Old Frisian is an Old Germanic language, most closely related to Old English. Whereas Old English is taught and studied widely, Old Frisian seems to be a well-hidden secret, studied and taught by a just a handful of experts. To unveil some of the linguistic and historic connections between the two 'Anglo-Frisian' languages and to enable students to familiarise themselves with reading Old Frisian texts, the Old Frisian Summer School, a joint venture between the universities of Oxford and Groningen (Netherlands), will be held at Oxford from 8th-13th July 2019.
Who is the summer school for?
The summer school is aimed at students who would like to study Old Frisian in addition to their further (Old) Germanic language skills or interests. The course will be targeted at post-graduate students and be open to students and early career researchers.
What will the day programme look like?
Two lectures will be presented in the mornings by experts in the field. The afternoons will be dedicated to translation workshops and a library visit. The workshops will introduce various Old Frisian texts to be translated in small groups with the help of modern handbooks and led by experts. At the end of the week, students should be able to translate a medium level Old Frisian text by themselves with the help of appropriate handbooks.
The programme includes a tour of the Bodleian Library, a viewing of the Old Frisian manuscripts Codex Aysma and Codex Unia in the Weston Library and a tour of the Taylor Institution Library which holds the Alistair Campbell collection of Frisian books.
The programme can be found here.
Please find a list of speakers below.
Information
For further information about the summer school please contact oldfrisian@ling-phil.ox.ac.uk (for all interested) or ofss@rug.nl (for students of Groningen University).
How to apply
Please register and pay online. The online registration form can be found here. Students from Groningen University may apply directly by contacting ofss@rug.nl.
Costs
- £400 for 'early birds' who register by 30th April.
- £450 from 1st May.
Deadline for registration: 31st May.
The registration fee includes:
- Tuition
- Coffee/tea
- 3 course lunch
- Saturday social activities
For dinner/evening meals students can explore Oxford pubs or restaurants.
Accommodation
Students will have to arrange their own accommodation. Rooms in colleges may be booked via University Rooms.
Travel and Venue
Heathrow Airport is most convenient for Oxford. The Airline Bus Service to Oxford is frequent and cost-effective.
Directions from the train station
Most lectures and workshops will be held at St Edmund Hall. Information about travel to St Edmund Hall can be found here.
List of Speakers
- Prof Rolf H. Bremmer Jr., author of An Introduction to Old Frisian (2009) and Emeritus Professor of Frisian at Leiden University.
- Prof John Hines, Professor of Archeology at Cardiff University, editor of Frisians and their North Sea Neighbours: from the fifth century to the Viking Age (2017).
- Dr Patrick Stiles (UCL) researcher, published on the Anglo-Frisian thesis and more widely on Old Frisian phonology.
- Prof Nigel Palmer, Professor Emeritus of Medieval German, Oxford, author of Das Münchner Gedicht von den fünfzehn Zeichen vor dem Jüngsten Gericht (2002).
- Dr Howard Jones, Faculty of Linguistics, Oxford; Linguistics Lecturer at Keble College, specialist in Old High German.
- Dr Nelson Goering, Faculty of Linguistics, Oxford; researcher in Old English and Old Norse.
- Dr Francis Leneghan, Faculty of English, Oxford, author of The Dynastic Drama of Beowulf (forthcoming)
- Dr Kees Dekker, Senior Lecturer in Older English Literature and Culture, Groningen, and Junius specialist.
- Drs Anne Popkema, co-author of Altfriesisches Handwörterbuch, Old Frisian lecturer at Groningen University.
- Dr Johanneke Sytsema, Faculty of Linguistics, Oxford, Subject Librarian Linguistics, Dutch and Frisian (Taylor Library and Bodleian Library), member of the Faculty of Linguistics, Oxford, and Linguistics Lecturer at St Edmund Hall. Editor of Codex Unia (2012).