Writing It Down
The Story of Old English
Course 1 · Chapter 4 · Writing It Down
The settlers of Chapters 2 and 3 could write before they could write books. This chapter follows how Old English was first scratched in runes, then written in a Latin alphabet adapted for the purpose, and where the odd letters of Old English manuscripts came from.
Runes
According to Wikipedia's Anglo-Saxon runes article, the origin of the Anglo-Frisian runic row is unknown. One theory holds that it developed in Frisia and spread to Britain. The other holds that runes reached Britain from the mainland, were modified there, and were then exported to Frisia. The early row was nearly identical to the older continental row (the Elder Futhark), except that the single a rune split into three variants. The article says the Old English row was a 28-type development of the 24-type Elder Futhark, and that in the ninth century it grew to a 33-type row. The Anglo-Saxon row is called the futhorc.
The article says use likely began in the fifth century in Britain and Frisia. It names early examples: the Undley bracteate (possibly the earliest instance of the ōs rune), the Spong Hill urns (fifth century) and the Kantens combcase (early fifth century).
| Object | Date (per the article) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Franks Casket | 8th century | Mixes runes and Latin on one object |
| St Cuthbert's coffin | dated 698 | Three Evangelist names are in Latin written in runes; the fourth is in Roman script |
| Ruthwell Cross | 8th century | The inscription may be partly a modern reconstruction |
| Seax of Beagnoth (Thames scramasax) | 9th century | The only complete alphabet among the inscriptions |
The Wikipedia Old English article adds that limited runic inscriptions date from the fifth to seventh centuries, and that the oldest coherent runic texts are from the early eighth century.
The Latin alphabet arrives
The article on the Old English Latin alphabet says the alphabet came back to Britain with the Christian mission of 597, and that the earliest Latin-script Old English appears in law codes such as the Law of Æthelberht (616). The Anglo-Saxon runes article says that from the seventh-century Christianisation runic writing became closely tied to Latin scriptoria, and that by the eighth century the Latin alphabet had overtaken the runes. It says runes disappeared from Frisia around the eighth century and were very rare by the Norman Conquest of 1066.
The Old English article gives a slightly different wording: the Latin alphabet was introduced in the seventh century, and from around the eighth century it replaced the runic system. The sources agree on the sequence and differ a little on how to date it.
The Old English Latin alphabet article also records the styles of handwriting. A half-uncial script arrived with the Hiberno-Scottish mission in the eighth century. It was later replaced by the cursive insular script, which lasted until the late twelfth century.
The extra letters
Latin had no letters for several Old English sounds, so scribes added some. The article says:
| Letter | Name | Source (per the article) | Sound given |
|---|---|---|---|
| æ | ash | A modified Latin letter | the vowel /æ/ |
| ð | eth | Altered from the Latin d | /θ/ or [ð] |
| þ | thorn | Borrowed from the runic futhorc | (no sound given in the table) |
| ƿ | wynn | A runic borrowing | /w/ |
The runes themselves are named ðorn (þorn) and wyn (wynn), and the Anglo-Saxon runes article says "þorn and ƿynn came to be used as extensions of the Latin alphabet".
The Old English Latin alphabet article also lists a few shorthand marks: a Tironian-style sign ⁊ for "and", and a crossed thorn ꝥ for þæt. You can see the crossed thorn in Old English Reading 1, Chapter 5, where the Chronicle text prints it. The article says macrons for long vowels were rarely used, and occasionally served as nasal marks, which is why the long marks in this and the other courses are an editor's addition (see Old English Grammar 1, Chapter 1).
Letters not used
The same article says Q and Z were essentially unused except in foreign names, J had not yet come into use, and K was used by some writers but not others. It does not discuss V.
What happened next
The article says W gained use under Norman influence, as seen at the end of the Peterborough Chronicle, though it was still a ligature rather than a full letter. It adds that Carolingian minuscule and Old French spelling conventions led to Middle English. It does not describe ƿ being replaced by w or þ becoming th, so I do not state those changes here.
Words to know
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Futhorc | The Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet, named after its first letters |
| Elder Futhark | The older 24-letter runic alphabet it developed from |
| Scriptorium (plural scriptoria) | A room or workshop in a monastery where manuscripts were copied |
| Insular script | The style of handwriting used in Britain and Ireland in this period |
| Ligature | Two letters joined into one shape |
✏️ Try It Yourself
Think of the answer first, then click to check.
1. What is the Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet called?
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The futhorc.
2. Name two letters that came from the runes.
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þ (thorn) and ƿ (wynn).
3. Which extra letter was altered from a Latin d?
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ð (eth).
4. Which mission brought the Latin alphabet back to Britain, according to the article?
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The Christian mission of 597.
5. What is the Franks Casket remarkable for?
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It mixes runes and Latin on one object.
6. Why are long marks over vowels an editor's addition?
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Scribes rarely used macrons for long vowels in the manuscripts.
7. What did the crossed thorn ꝥ stand for?
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The word þæt ("that").
8. Which letters were essentially unused except in foreign names?
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Q and Z (J had not come into use, and K was used by some writers and not others).