Fun! I got 13 lines in before falling (and stupidly too, what would Hildeburh have to do with the Hugas?)

Thomas Jefferson might rightly be considered the first American Old English scholar … and also the worst. Check out today’s video on the bizarre things he had to say about the language: youtu.be/1a2wqLExfbE?...

The Carthusian monk Richard Methley occasionally got so excited while composing his meditations on Christ that he would just start writing Jesus’s name over and over again. “O Jesu! Jesu Jesu Jesu Jesu Jesu Jesu Jesu Jesu!” Bedroom of the beloved Beloved, 21 trans. Barbara Newman:

The first ever Old English grammar (in English) was published by Elizabeth Elstob, in 1715. She dedicated it to Caroline of Ansbach (then Princess of Wales). In particular, Elstob hoped that Caroline would appreciate the 'Saxon' connection between England and her German-speaking homeland.

What did the early medieval English think about hell? About guardian angels? About wizards? I talk about these topics and more in today’s interview with UVA’s @phil-lol-ogist.bsky.social on his recent book about medieval apocrypha. Check it out ⬇️

So excited to announce that my first ever book will be coming out this year: a selection of Bede’s works, in facing-page translation! The goal is to provide a holistic image of Bede and his life’s work, accessible to a wide range of readers, from casual learners to students of Latin.

It took a long time for 'pride' (OE prȳde) to be settled as the English equivalent to Latin 'superbia' (i.e., the deadly sin). Other early contenders were oferhyġd (would have become *overhide), ofermōd (would have been *overmood), and mōdiġnes (survives as 'moodiness').

The fact that Aldhelm expected the dedicatees of “de Virginitate” to be able to read the poem, when modern students struggle immensely with it (with the help of modern dictionaries), speaks to the truly impressive level of Latin learning achieved by some of these pre-viking nuns and monks.

“Ceolfrith, self-styled in his dedication page as ‘abbot from the ends of the earth’, intended the Amiatinus Bible to proclaim to Rome his people’s contribution to the apostolic mission, worthy of the Church Fathers.” Michelle P. Brown, on the Codex Amiatinus