In A History of Old English Meter, R. D. Fulk offers a wide-ranging reference on Anglo-Saxon meter. Fulk examines the evidence for chronological and regional variation in the meter of Old English verse, studying such linguistic variables as the treatment of West Germanic parasite vowels, contracted vowels, and short syllables under secondary and tertiary stress, as well as a variety of supposed dialect features. Fulk’s study of such variables points the way to a revised understanding of the role of syllable length in the construction of early Germanic meters and furnishes criteria for distinguishing dialectal from poetic features in the language of the major Old English poetic codices. On this basis, it is possible to draw conclusions about the probable dialect origins of much verse, to delineate the characteristics of at least four discrete periods in the development of Old English meter, and with some probability to assign to them many of the longer poems, such as Genesis A, Beowulf, and the works of Cynewulf.
A History of Old English Meter will be of interest to scholars of Anglo-Saxon, historians of the English language, Germanic philologists, and historical linguists.
Table of Content
Preface
I. West Germanic Parasiting
II. Contraction
III. Contraction in Negated Verbs and Indefinite Pronouns
IV. Compensatory Lengthening upon Loss of h
V. Analogical Lengthening in Diphthongal Stems
VI. Kaluza’s Law
VII. Changes in Ictus at the Tertiary Level
VIII. Ictus and Resolution in Nonfinal Position
IX. Miscellaneous Proposed Chronological Variables
X. Late Developments
XI. Syncopated Endings of Long-Stemmed Verbs and other Presumed Indicators of Dialect Origins
Conclusion: Relative and Absolute Dating
Appendix A. Chronology and Dialect in the Remaining Longer Poems
Appendix B. The Date of the Battle of Maldon
Appendix C. Long and Short Inflectional Syllables
Appendix D. Dating the Early Bede Manuscripts
Index of Words
Index of Verses
Index of Authorities
Index of Subjects
About the author
R. D. Fulk is Class of 1964 Chancellor’s Professor of English at Indiana University.More ebooks from the same author(s) / Editor
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