Old English Student Society KNA UJ

Today we had the pleasure of hosting our first Old English Student Session!
The meeting turned out to be a fascinating academic adventure. We thank all of our wonderful speakers!
Justyna Kiełkowicz, Hubert Kasperowicz, Justyna Siwierska, Seweryn Zuzanna, Ania Styszko, Natasza Marzec, Ania Szymańska :)

Come and join us! We are starting soon!

Join our Fyrd! Our first meeting this semester is this Saturday! This year, we begin with an intensive Old English workshop. After this workshop you will be able to jump straight into translating Old English texts with us!
Also, if you are interested in joining us this year, come to this meeting to learn about our planned activieties and events this year. Feel free to share your ideas as well!
We are hoping to see you there :)

OESS meetings
SUMMER SEMESTER 2021/2022
Wednesdays 19:30

Hwaet :) Join our FYRD :) We're here right now:
[email protected]/1636999258379?context=%7B%22Tid%22:%22eb0e26eb-bfbe-47d2-9e90-ebd2426dbceb%22,%22Oid%22:%225699d374-14c8-407d-b2e5-fc9f2bfc52f7%22%7D" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19:[email protected]/1636999258379?context=%7B%22Tid%22:%22eb0e26eb-bfbe-47d2-9e90-ebd2426dbceb%22,%22Oid%22:%225699d374-14c8-407d-b2e5-fc9f2bfc52f7%22%7D

Join conversation

Hwaet :)
Who is brave enough to join us this week? :)

Hwaet!
We are sharing our meeting plans for the upcoming two months :)
There will be 3 meetings before the exam session, and then we are going to take a short break because of the exams.

In March we will also be returning with the next MeadCall :)
See you there!

We're waiting for YOU :)
Mead Calls!
Dr Jacek Olesiejko is going to talk about "Women’s agency in the political world of Beowulf"

Join us!

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3a851a94c345a5418aa0d936377de4d1ae%40thread.tacv2/1608055956021?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22eb0e26eb-bfbe-47d2-9e90-ebd2426dbceb%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225699d374-14c8-407d-b2e5-fc9f2bfc52f7%22%7d

Join conversation

Hwaet!
Please feel very warmly invited to participate in our second MeadCall. This time we will have the pleasure of listening to a lecture by dr Jacek Olesiejko from Adam Mickiewicz University.
Please join us! (If you are struggling with joining/participating, there is a separate post with solutions!)
**
"Women’s agency in the political world of Beowulf"

The presentation will discuss Hildeburh, Wealhtheow and Grendel’s Mother as women, whose presence and agency, whether textual (Hildeburh’s) or real (Wealhtheow’s and Grendel’s Mother’s), provides an important perspective on the political world of Heorot where a conflict over succession is looming large. The discussion will investigate the concept of peace-weaver (freoðuwebbe, Beowulf, line 1942) that refers to only one of the queens described in Beowulf, Modthrytho/Fremu and, by extension, has often been used to describe Hildeburh and Weahtheow as peace-weavers and present Grendel’s Mother as a monstrous inversion of the idea.

MeadCalls are coming!
Our next meeting is on December 15! Last time many people were struggling with the technical side of joining the team, so this time we will be trying to help you participate as much as possible.
Currently there will be 5 possible ways to join the team:
1) (Works best if you are from UJ) Use this code: kkifn1e
2) (Works best if you are from UJ) Use this link: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a851a94c345a5418aa0d936377de4d1ae%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=041eb5ff-7f22-4ae3-94e7-08bf4d8fe685&tenantId=eb0e26eb-bfbe-47d2-9e90-ebd2426dbceb
3) (Works for everyone) Fill in this registration form to let us know tha tyou would like to join:
https://forms.gle/o1PVMZvSbWF8AjqDA
4) (Works for everyone) When the meeting starts on MS Teams, we will post a link to the videocall on FB. You will just need to click, and voila!
5) If nothing works, please send us an e-mail at: [email protected]

We have discovered that MS Teams is a vicious monster with a peculiar digestive system, and it takes a moment for it to digest the fact that you were added to the team. Please make sure to try to join a bit earlier before the meeting.

Please remember that the meetings are on MS Teams (at least for now), so it would be best if you had the app downloaded.

We hope to see you there!

Hwaet :)
Ready for a tiny workshop? See you tomorrow!

Hwaet!
Here is a brief plan of our December meetings.
Please remember that it is never too late to join us!
Join us on MS Teams (code: qqyneu4) or send us an e-mail at [email protected] if you would like to join us but your MS Teams turned into an evil monster preventing you from accessing our team!
See you there!

MeadCalls - first meeting :)
Please join us here: https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3a851a94c345a5418aa0d936377de4d1ae%40thread.tacv2/1606215683441?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%22eb0e26eb-bfbe-47d2-9e90-ebd2426dbceb%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%225699d374-14c8-407d-b2e5-fc9f2bfc52f7%22%7d

Join conversation

Dear All,
If anyone is experiencing problems with joining our MeadCalls meeting today, here are two more ways of joining us on MS Teams:
1) Please try whether this link works for you:
https://teams.microsoft.com/l/team/19%3a851a94c345a5418aa0d936377de4d1ae%40thread.tacv2/conversations?groupId=041eb5ff-7f22-4ae3-94e7-08bf4d8fe685&tenantId=eb0e26eb-bfbe-47d2-9e90-ebd2426dbceb
2) If both the code from the poster and the link above do not work, please send us a short e-mail at [email protected] and provide us with the e-mail address you use to log in to MS Teams. We will make sure to add you to the meeting.

See you tonight!

Hwaet!
We are trying to bring Anglo-Saxonists together in a virtual Meadhall with our new online project: MeadCalls!
Please join us for our first meeting next week!

We are happy to announce that our first guest is dr Łukasz Neubauer who is going to speak about Boromir, Beowulf, Sutton Hoo and The Lord of the Rings.

Hwaet! Zapraszamy 🙂
https://fb.me/e/fVrsb8BdT
Link do grupy MS Teams: https://fb.me/e/fVrsb8BdT

see you tomorrow at 16:30, room 40a, Ingardena 3!

For all the Old English lovers out there, this is the tshirt for you :)

Designed by Christopher Machir

Male version: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/stevethevagabond/eald+englisc-A110468891

Female version:
https://shop.spreadshirt.com/stevethevagabond/eald+englisc-A110468890

Today we celebrate the birthday of Elizabeth Elstob, the first female Anglo-Saxonist.

Elizabeth was born in late 17th century in Newcastle upon Tyne. She was educated at home by her uncle, who didn't think women should know more than one language, but allowed Elizabeth to learn French and Latin. The first encounter with Anglo-Saxons Elizabeth owes to her brother William who introduced her to the community of Anglo-Saxonists.
Elizabeth learned Old English on her own and soon started to work on the history and culture of medieval Britain. Middle Ages were not considered a worthy subject at the time, and for a woman to be researching it was almost completely unheard of.
The first book Elizabeth published on the Anglo-Saxons was the English-Saxon Homily on the Birthday of St Gregory (1709) - a translation and edition of a 10th century work by Ælfric of Eynsham. The book is beautifully illustrated, and contains a dedication to Queen Anne and a 60 page preface, where she makes an argument for the education of women. The book gains 286 subscribers; 116 of them are women.

The most important work by Elizabeth Elstob is undoubtedly The Rudiments of Grammar for the English-Saxon Tongue (1715) - first ever grammar of Old English written in (modern) English - up to that point, all Anglo-Saxon grammars had been written in Latin. Again, the preface is a manifest; this time, Elizabeth argues with none other than Jonathan Swift, defending the study of ancient languages against his accusations (some sources claim that after reading the preface, Swift never spoke a bad word about philology again).

Her opus magnum, an edition and translation of Ælfric's Homilies, was never finished. The notes and fragments of the manuscript are now kept in the British Library.

After her brother's sudden death Elizabeth was left with no income and was forced to move to the country, where she lived for the rest of her life.

In her study of Old English Elizabeth saw a solution for the problems and divisions in the English society; she believed that by exposing a common past of great rulers and ancient language, the people of England can unite and see past their differences to finally live in peace.

It just so happens that for the past few years OESS has been exclusively female - we think of Elizabeth as something of a OESS patron saint/fairy godmother. We strongly recommend reading her books, or even just the prefaces to gain an understanding of the fight she was fighting as a woman in a field dominated by men, which was also considered unworthy of any attention from scholars. The illustrations are worth looking at too (they're part of the reason why she was left penniless after her brother's death; they spent all their money on publishing their books).

Happy birthday to Elizabeth Elstob. Celebrate by redefining what it means to be an Anglo-Saxon scholar.

We certainly don't have £400 just laying around, but if someone did... well, let's just say KNA r e a l l y needs this in our library :D

It doesn't get much better than Alan Lee illustrating Anglo-Saxon poetry.

Alan Lee on illustrating the Folio limited edition of The Wanderer Alan Lee is the most celebrated living illustrator of myth and fantasy: a recipient of the Kate Greenaway Medal; the Tolkien estate’s artist-of-choice for ov...

Thank you for participating in both the conference and the social events.
The atmosphere would warm even the Seafarer's cold, cold feet.

We're taking a couple of days off, but plans and preparations for the 7th OESC have already started 😃

We're still in a state of slight disbelief that the 6th OESC is already over (it's this strange feeling of not knowing what to do with all the free time you suddenly have :P). We spoke of tales, and of tellers; some of us turned out to be great storytellers themselves. We discussed the universal human need for telling and hearing stories, and the way they are told.

We would like to thank all our special guests for their fascinating talks, valuable comments, willingness to always help and expand our knowledge, and their continued support.
To all student speakers - presenting your research and interests in front of such an audience takes a great deal of bravery. You deserve all the credit (our first time speakers especially!).
To our staff - without you OESC would not exist at all. We cannot thank you enough for all your hard work!

It's been a great honour to have hosted you in Kraków. We cannot wait for the next edition.
The theme may or may not have something to do with fantastic creatures...🐉🐳🐪🐺🦅

Mid miclum lufe,
Old English Student Society KNA UJ

Happy Pi Day! Yes, we know this day is usually celebrated by mathematicians and physicists, but we think historical linguists have a reason for celebration too!

See, the symbol for the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter, π, was introduced by William Jones, the mathematician.

The idea that there must have been a proto-language predating all Indo-European languages, today known as PIE, was put forward by William Jones, the philologist.

Who was the son of William Jones, the mathematician.

So, happy PIE day! Celebrate by looking up the reconstructions for 'circle', 'father' and 'son', and trying not to choke on laryngeals 🎉🎊

don't miss it!

🤔Is it possible for Beowulf and Shakespeare to meet?
How do we go about reading medieval manuscripts?
How did the Anglo-Saxons bury their dead?
Could scops and scribes coexist?
What exactly was the role of a scop?
What's the deal with dual pronouns in the Old English Genesis?

If you want to find out the answers to these questions, make sure you stop by Kolegium Nowodworskiego this Monday and Tuesday for ⚔️ the 6th Old English Student Conference!⚔️
We are waiting for you with two hands-on workshops, two plenary lectures, two guest papers and ten student presentations by students and scholars from all over the country (and beyond 😉).

For programme and more details head to Old English Student Conference

Who needs stæfcræft when you can have grammar?

(from Old French gramaire, late 14th century)

From Alexander

Quick reminder: you have until the end of January to sign up for the 6th OESC volunteer team!

There are only a few spots left ;)

6th OESC Volunteer Form Hi! Thank you for being willing to help us organize the 6th Old English Student Conference. Please fill in this form so that we know what you'd like to help out with. We will send you information about your team assignment and your team coordinator details as soon as we can :)

Hwaet!

Today we celebrate the 126th birthday of J.R.R. Tolkien - a great Anglo-Saxon scholar, our patron saint, fanboy extraordinaire, and a role model for many of us. Celebrate by speaking in riddles, destroying suspicious jewellery in high temperatures, and translating your writings into Old English (and then in the darkness binding them. But that's optional).

Happy birthday, professor!

The last OESS meeting before Christmas was spent on weird genitives, Ælfric's Sermon on Nativity, eating way too many cookies (thanks Ola! they were delicious!) and singing Viking themed carols 🎅😊

Remember that we are waiting until 28th December for your abstracts for Old English Student Conference 🙂

Happy Christmas!🎄

Make yourself a cup of tea and listen to a tale of a terrible, terrible beast.
🐳🐳🐳

"The Whale [all] \u00ab Anglo Saxon Aloud" "A daily reading of the entire Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records,which includes all poems written in Old English. By Michael D. C. Drout, Prentice Professor of English at Wheaton College, Norton, MA."