There are a number of different versions of the Lord’s Prayer in Anglo-Saxon manuscripts, covering differing dialects and time periods. They are all broadly recognisable, especially if compared against the King James Bible from the 17^th century.

“Our Father which art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy name.

Thy kingdom come,

Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”

Matthew ch 6 vv 9-13

The texts shown below might not look very similar, but listen to the recordings for each version, and see if you can hear the similarities.

All our recordings are spoken by Steve Pollington.

West Saxon Dialect

Listen to the Lord’s Prayer in West Saxon

Northumbrian Dialect

FADER URÆ ðu art in heofnas
Sie ðin nama gehalgad.
Tocymeð ðin ric.
Sie ðin willo
in eorðo suæ is in heofne.
Userne ofæ wistlic hlaf sel ús todæg,
and forgef us usra scylda
suæ uoe forgefon usum scyldum
And ne inlæd usich in costunge,
ah gefrig usich from yfle

Listen to the Lord’s Prayer in Northumbrian:

Mercian Dialect

Feder ure þu eart in heofenum

se þin noma is gehalgad

to cyme þin rice

sie þin willa on eorþan swe in heofenum

ure deghweamlice hlaf sele us to deg

ond forgef us ussa scylda swe ond us forgef ure scylde

and nu in læde us in costnunge

ales us from yfele

Listen to the Lord’s Prayer in Mercian:

This self-contained course is open to all members of the English Companions. It involves translating Old English into Modern English and Modern English into Old English. At the end of the course students should be able to read, understand, write and speak Old English to a standard which will enable them to be confident should they wish to pursue their interest and studies in Old English further.

The course comprises a series of eight lessons with exercises and accompanying material on grammar and vocabulary. There are also pocket-sized grammar drill booklets for practice, and audio files to assist in the understanding of the spoken word.

Students are guided through the course by an expert tutor who assesses completed exercises, amends and comments, and provides supportive advice. Each lesson is sent out separately by the tutor; when it has been sent back to the tutor, the work is marked and returned together with the next lesson. There is no time limit: students take very different amounts of time to finish depending on personal circumstance. On finishing, the tutor will give suggestions for further material, so that the interest in the language can be continued.

For details of costs, see current version of the members’ magazine, Wiðowinde. 

The full language course is available only to members of the English Companions.  

However, to give potential students an indication of what they may encounter Lesson 1 is available by selecting the link below.

Leornungdael1 (Lesson 1)

All the Old English is read through on sound files provided to the student as part of the course material. The embedded video below contains the audio accompaniment to the first Unit.

All the material is Copyright © Ða  Engliscan Gesiðas (The English Companions).