Posted on

Stop calling Shakespearean English “Old English!” It’s not.

Banner for page on the difference between Old English and Early Modern English.

It’s early Modern English. Like my mother, it annoys me when people add a “thee” or a “thou” and think they are speaking Old English. Nope. Not.

The Old English period (450-1100s) is followed by Middle English (1150–1500), Early Modern English (1500–1650) and finally Modern English (after 1650), and in Scotland Early Scots (before 1450), Middle Scots (c. 1450–1700) and Modern Scots (after 1700).

Now, of course, there is no specific year in which everyone got together and said, “Hey! It’s 1183, let’s stop sounding like Barbarians and switch to Middle English!”

There was evolution, overlap, and pockets of older speech remained in isolated areas. Some of those pockets died out, some caught up with the dominant language, and some evolved into their own separate languages.

We do have examples of text which have been carried across the years to us, and have preserved the changes. one familiar example is The Lord’s Prayer.

There are many versions of The Lord’s Prayer in each era, but these will give an idea of the changes the English language has seen in the past 2000 years.

The Lord’s Prayer in Old English
Fæder ure
þu þe eart on heofonum,
si þin nama gehalgod.
Tobecume þin rice.
Gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum.
Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg.
And forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum.
And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge,
ac alys us of yfele.  Soþlice. 

The Lord’s Prayer in Middle English
Oure fadir that art in heuenes,
halewid be thi name ;
thi kyngdoom come to ;
by thi wille don in erthe as in heuene :
Ʒyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce ;
and forƷyue to vs oure dettis,
as we forƷyuen to oure dettouris ;
and lede vs not in to temptacioun,
but delyuere vs fro yuel.
Amen

The Lord’s Prayer in Early Modern English (the version I grew up with)
Our father which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come, 
Thy will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive our trespassors.
Lead us not into temptation.
But deliver us from evil.

The Lord’s Prayer in Present-Day English
Our Father in heaven, may your name be honored,
May your kingdom come,
May your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven. 
Give us our sustenance for today,
And forgive us our wrongs,
as we ourselves have forgiven our wrongdoers.
And do not lead us into doing wrong,
But deliver us from that which would lead us into wrong.

Now, if you, like me, want to give a FLAVOR of “Olden Tymes” to your speech, for cosplay, Renfaire, SCA, or what have you, then have fun with “speaking forsoothly!” Such speech be not of ein specific era, but rather an amalgamation drawn from thine own well of archaic speechcraft and presented from the mouth of thine character!

What does Old English sound like? Listen to this!

See the whole poem in Old English and Modern English by clicking this link.

This is what Old English writing looks like. This is a page from the Old English Hexateuch, depicting Miriam and the daughters of Zion playing harps to celebrate victory over Pharaoh (England, 11th century): Cotton MS Claudius B IV, f. 92v

Many Old English foods are still prepared today. If you enjoy meatballs or rissoles, you are carrying on the tradition. In a time when meat tended to be quite “toothy,” due to most of it being free range or game, mincing it up fine to cook made it more tender, juicy, and allowed an assortment of vegetables and various scrapings from previous meals to be incorporated. Here is a basic method for rissole.

Rissole

  • meat
  • parsley
  • onion
  • garlic
  • vegetables
  • eggs
  • milk
  • breadcrumbs
  • gravy

Mince everything fine and blend all except the gravy, one egg, milk, and breadcrumbs together well. Of course, if you have LOTS of breadcrumbs, you can use some to stretch the meat mix. Make balls of the mix and then flatten them a bit. Mix together one of the eggs with some milk. Soak the flattened meatballs in the mix, then remove and roll in the breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil until browned. If you will serve them dry with the gravy over, then continue to cook through. If they will be simmered in the gravy, do so as soon as they are browned so that they finish cooking in the gravy, lest they overcook and toughen.

Be that as it may, here is a lovely page from the British Museum on how to create a medieval English feast.

Do you like our header image? Learn more about the Web Gallery of Art at this link.

For early updates, to see how we are coming on the books, to support our work, and to talk story, join our Patreon community by clicking here!

Posted on

Haymakers’ Harvest Beef

Image illustrating hay harvest in England 19th Century

A recipe from Shipton-under-Wichwood, Oxfordshire, England

Image: Farmers Haymaking With Horse And Cart, Wilson Hepple (1854-1937)

by Geraldine Duncan

Serves 4 to 6

This old time recipe is typical of the fare gracing the table at harvest time. Haymaking was heavy and hard work, producing prodigious appetites, particularly when you consider that the harvesters worked from sunup to after sunset. It was essential to get the hay in before the rains came. This hearty dish could be left on the back of the stove to cook, leaving overworked hands free to prepare breads, pies, cakes and other item needed for the harvest-time table.

  • 1 beef roast (3 to 4 pounds if boneless, 4 ½ to 5 pounds, bone in)
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
  • 2 tablespoons dry mustard powder
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 1 tablespoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 or 4 strips of bacon, diced, or about a cup of diced bacon scraps
  • 1 or 2 large yellow onions, diced
  • 1 or 2 carrots, diced
  • 1 stalk of celery, diced
  • 2 cups Home Made beef broth (or 1, 14 ½ ounce can of commercial)
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce   
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 tablespoon pickling spice
  • 2 carrots, cut into half-inch pieces
  • 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into half-inch pieces
  • 2 to 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into one inch chunks
  • 10 to 12 small boiling onions, peeled
  • About ½ pound of small button mushrooms
  • Salt and fresh, coarse ground black pepper to taste
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley

Pre-heat the oven to 325°. Mix the thyme, mustard, salt, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, paprika, sugar, and flour together and rub into all sides of the beef, massaging it well to work it into the meat. Leave sit for at least an hour. In a large heavy ovenproof dish with a tight fitting lid, gently sauté the bacon over a moderate heat until it releases most of its fat. Do not allow to become crisp. Add the diced onions, carrots, and celery and gently sauté until evenly coated with the bacon fat and soft but not browned, two to three minutes. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Place the beef in the pot, turn the heat up and sear, (brown) the meat on all sides. Return the sautéed vegetables to the pot. Pour in the broth and add the bay leaves. Put the pickling spice in a large tea ball or tie them in a square of cheesecloth and add to the pot. Cut a circle of brown paper from a grocery bag that is about an inch larger than the opening of the pot. Rub it with oil on both sides and lay on top of the pot, pushing the edges down so that they do not hang over the edge of the pot. Cover with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven. Leave undisturbed two and one-half to three hours. Remove the lid and paper and test for doneness. The meat should be fork tender. Place the carrots, parsnip, potatoes, boiling onions and mushrooms around the meat, return the lid and cook for another thirty minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the meat and vegetables to a serving plate. Skim off as much fat as possible from the pan juices. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Stir in the parsley and serve in a separate dish to be spooned over each serving.

In the northern hemisphere, the full moon nearest the Autumn Equinox, usually around September twenty first, rises earlier than it does the rest of the year. This fortunate occurrence made it possible for the harvesters to work late into the night, therefore making the race against the rains a bit easier; and so it was called “The Harvest Moon.”