1885 The Oldest English Texts by Henry Sweet - Antique Book

In excellent condition, here is an antique first edition copy of The Oldest English Texts by Henry Sweet. It was published in 1885 for the Early English Text Society (Volume 83) by N. Trübner & Co. in London. Very well- bound with a leather tooled spine. More details below.

A monumental academic volume edited by the famous philologist and linguist Henry Sweet. The book is widely considered the foundational work that put the study of early English historical linguistics on a truly scientific basis.

Instead of narrative literature like Beowulf, this volume is famous for capturing the absolute earliest, rawest "scraps" of the English language—primarily archaic, non-West Saxon dialects (such as Mercian and Northumbrian).

The book features:
Early Glossaries: Essential early repositories of English vocabulary, such as the famous Épinal-Erfurt Glossary (7th or 8th century) and the Corpus Glossary (early 9th century).
Psalter Glosses: Interlinear translations written between the lines of Latin text, including the Blickling Psalter and the Vespasian Psalter.
Legal and Historical Records: Early Anglo-Saxon charters, official genealogies, and fragments of ancient text.
Meticulous Material: The book contains the original Old English text, historical introductions, and a comprehensive glossary, but no modern English translations. Sweet expected his readers to parse the ancient language directly.

Today, the 1885 volume remains a crucial resource for historical linguists tracing the evolution of English grammar and phonology from its Germanic roots.

The "Father" of Modern Phonetics: Henry Sweet was a brilliant scholar who is often cited as the real-life inspiration for the character of Henry Higgins in George Bernard Shaw's play Pygmalion (which later became My Fair Lady). His exactness with sounds made this book incredibly accurate regarding early English spelling variants.

Inside the pages are clean, bright and tightly bound. Marbled endpapers. Has a prize book plate to the front paste down dated 1889, but no other inscriptions or markings of previous ownership. All outside edges are tinted red.

With a calf-leather spine and brown floral patterned cloth to the boards. The spine has five raised bands - with stamped decoration to bands and in the compartments. Black leather title plate and gilt titles. Has rubbing to the leather corner pieces and the spine extremities.

Your antique copy of The Oldest English Texts will be wrapped with care in tissue and ribbon* and sent well packaged. I am always happy to add a gift card with a message to the parcel.

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H 23.5 cm x W 15.5 cm, 668 pages, 1.21 kg.

* If you would prefer for your book not to be decoratively wrapped and sent simply in the full protective packaging, please add a note to the order.

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