The English Arrive
Old English Reading 1
Chapter 5 · The English Arrive
⛵ The English Arrive
Chapter 4 read four very short entries. This one reads thirteen sentences from a single, much longer annal, the Chronicle's account of the coming of the English to Britain. It is still plain prose, but the sentences are longer and use subordinate clauses, where the verb comes late.
The text
The annal opens with a Latin sentence, which I leave out. The Old English starts at Her Martianus .... Here are the first thirteen sentences, one at a time.
1. Her Martianus and Valentinus onfengon rice, and rixadon vii wiñt.
here Martian and Valentinian received kingdom, and ruled seven winters
"In this year Martian and Valentinian took the kingdom, and ruled for seven years."
2. and on þeora dagum gelaðode Wyrtgeorn Angel cin hider.
and in their days invited Wyrtgeorn Angle kin hither
"And in their days Wyrtgeorn invited the Angle race here."
3. and hi þa coman on þrim ceolum hider to Brytene. on þam stede Heopwines fleot.
and they then came on three ships hither to Britain, at the place Heopwine's stream
"And they then came here to Britain on three ships, at the place Heopwine's stream."
4. Se cyning Wyrt georn gef heom land on suðan eastan ðissum lande.
the king Wyrtgeorn gave them land in south east this land
"King Wyrtgeorn gave them land in the south-east of this country,"
5. wiððan þe hi sceoldon feohton wið Pyhtas.
on-condition-that they should fight against Picts
"on condition that they should fight against the Picts."
6. Heo þa fuhton wið Pyhtas. and heofdon sige swa hwer swa heo comon.
they then fought against Picts, and had victory so where so they came
"They then fought against the Picts, and had victory wherever they came."
7. Hy ða sendon to Angle heton sendon mara fultum.
they then sent to Angle (and) bade send more help
"They then sent to Angeln, and asked for more help to be sent."
8. and heton heom secgan Brytwalana nahtscipe. and þes landes cysta.
and bade them tell the Britons' worthlessness and this land's excellence
"And had them told of the Britons' worthlessness and the excellence of this land."
9. Hy ða sona sendon hider mare weored þam oðrum to fultume.
they then soon sent hither more host to-the others as help
"They then soon sent a larger force here, as help for the others."
10. Ða comon þa men of þrim megðum Germanie. Of Ald Seaxum. of Anglum. of Iotum.
then came the men from three tribes of Germany: from Old Saxons, from Angles, from Jutes
"Then the men came from three tribes of Germany: from the Old Saxons, from the Angles, from the Jutes."
11. Of Iotum comon Cantwara. and Wihtwara. ꝥ is seo megð þe nu eardaþ on Wiht.
from Jutes came Kent-dwellers and Wight-dwellers; that is the tribe which now dwells on Wight
"From the Jutes came the people of Kent and the people of Wight, that is, the tribe that now lives on Wight."
12. and ꝥ cyn on West Sexum þe man nu git hæt Iutna cynn.
and that kin among West Saxons which one now still calls Jutes' kin
"And the kin among the West Saxons that people still call the kin of the Jutes."
13. Of Eald Seaxum coman East Seaxa. and Suð Sexa. and West Sexa.
from Old Saxons came East Saxons and South Saxons and West Saxons
"From the Old Saxons came the East Saxons and the South Saxons and the West Saxons."
Source: Wikisource, Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (E), annal 449, from C. Plummer's 1892 edition; text CC BY-SA 4.0 on the page (the underlying work is public domain). The Old English is as the page prints it. The page gives no translation: the glosses and translations are mine and unverified. The annal continues beyond sentence 13 (the Angles, then the genealogy of Hengest and Horsa), which I do not print.
Reading it: what is new
1 to 3: the story begins
- onfengon and rixadon are both past plurals in -on. onfengon belongs with feng in Chapter 4 (a strong past). rixadon has -ad- before the ending, a weak-verb past (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 8; the -ad- shape is my reading).
- vii wiñt "seven winters": the Chronicle counts years in winters. The Chronicle's 1 AD entry, rixade lvi wintra, shows the same habit on the Wikisource page. The tilde over the n is a scribal abbreviation, which I read as the ending of wintra.
- Verb-second: on þeora dagum gelaðode Wyrtgeorn Angel cin hider opens with a phrase, the verb gelaðode (weak past, -ode) is second, and the subject Wyrtgeorn follows. þeora is genitive plural (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 7); dagum is dative plural.
- coman is the plural of com (Chapter 4). on þrim ceolum has two dative plurals; þrim is the dative of "three" and -um marks ceolum.
4 to 6: subordinate clauses
- gef is a past singular with no ending (compare sloh, com). heom is "to them", dative; land is the thing given.
- ðissum lande is the dative of "this land" (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 5).
- wiððan þe hi sceoldon feohton wið Pyhtas is a subordinate clause: "on condition that they should fight against the Picts". sceoldon is the plural past of sċulan (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9). The two verbs sit side by side near the end, with only the phrase wið Pyhtas after them. The meaning of wiððan þe is my reading from context. The form feohton is printed where I would expect the infinitive feohtan; I take it as a spelling variant and cannot check it.
- A clean verb-final clause: swa hwer swa heo comon "wherever they came" ends in its verb comon, as Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10 says a subordinate clause should. The pair swa ... swa is the correlative pattern, "so ... so".
- heofdon sige is "had victory": a past plural with sige as its object (I take heofdon as the plural past of "have").
7 to 9: sending for help
- heton sendon mara fultum and heton heom secgan: heton is "bade, ordered" (my reading), followed by a second verb. Both second verbs are infinitives or something close to one; the first is printed sendon, which looks like a finite form, so I take it as a spelling variant.
- mara is "more", a comparative (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 6). Brytwalana is genitive plural (-a); þes landes is "this land's" (I am not sure of the þes spelling for the genitive; Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 5 gives þisses).
- þam oðrum is dative plural, "to the others"; to fultume is a dative, "as help".
10 to 13: where they came from
- Verb-second again: Ða comon þa men: Ða "then" first, the verb second, the subject after it.
- of þrim megðum, of Anglum, of Iotum, of Eald Seaxum: of "from" followed by a dative plural in -um every time (as in of yfele in Chapter 2).
- ꝥ is seo megð: ꝥ is a scribal abbreviation, which I read as þæt. seo megð is a feminine noun with sēo, and þe nu eardaþ is a relative clause with the invariable þe (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 10). eardaþ is a present singular in -aþ (my reading).
- þe man nu git hæt Iutna cynn: another relative clause. man here is "one, people" (as in Chapter 4), Iutna is genitive plural, "of the Jutes".
- East Seaxa, Suð Sexa, West Sexa are the old forms of Essex, Sussex and Wessex (my own knowledge, not on the page).
New words
| Old English | Meaning | Modern English relative |
|---|---|---|
| rice | kingdom, rule | (cf. German Reich) |
| winter | winter; year | winter |
| hider | hither, here | hither |
| ceol | ship | (cf. keel) |
| sige | victory | (cf. German Sieg) |
| fultum | help | — |
| sona | soon | soon |
| weored | troop, host | — |
| megð | tribe, people | — |
| cynn | kin, race | kin |
The meanings are my readings from context (the page gives no translation). The "Modern English relative" column is my own knowledge and unverified.
📋 Quick Reference
| Feature | Where |
|---|---|
| Verb-second after a fronted phrase | on þeora dagum gelaðode Wyrtgeorn · Ða comon þa men |
| Verb-final subordinate clause | swa hwer swa heo comon |
| Relative þe | seo megð þe nu eardaþ |
| of + dative plural | of Anglum, of Iotum |
| Weak past | gelaðode, rixadon |
| Strong past | gef, coman, onfengon |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. What is rixadon, and what does the ending show?
Show answer
A past plural, "ruled"; -on is the plural ending.
2. Why does Wyrtgeorn come after gelaðode in sentence 2?
Show answer
The sentence begins with a phrase (on þeora dagum), so the verb is second and the subject follows.
3. What is the difference between com (Chapter 4) and coman (here)?
Show answer
com is singular (Ælle came); coman is plural (they came).
4. What case are þrim ceolum, and what shows it?
Show answer
Dative plural: the -um ending on ceolum (and þrim, the dative of "three").
5. Translate Se cyning gef heom land.
Show answer
"The king gave them land." heom is dative ("to them"), land the object.
6. Which verb is sceoldon a form of, and what tense and number?
Show answer
sċulan, past plural (Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 9).
7. Where does the verb stand in swa hwer swa heo comon, and why?
Show answer
At the end: it is a subordinate clause ("wherever they came").
8. Translate Ða comon þa men.
Show answer
"Then the men came." The adverb comes first, the verb second, the subject last.
9. What case follows of in of Anglum?
Show answer
The dative (plural, in -um).
10. Which Modern English county names come from East Seaxa, Suð Sexa and West Sexa?
Show answer
Essex, Sussex and Wessex (my own knowledge, not stated on the page).