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Text 2

Our second boundary clause uses the same basic structure as L142.2.00 (the example text in Putting it into Practice 1), but adds some other terms, and when you can recognise these you’ll be able to cope with the structure of most boundary clauses written in Old English. Don’t forget that ‘þ’ and ‘ð’ are pronounced as ‘th’.

Here's the text:

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on ða brodan stret . þanon on ðone rescihtan garan . of þam garan on ða mær aac on stan beorge . þanon on þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . of þam beorge on ðone ealde weg . of þam wege in <ŧ> riði . þanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . þanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . þanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on ðone ealdan broc . of þam broce on buntinge dic . þanon on wynes wyrðe . swa on þone grenan garan . þonon on <ŧ> riði . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig on fif acan . þonon on ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . þanon in ðene broc 7lang streames . of þam streame on rysc healas middewearde on þene blacan broc . þonon on ðene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on þa lytle riðig . of þam riðige æft on ulan wylle .

STAGE 1

Highlighted in red are the words which you can already translate:

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on ða brodan stret . þanon on ðone rescihtan garan . of þam garan on ða mær aac on stan beorge . þanon on þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . of þam beorge on ðone ealde weg . of þam wege in <ŧ> riði . þanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . þanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . þanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on ðone ealdan broc . of þam broce on buntinge dic . þanon on wynes wyrðe . swa on þone grenan garan . þonon on <ŧ> riði . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig on fif acan . þonon on ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . þanon in ðene broc 7lang streames . of þam streame on rysc healas middewearde on þene blacan broc . þonon on ðene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on þa lytle riðig . of þam riðige æft on ulan wylle .

Here are some new terms:

You will find the word 'andlang' spelled in different ways, depending on the date of the text or the manuscript, or on where the boundary comes from. This text uses onlong and 7lang, but they all represent the same word and should be translated as ‘along’.

Here are the new words highlighted in green:

Note: the short form for 'þæt' (called crossed thorn) may not display in colour on your screen

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on ða brodan stret . þanon on ðone rescihtan garan . of þam garan on ða mær aac on stan beorge . þanon on þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . of þam beorge on ðone ealde weg . of þam wege in <ŧ> riði . þanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . þanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . þanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on ðone ealdan broc . of þam broce on buntinge dic . þanon on wynes wyrðe . swa on þone grenan garan . þonon on <ŧ> riði . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig on fif acan . þonon on ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . þanon in ðene broc 7lang streames . of þam streame on rysc healas middewearde on þene blacan broc . þonon on ðene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on þa lytle riðig . of þam riðige æft on ulan wylle .

So we can now translate all these words in the text (notice that Old English 'on' can be translated as 'to', but also as 'on'):

Ærest from ulan wyllan to osland mære . from osland mære along mores to ða brodan stret . thence to ðone rescihtan garan . from þam garan to ða mær aac on stan beorge . thence to þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . from þam beorge to ðone ealde weg . from þam wege into <ŧ> riði . thence to ederes broc . so upp to heort ford . thence fif gemære . so to fearn lege . thence to feala mæres broc . until thus to ðone ealdan broc . from þam broce to buntinge dic . thence to wynes wyrðe . so to þone grenan garan . thence to <ŧ> riði . so æft to feala mæres broc . along streames to sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig to fif acan . thence to ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . thence into ðene broc along streames . from þam streame to rysc healas middewearde to þene blacan broc . thence to ðene ealdan broc . along broces mid streame to þa lytle riðig . from þam riðige æft to ulan wylle .

STAGE 2

Most boundary clauses start with the word Ærest ‘first’ and many end with a phrase beginning with the word eft (sometimes spelled æft) ‘back’; you’ll find this word very near but not right at the end of the boundary clause.

New words:

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on ða brodan stret . þanon on ðone rescihtan garan . of þam garan on ða mær aac on stan beorge . þanon on þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . of þam beorge on ðone ealde weg . of þam wege in <ŧ> riði . þanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . þanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . þanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on ðone ealdan broc . of þam broce on buntinge dic . þanon on wynes wyrðe . swa on þone grenan garan . þonon on <ŧ> riði . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig on fif acan . þonon on ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . þanon in ðene broc 7lang streames . of þam streame on rysc healas middewearde on þene blacan broc . þonon on ðene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on þa lytle riðig . of þam riðige æft on ulan wylle .

This boundary in fact has the word æft also in the middle of the text. This is because the boundary returns to a brook which it has been along before (‘feala mæres broc’ from the line above). It now returns back to it - 'æft on feala mæres broc’.

Here are those words translated:

First from ulan wyllan to osland mære . from osland mære along mores to ða brodan stret . thence to ðone rescihtan garan . from þam garan to ða mær aac on stan beorge . thence to þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . from þam beorge to ðone ealde weg . from þam wege into <ŧ> riði . thence to ederes broc . swa upp to heort ford . thence fif gemære . so to fearn lege . thence to feala mæres broc . until thus to ðone ealdan broc . from þam broce to buntinge dic . thence to wynes wyrðe . so to þone grenan garan . thence to <ŧ> riði . so back to feala mæres broc . along streames to sceann forde . thence to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig to fif acan . thence to ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . thence in ðene broc along streames . from þam streame to rysc healas middewearde to þene blacan broc . thence to ðene ealdan broc . along broces mid streame to þa lytle riðig . from þam riðige back to ulan wylle .

STAGE 3

The next step is to recognize those many (and horrible-looking) words which Old English has for the word the. There are over a hundred different spellings (or mis-spellings) in our material. Here they are!

se, seo, sio, tha, tham, than, thar, the, thene, theo, ther, there, thone, ða, ðaere, ðaes, ðam, ðan, ðana, ðane, ðara, ðare, ðaræ, ðem, ðen, ðene, ðeo, ðera, ðere, ðes, ði, ðies, ðire, ðo, ðon, ðone, ðonæ, ðy, ðæ, ðæm, ðæn, ðæne, ðæra, ðære, ðæs, þa, þ, þaem, þaen, þaene, þaera, þaere, þaes, þai, þam, þan, þane, þanæ, þara, þare, þares, þaræ, þðet, þe, þefre, þem, þen, þene, þeo, þera, þere, þes, þi, þiere, þio, þo, þom, þona, þone, þonæ, þrara, þues, þæet, þæm, þæn, þæne, þæra, þære, þæren, þæræ, þæs, da, dam, dan, dara, dare, daræ, dære, <ŧ>

Fortunately, every one of them can simply be translated by the word ‘the’, so all you have to do is recognize them. Again, fortunately, this is much easier than might appear, since they tend to come where you’d expect them. This stage highlights all the words for ‘the’. In fact you may have wondered why two of the three <ŧ>s in the text were left unhighlighted when dealing with <ŧ> as ‘so that, until’ above.

This is because the Old English word þæt can be either ‘so that/thence/until’ but it can also just be the word for ‘the’. This is not so different from modern English ‘that’ which can have several meanings - eg. ‘The boundary that runs to the sea? Yes, that boundary. That’s odd. It’s odd that it runs to the sea?’ It doesn’t worry us in modern English and it shouldn’t be a problem in the Old English - the context gives the meaning.

Highlighted in red here are all the words you already know, and those in bold are the words for ‘the’:

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on ða brodan stret . þanon on ðone rescihtan garan . of þam garan on ða mær aac on stan beorge . þanon on þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . of þam beorge on ðone ealde weg . of þam wege in <ŧ> riði . þanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . þanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . þanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on ðone ealdan broc . of þam broce on buntinge dic . þanon on wynes wyrðe . swa on þone grenan garan . þonon on <ŧ> riði . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig on fif acan . þonon on ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . þanon in ðene broc 7lang streames . of þam streame on rysc healas middewearde on þene blacan broc . þonon on ðene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on þa lytle riðig . of þam riðige æft on ulan wylle .

So that daunting-looking text from a few paragraphs back is now at least approachable:

First from ulan wyllan to osland mære . from osland mære along mores to the brodan stret . thence to the rescihtan garan . from the garan to the mær aac on stan beorge . thence to the lytle dic . on stan beorge . from the beorge to the ealde weg . from the wege into the riði . thence to ederes broc . so upp to heort ford . thence fif gemære . so to fearn lege . thence to feala mæres broc . until thus to the ealdan broc . from the broce to buntinge dic . thence to wynes wyrðe . so to the grenan garan . thence to the riði . so back to feala mæres broc . along streames to sceann forde . thence to the ryðie . ðwyres ofer the ridig to fif acan . thence to ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . thence into the broc along streames . from the streame to rysc healas middewearde to the blacan broc . thence to the ealdan broc . along broces mid streame to the lytle riðig . from the riðige back to ulan wylle .

Have a look at boundaries L78.0.0 and L115.0.0 which have a similar structure. Then browse a random selection of texts to see if you can find similar ones. (NB The text we are currently looking at is a 12th century copy, the only surviving version we have of this boundary clause, and this is typical of our material. Some scribes copied very carefully, but others updated spellings, introduced Middle English words or couldn't read the writing very well and made copying errors. So if you come across a nasty one, see if you can at least make out some basic key-words before browsing on to an easier-looking one - if you can tell the difference you have already come a long way)

STAGE 4

Back to this text, and you can now start to look at what this text means and find that you’ve already done the hard bit. What remain are the boundary points and one or two other directional terms. Let’s deal with these first. You’ll be able to spot the words for ‘up’ and for ‘over’. Then there are two more here - the nasty-looking ‏’þwyres’ which means ‘transversely’, and is not worth learning (if you come across it, just look it up in the dictionary). More recognisable are ufeweardne ‘upwards’ and middewearde ‘middlewards’ and mid ‘mid’, but again easily looked up when you come across them.

These new words are highlighted in pink.

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on ða brodan stret . þanon on ðone rescihtan garan . of þam garan on ða mær aac on stan beorge . þanon on þa lytle dic . on stan beorge . of þam beorge on ðone ealde weg . of þam wege in <ŧ> riði . þanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . þanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . þanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on ðone ealdan broc . of þam broce on buntinge dic . þanon on wynes wyrðe . swa on þone grenan garan . þonon on <ŧ> riði . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . þonan to þam ryðie . ðwyres ofer ðene ridig on fif acan . þonon on ceoldryðe bece ufeweardne . þanon in ðene broc 7lang streames . of þam streame on rysc healas middewearde on þene blacan broc . þonon on ðene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on þa lytle riðig . of þam riðige æft on ulan wylle .

And with the thorns and eths replaced by ‘th’:

Ærest of ulan wyllan on osland mære . of osland mære onlong mores on tha brodan stret . thanon on thone rescihtan garan . of tham garan on tha mær aac on stan beorge . thanon on tha lytle dic . on stan beorge . of tham beorge on thone ealde weg . of tham wege in <ŧ> rithi . thanon on ederes broc . swa upp on heort ford . thanon fif gemære . swa on fearn lege . thanon on feala mæres broc . <ŧ> swa on thone ealdan broc . of tham broce on buntinge dic . thanon on wynes wyrthe . swa on thone grenan garan . thanon on <ŧ> rithi . swa æft on feala mæres broc . onlong streames on sceann forde . thonan to tham rythie . thwyres ofer thene ridig on fif acan . thonon on ceoldrythe bece ufeweardne . thanon in thene broc 7lang streames . of tham streame on rysc healas middewearde on thene blacan broc . thonon on thene ealdan broc . onlong broces mid streame on tha lytle rithig . of tham rithige æft on ulan wylle .

Now everything not highlighted is a boundary point, and you can either Return to the previous text's place-names, or, if you have already looked at these, work on from here.

LOOKING AT THE PLACE-NAMES 2

In this exercise, you can choose to see the words in the order in which they appear in the text See words in order or jumbled up for you to find for yourself Find the words

With all this in mind, see if you can translate the boundary.

Then go to the glossed/translated version L79.0.00.

If this Tutorial has helped you to approach the texts in such a way that you want to alter the LangScape translations, or modify or add potential lemmas, then it will have served its purpose.