Learn Old English with Leofwin: mīn cynn

ðis is mīn

wīf, Golde

ēalā! Leofwine

is mīn ceorl

hēo is mīn dōhtor

and ðis is Foxtægele ðis is Clūfweart

hīe sind ūre

ealdor

ic hāte Clūfweart, and ðis

is mīn brōðor, Foxtægele

ic hāte Foxtægele, and ðis is mīn

sweostor, Clūfweart

Clūfweart and

Foxtægele

sind ūre bearn

wesað gē hāle,

gehwā!

ēalā! Ic hāte

Leofwine

hē is mīn sunu

Leofwine is ūre fæder,

and Golde is ūre mōdor

Answer these questions - check below for vocabulary if necessary:

hwā is ðis?

and hwā is ðis?

hwā is Leofwines wīf? hwā is Clūfweartes fæder? hwā is Foxtaegeles sweostor?

ēalā!! ic eom Leofwine! ic eom ðrītig gear eald. Golde is mīn wīf. hēo is nigon and twentig gear eald. Ic hæbbe tū bearn, Foxtaegele and Clufweart. Foxtaegele is cnapa, and Clūfweart is mægð. ēalā!! ic eom Golde! ic eom nigon and twentig gear eald. Leofwine is mīn ceorl. hē is ðrītig gear eald. Foxtaegele and Clūfweart sind ūre bearn. ēalā!! ic eom Clūfweart! ic eom tyn gear eald. ic hæbbe ān brōðor, Foxtae-gele. Leofwine and Golde sind mīne ealdor. Leofwine is wer, and Golde is cwēn.

ēalā!! ic eom Foxtaegele! ic eom eahta gear eald. ic hæbbe sweostor, Clūf-weart. Leofwine is mīn fæder, and Golde is mīn mōdor. wē hæbban ēac hund. Hē hāteð Hæleð. saga ‘ēalā’, Hæleð! WUF!

nb You may have noticed that when Clufweart speaks about her parents, she says ‘mīne’, not ‘mīn’. The extra ‘e’ is an example of an ending, and OE is full of them! They show what job a word is doing in a sentence. More of them later on.

ic eom… ic hāte… hwā? ðis is… wer cwēn cnapa mægð ēalā!

I am… I’m called… who? this is… man woman boy girl hello!

Vocabulary

ceorl wīf mōdor fæder sunu dohtor sweostor brōðor mīn cynn

husband wife mother father son daughter sister brother my family

wesað gē hāle gehwā hund ēac saga bearn ealdor ðe is.. mīn, mīne ūre

be well everybody dog also say children parent(s) who is… my our

© COPYRIGHT NOTICE Learn Old English with Leofwin is written and illustrated by Matt Love for Wiðowinde, journal of Đa Engliscan Gesiðas (The English Companions). Learn Old English with Leofwin may be freely photocopied entirely for educational purposes, but illustrations and text may not be extracted, separated, or reproduced for commercial gain.