Geoffrey!

[aelfgyfu_mead]

There's a new entry at Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog!

I bought the book Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog: Medieval Studies and New Media (I'll withhold the author's name because I suppose that's a spoiler!) It has some analysis (or meta, if you prefer) of the Chaucer blog and fandom, by the Chaucer blogger Geoffrey and by some other academics, and all the blog entries through 10 September 2009. I read the first chapter, which is quite short, aloud to Brilliant Husband (it's called "Why Ye Sholde Nat Rede This Booke," by John Gower); that alone was worth the price of admission!

If you buy it, be sure to buy the paperback direct from Palgrave; Amazon only has the much more expensive hardcover.

Comments

[aelfgyfu_mead]

It's never too late to start reading! I've been trying to think of the best place to start. The medieval part of any anthology of English or European lit is probably a good place.

[moonshayde.livejournal.com]

I would really love to start to learn Old English. Is that impossible?

[aelfgyfu_mead]

No! No, it's not impossible at all to learn Old English. I recommend Peter Baker's Introduction to Old English (2nd ed—corrects errors from the first) if you want to learn it on your own. It's here at Amazon, which has some used copies too. You might also try local used bookstores. It's a fairly popular textbook. It has an accompanying website; the site has never been completed and I don't know if it will be, but it's pretty useful.

I knew a student who taught herself Old English over Christmas break with Baker's book. I was amazed; I could never have done it myself, but it is possible. We mortals can get up to reading speed in a few weeks. The second half of Baker's book has a good anthology of texts to read, complete with notes and a glossary.

I also know people who swear by Robert Hasenfratz's Reading Old English (also on Amazon; I understand a second edition is due out soon, but I don't know when. I haven't used it myself.

Even cheaper is The Elements of Old English by Moore, Knott, and Hulbert, which I've just now discovered is back in print! Huzzah! That's a good one, but it went out of print a while back. I used it myself as a grad student but didn't try it with grad students. It's more daunting but really good; if you've already learned languages with cases, you might like it. (If you haven't, you're probably better off with one of the other two.)