A Note on 'early English'

The evolutionary history of the English language's transformation into the modern dialect of the Anglosphere is as varied as it is complex. It is a prehistory of broadly three periods: Old English, Middle English, and Early Modern English. Old English was common parlance in the years 450 to 1150 (approximately - linguistic shifts rarely occur so abruptly as historical periodisation leads us to believe). It was a Germanic language brought to southern Britain by tribes migrating from continental Europe, the spoken language of King Alfred the Great, and the written language of the epic poem Beowulf. Its vernacular is almost wholly unrecognisable to a modern English speaker, to such an extent that its meaning is not something that can be easily deciphered by the uninitiated.

Then came Middle English from 1150 onwards until 1500. This was a language steeped deeply in the shifting linguistic currents of the Norman conquest. It was a home to many francophone words and phrases which boarded the ships at Normandy with King William the Conqueror and his retinue, when they set sail for England in 1066. The first great English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer, wrote in this language. Here we find the first signs of an idiom we would recognise today - and many subsequently claim that the advent of Middle English marked an abrupt schism with the earlier period of Old English. This is the cornerstone of an argument that Old English is too isolate from Modern English to be traced lineally, in contrast to Middle and Early Modern English. It is difficult to say to what extent that is true, especially among a general public that had a low literacy rate, and which had little direct contact with those in power for much of the year. Nonetheless, it is certain that in administrative centres across the country Norman rulers imposed their language upon the English nation with little care for the old order, and perhaps deliberate intent to dismantle it. The imposition of Norman customs would have a profound influence on the evolution of the English language, distinguishing it thereafter from its Old English roots.

The final stepping stone that must be traversed before coming to Modern English is Early Modern English. The language spoken across much of Britain in the years 1500 to 1700, Early Modern English is the direct precursor to the English language spoken in the centuries leading up to and into the third millennium. It is also the most recognisable dialect within this linguistic prehistory, with many words forming a direct foundation for those we use today. The language was, however, remarkably unstandardised. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation varied wildly and often at the discretion of the writer. This makes it a difficult read for someone who is not a student of Early Modern English literature. Even so, in this period of the English language we can begin to see our modern idiom forming into its present condition.

These periods, though they might appear to be arbitrarily drawn across nice and roundly numbered years, are not an academic nicety. The changes that proliferated through the English-speaking community between each period were significant enough to ensure that a speaker from the middle of one period would have had difficulty communicating with a speaker from an adjacent period. Among this chronology, the starkest transformation occurred with the Norman invasion of England. The conquest produced a deep linguistic rift in the fabric of the English language as the new francophone vocabulary supplanted parts of the preexisting lexicon. This forcible injection stimulated tectonic shifts in grammar and delineated the evolution of English from its West Germanic roots. The English language became a compound construct, evolved from both a Germanic language and a Romance language into something new.

Translation Method

Our series of translations surveys the entirety of the above historiography for texts that are ripe for translation. A number of factors have been used to determine each selection. We have especially prioritised collections or texts which do not have a published translation into Modern English. Furthermore, we have prioritised collections that have not been previously brought together. Finally, we have also prioritised texts written by or about historically underrepresented voices - including women, ethnic and racial minorities, and others whose stories have often been overlooked.

We have sheltered this wide purview under the label of 'early English'. This is not because we think it is a more accurate term than Old English, Middle English, or Early Modern English. In fact, those terms are far more precise. We have chosen to describe this series as early English in order to possess an unadorned umbrella term with which to signal to our readership the interconnectedness of these languages - even while acknowledging the schismatic nature of the evolution of the English language. By applying a uniform modern standard to these texts, we hope to shed some light on the history of the English language. Perhaps our readers will be able to tease out a continuity of customs and ideas that is more readily visible when the documents are not presented in such different terms. We must leave that part of this endeavour up to you, however.

The purpose of this translation series is to bring early English texts into the hands of modern readers. Our philosophy in undertaking this is tripartite: fidelity to the original meaning of the text, clarity for the modern reader, and a simple style of writing. We consider it essential to pursue these three concepts because many of the texts we translate are being presented to the public in a modern vernacular for the very first time. Therefore, any subsequent use or translation into other languages is likely to echo any inaccuracies or liberties taken in our transformation of the original text into a modern document.

Textual Basis

Regardless of the pragmatism of the method, this approach puts our translation in a distinct place within the tradition of early English translations. We have elected to use a fittingly simple and modern vocabulary to translate each text. Modern readers will not be required to struggle through antiquated vocabulary and unrecognisable sentence structure to parse the words and ideas of early English writers. For perhaps the first time, a not insignificant part of the English literary corpus has been made accessible to the contemporary English-speaking public.

We believe that the foremost responsibility of a translator is to present to the reader the original intent of the author, to the fullest extent possible. We also believe that it is possible to approach this ideal, albeit imperfectly, and that it is therefore a worthwhile goal if we are to present as impartial a translation as possible. What the reader then makes of the text is entirely up to the reader. To that end, this translation will not temper or rationalise away the attitudes of the historical era in which it was written. This might mean that there are some ideas expressed that we will not agree with in our somewhat more enlightened times. Again, it is up to the reader to read these texts as part of a historical literature, rather than someone writing in the present day.

This commitment to a faithful and modern translation of the original text makes this book suitable for both study and pleasure. Any lover of literature or history will find something in these pages to savour and imbibe. A student quoting from this book can be sure that they are working with the author's original meaning in plain, contemporary English - with just as much confidence (if not more) as though they were reading from a classic translation of an ancient Greek, Roman, or Persian author.

Summarily, this translation is founded on the most recent historical and linguistic scholarship. Where uncertainty existed, we have sided with a fidelity to the original text rather than choosing a single, reductionist stance on an imagined meaning. The English used is anchored by the Oxford English Dictionary serving as its primary reference.

The Committee on Early English Text Translation