THE DICTIONARY AND PRIMER SCRIPTORIUM is a growing collection of dictionaries and primers on various antiquated languages such as Anglo-Saxon, Anglish Danish, Norse Danish, Norse Norwegian and Icelandic, Greenlander Norse and, of course, Newfoundland Anglish Danish. The books are now public domain and no longer subject to copyright protection. More books shall be added as time warrants, but the headings of some are listed even though the books have yet to be located or are not presently Public Domain. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE ANY TITLES COMPLETED FIRST LEAVE A REQUEST FOR THE TITLE IN THE COMMENTS PAGE.

Note: This website is about Vikings and Varangians and the way they lived over a thousand years ago. The content is as explicit as Vikings of that time were and scenes of violence and sexuality are depicted without reservation or apology. Reader discretion is advised.

LESSONS FROM SWEET’S ANGLO-SAXON PRIMER:

“The oldest stage of English before the Norman Conquest is called ‘Old English,’ which name will be used throughout in this Book, although the name ‘Anglo-Saxon’ is still often used.

There were several dialects of Old English. This book deals only with the West-Saxon dialect in its earliest form.”

[The West Saxon dialect referred to above is the Wessex Dialect of King Alfred the Great and was used in his literary works.  It is based on the Low German Saxon language from northwest Germany and is now a dead language, preserved essentially in the works of King Alfred.  The Several Dialects referred to above would be Anglish Danish, a Low German language from Jutland, Denmark (Skioldung Danish) which has not been preserved because it is the language that survived and morphed from Old Anglish into Middle English and, as a living evolving language, nobody thought it necessary to preserve it.  A third dialect was likely the Jutish of the Jutes from northern Jutland, which may have some presence in Middle English but is likely lost.  Much of the above is still proving out, but the idea that Anglo-Saxon was a compromised language between the northern Angles and the southern Saxons is just so much, as the English are wont to say, rubbish.  The languages, both being low German, were compatible, but the Angles and the Saxons were not.  Historically, they fought all the time.  In 1013 AD, King Sweyn ‘Forkbeard’ of Anglish Denmark (aka Prince Svein ‘the Old’ of Kiev) conquered England and it was ruled by his son, King Canute ‘the Great’ (aka Grand Prince Valdamar ‘the Great’ of Kiev) and his sons until 1042 AD.  By this time, Anglish had become the predominant dialect and Saxon had died out.  Over 80 % of the Vikings that attacked England between 793 and 1016 AD were Anglish Danish Vikings from Jutland who spoke an Anglish dialect that was very similar to their Anglish cousins in England.] 

Most Vikings of the Viking Period spoke Anglish, the language that morphed into Middle English, so when William Shakespeare wrote Hamlet in 1500 AD about the Danish Prince Amleth from Saxo’s Danish History, he was writing it in a language that the Danish prince may very well have spoken.

When I studied Anglo-Saxon at University in 1982 we used Sweet’s Ninth Edition and I remember our Professor lamenting that it covered only Saxon, the dead Saxon of King Alfred and he couldn’t understand why it didn’t cover the Anglish we spoke. Looking back on it now, I realize that it is the dead language that get’s recorded for posterity, while the living, evolving language just morphs on into the future. But it is important that we get it right. Those that do not study their history are doomed to repeat it, and that goes for those who study a false narrative of their history. We do not want to repeat the historical path that we have been on. Let us build a better future on a solid foundation of historical truth.