Bide Nu Æt Gode Þæt Ic Grecisc Cunne: Attitudes to Greek and the Greeks in the Anglo-Saxon Period
The Greeks were one of those outgroups to whom the Anglo-Saxons had reasons to look up to, because of the antiquity of their culture and the sanctity of their language, along those of the Hebrews and the Romans. Yet as a language Greek was practically unknown for most of the Anglo-Saxon period and c...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2016-12-01
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| Series: | Studia Anglica Posnaniensia |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/stap-2016-0007 |
| Summary: | The Greeks were one of those outgroups to whom the Anglo-Saxons had reasons to look up to, because of the antiquity of their culture and the sanctity of their language, along those of the Hebrews and the Romans. Yet as a language Greek was practically unknown for most of the Anglo-Saxon period and contact with its native speakers and country extremely limited. Nevertheless, references to the Greeks and their language are not uncommon in the Anglo-Saxon sources (both Latin and vernacular), as a little less than 200 occurrences in the Dictionary of Old English (s.v. grecisc) testify. |
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| ISSN: | 0081-6272 2082-5102 |