I’ve mentioned previously that I belong to an organization called U3A, the University of the Third Age; the first age is childhood and dependence, the second age is full-time employment and parental responsibility, and the third age is when people are free from work and child-care – although that is quite a fluid description. However, now that I am no longer chained by employment, and I can be a full-time writer, my time is more flexible and so I have become a third-ager. I lead a couple of groups, and I attend a couple of groups, and one of the groups I attend is The Saxish Ring.
For the last year,the Saxish Ring has met fortnightly to discuss the origins of the English language, concentrating on its base in and influence of Anglo-Saxon as it is called. To explain more, I will quote an article by our leader, Robert Craig:
Since last year, we in the Saxish Ring have been looking back to Englesaxish times of yore, and times between then and now. We have wandered widely over a great many things, from the tales of Christenly folk and heathens to the work of William Barnes in the nineteenth yearhundred, and the meanings of words. At the top of the list of the things about which we speak is our Southern speech that has come down to us from the days of King Alfred the Great. It is about this Saxish speech that William Barnes mostly wrote. In 1868 he thought up the name ‘Wessex’, which is found in his friend Thomas Hardy’s books.
King Alfred said that he, self, set writings over from Latin into English, but it is more likely that he got others to do it for him. Those others had come from the North and the Midlands to the King’s Hall at Winchester, fleeing the Danes. They knew how to write in English. The kind of speech they spoke and wrote was Old English. hence, the speech before 1066 is known as Old English. In truth, Old English was only the speech of the Engle (Anglii). The mixed speech of King Alfred’s writing is known as Old English, but, to my mind, it would be better to think of it as Engelsaxish, for that it mixed Old English and West Saxish. This kind of Engelsaxish is known as Alfredian.
West Saxish was spoken by the West Saxons, (Westseaxe), East Saxons (Eastseaxe) and the South Saxons (Suthseaxe). It has the name West Saxish so as not to mix it up with the Old Saxish of the Europaeish mainland. It was not only the speech of the West Saxish folk, but was spoken throughout sunderly Saxland. It was the speech of the English richdom until 1066. After 1066 the richdom’s speech was Norman French. Then in the twelfth yearhundred, English became the richdom’s speech, but much mixed with French and Danish.
Old English is the father of New English, but West Saxish is the father’s brother.
Lois Elsden 