The Use of Norse Loanwords in Late Old English Historical Poems

Abstract

AbstractThe use of Norse loanwords in Old English poetry seems to be restricted to historical poems in praise of prominent contemporaries. It is demonstrated that the few Norse loans in these poems neither contribute to the laudatory character of such texts nor serve as new, additional means of stylistic enrichment. Instead, the Norse loans in these late Old English historical poems can be shown to have been used to add factual plausibility to such poems as historical texts. This contrasts with the use of Norse loanwords in Middle English poems.