King Alfred’s English: Primary Resources for the book

The following sources are available for free online. 

  1. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, translated and collated by Anne Savage. Published by CLB International, Godalming, Surrey, 1997. Actually fun to browse and very quirky in spots, such as the entry about folks seeing dragons. (You can find it online for free)
  2. Austen, Jane. The History of England. Introduction by A.S. Byatt with a note on the text by Deirdre Le Faye. Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1993. Jane Austen wrote this whimsical mini-history when she was sixteen introducing herself with the words: “By a partial, prejudiced, & ignorant Historian,” and she notes later, “There will be very few Dates in this History.”  You can get the the full text online for free.
  3. Author’s Ink. Professor Elliot Engel’s interesting and unique audio lectures on a variety of English authors may be purchased here.How William Became Shakespeare is one of his best. Highly recommended.
  4. Bible Gateway. Read the King James Version or any of several modern ones here, including the Douay Rheims and Wycliffe New Testament. Also there is a full Greek and Hebrew Bible reference section here. < www.Biblegateway.com/versions
  5. Churchill, Winston. Birth of BritainThis is the first volume of Churchill’s four-volume tome, A History of the English Speaking Peoples. It is available for just $5 as an e-book through Barnes and Noble.
  6. The British Library Online. Go to the “Learning Area” for interactive student activities and much, much more.
  7. British Broadcasting Company Interactive History. Great site developed by the BBC for teachers and students. It has incredible online educational games and other aids.
  8. Bosworth and Toller’s  complete Anglo-Saxon dictionary.
  9. Canterbury Tales and Other Works, The. For all things Middle English—has audio files so you can actually hear the Middle English spoken.
    http://www.librarius.com
  10. Changes in Language Since Shakespeare’s Time. Details on English shifts from the 1600’s with examples from Shakespeare and the 1611 KJV.
  11. Complete Works of William Shakespeare, The. A Shakespeare site operated by The Tech, M.I.T.’s oldest newspaper.
  12. Holy Bible, The. King James Version of 1611.
  13. Internet Medieval Sourcebook. New York’s  Fordham University online site for medieval history and literature.
  14. King James Version of the Bible. This is the King James Bible of 1611 but the spellings have been updated.
  15. Language and Linguistics.” National Science Foundation. Hear audio clips of changes in English.
  16. Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature. Read full texts here plus articles and essays about individual works of literature along with excellent summaries of various authors’ lives.
  17. “Manuscript Evidence for Superior New Testament Reliability.” The chart in chapter 9 comparing the reliability of other ancient manuscripts with the New Testament came from this site.
  18. Norton Anthology of English Literature, Most of it is online now along with annotations. This is an excellent resource!
  19. Online Etymology Dictionary. A dictionary of word histories.
  20. Shearer, Rob. A Walk Through History. This free, unique audio seminar is a capsule-sized, one-hour overview of western civilization by one of the publishers at Greenleaf Press, a publishing business and supplier of quality books for children and young adults.
  21. William Tyndale Gallery. This is my favorite site on Tyndale and his work.
    http://www.williamtyndale.com/0welcomewilliamtyndale.htm

The following books I have linked to Amazon so you can read reviews or purchase. I highly recommend these too:

Bobrick, Benson. Wide as the Waters, The Story of the English Bible and The Revolution It InspiredSimon and Schuster, New York, New York, 2001. A rich, in-depth look at the people, politics and events that led up to the King James Version of the Bible and beyond.

Childress, Diana. Chaucer’s England. Linnet Books, North Haven, Connecticut, 2000. A wonderful text! Great for middle school and above. It fleshes out the era of Chaucer from the impact of the Black Plague to the political scene.

Daniell, David. William Tyndale, A Biography. Yale University Press, 1994. Daniell is a University of London scholar and chairman of the William Tyndale Society.

Holy Bible, The. King James Version facsimile reproduction of the 1611 first folio edition. Hendrickson Publishers, Oct. 2003.

Lederer, Richard. The Miracle of Language. Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster Inc., New York, NY, 1991. This book is entertaining and fun. It is packed full of fascinating information on the English language and on specific authors who have helped shape it.

McCrum, Robert, William Cran, and Robert MacNeil. The Story of English. Viking Penguin, Inc. New York, 1986. The amazing tome upon which the PBS special of the same name was based.

McDowell, Josh. The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict. Revised updated edition, Thomas Nelson, 1999. McDowell covers evidence for accuracy of the Biblical record as well as the claims of Christ. An excellent resource.

McGrath, Alister. In The Beginning. Anchor Books, division of Random House, Inc., New York, 2001. A comprehensive study on the King James Bible, how it came to be, and its impact on our faith and language.