were certainly the principal formbuilding means used:
- they were found in all parts of speech that could change their forms
- they were usually used alone, but could also occur in combinations with other means
In PG there are 5 parts of speech which can be declined – noun, adjective, pronoun, numeral, verb.
Noun had such categories:
- gender (masc, fem, neut)
- number (singular, plural)
- case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, instrumental)
- declension (strong, weak, minor, root)
Verb had such categories:
- voice (active, passive)
- mood: indicative (denotes a statement), imperative (commands, was used only in present of active
voice), subjunctive (2 functions – grammatical & semantic)
- tense (present, preterite)
- number (singular, plural, dual)
- person (1, 2, 3)
Adjective
- declension (weak, strong)
- degrees of comparison (positive, comparative, superlative)
Pronoun
- number (sg, pl, dual)
- person (only personal pronouns)
- case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental)
- gender (only in demonstrative pronouns)
Numerals from 1 to 4 had case.
12. Categories of verb in Old Germ.l.
Verb had such categories:
- voice (active, passive)
- mood: indicative (denotes a statement), imperative (commands, was used only in present of active
voice), subjunctive (2 functions – grammatical & semantic)
- tense (present, preterite)
- number (singular, plural, dual)
- person (1, 2, 3)
There are two voices in Germanic, active and passive. When the verbs is in the active voice, the subject of
the sentence is in some sense the agent of the action, or the doer of the action. On the other hand, when the verb
is inflected for passive, the subject of the verb is seen as the patient, or undergoer of the action. For example,
the Gothic verb bairan “to carry”. When it is inflected actively, as in bairiþ “(he) carries”, the subject is seen as
carrying something. When it is inflected passively, as in bairada “(he) is carried”. Note that in Present-day
English the passive is build up according to the formula ‘be (auxiliary verb)+ past participle. In GL it is
periphrastic.
The category of mood is represented by the indicative denoting a statement; the imperative – command,
and the subjunctive – a wish or an irreal statement.
The older Germanic languages really have only two tenses, namely present and preterite (or past). The
present is commonly used to render a future meaning, and the preterite is also used to express past participle, as
in Modern English “I had run”.
Number in the Germanic verb is governed by the subject. Thus, when the subject is singular, the verb is
inflected for the singular; when the subject is in the plural, the verb is also. In the first and second persons, there
is also a dual inflection of the verb, which is used when the subject is understood to consist of two people.
Person, too, is a verbal category governed by the subject. Thus we find in the Germanic verb the
categories of first, second, and third persons, equivalent to Present-day English forms appearing with ‘I’, ‘you’,
and ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘it’.
13. Strong verbs n Gothic.
Strong verbs form their preterite by ablaut (nima ‘I take’, nam ‘I took’) or simply by reduplication (háita,
‘I call’, haíháit ‘I called’), or else by ablaut and reduplication combined (tēka ‘I touch, taítōk ‘I touched’). The
strong verbs are subdivided into two classes: non-reduplicated and reduplicated verbs. The non-reduplicated
verbs are divided into six classes according to the first six ablaut classes given in the previous lecture. The
reduplicated verbs, which form their preterite by ablaut and reduplication combined belong to the seventh class.
A. Non-reduplicated strong verbs in Gothic.
Class 1. Ablaut grades i: - ai – i – i
Infinitive
Gothic
OE
OHG
beidan “await”
Bīdan
Bītan
Pret.
Single
báiþ
bād
beit
Pret. Plural
bidum
bidon
bitun
Past
Participle
bidans
biden
gibitan
To this class belong: beitan “to bite”, dreiban “to drive’, greipan “to seize”, weihan “to fight”, bi-leiban
“to remain”; ga-smeitan “ to smear”, steigan “to ascend’ etc.
Class II. Ablaut grades iu – au – u – u
Infinitive
Gothic
OE
OHG
-biudan “to bid”
Bēodan
Biotan
Pret. Single
Pret. Plural
-báuþ
bead
bōt
-budum
budon
butun
Past
Participle
-budans
boden
gibotan
Here belong: biugan “to bend”; driugan “to serve as a soldier”; giutan “to pour”; kiusan “to test’, liusan
“to lose” etc.
Class III. Ablaut grades i – a – u – u
Infinitive
Gothic
OE
OHG
hilpan “to help”
Helpan
Helfan
Pret. Single
Pret. Plural
halp
healp
half
hulpum
hulpon
hulfun
Past
Participle
hulpans
Holpen
giholfan
To this class belong all strong verbs having a medial nasal or liquid + a consonant, and a few others in
which the vowel is followed by two consonants other than nasal or liquid + consonant. For example, baírgan
“to keep”, bliggwan “to beat”, brinnan “to butrn”; hwaírban “to walk”, swiltan “to die” etc.
Class IV. Ablaut grades i – a – ē - u
Infinitive
Gothic
Pret. Single
Pret. Plural
niman
“to
nam
nēmum
beran
to
bær
bæron
Past
Participle
Numans
take”
OE
boren
OHG
“bear”
Beran
bārun
bar
giboran
To this class belong strong verbs whose stems end in a single nasal or liquid, and a few others. For
example, brikan “to break”, qiman “to come” stilan “to steal”, ga-timan “to suit” etc.
Class V. Ablaut grades i– a – ē - i
Infinitive
Gothic
OE
OHG
mitan
measure”
Metan
Mezzan
“to
Pret. Single
Pret. Plural
mat
mētum
mæt
maz
mæton
māzzun
Past
Participle
mitans
Meten
gimezzan
To this class belong strong verbs having i (aí) in the infinitive, and whose stems end in a single consonant
other than a liquid or a nasal: bidjan “to pray”, itan “to eat”, ligan “to lie down” etc.
Class VI. Ablaut grades a – ō – ō - a
Infinitive
faran
Gothic
“to
Pret. Single
Pret. Plural
fōr
fōrum
fōr
fuor
fōron
fuorun
Past
Participle
farans
go”
OE
OHG
Faran
Faran
færen
gifaran
To this class belong: alan “to grow”, ga-daban “to beseem”, skaban “to shave”, standan “to stand”, malan
“to grind”.
1.
Reduplicated Strong verbs in Gothic.
The perfect was formed in the parent language partly with and partly without reduplication. The reason
for this is unknown. Compare Sanskrit va-várta “I have turned”, Gothic warþ, warst, warþ; pl. va-vrtimá +
Gothic waúrþum; Gothic wáit “I know’, lit. “I have seen”. The reduplicated syllable originally contained the
vowel e. In Gothic the vowel in the reduplicated syllable would regularly be i, except in verbs beginning with r,
h, hw, where the aí is quite regular.
In the singular the accent was on the stem and in the dual and plural originally on the ending with
corresponding change of ablaut.
The reduplicated verbs in Gothic are divided into two classes: a) verbs that retain the same vowel stem
through all tenses, and form their preterite simply by reduplication, as haítan “to call”; haíháit, haíháitum,
háitans; (b) verbs which form their preterite by reduplication and ablaut combined. These verbs have the same
stem-vowel in the preterite singular and plural, and the stem-vowel of the past poarticiple is the same as that of
the present tense.
Division (a) Class VII.
Infinitive
Gothic
falþan “to fold”
haldan “to hold”
Division (b) Class VII
Infinitive
Gothic
grētan “to weep”
lētan “to let”
Pret. Singular
faífalþ
haíhald
Pret. Singular
gaígrōt
lailōt
Past
Participle
falþans
haldans
Past
Participle
grētans
lētans
14. Weak verbs in Old Germ.l.
In Gothic they are divided into four classes according to the infinitives end in –jan, pret. –ida. (-ta); -ōn,
pret. –ōda; -an, pret. –áida; -nan, pret. –nōda.The weak preterite is a special Germanic formation, and many
points connected with its origin are still uncertain
1. First Weak Conjugation.
In Gothic the verbs of this conjugation are sub-divided into two classes: - (1) verbs with a short stem
syllable, as nasjan “to save”, or with a long open syllable, as stōjan “to judge”; (2) verbs with a long closed
syllable, as sōkjan “to seek”; and polysyllabic verbs.
Germanic suffix –j- in different Germanic languages reflected as –ia-, -ij-, -i-.
Sub-class (1)
Gothic
OE
OHG
Sub-class (2)
Gothic
OE
OHG
Infinitive
nasjan
rescue’
Nerian
Nerian
“to
Sōkjan
Sēcan
Suohen
Preterite
nasida
PP
nasiþs
nerede
nerita
nered
(gi)nerit
sōkida
sōhte
suohta
sōkiþs
sōht
(gi)suohit
2. Second Weak Conjugation.
PG forms corresponding to the Gothic and OHG were *salbō-mi, *salbō-zi, *salbō-đi, Plural *salbō-miz,
salbō-đi, with stem-forming suffix being –o-.
Infinitive
Preterite
PP
Gothic
salbōn
“to
salbōda
salbōþs
anoint’
OE
Endian
endode
endod
OHG
Machôn
machôta
gimachot
3. Third Weak Conjugation.
It had a stem-forming suffix –ai- that apears only in Gothic (Preterite and Past participle), in Present the
alternation of vowels proves to be a – ai. In other Germanic languages the suffix fell out or appeared as –e-.
Gothic
OE
OHG
Infinitive
haban “to have”
Habban
Haben
Preterite
habaida
hæfde
habêta
PP
habaiþs
hæfd
gihabêt
Fourth Weak Conjugation
This class of verbs is characteristic of the Gothic language only. They belong to the so-call inchoative
class of verbs, that is denoting the beginning of the action.
15. Preterite-present verbs
These are the verbs inflected in the present like the preterite of strong verbs and in the past like the
preterite of weak verbs. The following verbs, most of which are defective, belong to this class:
cann – he knows
dear – he dares
sceal – he shall
mot – he must
mæj – he may
ah – he possesses
þearh – he needs
ann – he grants
Ablaut-series: Gothic witan “to know”.
INF
wita
n
OE
witan
PRESENT
1st
2nd
Sing.
Sng.
Pl.
wáit I
wáis
w
know
t
itum
1 &
wāt
3 Sng.
w
wāt
iton
PAST
Pret.S
S
ubj.
ng
w
Subj.
Pret.
.Part.
wissē
Wissa
djáu
itjau
Pres
wita
nds
wisse
wisso
n Pl.
Compare PDE wit “розум, ум”; witty “розумний, дотепний”, and Russian ведать. (Grimm’s Law).
Ablaut series: Gothic kunnan “to know”, OE cunnan > PDE can.
INF
Got
hic
kun
nan
OE
cunnan
PRESENT
1st
2nd
Sing.
Sng.
kann
kan
I
t
um
know
1-3
can(n) Sng
can on
(n)
Pl.
PAST
Pret.S
S
ubj.
ng
kunn
Subj.
Pret.
kunþē
Kunþ
djáu
a
Pres
.Part.
Kun
nands
cūðe
cūðon
cunn
Pl.
Ablaut series: Gothic *skulan “to be obliged to”, OE sculan “to be obliged” > PDE shall.
INF
Got
hic
lan
an
PRESENT
1st
2nd
Sing.
Sng.
*scu
skal
kan
‘I
t
um
OE owe’
Scul
1-3
sceal
Sng
sce on
al
Pl.
PAST
Pret.
S
ubj.
Sng
kunn
Subj.
Pret.
Part.
kunþē
Kun
þa
Pres.
djáu
kunna
nds
scol
scul
de
scol
don Pl.
Preterite-presents also include:
(V-ablaut series)
(VI-ablaut series)
A.
Gothic
Magan
*gamōtan
Áihan
OE
magan “to have power” > PDE may, might
mōt(an) “to be allowed to”, “to be able to” >
PDE must
āgan “own, possess, have” > PDE owe;
PP āgen > “own, to own”, Pret. Sing. āhte >
ought
Anomalous verb *wiljan “to wish, desire” in Gothic.
Present
Singular
1.
wiljáu
2.
wileis
3.
wili
Dual wileits
Preterite
Indicative
Sing 1. wilda
Plural
1.
2.
3.
wileima
wileiþ
wileina
Subjunctive (optative)
Wildēdjáu
These verbs are very important for later periods. From these verbs we get the present day core modal
verbs. There is an important difference: in OE pr-pr verbs were morphologically defined; in PrDE modal verbs
are syntactically defined. There were 12 pr-pr verbs in OE, in Gothic – 14. They are subdivided into classes in
analogy to the strong verbs.
The basic forms of pr-pr verbs:
- Infinitive;
- Pres.Sg
- Past tense
- Participle II
Some forms of separate pr-pr verbs are not attested – must has no Past Tense because it already was
inherited in Past. And 2 verbs do not follow any of these classes:
Majan – mæj – majon – meahte/mihte – no P II - may
Jeneah – jenujon – jenohte – no Inf – no P II - enough
16. Infinitive, Participle
When the verb is inflected for the categories so far discussed, it is said to be a finite form of the verb. But
alongside these forms there also three non-finite forms of most verbs. The first is the infinitive proper, which is
essentially a noun formed from the present tense verbal stem; consider PDE “to run”. The second is the present
participle, which is an adjective formed from the present stem, analogous to forms like PDE ‘running’. The
third is the preterite participle, an adjective sometimes but not always based on the preterite stem of the verb,
and etymologically identical with forms like ‘driven’ in ‘I have driven’ or ‘a driven man’.
INFINITIVE is not only an indefinite form f a verb. Originally infinitives were verbal agent nouns.
(Nomina Agentis) – віддієслівні іменники.
Infinitive as a frm of verbs appeared in IE languages after disintegration of the IE unity. Germ. inf.
derives from the noun with the suffix –no-. in old Germ. lang-es analogical forms could be declined. They later
developed into verbal form, and prepositions (OE to , OHG zi, zu, OIsl. At) – into a particle that goes with the
verb. Germ. inf. didn’t have categories of the mood and tense. Nly later appeared analytical forms of the inf.
Participles are verbal agent adjectives. It can be declined by case, and in Latin, Russian by tense and
mood.We distinguish ParticipleI (active) and Part.II (passive). Participle I is formed from strong and weak
verbs by adding suffix –nd-. Participle II: strong verb + n weak verb + þ/d/t.
In England Participle I is –ing form.
17. Nominals, their categories.
Noun had such categories:
- gender (masc, fem, neut)
- number (singular, plural)
- case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, vocative, instrumental)
- declension (strong, weak, minor, root)
Adjective
- declension (weak, strong)
- degrees of comparison (positive, comparative, superlative)
Pronoun
- number (sg, pl, dual)
- person (only personal pronouns)
- case (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental)
- gender (only in demonstrative pronouns)
Numerals from 1 to 4 had case.
18. Categories of noun.
The noun in Old German had such categories:
- gender (masc, fem, neut) This distinction was not a grammatical category, it was merely a classifying
feature. The gender
a)
regulates the forms of adj and rticles accompanying nouns
b)
to a certain extent regulates which specific forms of the case and number endings appear
on the nouns.
- number (singular, plural) Like in ME all the German lang-es distinguish SG and Pl.
- case:
Nominative can be defined as the case of the active agent
Accusative is the use of the direct object, and also the case required by a preposition
Similarly, a number of prepositions regularly require Genitive. It was primarily the case of nouns and
pronouns serving as attribute to their nouns.
The Dative was the chief case used with the prepositions or as an indirect personal object.
Rare even in the eldest attested stages was used Vocative or the case of address: the only Germ. Lang
showing this case is Goth.
Instrumental (no in Gothic) is used to dentify the instrument of an action.
!!! The Dative Sg: 1) ending –ai as in maujai (to the girl)
2) ending –au as in magau (to the boy)
- declension (strong, weak, minor, root)
19. Noun structure in PG. The original reconstructed structure of noun in PG as in other Indo-European
languages included three components: root, stem-forming suffix and inflection. The root rendered lexical
meaning; stem-forming suffix was placed between root and inflection. Its original function might have been to
classify nouns according to various lexical groups. Inflections served as means of connection in sentences
together with prepositions.
Neither of Indo-European languages preserved words with an ideal three-component structure. Normally
stem-forming suffixes coalesced with inflection or root. Though in Gothic one can trace stem-forming suffixes
by comparing forms of other stems. For example, Dative and Accusative Plural of nouns with vowel-stems:
Masculine in –a-
Masculine in
Feminine in –ō-
Masculine in –u-
gast-i-m
gast-i-ns
gib-ō-m
gib-ō-s
sunum
sununs
–iDative wulf-a-m
Accusative wulf-ams
In Gothic, as in the oldest periods of the other Germanic languages, nouns are divided into two great
classes, according as the stem originally ended in a vowel or consonant. Nouns, whose stems originally ended
in a vowel, belong to the vocalic or so-called Strong Declension. Those, whose stems end in –n, belong to the
Weak Declension.
20. Strong declension of noun.
A.
The Vocalic or Strong Declension.
a-declension, masculine and neuter nouns
Nominative
Accusative/Vocative
Genetive
Dative
Singular
dags “day”
Dag
Dagis
Daga
Plural
dagōs
dagans
dagē
dagam
PG forms of dags were: Sing nom. *đagaz, acc. *đagan, voc *đag(e), gen. *đagesa, dat. *đagai< PIE
*dhoghōĩ.
Like dags are declined a great many Gothic masculine nouns: akrs “field”, bagms “tree”, fisks “fish”,
hunds “dog”, himins “heaven etc.
Compare also OE Masculine like stan “stone”, scip “ship” etc.
Masculine
Singular
Plural
OE Nominative
Genetive
Dative
Accusative
Stān
Stānes
Stāne
Stān
stānas
stāna
stānum
stānas
The ō-declension include feminine nouns only and correspond to IE ā-declension
Singular
Nom.Acc. giba ‘gift’
Gen. gibōs
Dat. Gibái
Plural
gibōs
gibō
gibōm
Like giba are declined a very large number of feminine nouns, as bida “request”, bōka “book”, kara
“care’, fēra “country”, mōta “custom-house”, rūna “mystery”, háirda etc.
The i-declension contains only masculine and feminine nouns and correspond to the Latin and Greek ideclension.
Singular
Nom. gasts “guest”
Acc. gast
Gen. gastis
Dat. gasta
Voc. Gast
Plural
gasteis
gastins
gastē
gastim
-
Like gasts are declined arms, “arm”, balgs “wine-skin”, barms “bosom”, gards “house”, saggws “song”,
sáiws “sea” etc.
21. Weak declension of nouns.
B.
Weak Declension (n-stems).
In the parent language the nom. Sing ended partly in –ēn, -ōn, and partly in –ē, -ō. The reason for this
difference is unknown. Here belong masculines, feminines and neuters.
Singular
Nom. hana “cock”
Acc. Hanan
Gen. hanins
Dat. hanin
Plural
hanans
hanans
hananē
hanam
Like hana are declined a great number of masculines: aha “mind”, ahma “spirit”, atta “father’, brunna
“well”, blōma “flower”, falga “cross”, gajuka “companion”, garda “fold’, guma “man”, nuta “fisherman” etc.
22. Adjectives: strong and weak declension.
In the parent PIE language nouns and adjectives were declined alike without any distinction in endings, as
in Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit. In PG adjectives were divided into two groups: strong and weak.
The so-called weak declension of adjectives is a special Germanic formation by means of the suffixes –
en-, -on-, which were originally used to form nomina agentis, and attributive nouns as Lat. ēdo “glutton”, Goth.
staua “judge’, wardja “guard”. Already in PG the weak declension became the rule when the adjective followed
the definite article, as in ahma sa weiha “ghost the holy one”, OE Wulfmær se geonga “Wulfmær the
Young”, OHG Ludowīg ther snello Ludwig the Brave”. At a later period but still in PG, the two kinds of
adjectives – strong and weak – became differentiated in use. When the one and when the other form was used
in Gothic is a question of syntax.
In Gothic the adjectives are declined as strong or weak. They have three genders and the same cases as
nouns.
They also have degrees of comparison. The PIE parent language had several suffixes by means of which
the comparative degree was formed. But in the individual branches of the parent language one of the suffixes
became more productive than the rest. The only PIE comparative suffix which remained productive in the
Germanic languages is –is-, which became –iz- (=Goth. –iz-, OHG –ir-, OE –r-) in PG by Verner’s law. Beside
the suffix –iz- there was also in PG a suffix –ōz- (Goth. –ōz-, OHG –ōr-, OE –r-). This suffix is a special
Germanic new formation, and arose from the comparative of adverbs whose positive degree originally ended in
–ō-. And then at a later period it became extended to adjectives. In Gothic the –ja- stems, I-stems, and –u- stems
take the suffix –iz-, a-stems sometimes take the one, sometimes the other.
Positive
manags “great
juggs “young”
swinþs “strong”
alþeis “old”
hardus “hard”
Comparative
managiza
jūhiza
swinþōza
alþiza
hardiza
23. Pronoun, morphological categories.
Categories. Number: singular, plural, dual.
Cases: Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative.
Gender: masculine, feminine, neuter.
PG pronouns fell roughly under the same main classes as modern pronoun:
 Personal(особові)
 Demonstrative(вказівні)
 Reflexive(зворотні)
 Interrogative(питальні)
 Possessive(присвійні)
 Indefinite(неозначені)
Personal pronouns
PG personal pronouns had 3 persons, 3 numbers in the first and second persons and 3 genders in the third
person.
First person
Sing.
Dual
Plural
Nom
ik
wit
weisa
Gen
meina
*ugkara
unsara
Dat
mis
ugkis
uns, unsis
Acc
mik
ugkis
uns, unsis
Reflexive pronouns
The reflexive pronoun originally referred to the chief person of the sentence irrespectively as to whether
the subject was the first, second or third person singular and plural.
Gen
seina(себе)
Dat
sis(собі)
Acc
sik(себе)
Demonstrative
The simple demonstrative sa, þata, sō was used both as demonstrative pronoun this, that, and as definite
article, the.
SINGULAR
Masculi
Neuter
Nom. sa
Acc.
þata
þata
þis
þamma
ne
PLURAL
Masculi
Neuter
sō
þō
þái
þans
þō
þō
Þōs
Þōs
þizōs
þamma
þizē
þáim
þizē
þáim
þizō
þáim
Feminin
e
ne
Feminin
e
þana
Gen. þis
Dat.
þamma
24. The vocabulary of PG
The sources of information about the oldest vocabulary of Germ. Lang-es were: runic inscriptions,
toponymy, texts of literary monuments and modern vocabulary of Germ. Languages, which are examined with
the help of the comparative-historical method.
The vocabulary can be divided into 3 layers:
1.
Common IE words
2.
Common Germanic words
3.
Words of separate Germ. Lang-es
Common IE vocabulary includes terms of relationship, numerals and names of some plants and animals.
The vocabulary of unknown origin forms 30% of the vocabulary of PG. the oldest borrowings were from Celtic
and Latin. We also distinguish prattle words borrowed from childish lang., so called traveling words borrowed
from unknown lang. and attested in many Germ. lang-es, folk words used in everyday speech and having
special semantic meanings.
According to lexical meanings of the words (semantic field) we distinguish a) natural phenomena; b)
industrial terms; c) cultural terms, etc.
According to stylistics we distinguish neutral, common used and stylistically coloured (poetic, official,
bookish and professional vocabulary) vocabulary. Common used words are the names of things which surround
us. They are used in everyday speech and are stylistically neutral: OHG ackar (поле), leban (жити), OE bringan
(приносити), wind (вітер). Poetic terms were used in PG epos and included metaphors, epithets, similes and
synonims: hilde-leoma (світоч бою – меч). In “Beowulf” there were used 37 nouns which denote the worrier.
Bookish lang. appeared in Late CG and is connected with the development of science and culture. A lot
of such words were borrowed from Latin and Greek: L credo> OE creda; L regula> OE regol.
25. The IE legacy, isogloss.
Words which have common IE root have certain lexical meaning. They reflect surrounding world, natural
phenomena, things necessary for people for living. We distinguish such semantic groups of words:
 Natural phenomena: heavenly bodies, atmospheric phenomena, relief, seasons:
– сонце
– Goth. sunno, sauil
– L sol
– OIsl. sol
– OE sunna
– OSlav сльньце
– OHG sunna
– Гора, погорб
– OE hyll
– L collis
– Lithuanian kalnas
– Lettish kalns
 Names of wild animals
 Вовк
– Goth wolfs
– OE wulf
– OHG wolf
– L lupus
– OSlav влькь
 Names of plants
– береза
– OSlav брьза
– OE beorc
– OHG birihha
 Names of birds
 Parts of body
– ніс
– OSlav нось
– Lithuanian nasus
– OE nosu
– OHG nasa
– OIsl. nos
 Relatives
– син
– OSlav. Синь
– Goth sunus
– OIsl. sonr
– OE, OHG sunu
The isogloss: narrow meaning: the line on the map showing the spread of this or that ling. phenomenon;
broad sense: a lexical or morphological unit common for certain group of lang-es and which is not encountered
(не зустрічається) in the other lang.-es (я маю – в мене є; мешкати – проживати).
26. Common Germ. stock.
The common vocabulary. In the traditional view the Indo-Europeans before their dispersal (7000/4000
BC) were a nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoral people. They had cattle and sheep, for there are common words
for both of these, e.g. English ox is Welsh ych, Sanskrit uksan-, and Tocharian okso. Cattle were obviously
highly prized. OE feoh, Sanskrit pacu- and Latin pecu, meant both “cattle” and “wealth”, the Latin word for
“money, wealth” was pecunia, and cattle figure prominently in the early writings of Indo-European peoples.
They also had domestic animals, including the dog, and possibly the pig, the goat, and the goose, but there no
common word for the ass, nor for the camel – English word goes back, via Latin and Greek, to a loan from a
Semitic language. The Indo-Europeans certainly had horses, for which a rich vocabulary has survived, and they
also had vehicles of some kind, for these are the words for wheel, axle «ось», nave “маточина (колеса)” and
yoke “ярмо, хомут”. They had cheese and butter, but no common word for milk has survived, which shows
how “chancy” the evidence is. No large common vocabulary has survived for agriculture, such a vocabulary is
found in the European languages, but this may obviously date from after dispersal. There are, however,
common words for grain, and Greek and Sanskrit have cognate words for plough and for furrow “борозна”, so
there is some support to the view that the Proto-Indo-Europeans were agriculturalists.
РОЖЬ, нем. ROGGEN < PG * ruggn-/*rugis- (с обычным удвоением g перед n )< PIE *rughio- in
Germanic, Baltic and Slavonic languages, PDE rye.
There is, however, no common word for beer (which an agriculturalist’s product, while there is a word
for mead. On the other hand, there is no common vocabulary for hunting or fishing.
There are a number of common words for tools and weapons, including arrows, and there is no evidence
to suggest that at one time the tools and weapons were made of stone: the Latin verb secāre ‘to cut’ is related to
saxum ‘a stone, rock’, and the latter is identical with OE seax, which meant ‘knife’. At one time, it seems, a
stone could be a cutting instrument. The PIE people knew metal, however, for there two common words for
copper and bronze, one of which survives as PDE ore, Latin aes, Sanskrit ayas, and there also words for gold
and silver. There is no common terminology for the techniques of metallurgy. The vocabulary shows a
familiarity with pottery and also with weaving.
They knew both rain and snow, but their summer seems to have been hot, which suggests a continental
climate. The wild animals they knew include wolves, bears, otters, mice, hares, and beavers, but apparently not
lions, tigers, elephants, or camels, so presumably they lived in a cool temperate zone. There has been some
argument about the common Indo-European words for the beech tree, the eel, and the salmon. The beech does
not grow in North-East Europe or anywhere east of Caspian, so it has been argued that the home of the IndoEuropeans must have been farther West. The eel and the salmon are not found in the rivers that flow into the
Black sea, so it has been argued that this region too must be ruled out. There are, however, two weaknesses in
this argument. The first is that the climate has changed since the times of he PIE: around 4000 BC, the climate
of southern Russia was wetter and warmer than it is today, and there were many more trees, especially along
the banks of streams and rivers; these trees almost certainly included beech. The second weakness is that we
cannot be absolutely certain that these words originally referred to the species in question. E.g., it is possible
thet the word for ‘salmon’ (German Lachs, Swedish lax, Russian lososi ‘salmon’, Tocharian laks ‘fish’) did not
originally refer to the true salmon, but to a species of Salmo found North of the Black sea.
The view of the IE family is supported by the Indo-European names of Gods. There are a few common to
the European and Asiatic languages, and they seem to be personifications of natural forces. Prominent among
them, is a Sky God: he Greek Zeus, the Sanskrit Dyaus, the OE Tīw (Tuesday). He was a Father God, as we can
see it from his Latin name, Jupiter, which means ‘Sky Father’.
27. Borrowings, substratum, superstatum.
The oldest borrowings from Celtic lang. were borrowings of law, social and military terms:
– Goth lekeis – лікар, цілитель
– OE lead – свинець
– OIsl. leđr – шкіра
The oldest borrowings from Latin took place in the I century A.D. These were :
– Military terms:
L campus> OE camp, OHG champf – поле.
– Roads, buildings
L milia> OE mil, OHG mila – миля, тисяча кроків.
– Food and drinks
L vinum> Germ. *wina> Goth wein, OHG win (>G Wein), OE win (>E wine) – вино.
– Plants and animals
L piper> OHG pfeffar (G. Pfeffer), OE pipor (>E pepper) – перець.
– Clothes and shoes
L saccus> OHG sac (>G. sack), OE sacca (>E sack) – мішок.
– Trade (торгівля)
L moneta> OHG monizza (>G. Münze), OE mynet (>E mint) – монета.
– Household goods
L discus> OHG tisks (>G. Tisch), E dish – диск, плоске блюдо.
Slavic borrowings:

Slav. * osenь> Germ. asani (час жнив)

Slav. *vorgь> Germ *warga (ворог)

Slav. pluь> Germ ploga (плуг)
The underlaid lang. is known as a substratum, the proposed explanation for sound change is therefore
known as the substratum theory. Celtic lang. is a substratum for Engl. 449 year – Anglo-Saxons settled on the
British Isles where the Celts were.
Superstratum – the superior influence in lang. It imposed on the other lang. (e. g. French).
Bolgarian=Turkic+Slavic.
28. Simple and composite sentences.
Syntax of OGL isn’t fully explored. But it is considered that the structure of a simple sentence in OGL is the
same as in the ModernGL. There were a couple of differences due to the morphological peculiarities of the Old
L-ges.
Simple:

The predicate was the obligatory feature of a sentence. The verb was absent only in a case when
the same verb was used in the preceding sentence.

The verb always took the 2nd place. It took the 1st place only if a sentence does not have a
subject.

Usually a sentence had both a subject and a predicate, but there were numerous cases of a
sentence having only one or the other.
- sometimes the pronoun subject was eliminated;
- the subject wasn’t present if the predicate was presented as an impersonal verb, expressing natural
phenomena or physical or emotional feeling (ringjan “to rain”, huggrjan “to be hungry”)

The attribute and the object didn’t have a fixed position, could precede or follow the subject

A simple sentence could be complicated by participle or infinitive constructions:
- absolute dative: Innagaggandin imam in Kafarnaum duatiddja imam hundafaps (до нього, що ввійшов
у Капернаум, підійшов сотник)
- absolute accusative: Usgaggandan pan ina in daur, gasahw ina anpara (Його, що виходив з воріт,
побачила інша)
- absolute nominative : Jah waurthans dags gatils, pan Herodis mela gabaurthais seinaizos nahtamat
waurhta (І коли настав зручний день, тоді Ірод влаштував бенкет з нагоди свого дня народження)
Compound:
29. Comparative method.
Two languages are said to be genetically related if they are divergent continuations of the same earlier
language. The common or hypothesised language that serves as a common ancestor is called a proto-language,
or sometimes, a parent language. In this case the divergent continuations are frequently referred to as daughter
languages. A parent language and its daughters constitute a language family.
Sometimes the proto-language is an actually attested language with surviving texts. A case in point is the
family of Romance languages, including French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Rumanian, and others, whose
common ancestor appears to be a variant of Latin. Yet English and German can be traced back only so far, and
then we run out of texts. In such situations the job of a linguist is to come up with a reconstruction of the parent
language, a hypothesis about the specific form of the proto-language that could have changed into the
documented daughter languages.
In the classical procedure and the first prerequisite of reconstruction is that one have languages with a
large number of words similar in sound and meaning. Such words are referred to as cognates, and the first thing
to do is to set up lists of cognate words. Let us take, for example, the following words:
OE
fæder
þrīe
OHG
fater
drî
ON
faðir
þrír
Goth.
fadar
þreis
ModE
father
three
First we look at the first sounds of each word in all the languages, and find out the first correspondence.
Now we can determine the sound in the proto-language that could most easily resulted in the actually found
sounds is *f-. Notice, that asterisk before the f implies reconstruction. This means that what follows is a
reconstruction, and not an actually documented sound. A slightly more complex situation is presented by the
words for ‘three’. Instead of unanimity, we find that Old High German has d, where other languages have þ,
representing the sound found in Modern English bath. Other things being equal, in case like this, the linguist is
inclined to let the majority rule. It is simpler to assume that one language made a change from þ to d than that
three made a change from d to þ. Thus we reconstruct for Proto-Germanic the sound *þ.
30. The Indo-Europeans.
It is assumed that the Indo-European family of languages, with its numerous branches and its millions of
speakers, has developed out of some single language, which must have been spoken thousands of years ago by
some comparatively small body of people in a relatively restricted geographical area. This original language is
called Proto-Indo-European (PIE). The people, who spoke it or who spoke languages evolved from it, are called
Indo-Europeans. People of very different races and cultures can come to be native speakers of Indo-European
languages: such speakers today include Indians, Afghans, Iranians, Greeks, Irishmen, Ukrainians, Mexicans,
Brazilians, and Norwegians.
The traditional view has been that the Indo-Europeans were a nomadic or semi-nomadic people, who
invaded neighboring agricultural or urban areas, and imposed their languages on them. It is believed that the
initial expansion of the Indo-Europeans was simply the pushing out of the frontiers of an agricultural people,
who over centuries introduced agriculture into the more thinly populated country round their periphery,
inhabited by hunters or food-gatherers. This mass migration began in about 7000 BC or according to the
traditional point of view it dates back to 4000BC or later.
The home of Indo-Europeans. There several opinions regarding where from the dispersal began. 1)
Scandinavia, and the adjacent parts of Northern Germany, and it was often linked with a belief that the
Germanic peoples were the ‘original’ Indo-Europeans; b) steppes of Ukraine, north of the Black sea; c) eastern
Anatolia, to the South of the Caucasus range, and west of the Caspian sea.
Let us assume that it was the Ukrainian steppes or South Russian steppes, where about 5th millennium
BC, lived people, who formed a loosely linked group of communities with common gods and similar social
organization. After 4000 BC, when the language had developed into a number of dialects, they began to expand
in various directions, different groups ending up in Iran, India, the Mediterranean area, and most part of Europe.
In the course of their expansion, the Indo-Europeans overran countries which had reached a higher level of
civilization than they had themselves, the Aryas, for example, conquered the civilizations of Northern India,
and the Persians those of Mesopotamia. Primitive nomadic peoples have overrun more advanced urban
civilizations, and there is no need to postulate some special intellectual or physical prowess in the IndoEuropeans.
There is one technical factor, which played a role in the expansion of Indo-Europeans. This was the use of
horse-drawn vehicles, which was characteristic of Indo-European society. The horse was a later introduction
into the river valleys of the great early urban civilizations, in which the normal draught animal was the ass, and
when the horse came to them, it came from the North. It is possible that Indo-Europeans were ahead of time,
and it was their use of wheeled vehicles, especially the fast horse-drawn chariot, that enabled them to overrun
such a large part of the Eurasian continent.
The family tree of the Indo-European languages.
PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN
Western branch
Eastern branch
Western branch
West European
Сeltic-Italic
Celtic
Italic
Germanic
Tocharian
Hellenic
Anatolian
Eastern branch
Baltic-Slavonic
Baltic
Arian
Slavonic
Albanian
Armenian
Iranian
Indian
The first division into an Eastern Group and a Western Group is important. The groups are marked by a
number of differences in phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, which suggests that there was an early division
of the Indo-Europeans into two main areas, perhaps representing migrations in different directions. One of the
distinctive differences in phonology between the two groups is the treatment of the PIE palatal k, which appears
as a velar [k] in the western languages, but as some kind of palatal fricative, [s] or [ ] in the Eastern languages.
Thus the word for hundred is Greek he-katon, Latin centum, Tocharian känt, Old Irish cet, and Welsh cant (the
c in each case representing [k]), but in Sanskrit it is satam, in Old Slavonic seto (modern Ukrainian cто). For
this reason, the two groups are often referred to as the Kentum languages and the Satem languages. On the
whole, the Kentum languages are in the West and the Satem languages in the East, but an apparent anomaly is
Tocharian, right across in western China, which is a Kentum language. The division into Kentum and Satem
languages took place around 1500 BC.
31. Tree of IE lang.
PROTO-INDO-EUROPEAN
Western branch
Eastern branch
Western branch
West European
Сeltic-Italic
Celtic
Italic
Germanic
Tocharian
Hellenic
Anatolian
Eastern branch
Baltic-Slavonic
Baltic
Slavonic
Arian
Albanian
Armenian
Iranian
Indian
The first division into an Eastern Group and a Western Group is important. The groups are marked by a
number of differences in phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, which suggests that there was an early division
of the Indo-Europeans into two main areas, perhaps representing migrations in different directions. One of the
distinctive differences in phonology between the two groups is the treatment of the PIE palatal k, which appears
as a velar [k] in the western languages, but as some kind of palatal fricative, [s] or [ ] in the Eastern languages.
Thus the word for hundred is Greek he-katon, Latin centum, Tocharian känt, Old Irish cet, and Welsh cant (the
c in each case representing [k]), but in Sanskrit it is satam, in Old Slavonic seto (modern Ukrainian cто). For
this reason, the two groups are often referred to as the Kentum languages and the Satem languages. On the
whole, the Kentum languages are in the West and the Satem languages in the East, but an apparent anomaly is
Tocharian, right across in western China, which is a Kentum language. The division into Kentum and Satem
languages took place around 1500 BC.

A parent language – a language from which a later language is derived: Latin is the parent language of
Italian and French.
 A daughter language. In historical linguistics, a daughter language is a language descended from
another language through a process of genetic descent. Examples:
* English is a daughter language of Proto-Germanic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
* Italian is a daughter language of (Vulgar) Latin, which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
* Hindi is a daughter language of Sanskrit (/Prakrit), which is a daughter language of Proto-Indo-European.
* Arabic is a daughter language of Proto-Semitic, which is a daughter language of Proto-Afro-Asiatic.
 Dialect – a form of a language spoken in a particular geographical area or by members of a particular
social class or occupational group, distinguished by its vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation b) a
form of a language that is considered inferior.
 Genetically related languages – are the divergent continuation of the same earlier language.
In linguistics, genetic relationship is the usual term for the relationship which exists between languages
that are members of the same language family.
Two languages are considered to be genetically related if one is descended from the other or if both are
descended from a common ancestor. For example, Italian is descended from Latin. Italian and Latin are
therefore said to be genetically related. Spanish is also descended from Latin. Therefore, Spanish and
Italian are genetically related. Metaphorically, we can refer to the relation defined by a parent-child
pattern of language transmission as genetic relationship of languages. The source language can be
called the "ancestor language" or the "mother language", and the later languages deriving from it are
called the "descendant languages" or the "daughter languages". Daughter languages are descended from
the mother language. They are genetically related.
Genetically related languages have a common parent language: proto-language
� systematic comparison shows if languages are descended from common parent
� changes not only observed in documented history but also in language prehistory.
 Closely related lang-es – are genetically related lang-es possessing a lot of features in common, such as
English and Frisian or Danish and Swedish.
32. The home of Indo-Europeans.
There several opinions regarding where from the dispersal began. 1) Scandinavia, and the adjacent parts of
Northern Germany, and it was often linked with a belief that the Germanic peoples were the ‘original’ IndoEuropeans; b) steppes of Ukraine, north of the Black sea; c) eastern Anatolia, to the South of the Caucasus
range, and west of the Caspian sea.
Let us assume that it was the Ukrainian steppes or South Russian steppes, where about 5th millennium BC,
lived people, who formed a loosely linked group of communities with common gods and similar social
organization. After 4000 BC, when the language had developed into a number of dialects, they began to expand
in various directions, different groups ending up in Iran, India, the Mediterranean area, and most part of Europe.
In the course of their expansion, the Indo-Europeans overran countries which had reached a higher level of
civilization than they had themselves, the Aryas, for example, conquered the civilizations of Northern India,
and the Persians those of Mesopotamia. Primitive nomadic peoples have overrun more advanced urban
civilizations, and there is no need to postulate some special intellectual or physical prowess in the IndoEuropeans.
There is one technical factor, which played a role in the expansion of Indo-Europeans. This was the use of
horse-drawn vehicles, which was characteristic of Indo-European society. The horse was a later introduction
into the river valleys of the great early urban civilizations, in which the normal draught animal was the ass, and
when the horse came to them, it came from the North. It is possible that Indo-Europeans were ahead of time,
and it was their use of wheeled vehicles, especially the fast horse-drawn chariot, that enabled them to overrun
such a large part of the Eurasian continent.
33. Kentum and Satem lang-es.
The first division into an Eastern Group and a Western Group is important. The groups are marked by a
number of differences in phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, which suggests that there was an early division
of the Indo-Europeans into two main areas, perhaps representing migrations in different directions. One of the
distinctive differences in phonology between the two groups is the treatment of the PIE palatal k, which appears
as a velar [k] in the western languages, but as some kind of palatal fricative, [s] or [ ] in the Eastern languages.
Thus the word for hundred is Greek he-katon, Latin centum, Tocharian känt, Old Irish cet, and Welsh cant (the
c in each case representing [k]), but in Sanskrit it is satam, in Old Slavonic seto (modern Ukrainian cто). For
this reason, the two groups are often referred to as the Kentum languages and the Satem languages. On the
whole, the Kentum languages are in the West and the Satem languages in the East, but an apparent anomaly is
Tocharian, right across in western China, which is a Kentum language. The division into Kentum and Satem
languages took place around 1500 BC.
34. PG: concept, division.
The branch of Indo-European that English belongs to is called Germanic. Germanic languages are
descended from one parent language, a dialect of Indo-European, called Proto-Germanic (PG). Round about the
beginning of the Christian era, the speakers of Proto-Germanic still formed a relatively homogeneous cultural
and linguistic group, living in the north of Europe. There are no records of the language of this period, but we
know something about the people who spoke it, because they were described by Roman authors, who called
them the Germani, which for convenience are translated as ‘Germans’. One of the best-known of these
descriptions is that written by Tacitus in AD 98, called Germania.
The branches of Germanic
As a result of this expansion of the Germanic-speaking peoples, differences of dialect within ProtoGermanic became more marked, and we can distinguish three main branches or groups of dialects, namely
North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic.
Proto-Germanic
West Germanic
North Germanic
East Germanic
To North Germanic belong the modern Scandinavian languages – Norwegian, Swedish, Danish,
Icelandic, Faroese and Gutnish (the language of the island of Gotland). The earliest recorded form of North
Germanic (Old Norse) is found in runic inscriptions from about AD 300; and it is not until the Viking Age,
from about AD 800 onwards, that it begins to break up into the dialects, which have developed into the modern
Scandinavian languages. Here is the family tree for the North Germanic languages:
North Germanic (Old Norse)
West Scandinavian
Icelandic
Norwegian
East Scandinavian
Faroese
Danish
Swedish
Gutnish
The East Germanic dialects were spoken by the tribes that expanded East of the Oder around the shores of
the Baltic. They included the Goths, and Gothic is the only East Germanic language of which we have any
record. Round AD 200 the Goths migrated south-eastwards, and settled in the plains north of the Black Sea,
where they divided into two branches, the Ostgoths east of the Dieper and the Visigoths west of it. The main
record of Gothic is the fragmentary remains of a translation of the Bible into Visigothic, made by the Bishop
Wulfila or Ulfilas in the middle of the forth century. The Goths were later overrun by the Huns, but a form of
Gothic was being spoken in the Crimea as late as the 17th century. It has since died out, however, and no East
Germanic language has survived into our own times. Here is the family tree for the East Germanic languages:
East Germanic
Burgundian
Vandal
Gothic
Visigothic
Ostrogothic
To West Germanic belong the High German dialects of southern Germany, the Low German dialects of
northern Germany (which in their earliest recorded form are called Old Saxon), Dutch, Frisian, and English.
The language most closely related to English is Frisian, which was once spoken along the coast of North sea,
from Northern Holland to central Denmark, but which is now heard only in a few coastal regions and on some
of the Dutch islands. Before the migration of the Anglo-Saxons to England, they must have been near
neighbours of the Frisians. Here is a family tree for the West Germanic languages:
West Germanic
Old High
German
Old Saxon
High
Low German
Old Low Franconian
Dutch
Old English
Old Frisian
German
English
Frisian
35. Old North Germ. lang-es.
Old Germ. lang-es (400 A.D./ 900 A.D.)
It took approximately 5 centuries for the Old Germ. lang-es (dialects) to form the features of individuality
to be definitely distinguished from one another, with the East Germ. lang-es having died away by the time the
North Germ. lang-es manifested features of differentiation.
West Germ.
East Germ.
North Germ.
OE
5th c
Old Norwegian
8th c
Gothic
3d-4th c
Old Frisian
5th c
Old Faroese
9th c
th
Old Low Franconian
7 c
Old Icelandic
9th c
OHG
8th c
Old Swedish
8th c
Old Saxon
9th c
Old Danish
9th c
The development of the Germ. group was not confined to successive splits. It involved both linguistic
divergence and convergence.
As a result of the expansion of the Germanic-speaking peoples, differences of dialect within ProtoGermanic became more marked, and we can distinguish three main branches or groups of dialects, namely
North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic.
Proto-Germanic
West Germanic
North Germanic
East Germanic
To North Germanic belong the modern Scandinavian languages – Norwegian, Swedish, Danish,
Icelandic, Faroese and Gutnish (the language of the island of Gotland). The earliest recorded form of North
Germanic (Old Norse) is found in runic inscriptions from about AD 300; and it is not until the Viking Age,
from about AD 800 onwards, that it begins to break up into the dialects, which have developed into the modern
Scandinavian languages. Here is the family tree for the North Germanic languages:
North Germanic (Old Norse)
West Scandinavian
East Scandinavian
Icelandic
Norwegian
Faroese
Danish
Swedish
Gutnish
Old North Germ. lang-es anf their written records (Hilleviones):
1) Old Norse or Old Scandinavian (2nd – 3rd c A.D.) – Futhark, runic inscriptions
2) Old Icelandic (12th c A.D.)
3) Old Norwegian (13th c A.D.)
4) Old Danish (13th c A.D.)
5) Old Swedish (13th c A.D.)
36. Old West Germ. lang-es.
Old Germ. lang-es (400 A.D./ 900 A.D.)
It took approximately 5 centuries for the Old Germ. lang-es (dialects) to form the features of individuality
to be definitely distinguished from one another, with the East Germ. lang-es having died away by the time the
North Germ. lang-es manifested features of differentiation.
West Germ.
East Germ.
North Germ.
OE
5th c
Old Norwegian
8th c
Gothic
3d-4th c
Old Frisian
5th c
Old Faroese
9th c
th
Old Low Franconian
7 c
Old Icelandic
9th c
OHG
8th c
Old Swedish
8th c
th
Old Saxon
9 c
Old Danish
9th c
The development of the Germ. group was not confined to successive splits. It involved both linguistic
divergence and convergence.
As a result of the expansion of the Germanic-speaking peoples, differences of dialect within ProtoGermanic became more marked, and we can distinguish three main branches or groups of dialects, namely
North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic.
Proto-Germanic
West Germanic
North Germanic
East Germanic
To West Germanic belong the High German dialects of southern Germany, the Low German dialects of
northern Germany (which in their earliest recorded form are called Old Saxon), Dutch, Frisian, and English.
The language most closely related to English is Frisian, which was once spoken along the coast of North sea,
from Northern Holland to central Denmark, but which is now heard only in a few coastal regions and on some
of the Dutch islands. Before the migration of the Anglo-Saxons to England, they must have been near
neighbours of the Frisians. Here is a family tree for the West Germanic languages:
West Germanic
Old High
German
Old Saxon
High
German
Low German
Old Low Franconian
Dutch
Old English
English
West Germ. lang-es and their written records:
1) Anglian
2) Frisian
3) Langobardian
4) Jutish
5) Saxon
6) Franconian
7) High German
 Alemanic
 Thüringian
 Swabian
 Bawarian
8) OE (7th c A.D.)
9) Old Saxon (9th c A.D.)
10) OHG (8th c A.D.)
11) Old Dutch (12th c A.D.)
Old Frisian
Frisian
37. The West Germ. tree-diagram of lang-es.
Scholars often divide the Germanic languages into three groups: West Germanic, including English,
German, and Netherlandic (Dutch); North Germanic, including Danish, Swedish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and
Faroese; and East Germanic, now extinct, comprising only Gothic and the languages of the Vandals,
Burgundians, and a few other tribes.
The High German languages (in German, Hochdeutsche Sprachen) or the High German dialects
(Hochdeutsche Mundarten/Dialekte) are any of the varieties of standard German, Luxembourgish and Yiddish,
as well as the local German dialects spoken in central and southern Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein,
Switzerland, Luxembourg and in neighbouring portions of Belgium, France (Alsace and northern Lorraine),
Italy, and Poland. The language is also spoken in diaspora in Romania (Transylvania), Russia, the United
States, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Namibia.
West Germanic languages Dutch (Low Franconian, West Germanic) Low German (West Germanic)
Central German (High German, West Germanic) Upper German (High German, West Germanic) English
(Anglo-Frisian, West Germanic) Frisian (Anglo-Frisian, West Germanic) North Germanic languages East
Scandinavian West Scandinavian Line dividing the North and West Germanic languages
As a technical term, the "high" in High German is a geographical reference to the group of dialects that
forms "High German" (in the broader sense), out of which developed standard High German (in the narrower
sense), Yiddish and Luxembourgish. It refers to the upland and mountainous areas of central and southern
Germany, it also includes Luxembourg, Austria, Liechtenstein and most of Switzerland. This is opposed to Low
German, which is spoken on the lowlands and along the flat sea coasts of the north. [1] High German in this
broader sense can be subdivided into Upper German (Oberdeutsch, this includes the Austrian and Swiss
German dialects) and Central German (Mitteldeutsch).
By the High German consonant shift, the map of German dialects is divided into Upper German and
Central German, and the Low German. The main isoglosses, the Benrath and Speyer lines, are marked black.
Family tree
Note that divisions between subfamilies of Germanic are rarely precisely defined; most form continuous
clines, with adjacent dialects being mutually intelligible and more separated ones not. In particular, there has
never been an original "Proto-High German". For this and other reasons, the idea of representing the
relationships between West Germanic language forms in a tree diagram at all is controversial among linguists;
what follows should be used with care in the light of this caveat.
* Central German (German: Mitteldeutsch)
o East Central German
+ South Markish
+ Upper Saxon
+ North Upper Saxon
+ Thuringian Dialect
+ Lower Silesian language (mostly in Lower Silesia, in Poland)
+ High Prussian
o Transylvanian Saxon (in Transylvania)
o West Central German
+ Ripuarian
+ Moselle Franconian, including the Luxembourgish language
+ Rhine Franconian
# Lorraine Franconian (France)
# Pfälzisch language
# Hunsrückisch
* Riograndenser Hunsrückisch (in Southern Brazil)
+ Central Hessian
+ East Hessian
+ Lower Hessian
o Transitional areas between Central German and Upper German
+ High Franconian
o Pennsylvania German (in the United States and Canada)
* Upper German (German: Oberdeutsch)
o Alemannic
+ Swabian
+ Low Alemannic (including one Swiss German dialect: Basel German)
+ Alsatian language (but often also classified as within Low Alemannic)
+ Mittelalemannisch
+ High Alemannic (including many Swiss German dialects)
+ Highest Alemannic (including Swiss German dialects)
o Austro-Bavarian (On the use of dialects and Standard German in Austria, see Austrian language)
+ Northern Austro-Bavarian (spoken in Upper Palatinate)
+ Central Austro-Bavarian (includes the dialects of Upper Bavaria, Lower Bavaria, Upper
Austria, Lower Austria and Vienna — see Viennese language)
+ Southern Austro-Bavarian (includes the dialects of Tirol, Carinthia and Styria)
+ Cimbrian (northeastern Italy)
+ Mócheno (Trentino, in Italy)
+ Hutterite German (in Canada and the United States)
* Yiddish
o Western Yiddish (Germany, France)
o Eastern Yiddish
+ Northeastern Yiddish (Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus, Russia, northeastern Poland)
+ Central Yiddish (Poland, Galicia)
+ Southeastern Yiddish (Ukraine, Bessarabia, Romania)
* Texas German, a dialect spoken by descendants of immigrants who settled in the Texas Hill Country
region in the mid-19th century.
38. The East-Germ. tree of lang-es.
As a result of the expansion of the Germanic-speaking peoples, differences of dialect within ProtoGermanic became more marked, and we can distinguish three main branches or groups of dialects, namely
North Germanic, East Germanic, and West Germanic.
Proto-Germanic
West Germanic
North Germanic
East Germanic
The East Germanic dialects were spoken by the tribes that expanded East of the Oder around the shores of
the Baltic. They included the Goths, and Gothic is the only East Germanic language of which we have any
record. Round AD 200 the Goths migrated south-eastwards, and settled in the plains north of the Black Sea,
where they divided into two branches, the Ostgoths east of the Dieper and the Visigoths west of it. The main
record of Gothic is the fragmentary remains of a translation of the Bible into Visigothic, made by the Bishop
Wulfila or Ulfilas in the middle of the forth century. The Goths were later overrun by the Huns, but a form of
Gothic was being spoken in the Crimea as late as the 17th century. It has since died out, however, and no East
Germanic language has survived into our own times. Here is the family tree for the East Germanic languages:
East Germanic
Burgundian
Vandal
Gothic
Visigothic
Ostrogothic
39. North Germ. lang-es.
To North Germanic belong the modern Scandinavian languages – Norwegian, Swedish, Danish,
Icelandic, Faroese and Gutnish (the language of the island of Gotland). The earliest recorded form of North
Germanic (Old Norse) is found in runic inscriptions from about AD 300; and it is not until the Viking Age,
from about AD 800 onwards, that it begins to break up into the dialects, which have developed into the modern
Scandinavian languages. Here is the family tree for the North Germanic languages:
North Germanic (Old Norse)
West Scandinavian
Icelandic
Norwegian
East Scandinavian
Faroese
Danish
Swedish
Gutnish
40. Old Germ. alphabet, written records.
Latin: Horace - lyric poet and satirist; Virgil - epic, didactic and pastoral poet; Petronius – novelist; Pliny the
Elder – scientist; Pliny the Younger – correspondent; Apuleius - novellist and philosopher.
Runic (Futhark) - The two best known runic inscriptions in England are the earliest extant OE written
records. One of them is and inscription on a box called the “Frank’s Casket”, the other is a short text on a stone
cross near the village of Ruthwell known as the “Ruthwell Cross”.
OE alphabet – Runic inscriptions: “The Frank’s Casket” VIII c; “The Ruthwell Cross” VIII c; “Beowulf”
(VIII) X c; Orosious’ “World History” (V) IX; “The Anglo-Saxon chronicles” VIII-XII c.
Gothic alphabet – “The Silver Codex” – CODEX ARGENTEUS . It’s a fragment of Ulfila’s translation of the
Gospels (5th – 6th c A.D.). This manuscript is written on parchment with silver and golden letters. Now is kept
in Uppsala, Sweden.
The commonly used alphabets were Latin, Wulfilian and Runic.
The term rune refers to any member of a set of symbols found in a distinctive Germanic alphabet. It is called
Futhark after the sound values of the first six symbols. It was used primarily in northern Europe from probably
the mid-first century on. It gives below twenty four symbols found in the oldest version of this alphabet, known
as the older futhark, along with their common Romanizations and probable Germanic names.
1. The runes for b, d, g had two pronunciations, namely as the stops [b], [d], [g] and as fricatives [b],
[d] [g] as in Gothic.
2. The runes show no distinction between long and short vowels, but it obviously existed.
3. The letter R, given in parenthesis after z, is actually the only value for the rune in the inscriptions
that have survived. It presents a sound somewhere between [z] and [r], like Slavonic [ж]. This is the
original Germanic sound [z], which is rhotacized in all the Germanic languages except Gothic.
4. The rune names represent mnemonics.
The earliest surviving runic inscriptions date from the second half of the second century, and are found on
materials, such as metal or stone, that resist decomposition. It is likely, that the runes were devised to be
carved in wood, as their forms suggest by their aviodance of curves and horizontal lines.
The language of the older futhark is traditionally called Proto-Norse. The majority of inscriptions were
found in Scandinavia, with a few scattered in Germany, England and eastern Europe.
The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most widely used alphabetic writing system in
the world today. It evolved from the western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which
was borrowed and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome, which alphabet was then adapted and
further modified by the ancient Romans to write the Latin language.
During the Middle Ages, it was adapted to the Romance languages, the direct descendants of Latin, as well
as to the Celtic, Germanic, Baltic, and some Slavic languages, and finally to most of the languages of Europe.
With the age of colonialism and Christian proselytism, the Latin alphabet was spread overseas, and applied
to Indigenous American, Indigenous Australian, Austronesian, East Asian, and African languages. More
recently, western linguists have also tended to prefer the Latin alphabet or the International Phonetic Alphabet
(itself largely based on the Latin alphabet) when transcribing or creating written standards for non-European
languages, such as the African reference alphabet.
In modern usage, the term Latin alphabet is used for any direct derivation of the alphabet first used to write
Latin. These variants may discard letters from the classical Roman script (like the Rotokas alphabet) or add new
characters to it, as from the Danish and Norwegian alphabet. Letter shapes have changed over the centuries,
including the creation of entirely new lower case characters.
Classical Latin alphabet
Letter
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
ā
bē
cē
dē
ē
ef
gē
hā
Name
Pronunciation
/aː/
/beː/
/keː/
/deː/
/eː/
/ef/
/geː/
/haː/
(IPA)
Letter
Name
I
ī
K
kā
L
el
M
em
N
en
O
ō
P
pē
Q
qū
Pronunciation
(IPA)
/iː/
/kaː/
/el/
/em/
/en/
/oː/
/peː/
/kʷuː/
Letter
R
S
T
V
X
Y
Z
er
es
tē
ū
ex
ī Graeca
zēta
Name
Pronunciation
/er/
/es/
/teː/
/uː/
/eks/
/iː ˈgraika/ /ˈzeːta/
(IPA)
The runic alphabet is a specifically Germanic alphabet, not to be found in languages of other groups. The word
rune originally meant ’secret’, ‘mystery’ and hence came to denote inscriptions believed to be magic. The runes
were used as letters, each symbol to indicate separate sound. This alphabet is called futhark after the first six
letters. Runic letters are angular; straight lines are preferred, curved lines avoided; this is due to the fact that
runic inscriptions were cut in hard material: stone, bone or wood. The shapes of some letters resemble those of
Greek or Latin, other have not been traced to any known alphabet, and the order of the runes in the alphabet is
certainly original. The number of runes in different OG languages varied. As compared to continental, the
number of runes in England was larger: new runes were added as new sounds appeared in English (from 28 to
33 runes in Britain against 16 or 24 on the continent). The main use of runes was to make short inscriptions on
objects, often to bestow on them some special power or magic. The two best known runic inscriptions in
England are the earliest extant OE written records. One of them is and inscription on a box called the “Franks
Casket”, the other is a short text on a stone cross near the village of Ruthwell known as the “Ruthwell Cross”
The three best-known runic alphabets are the Elder Futhark (around 150 to 800 AD), the Old English Futhorc
(400 to 1100 AD), and the Younger Futhark (800–1100). The Younger Futhark is further divided into the longbranch runes (also called Danish, although they were also used in Norway and Sweden), short-twig or Rök
runes (also called Swedish-Norwegian, although they were also used in Denmark), and the Hälsinge runes
(staveless runes). The Younger Futhark developed further into the Marcomannic runes, the Medieval runes
(1100 AD to 1500 AD), and the Dalecarlian runes (around 1500 to 1800 AD).
OE scribes used two kinds of letters: the runes and the letters of the Latin alphabet. The bulk of the OE material
is written in the Latin script. The use of Latin letters in English differed in some points from their use in Latin,
for the scribes made certain modifications and additions in order to indicate OE sounds. The most interesting
peculiarity of OE writing was the use of some runic characters, in the first place, the rune called “thorn” which
was employed alongside the crossed d, ∂ to indicate [th] and [∂]. In the manuscripts one more rune was
regularly used – “wynn” for the sound [w]. Like any alphabetic writing, OE writing was based on a phonetic
principle: every letter indicated a separate sound. This principle, however, was not always observed, even at the
earliest stages of phonetic spelling. Some OE letters indicated two or more sounds, even distinct phonemes. The
letters could indicate short and long sounds. In reading OE texts one should observe the following rules for
letters indicating more than one sound. The letters f, s and [th], [∂] stand for voiced fricatives between vowels
and also between a vowel and a voiced consonant; otherwise they indicate corresponding voiceless fricatives.
The letter з stands for [g] initially before back vowels, for [j] before and after front vowels, for [γ] between
back vowels and for [g’] mostly when preceded by c: OE daз [j]
The letter h stands for [x] between a back vowel and a consonant and also initially before consonants and for
[x’] next to front vowels: OE niht [x’]
The letter n stands for [n] in all positions except when followed by [k] or [g]; in this case it indicates [ŋ]: OE
sinзan.
The Gothic alphabet is an alphabetic writing system attributed to Ulfilas (or Wulfila) which was used
exclusively for writing the ancient Gothic language. Before its creation in the fourth century, the Goths had
used runes to write their language. The new alphabet was created by Ulfilas for the purpose of translating the
Christian Bible into Gothic, and it is largely derived from an uncial form of the Greek alphabet, though some
elements have been borrowed from the Latin and Runic alphabets as well. Ulfilas is thought to have
consciously chosen to avoid the use of the older Runic alphabet for this purpose, as it was heavily connected
with ancient heathen beliefs and customs. Also, the Greek-based script probably helped to integrate of the
Gothic nation into the dominant Greco-Roman culture around the Black Sea. The individual letters, however,
still bore names derived from those of their Runic equivalents.
41. The Runic alphabet, its origin.
The runic alphabets are a set of related alphabets using letters known as runes to write various Germanic
languages prior to the adoption of the Latin alphabet and for specialized purposes thereafter. The Scandinavian
variants are also known as futhark (or fuþark, derived from their first six letters of the alphabet: F, U, Þ, A, R,
and K); the Anglo-Saxon variant is futhorc (due to sound changes undergone in Old English by the same six
letters). Runology is the study of the runic alphabets, runic inscriptions, runestones, and their history. Runology
forms a specialized branch of Germanic linguistics.
The earliest runic inscriptions date from around 150 AD, and the alphabet was generally replaced by the Latin
alphabet along with Christianization by around 700 AD in central Europe and by around 1100 AD in
Scandinavia; however, the use of runes persisted for specialized purposes in Scandinavia, longest in rural
Sweden until the early twentieth century (used mainly for decoration as runes in Dalarna and on Runic
calendars).
The three best-known runic alphabets are the Elder Futhark (around 150 to 800 AD), the Old English Futhorc
(400 to 1100 AD), and the Younger Futhark (800–1100). The Younger Futhark is further divided into the longbranch runes (also called Danish, although they were also used in Norway and Sweden), short-twig or Rök
runes (also called Swedish-Norwegian, although they were also used in Denmark), and the Hälsinge runes
(staveless runes). The Younger Futhark developed further into the Marcomannic runes, the Medieval runes
(1100 AD to 1500 AD), and the Dalecarlian runes (around 1500 to 1800 AD).
The origins of the runic alphabet are uncertain. Many characters of the Elder Futhark bear a close resemblance
to characters from the Latin alphabet. Other candidates are the 5th to 1st century BC Northern Italic alphabets:
Lepontic, Rhaetic and Venetic, all of which are closely related to each other and descend from the Old Italic
alphabet.
Each rune most probably had a name, chosen to represent the sound of the rune itself. The names are, however,
not directly attested for the Elder Futhark themselves. Reconstructed names in Proto-Germanic have been
produced, based on the names given for the runes in the later alphabets attested in the rune poems and the
linked names of the letters of the Gothic alphabet. The asterisk before the rune names means that they are
unattested reconstructions. The 24 Elder Futhark runes are:
Rune UCS Transliteration IPA Proto-Germanic name
Meaning
ᚠ
f
/f/
ᚢ
u
/u(ː)/ ?*ūruz
"aurochs" (or *ûram "water/slag"?)
ᚦ
þ
/θ/, /ð/ ?*þurisaz
"the god Thor, giant"
ᚨ
a
/a(ː)/ *ansuz
"one of the Æsir (gods)"
ᚱ
r
/r/
*raidō
"ride, journey"
ᚲ
k
/k/
?*kaunan
"ulcer"? (or *kenaz "torch"?)
ᚷ
g
/g/
*gebō
"gift"
ᚹ
w
/w/
*wunjō
"joy"
ᚺ ᚻ
h
/h/
*hagalaz
"hail" (the precipitation)
ᚾ
n
/n/
*naudiz
"need"
ᛁ
i
/i(ː)/
*īsaz
"ice"
ᛃ
j
/j/
*jēra-
"year, good year, harvest"
ᛇ
ï (or æ)
ᛈ
p
/p/
?*perþ-
meaning unclear, perhaps "pear-tree".
ᛉ
z
/z/
?*algiz
unclear, possibly "elk".
ᛊ
s
/s/
*sōwilō
"Sun"
ᛏ
t
/t/
*tīwaz/*teiwaz
"the god Tiwaz"
ᛒ
b
/b/
*berkanan
"birch"
ᛖ
e
/e(ː)/ *ehwaz
*fehu
/æː/(?) *ī(h)waz/*ei(h)waz
"wealth, cattle"
"yew-tree"
"horse"
ᛗ
m
/m/
*mannaz
"Man"
ᛚ
l
/l/
*laguz
"water, lake" (or possibly *laukaz "leek")
ᛜ ᛝ
ŋ
/ŋ/
*ingwaz
"the god Ingwaz"
ᛟ
ᛞ
o
d
/o(ː)/ *ōþila-/*ōþala/d/
*dagaz
"heritage, estate, possession"
"day"
42. OE, its literary monuments.
The historical sources and the archeological evidence agree that the major influx of Germanic immigration
into England came in the mid-fifth century. They refer to a British tyrant, who invited the Saxons, under
leaders Hengest and Horsa, to help his country resist attacks from barbarian Picts and Scots. If this story is
true, the invitation was a gross miscalculation.
According to Bede, the forebears of the Anglo-Saxons came from three great Germanic groups on the
Continent: the Saxons, the Angles, who lived north of the Saxons on the Jutland Peninsula, in modern
Schleswig, and the Jutes, who are supposed to have lived north of the Angles, also on the Jutland Peninsula.
Although the Germanic invaders must at first have had little greater organization than isolated war bands,
they quickly united into larger territorial groups under kings. Seven kingdoms were set up on the territory of
what we call now England. The centers of power in Anglo-Saxon England were to rest in the three kingdoms
of Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. These were the kingdoms on the northerly and westerly frontiers of
the area under Anglo-Saxon control. Their constant border wars with Picts, Scots and British kept their armies
in fighting shape. The other kingdoms were Kent, Sussex, East Anglia and Essex. These kingdoms were
often at war with each other, and especially with great powers, Wessex and Mercia. Ironically, Viking attacks
were to lead to a permanently united English kingdom under Wessex in the ninth century. Due to the talents
of King Alfred the Great, his overcoming the Danes in 886, he was recognized as the overlord of all the
English not subject to the Danes. He entered into a formal treaty with the Danes, in order to extract from them
the best possible treatment of the English living in Danish-dominated territories.
Old English literature is second only to Old Norse in the volume and variety of texts.
Poetry. The dialect of Old English, in which it was written was West Saxon, with occasional Anglian and
Northumbrian forms.
Beowulf (eighth century). The central character is the legendary Geatish hero, for whom the poem is named,
and its central episodes are three fights that Beowulf has with various monsters in order to save allies, kin, and
country.
In addition to Beowulf, there are a number of other (shorter) examples of secular heroic poetry in Old
English. These include a fragment dealing with a battle between Danes and Frisians, known as Fight at
Finnsburg; another fragment dealing with the story of Walter of Aquitaine, known as the Waldere; and two
later poems dealing with historic battles against Anglo-Saxon enemies: The Battle of Brunanburh, and The
Battle of Maldon.
Prose. Before the reign of King Alfred the Great (871-99), prose writing in Anglo-Saxon England was
primarily in Latin. When the Christianization of the Anglo-Saxons commenced at the end of the sixth century,
Latin writing began among English. The earliest documented texts are saints’ lives. Eighth century is associated
with the Venerable Bede (673-735), a Nothumbrian monk. Besides his saints’ lives, Bede wrote treatises on
Latin Grammar, metric and rhetoric, commentaries on the scriptures, and the like. Most important work of his is
the Ecclesiastical History of the English people. He gives a detailed account of the history of the Church in
England, and the early history of the Anglo-Saxons.
The most striking literary product credited to Alfred’s time is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This is the history of
Anglo-Saxons beginning with the birth of Christ, and continuing to the year 1154.
43. Old Icelandic, literary monuments.
Old Icelandic is usually called Old Norse. Old Norse
During the Age of Migrations, when many other Germanic groups were migrating from the ancestral
homeland in the north, the ancestors of the speakers of Old Norse stayed close to home. Yet, Danes moved
south out of southern Sweden into Zealand and the Jutland Peninsula, which after the departures of the Angles
and other tribes was relatively empty. The Swedes set about conquering their neighbors, the Geats, and slowly
expanded their power base through central Sweden and Götland. The royal house of Norway also originally
came from Sweden to the Oslo region. It was not until late in the eighth century, that the rest of Europe came
to hear much about these people. And when they did it was of little joy. For the northernmost Germanic
peoples appeared on the world scene as Vikings, professional pirates who attacked from the sea without
warning and carried away any treasure they could get their hands on.
It was in the mid-eighth century that the Vikings began their attacks and conquests in Western Europe.
For by the time the Norwegians attacked Ireland and England, they had already established their bases in the
Shetlands and Orkneys. They raided England in 789, and they were responsible for the sack of the
Lindisfarne monastery in northeastern England in 793. In the main, the Norwegians concentrated on northern
Scotland and the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, and the various coasts of the Irish sea. In 836 they founded Dublin
as a trading post and military base for raids elsewhere. In the ninth century, they arose as a Norse kingdom in
Ireland, based on mixed Scandinavian and Celtic elements, which was independent of any control from the
Norwegian homeland.
The Danes first appeared in Europe about forty years after the Norwegians, but from the outset their
attacks were far more central than the Norwegians. The course of the ninth century they attacked Dorestad on
the Rhine in Frisia. In 845 they attacked Hamburg, and throughout the ninth century they raided Low Countries
and northern France. The Danes made their most permanent presence in England. They first wintered in
England in 851, and in 865 the great army had arrived. In 878 the Danes briefly captured most of the last
remaining Anglo-Saxon kingdom, Wessex, but king Alfred the Great forced them to leave that kingdom in the
same year. They took East Anglia as consolation prize.
The Vikings were not only pirates; they were also explorers. Pushing westward far out of sight of the
land, the Norwegians discovered the Faroe islands and in the late ninth century, Iceland. Their first settlement
in Iceland is dated to 874, and by the mid-tenth century about 50.000 people were living there. Iceland became
not a kingdom but a kind of aristocratic republic ruled by priest-chieftans. From 930 it had its own parliament
under the chairman of a law-speaker.
Greenland was discovered in 981 by Eric the Red, who had been banished for manslaughter. He
brought 14 ships full of people there. About the year 1000, Eric’s son Leif, investigating a report of land farther
to the west, discovered and explored ‘Vinland’, which could be nothing other than some part of North America.
If the Danes and Norwegians can be described as mercantile pirates, the Swedes are better characterised
as piratical merchants. Before the Viking age Swedes had established profitable trading towns on the Baltic,
whence they carried out a trade in furs, cloth, spices, precious metals, and the like. The principal trading routes
lay through Russia and Ukraine, especially along the Dnieper and Volga rivers. There is a hypothesis according
to which Swedes (under the name of Rus) founded the major cities, Kiev and Novgorod.
Christianity first came to Denmark, where it was generally introduced by the mid-tenth century. It then
arrived in Norway. In Sweden Christianity was adopted in the twelfth century.
Old Norse is unique among the Germanic languages in the volume and richness of its literature. The
basic bulk of Old Norse manuscripts are in Latin. Runic inscriptions (about 45) have no value as literary
monuments.
(1)
Eddic poetry (Edda) represents the oldest preserved genre of Old Norse literature. These poems,
short, dramatic, and alliterative, are found primarily in a single manuscript written after 1250. The poems deal
with two subjects: the gods and myths of Germanic heathendom, and the heroes of the Germanic Age of
Migrations.
(2) Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson written about 1220. It has three parts: 1. Myths of the heathen world, told
in prose with occasional poetic quotations; 2. A textbook of poetic speech; 3.A long poem in honor of
Snorri’s benefactors.
(3) Scaldic verse was an ancient genre. Much of skaldic poetry deals with the exploits of kings and other
patrons, and was clearly meant as praise poetry. It was subject to very rigid rules of meter, alliteration,
and rhyme; it deviated considerably from everyday syntax.
(4) Konungasögur (King’s sagas) dealt with the two Norwegian kings Olaf Tryggvason and St. Olaf
Haraldsson. Etymologically the word saga means ‘something said’, but in the Icelandic tradition it is a
piece of prose literature, a deliberate composition by a particular author.
44. Old Saxon, its written records.
Old Saxon, also known as Old Low German, is the earliest recorded form of Low German, documented from the 8th
century until the 12th century, when it evolved into Middle Low German. It was spoken on the north-west coast of
Germany and in Denmark by Saxon peoples. It is close enough to Old Anglo-Frisian (Old Frisian, Old English) that it
partially participates in the Ingvaeonic nasal spirant law; it is also closely related to Old Low Franconian ("Old Dutch").
It is separated from Old High German by the High German consonant shift.
Only a few texts survive, predominantly in baptismal vows the Saxons were required to perform at the behest of
Charlemagne. The only literary text preserved is “Heliand” – IX c A.D. Also there is “Genesis”, a poem of religious
character – IX c A.D.
45. Pliny’s classification of the Germanic tribes.
Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer.
A great historian Pliny spent many years in the Roman provinces of Low and High Germany. He was a
prominent encyclopedias. He wrote a book called “Natural History”. He was the first who enumerated and
classified the military tribes. It was proved by many scientists. According to Pliny there were several Germanic
tribes:
 The Vindili. They lived in the eastern part of the territory inhabited by the Germanic tribes. They
consisted of the Goths, the Burgundians and the Vandals. The Vandals first inhabited the territory
between the Oder and the Vistula. Later they moved to Northern Africa through Spain. The word
vandalism originated from Vandal (means Barbary).
 The Burgundians came to the continent from the island of Bornholm. It was in the Baltic Sea. Later
they moved to the west and settled in south-eastern part of France in the area called Burgundia.
 The Goths first inhabited the lower coast of the river Vistula. Later they moved to the south and formed
powerful tribal unions of Ostrogoths and Visigoths.
 The Ingvaenoes. They lived in the north-western part of the Germanic territory. They inhabited the
Jutland peninsula and the coast of the North Sea. The tribes of Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians were
formed later of this group.
 The Istaevones. They lived on the Rhine. Later they formed a very powerful tribal union of
Franconians. In the early Middle Ages they were powerful group of West Germans.
 The Herminones lived in the centre of Germany and later the German nation was formed of these
tribes.
 The Hilleviones were isolated from other Germanic tribes. They inhabited Scandinavia. Modern
Scandinavian nations are the descendants of these tribes.
The Vindili spoke eastern Germanic; the Hilleviones spoke northern Germanic, the Ingvaones, Istaevones and
Herminones – West Germanic.
46. Main sources of information about the Germ. tribes. The Germ. tribes in the AD 1.
 Archeology and ethnography data
 Borrowing in the lang-es of the neighbouring nomadic tribes
 Written records
 The written records are as follows:
PYTHEAS from Massilia,
IV c BC
An account of a sea voyage to the Baltic Sea. Has not come down
the Greek astronomer,
to us. Was used by Greek and Roman writers, historians,
traveler and geographer
geographers.
JULIUS CAESAR, the
I c BC
Described some militant Germ. tribes who bordered on the Celts of
Roman general, writer and
Gaul in the North-East in his “Commentaries on the War in Gaul”
statesman
(“Записки про галльську війну”).
PLINY THE ELDER, the
I c AD
Made a classified list of the Germ. tribes grouping them under six
Roman scientist and writer
headings in “Natural History” (“Природна історія”).
I-II c AD
Complied a detailed description of the life and customs of the
CORNELIUS TACITUS,
the Roman historian and
ancient Germans. Reproduced Pliny’s classification of the Germ.
senator
tribes, characterized their social culture. “Germania” (“Германія”),
“Annales” (“Анали”).
JORDAN, the Gothic
VI c AD
His work “On the Origin and History of the Goths” (“Про
historian
походження та історію готів” чи “Гетика”) was written in Latin
and comprised the description of historical events from Cassiodor’s
history (533) and legends of the Goths of those times. Cassiodor’s
history has not come down to us.
BEDE the Venerable, the
VIII c D
“Ecclesiastical History of the English People” (“Церковна історія
English scholar and monk
народу англів”).
XIII c AD “Younger Edda” (“Молодша Едда”) – prose Edda.
SNORRI STURLUSON,
the Old Icelandic statesman,
poet and historian
----- By the 1st century CE, the writings of Caesar, Tacitus and other Roman era writers indicate a division of
Germanic-speaking peoples into tribal groupings centred on:
* the rivers Oder and Vistula/Weichsel (East Germanic tribes),
* the lower Rhine river (Istvaeones),
* the river Elbe (Irminones),
* Jutland and the Danish islands (Ingvaeones).
The Sons of Mannus, Istvaeones, Irminones, and Ingvaeones are collectively called West Germanic tribes. In
addition, those Germanic people who remained in Scandinavia are referred to as North Germanic. These groups
all developed separate dialects, the basis for the differences among Germanic languages down to the present
day.
----- Starting with the 1st century AD, the pressure of the Germanic tribes on the border of the Roman Empire
started to be felt. Many Germanic people had reached Rome as slaves; but later, during the decadence of the
Roman Empire, some Germanic warriors were employed as mercenaries.
By the 3rd-4th centuries BC, there was a general Germanic invasion in the Roman Empire,
mainly non-violent. But, to the end of the 4th century, this invasion turned massive, countless waves crossing
the Rhine and the Danube, and the weakened Roman army did not handle the situation. The "Barbarians"
destroyed and pillaged everything on their way. In 150 years, all the territories of the Western Roman Empire
were distributed between Germanic tribes: Iberia was occupied by Visigoths, Alsace by Alamans, Savoy by
Burgunds, Gaul by Franks, Britain by Anglo-Saxons and Italy by Ostrogoths.
47. The age of migrations: the Visigoths.
Communal system of Germ. tribes stopped existing, large tribal unions were formed. This caused
the great migration of peoples.
The Goths remained in Dacia until 376, when one of their leaders, Fritigern, appealed to the
Roman emperor Valens to be allowed to settle with his people on the south bank of the Danube. Here, they
hoped to find refuge from the Huns. Valens permitted this, as he saw in them "a splendid recruiting ground for
his army." However, a famine broke out and Rome was unwilling to supply them with the food they were
promised nor the land; open revolt ensued leading to 6 years of plundering and destruction throughout the
Balkans, the death of a Roman Emperor and the destruction of an entire Roman army.
The Battle of Adrianople in 378 was the decisive moment of the war. The Roman forces were
slaughtered and the Emperor Valens was killed during the fighting. Adrianople shocked the Roman world and
eventually forced the Romans to negotiate with and settle the barbarians within the empire's boundaries, a
development with far reaching consequences for the eventual fall of Rome.
The new Emperor Theodosius I settled Visigoths on Balkan Peninsula and gave them the best lands. They
adopted Christianity in its form “Arianism”.
The Visigoths are allowed by the Romans to settle south of the Danube, but Roman demands soon
provoke them into rebellion. At Adrianople, in AD 378, they inflict a shattering defeat on a Roman army. Two
thirds of the Romans are killed, including the emperor, Valens, whose body is never found.
The relationship between the Roman empire and its barbarian neighbours changes dramatically. The next
emperor, Theodosius, hands over the province of Moesia to the Visigoths, according them the status of
foederati - federates, or allies, granted land within the empire which they, in return, are expected to defend
against other barbarians. But there is an implicit danger to Rome. The loyalties of the tribesmen are to their own
leaders.
From AD 395 the Visigoths become restless. They have a new ruler, Alaric, who wants more funds from
the Romans, better territory, a more honourable place within the empire. In pursuit of these rather generalized
aims he leads an army southwards into Greece, much of which is plundered.
By 401 Alaric and the Visigoths are in Italy. After several campaigns (and a fruitless bribe in 407 of some
2000 kilograms of gold) the Visigoths reach Rome. Their siege is twice lifted by negotation, but in 410 they
enter the city. They are the first enemy intruders for exactly eight centuries - since the arrival of Celts in Rome
in 390 BC.
When the Visigoths leave Rome, they are laden with plunder but they have not destroyed the city. Alaric
moves on south, intending to invade Africa, but he dies later in the year, still in Italy. His people wander north
again into France and move briefly through the Pyrenees into Spain. In 418 they return to southwest France, or
Aquitaine, where they are offered land again as Roman federates.
48. The Ostrogoths.
Hunnic invasions. The rise of the Huns around 370 overwhelmed the Gothic kingdoms. Many of the
Goths migrated into Roman territory in the Balkans, while others remained north of the Danube under Hunnic
rule. They became one of the many Hunnic vassals fighting in Europe, as in the Battle on Catalaunian plains in
451 – the battle of peoples. Romans were supported by the Visigoths, Burgundians and Franks. Huns were
supported by the Ostrogoths and Sarmatians. Huns leaded by Attila were defeated, and in 455 Hunic
Kingdom broke down. In 476 – the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. 493 – Theodoric headed the
Ostrogothic Kingdom and ruled until 526. 535 – the Emperor Justinian declared war on the Goths. 555 – total
collapse of the Ostrogoths.
49. Division of Frankish Empire and its linguistic consequences
The Frankish Empire was the territory inhabited and ruled by the Franks from the 3rd to the 10th century.
Under the nearly continuous campaigns of Charles Martel, Pepin the Short, and Charlemagne—father, son,
grandson—the greatest expansion of the Frankish empire was secured by the early 9th century.
Charlemagne had several sons, but only one survived him. This son, Louis the Pious, followed his father as the
ruler of a united empire. But sole inheritance remained a matter of chance, rather than intent. When Louis died
in 840, the Carolingians adhered to the custom of partible inheritance, and after a brief civil war between the
three grandsons, they made an agreement in 843, the Treaty of Verdun, which divided the empire in three:
1. Louis' eldest surviving son Lothair I became Emperor in name but de facto only the ruler of the Middle
Frankish Kingdom, or Middle Francia or King of the Central or Middle Franks. His three sons in turn
divided this kingdom between them into Lotharingia (centered on Lorraine), Burgundy and (Northern)
Italy Lombardy. These areas with different cultures, peoples and traditions would later vanish as
separate kingdoms, which would eventually become Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Lorraine,
Switzerland, Lombardy
2. Louis' second son, Louis the German, became King of the East Frankish Kingdom or East Francia. This
area formed the kernel of the later Holy Roman Empire by way of the Kingdom of Germany enlarged
with some additional territories from Lothair's Middle Frankish Realm — much of these territories
eventually evolved into modern Austria, Switzerland and Germany.
3. His third son Charles the Bald became King of the West Franks, of the West Frankish Kingdom or West
Francia. This area, most of today's southern and western France, became the foundation for the later
France under the House of Capet.
The expansion and consequent division of the Frankish Empire had a big influence on the development of
languages in that region. As the Empire was gaining new territories it brought the franconian language to them,
and overtime the substratum language became overshadowed, resulting in phonetical, lexical and grammatical
changes. With the division of the Empire the whole new countries were created, and it set off the development
of new languages.
50. German mythology and beliefs.
Continental Germanic mythology is a subset of Germanic
mythology, going back to Proto-Germanic polytheism as practiced in parts of Central Europe before gradual
Christianization during the 6th to 8th centuries, and continued in the legends, and Middle High German epics
during the Middle Ages, also continued although in a recharacterized and less sacred fashion in European
folklore and fairy tales. It includes the mythology of many tribes of Germanic peoples:




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Lombards
Alamanni
Thuringii
Saxons
Frisians
Unlike North Germanic, and to a lesser extent Anglo-Saxon mythology, the attestation of Continental Germanic
paganism is extremely fragmentary. Besides a handful of brief Elder Futhark inscriptions, the lone genuinely
pagan Continental Germanic documents are the short Old High German Merseburg Incantations. Mythological
elements were however preserved in later literature, notably in Middle High German epic poetry, but also in
German, Swiss, and Dutch folklore.
Gods and heroes The major gods can be identified by their influence on the English weekday names Tuesday,
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday which come from Tiw, Wóden, Þunor, and Fríge respectively, through the Old English
names Tíwesdæg, Wédnesdæg, Þunresdæg and Frígedæg.
The Osses correspond to the Norse Æsir: Woden, the leader of the Wild Hunt and the one who carries off the
dead. He was one of the chief gods of the Angles and Saxons before the Christian era. He was held to be the
ancestor of Hengist and Horsa, two legendary figures from early English history and most of the early AngloSaxon kings claimed descent from Woden. He gives us the modern Wednesday ("Woden's day").
Thunor, (AS Þunor). He is the god of thunder, who rules the storms and sky. He also protects mankind from the
giants. He was the god of the common people within the heathen community. His name gives rise to the
modern Thursday.
Fríge is the goddess of love, and is the wife of Woden. She is one of the most powerful Goddesses, this position
being threatened only by Freyja. Her day is Friday, due to her associations with Venus.
Tiw is the god of warfare and battle, and gives us Tuesday. There is some speculation that he is a sky-god
figure and formerly the chief god, displaced over the years by Woden.
The Wones correspond to the Vanir: Ingui Fréa was one of the most popular Gods, after Thunor and Woden.
He is above all the God of fertility, bringing abundance (wone) and fruitfulness to the crops, herds, and the
Folk. Though he is a fertility God, he is also connected to warfare to a degree; however, this warfare is
defensive, as opposed to offensive, and is not to create strife and havoc. After all, peace is necessary for a good
harvest and a productive community, while needless warfare destroys any prospect of peace and abundance.
The Yngling royal line of Sweden claimed descent from him.
Freo is said to be the most beautiful of all the goddesses, and is therefore described as the Goddess of Love. She
is not to be mistaken with Frige, however; Freo's dominion is erotic love, whereas Frige's is romantic love.
Being a goddess of unbridled passion, she also takes half the slain of the battlefield, with the other half taken by
Woden . Like her brother, Fréa, she is connected to abundance and wealth; however, her wealth is primarily in
precious metals and gems. She is also a Goddess of Magic, having taught Woden seiðr.
Neorð is Frea and Freo's father, and is the God of the seas and commerce. He is called upon by fishermen and
sailors who depend upon good seas. Like his son and daughter, his realm is that of wealth; namely, the wealth
of the sea. He married the giantess Sceadu, though the marriage was not successful as neither of them could
tolerate the other's element; Sceadu her mountains, and Neorð his sea.
Eorðe, whose name means "Earth," is the wife of Woden, by whom she gave birth to Þunor. She is also the
daughter of the Goddess Niht. Her worship is generally passive, as opposed to active, though she is called on
for "might and main." Her latent strength can be seen in her son, Þunor.
Eostre, according to Bede, is a Goddess tied with the "growing light of spring," [1] [2] and embodies purity,
youth, and beauty, as well as the traditional rebirth and renewal concepts [1] [3] . Her symbols are hares [1] and
eggs [2] [3] [4] , which symbolize the beginning of life and fertility. The current Christian festival of Easter is
thought to contain elements of a pre-Christian festival in honour of Eostre [1] [4] ; hence the name Easter [1] [3] .
Niht is the Goddess of Night, and also the mother of Eorðe. The Norse night was the daughter of Narvi. She
was married three times; the first to Naglfari by whom she had Aud; the second, to Annar by whom she had
Eorðe; and the third to Dellinger Daeg.
Sigel is a goddess associated with the sun. Sunday means "day of the sun," and may refer specifically to the
goddess, or only to the star.
Weyland, Wayland, or Welund - a mythic smith.
Agil - a legenday bowman, brother to Weyland.
Earendel - a name for a star and also a Germanic hero.
Hengest and Horsa
Weisse Frauen
Nix
51. Gods, days of week, months.
Balder was the god of light. He was the son of Odin and Frigga. Other important gods were Ragnarok,
Hoenir, Vidhavoc and Vali, all very brave gods. Odin’s battle maidens were called the Valkyries; they
protected his favourite warriors and granted them victory. Odin held his court at Valhalla. This was the place
where all brave warriors went when they died. Odin was usually pictured with a raven upon each shoulder.
These birds were called Hugin and Munnin. They whispered into Odin’s ears all things they saw and heard in
thei flights around the world. Odin had only one eye. It was thought that he had given up one of his eyes to gain
more knowledge. Loki was a great godlike giant, ‘the spirit of evil’. He was always ended up doing cruel and
destructive things. Loki had 3 children. They were the serpent Fenris, the wolf Midgart, and Hela, death.
Sunday
OE sunne – the sun
OE Sunnan + OE dæхь =
The first day of the week was named for the sun god
Sunnandeхь
Monday
OE mona – the moon
OE Monandeхь
Was devoted to the goddess of the moon
Tuesday
OE Tiw – the war-god
OE Tiwesdeхь
Named in honour of the Anglo-Saxon god of war (ON Tyr)
Wednesday
OE Wodan – the god of divination and the dead
OE Wednesdeхь
Was named for the chief god and the giver of wisdom (ON
Odin)
Thursday
OE Thunor – the storm-god
OE Thore’sdeхь
Was named in honour of the ancient Germ. God of thunder
Friday
OE Fri – the fertility goddess (ON Frigda), goddess of the
OE Frideхь
household and marriage, Oddin’s wife. Later became as
Freya, goddess of the Earth
Saturday
OE Setern – Saturn, Jupiter’s father, the god of agriculture OE Seternesdeхь
and sowing of seeds in Roman mythology. His feast,
called the Saturnalia, began on December 17 and was a
time of rejoicing and feasting.
There were different versions of old Germanic names of months (eg, louprîsi in ancient Switzerland, ie,
"the month of falling leaves" - November), but in general they reflect the economical activities of the Germans.
Title winnemanoth (May, ie, "month grazing") was used in the Netherlands, for July (weidemaand); April was
called grasmaand ( «a month of grass"). In Frisians hewimanot («hay month) already sounds like heimoanne,
the Germans - Heumond, in the Netherlands - howmaen. In the early Middle Ages in many areas of Western
Europe Germanic-speaking winnemanoth often interchange bisemânôt (ie, "the time when the cows like mad,
galloping across the meadow"). Anglo thrimilci meant "the time when the cows three times a day, give milk".
Farming has been reflected in the names brachmanoth (June - "the time of sowing after the harvest of the first
harvest»), aranmanoth (July - "the month of harvest"). Months were devoted to the gods: April (eosturmanoth,
ôstarmanoth) - the goddess Ostara, March (hredmanoth) - goddess Hrede etc.
Very soon, along with starogermanskimi names of months have been used in Latin (and later all regions
of Europe, in Iceland, from the XIII century.), For example: February - mensis Plutonis (mensis purgatorius),
April - mensis venustus or mensis novarum, May - mensis Mariae, June - mensis magnus, July - mensis fenalis,
August - mensis messionum etc.
52. The Epoque of Vikings
The Vikings who invaded western and eastern Europe were chiefly from Denmark, Norway and Sweden. They
also settled the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Caithness in Scotland, Greenland and (briefly) North America.
Their language became the mother-tongue of present-day Nordic languages. By 801, a strong central authority
appears to have been established in Jutland, and the Danish were beginning to look beyond their own territory
for land, trade and plunder.
In Norway, mountainous terrain and fjords formed strong natural boundaries. Communities there remained
independent of each other, unlike the situation in Denmark which is lowland. By 800, some 30 small kingdoms
existed in Norway.
The sea was the easiest way of communication between the Norwegian kingdoms and the outside world. It was
in the eighth century that Scandinavians began to build ships of war and send them on raiding expeditions to
initiate the Viking Age. The northern sea rovers were traders, colonizers and explorers as well as plunderers.
The earliest date given for a Viking raid is 787 AD when, according to the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a group of
men from Norway sailed to Portland, in Dorset. There, they were mistaken for merchants by a royal official.
They murdered him when he tried to get them to accompany him to the king's manor to pay a trading tax on
their goods.
The beginning of the Viking Age in the British Isles is, however, often given as 793. It was recorded in the
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle that the Northmen raided the important island monastery of Lindisfarne.
In 794, according to the Annals of Ulster, there was a serious attack on Lindisfarne's mother-house of Iona,
which was followed in 795 by raids upon the northern coast of Ireland. From bases there, the Norsemen
attacked Iona again in 802, causing great slaughter amongst the Céli Dé Brethren, and burning the abbey to the
ground.
The end of the Viking Age is traditionally marked in England by the failed invasion attempted by the
Norwegian king Harald III (Haraldr Harðráði), who was defeated by Saxon King Harold Godwinson in 1066 at
the Battle of Stamford Bridge; in Ireland, the capture of Dublin by Strongbow and his Hiberno-Norman forces
in 1171; and 1263 in Scotland by the defeat of King Hákon Hákonarson at the Battle of Largs by troops loyal to
Alexander III. Godwinson was subsequently defeated within a month by another Viking descendant, William,
Duke of Normandy (Normandy had been acquired by Vikings (Normans) in 911). Scotland took its present
form when it regained territory from the Norse between the thirteenth and the fifteenth centuries.
The traditional definition is no longer accepted by most Scandinavian historians and archaeologists. Instead, the
Viking age is thought to have ended with the establishment of royal authority in the Scandinavian countries and
the establishment of Christianity as the dominant religion. The date is usually put somewhere in the early 11th
century in all three Scandinavian countries.
The end of the Viking-era in Norway is marked by the Battle of Stiklestad in 1030. They proclaimed Norway as
a Christian nation, and Norwegians could no longer be called Vikings.
The clinker-built longships used by the Scandinavians were uniquely suited to both deep and shallow waters.
They extended the reach of Norse raiders, traders and settlers along coastlines and along the major river valleys
of northwestern Europe. Rurik also expanded to the east and in 859 became ruler either by conquest or
invitation by local people of the city of Novgorod (which means "new city") on the Volkhov River. His
successors moved further, founding the state of Kievan Rus with the capital in Kiev. This persisted until 1240,
the time of Mongol invasion.
Other Norse people, particularly those from the area that is now modern-day Sweden and Norway, continued
south to the Black Sea and then on to Constantinople. Whenever these Viking ships ran aground in shallow
waters, the Vikings would reportedly turn them on their sides and drag them across the land into deeper waters.
The Kingdom of the Franks under Charlemagne was particularly hard-hit by these raiders, who could sail down
the Seine with near impunity. Near the end of Charlemagne's reign (and throughout the reigns of his sons and
grandsons), a string of Norse raids began, culminating in a gradual Scandinavian conquest and settlement of the
region now known as Normandy.
In 911, French King Charles the Simple was able to make an agreement with the Viking warleader Rollo, a
chieftain of disputed Norwegian or Danish origins.[7] Charles gave Rollo the title of duke and granted him and
his followers possession of Normandy. In return, Rollo swore fealty to Charles, converted to Christianity, and
undertook to defend the northern region of France against the incursions of other Viking groups. Several
generations later, the Norman descendants of these Viking settlers not only identified themselves as French but
carried the French language, and their variant of the French culture, into England in 1066. With the Norman
Conquest, they became the ruling aristocracy of Anglo-Saxon England.
53. Old Frisian ethnic community.
Geographical
The Roman historian Tacitus, writing in Germania, mentioned the Frisians among people he
grouped together as the Ingvaeones. Their territory followed the coast of the North Sea from the mouth of the
Rhine river up to that of the Ems, their eastern border according to Ptolemy's Geographica. Pliny states in
Belgica that they were conquered by the Roman general Drusus in 12 BC, and thereafter the Frisians largely
sank into historical obscurity, until coming into contact with the expanding Merovingian and Carolingian
empires. In the 5th century, during this period of historical silence, many of them no doubt joined the migration
of the Anglo-Saxons who went through Frisian territory to invade Britain, while those who stayed on the
continent expanded into the newly-emptied lands previously occupied by the Anglo-Saxons. By the end of the
sixth century the Frisians occupied the coast all the way to the mouth of the Weser and spread farther still in the
seventh century, southward down to Dorestad and even Bruges. This farthest extent of Frisian territory is
known as Frisia Magna.
Cultural One of the most important cultural expressions of a people is their language. The Frisians
mothertongue is 'Frisian'.
Frisian is a 'Germanic' language. The Germanic languages can be divided in North, East and West Germanic.
Frisian belongs to the 'West Germanic' language group. Other languages belonging to this group are High/Low
German, Dutch and English. Of these four languages Frisian is the closest in relation to English. Frisian, High
and Low German, Dutch and English can also be classified as Inguaeonish languages. They have a common
origin. In the 8th century A.D. Frisian starts to set itself apart from the other Inguaonish languages. This is the
birth of the Frisian language. In the 8th century the Frisian language is spoken in the coastal areas from Holland
up to Denmark.
As any language, Frisian started to develop dialects. Three dialects can be distinguished: East, North and West
Frisian.
The current spread of the Frisian Language: West-Frisian, East-Frisian (Saterland), North-Frisian.
Frisian Runes
The runes are an ancient alphabet used by the Germanic peoples. They were in use by the peoples of Northern
Europe since the beginning of the Christian era (1 A.D.). Inscriptions were initially carved in wood, hence their
angular shape. Inscriptions of the 'old' runic script (100 A.D. till 700 A.D.) are very rare, and are found on only
200 items. The first runes were carved in Southern Juteland in Denmark (also the place of origination of the
proto-Frisians).The Germanic tribes called the runic alphabet after the soundvalue of the first six letters,
Futhark. The Futhark comprises a 24 letter alphabet arranged in a unique order. This is the Germanic futhark:
f u th a r k g w h n i j ï p z s t b e m l ng o d
The runes were used for two purposes: to send messages of a plain nature, and for religious, ritual and magical
purposes.
In areas populated by Angles, Saxons and Frisians, new letters were developed, to a total of 26 runes. This
alphabet is known as the Anglo-Frisian Futhorc. This is Frisian futhork:
In Friesland only 21 runic inscriptions (Frisian) have been found on items of wood, bone, antler, ivory and gold.
These inscriptions date from 450 A.D. to 750 A.D..
Religious Beliefs. Christianity came early to Friesland with the dominion of the Franks in the eighth and ninth
centuries, but it did not succeed in completely eradicating Indigenous tradition. Pre-Christian beliefs, called
byleauwe, are derived from the larger Germanic folk tradition, and they retain some currency especially in rural
areas and the forested region. These folk beliefs, modifying and being modified by the newer Christian faith,
now consist of an interwoven tapestry of folktales and superstitions regarding supernatural beings such as
devils, spooks, and ghosts; "white ladies" who lived underground and kidnapped travelers in the night; a more
beneficent category of female spirits who provided help to travelers in distress; and elves, witches, wizards, and
trolls. Belief in oracles and predictive visions were common in the relatively recent past. Predominantly,
Frisians are Protestant: 85 percent are members of the Calvinist Dutch Reformed or Reformed churches, with
another 5 percent being Mennonites.
54. OE Heptarchy. Wessex.
Heptarchy – is the seven kingdoms into which Anglo-Saxon England is thought to have been divided
from about the 7th to the 9th centuries AD: Kent, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, Mercia, and
Northumbria.
Heptarchy is a collective name applied to the supposed seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of south, east, and
central Great Britain during late antiquity and the early Middle Ages which eventually unified into the
Kingdom of England. During the same period, what is now Scotland and Wales were also divided into
comparable petty kingdoms. The term has been in use since the 16th century but the initial idea that there were
seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms is attributed to the English historian Henry of Huntingdon in the 12th century
and was first used in his Historia Anglorum
By convention the label is considered to cover the period from AD 500 to AD 850, approximately
representing the period following the departure of Roman legions from Britain until the unification of the
kingdoms under Egbert of Wessex.
The period supposedly lasted until the seven kingdoms began to consolidate into larger units, but the
actual events marking this transition are debatable. At various times within the conventional period, certain
rulers of Northumbria, Mercia and Wessex (such as Penda of Mercia) claimed hegemony over larger areas of
England; yet as late as Edwy and Edgar, it was still possible to speak of separate kingdoms within the English
population.
In reality the end of the Heptarchy was a gradual process. The 9th century Viking raids that led to the
establishment of a Danish-controlled enclave at York, and ultimately to the Danelaw, gained considerable
advantage from the petty rivalries between the old kingdoms. The need to unite against the common enemy was
recognised, such that by the time Alfred of Wessex resisted the Danes in the late 9th century, he did so
essentially as the leader of an Anglo-Saxon nation. Successive kings of Wessex (and especially Athelstan)
progressively reinforced the English unitary state, until the old constituent kingdoms in effect became
irrelevant.
Recent research has revealed that some of the Heptarchy kingdoms (notably Essex and Sussex) did not
achieve the same status as the others. Conversely, there also existed alongside the seven kingdoms a number of
other political divisions which played a more significant role than previously thought. Such were the kingdoms
(or sub-kingdoms) of: Bernicia and Deira within Northumbria; Lindsey in present-day Lincolnshire; the Hwicce
in the southwest Midlands; the Magonsæte or Magonset, a sub-kingdom of Mercia in what is now
Herefordshire; the Wihtwara, a Jutish kingdom on the Isle of Wight, originally as important as the Cantwara of
Kent; the Middle Angles, a group of tribes based around modern Leicestershire, later conquered by the
Mercians; the Hæstingas (around the town of Hastings in Sussex); and the Gewissæ, a Saxon tribe in what is
now southern Hampshire later developing into the kingdom of Wessex.
Certainly the term Heptarchy has been considered unsatisfactory since the early 20th century, and many
professional historians no longer use it, feeling that it does not accurately describe the period to which it refers.
However, it is still sometimes used as a label of convenience for a phase in the development of England.
The unification of England and the Earldom of Wessex.
After the invasions of the 890s Wessex and English Mercia continued to be attacked by the Danish
settlers in England and by small Danish raiding forces from overseas, but these incursions were usually
defeated, while there were no further major invasions from the continent. The balance of power tipped steadily
in favour of the English. In 911 Ealdorman Aethelred died, leaving his widow, Alfred's daughter Aethelflaed, in
charge of Mercia. Alfred's son and successor Edward the Elder, then annexed London, Oxford and the
surrounding area, probably including Middlesex, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, from
Mercia to Wessex. Between 913 and 918 a series of English offensives overwhelmed the Danes of Mercia and
East Anglia, bringing all of England south of the Humber under Edward's power. In 918 Aethelflaed died and
Edward took over direct control of Mercia, extinguishing what remained of its independence and ensuring that
thenceforth there would be only one Kingdom of the English. In 927 Edward's successor Athelstan conquered
Northumbria, bringing the whole of England under one ruler for the first time. The Kingdom of Wessex had
thus been transformed into the Kingdom of England.
Although Wessex had now effectively been subsumed into the larger kingdom which its expansion had
created, like the other former kingdoms it continued for a time to have a distinct identity which periodically
found renewed political expression. After the death of King Eadred in 955, England was divided between his
two sons, with the elder Edwy ruling in Wessex while Mercia passed to his younger brother Edgar. However, in
959 Edwy died and the whole of England came under Edgar's control.
After the conquest of England by the Danish king Cnut in 1016, he established earldoms based on the
former kingdoms of Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia, but initially administered Wessex personally.
Within a few years, however, he had created an earldom of Wessex, encompassing all of England south of the
Thames, for his English henchman Godwin. For almost fifty years the vastly wealthy holders of this earldom,
first Godwin and then his son Harold, were the most powerful men in English politics after the king. Finally, on
the death of Edward the Confessor in 1066, Harold became king, reuniting the earldom of Wessex with the
crown. No new earl was appointed before the ensuing Norman Conquest of England, and as the Norman kings
soon did away with the great earldoms of the late Anglo-Saxon period, 1066 marks the extinction of Wessex as
a political unit.
55. Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians.
* The Angles, who may have come from Angeln, and Bede wrote that their whole nation came to
Britain, leaving their former land empty. The name 'England' (Anglo-Saxon 'Engla land' or 'Ængla land'
originates from this tribe.
* The Saxons, from Lower Saxony (German: Niedersachsen, Germany)
* The Jutes, from the Jutland peninsula.
The Angles is a modern English word for a Germanic-speaking people who took their name from the
ancestral cultural region of Angeln, a district located in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The Angles were one of
the main groups that settled in Britain in the post-Roman period, founding several of the kingdoms of AngloSaxon England, and their name is the root of the name "England".
The Saxons (Latin: Saxones) were a confederation of Old Germanic tribes. Their modern-day
descendants in Lower Saxony and Westphalia and other German states are considered ethnic Germans (the state
of Sachsen is not inhabited by ethnic Saxons; the state of Sachsen-Anhalt though in its northern and western
parts); those in the eastern Netherlands are considered to be ethnic Dutch; and those in Southern England ethnic
English (see Anglo-Saxons). Their earliest known area of settlement is Northern Albingia, an area
approximately that of modern Holstein. Saxons participated in the Germanic settlement of Britain during and
after the 5th century. It is unknown how many migrated from the continent to Britain though estimates for the
total number of Germanic settlers vary between 10,000 and 200,000.[1] Since the 18th century, many
continental Saxons have settled other parts of the world, especially in North America, Australia, South Africa,
and in areas of the former Soviet Union, where some communities still maintain parts of their cultural and
linguistic heritage, often under the umbrella categories "German", and "Dutch".
The Jutes, Iuti, or Iutae were a Germanic people who, according to Bede, were one of the three most
powerful Germanic peoples of their time. They are believed to have originated from Jutland (called Iutum in
Latin) in modern Denmark, Southern Schleswig (South Jutland) and part of the East Frisian coast
The Frisians are an ethnic group of Germanic people living in coastal parts of The Netherlands, Denmark
and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East
Frisia and North Frisia. They inhabit an area known as Frisia. They have a reputation for being tall, big-boned
and light-haired people and they have a rich history and folklore.
The Angles, Saxons, Jutes and Frisians that migrated to Britain after the Roman occupation became
known as the "English" and during modern times are referred to as "Anglo-Saxons". They mainly came from
areas in and around the area of Holstein in modern Denmark.
The Anglo-Saxons had been raiding the coasts of Britain during the Roman occupation and it was
because of this activity that the Romans constructed a network of large defensive forts called the Litora
Saxonica or Saxon Shore. It wasn't until the Roman occupation ended around 450AD that the Anglo-Saxon
migration to Britain started in earnest.
There were many possible reasons why these peoples left their homes to risk their lives sailing across
rough seas in small boats to a foreign land:
• they may have been pushed out by other people moving in to their lands
• the lands may have not been as productive as they once were
• the population may have increased such that some had to move away
• armed war-bands may have been attacking their villages making people move to somewhere they
thought was safer
• some people may have looked for trade or work in other lands
We do know that some Saxons were employed by the Britons as mercenaries to fight the Picts and other
raiders, and we also know that trade existed between Britain and Europe. So it was probably a mix of all these
reasons and maybe others; whatever they were, the "English" came to Britain, they stayed and they prospered.
The Early Anglo-Saxon buildings in Britain were simple timber constructions with thatched roofs. Saxon
life was based around agriculture and there was a preference to settle in small towns away from the old Roman
cities, each having a main hall surrounded by huts for the townsfolk to live in.
The Saxons were pagans worshiping many gods, not just one like the Christians did. In times of war they
would make offerings to the God of War to help them win, they would make offerings to other gods to help
with the harvest and to bring them good fortune elsewhere. There were religious festivals at various times of the
year to honour their gods and to make offerings to them. The Saxons generally converted to Christianity during
the 6th, 7th and 8th centuries, but there was resistance to this, especially from the middle classes, who resented
the Christian influence on the Saxon nobility.
The Anglo-Saxon army was know as the Fyrd, which was comprised of men who were called up to fight
for the king in times of danger.
The Fyrd was led by the nobles called Thegns who were well armed with swords and spears but the rest
of the Fyrd were armed only with weapons such as farm implements, clubs and slings.
The later Anglo-Saxon army included a class of professional soldiers called Huscarls (Household troops)
that were loyal to the King or Earl.
The early religion was pagan based on the worship of a number of gods similar to that of the northern
Europeans. Organised Christianity later replaced paganism and led to the establishment of a unified Church
based on the Roman model.
56. Paganism vs Christianity in OG ethnic communities.
Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western
Europe from the Iron Age up until their Christianization during the medieval. It has been described as being "a
system of interlocking and closely related religious worldviews and practices rather than as one indivisible
religion" and consisted of "individual worshippers, family traditions and regional cults".
Germanic paganism took various different forms in each different area of the Germanic world. The best
documented version was that of 10th and 11th century Norse paganism, although other information can be
found from Anglo-Saxon and Continental Germanic sources. Scattered references are also found in the earliest
writings of other Germanic peoples and Roman descriptions. The information can be supplied by
archaeological finds and remains of pre-Christian beliefs in later folklore.
Germanic paganism was polytheistic, revolving around the veneration of various deities. Some deities were
worshipped widely across the Germanic lands, but under different names. Other deities were simply local to
a specific locality, and are mentioned in both Anglo-Saxon and Icelandic texts, in the latter of which they
are described as being "the land spirits that live in this land".
 Teiwaz, god of war, "Germanic Mars", Norse Tyr, Old English Tiw, Old High German Ziu, continues
Indo-European Dyeus.
 Wōdanaz, "lord of poetic/mantic inspiration", "Germanic Mercury", Norse Óðinn (Odin), Old English
Woden, Old High German Wuotan.
 Frijjō, wife of Wodanaz, Norse Frigg. "wife", c.f. Sanskrit priyā "mistress, wife". Probably also
addressed as Frawjō "lady" (Norse Freya).
 Fraujaz. "lord", c.f. Norse Freyr
 Þunraz, "thunder", "Germanic Jupiter", Norse Þórr (Thor), West Germanic Donar, Old English Thunor.
 possibly Austrō, goddess of dawn and springime.
Heavenly bodies may have been deified, including Sowilo the Sun, Mænon the Moon, and perhaps
Auziwandilaz the evening star.
At their sacred sites, Germanic pagans widely practiced ritual sacrifice to their deities. This was often in the
form of a blood sacrifice such as that of an animal, but also sometimes that of a human being.
The Germanic people underwent gradual Christianization in the course of Late Antiquity and the Early
Middle Ages. By the 8th century, England and the Frankish Empire were (officially) Christian, and by AD 1100
Germanic paganism had also ceased to have political influence in Scandinavia.
In the 4th century, the early process of Christianization of the various Germanic people was partly facilitated by
the prestige of the Christian Roman Empire amongst European pagans. Until the decline of the Roman Empire,
the Germanic tribes who had migrated there (with the exceptions of the Saxons, Franks, and Lombards, see
below) had converted to Christianity.[1] Many of them, notably the Goths and Vandals, adopted Arianism
instead of the Trinitarian beliefs that came to dominate the Roman Imperial Church.[1] The gradual rise of
Germanic Christianity was, at times, voluntary, particularly amongst groups associated with the Roman Empire.
From the 6th century, Germanic tribes were converted (and re-converted) by missionaries of the Roman
Catholic Church.
Many Goths converted to Christianity as individuals outside the Roman Empire. Most members of other tribes
converted to Christianity when their respective tribes settled within the Empire, and most Franks and AngloSaxons converted a few generations later. During the later centuries following the Fall of Rome, as the Roman
Church gradually split between the dioceses loyal to the Patriarch of Rome in the West and those loyal to the
other Patriarchs in the East, most of the Germanic peoples (excepting the Crimean Goths and a few other
eastern groups) would gradually become strongly allied with the Western Church, particularly as a result of the
reign of Charlemagne.
Unlike the history of Christianity in the Roman Empire, conversion of the Germanic tribes in general took place
"top to bottom", in the sense that missionaries aimed at converting Germanic nobility first, which would then
impose their new faith on the general population: This is connected with the sacral position of the king in
Germanic paganism: the king is charged with interacting with the divine on behalf of his people, so that the
general population saw nothing wrong with their kings choosing their preferred mode of worship.
Consequently, Christianity had to be made palatable to these Migration Age warlords as a heroic religion of
conquerors, a rather straightforward task, considering the military splendour of the Roman Empire.
Thus early Germanic Christianity was presented as an alternative to native Germanic paganism and elements
were syncretized, for examples parallels between Woden and Christ. A fine illustration of these tendencies is
the Anglo-Saxon poem Dream of the Rood, where Jesus is cast in the heroic model of a Germanic warrior, who
faces his death unflinchingly and even eagerly. The Cross, speaking as if it were a member of Christ's band of
retainers, accepts its fate as it watches its Creator die, and then explains that Christ's death was not a defeat but
a victory. This is in direct correspondence to the Germanic pagan ideals of fealty to one's lord.
57. = 50.
58. Material, spiritual culture.
Weapon. The main weapon of early Germans was spear with thin short tip, iron sword and bow with
arrows. For protection they used shield made of leather or wood. The biggest shame for a warrior was to leave
his shield on the battle field. The helmet was decorated with fangs of wild boar.
Household goods. The clothes ware kept in separate room. The food (pieces of meat) was taken out from
boiler with the help of a big fork made of wood. They used earthenware or made plates and dishes of wood.
Clothes. Germans wore animal and sheep skin. Later, they started to make clothes of wool and flax. Men
wore flax shirts and trousers, coarse mantles and jackets with long sleeves. Women wore long shirts, dresses
and mantles. Shoes were made of thick piece of leather which was fastened to the feet with to thongs.
Dwelling. Houses of Germans consisted of 1 or 2 parts: one for people and the other for domestic
animals. The roof was covered with rush and straw. Inside the house there was a open fire. Germans dug pits
for keeping food supplies in winter, sometimes they lived there themselves.
Funeral ceremony. The deads were not buried, they were burnt. Their weapon and horses were buried
also.