755: Old High German, 3 cr.
Prerequisites: German 651 or consent of instructor.
Howell, Lec 1 TR 11:00-12:15
The Old High German period spans over two centuries (ca. 765-ca. 1020) and yields our earliest written texts in German. This course introduces students to the history of the phonology, morphology, syntax and lexicon of Old High German and devotes considerable time to the reading of a variety of the salient Old High German texts. Students will also learn to identify texts by dialect area and age. As the semester unfolds students will also learn about research controversies and research opportunities in Old High German studies.
There will be two required midterms and a final examination. In addition students will receive a large number of exercises aimed at achieving mastery of the course material.
Texts read will include:
- Early glosses and interlinear translations
- Isidor
- Tatian
- Otfrid’s Evangelienbuch
- Muspilli
- Hildebrandslied
- Ludwigslied
- Legal texts
- Notker Labeo
Required Texts
- Braune/Ebbinhaus. Althochdeutsches Lesebuch. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.
- Braune/Refeinstein. 2004. Althochdeutsche Grammatik. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer.
