Old Frisian

A Gem within the Old Germanic Languages

The Old Frisian Summer School is a bi-annual event, the 3rd edition of which take place in Oxford this July. In a five-day programme, students will learn about Old Frisian language, text corpus, culture and history in the context of Old Germanic languages. Linguistic comparisons will be drawn between Old Frisian and the other (West) Germanic languages. Settlement history of Frisians in Britain, Old Frisian Law and Literature and Old Frisian manuscripts will be discussed in lectures. Library visits will focus on the Old Frisian manuscripts in Oxford, including in the Taylor Library as well as the world-famous Bodleian Libraries. On Wednesday evening, there is a conference dinner.The OFSS will close with a social programme in Oxford on Saturday.

Old Frisian deserves international attention because of its close connection to Old English. Knowledge of Old Frisian deepens insights into the Old English language and, more broadly, into the development of West Germanic. It has been handed down in a relatively small but coherent corpus of, mostly, late-medieval law texts and a number of sagas (1100-1550 AD) – a well-hidden gem!

The Old Frisian Summer School will be of interest to BA and MA students as well as PhD’s in the field of Old Germanic languages. The participants will learn to read and interpret Old Frisian texts and get a good grasp of its grammatical structures.

The Old Frisian Summer School is organised by University of Groningen in partnership with Oxford University and in co-operation with the Frisian Academy, Tresoar (the main Frisian archival and library institution). For more information, please contact us at oldfrisian ling-phil.ox.ac.uk.

Practical information

Dates & location	9 - 16 July 2023 (9 and 16 July being traveling days) Oxford
Level	BA/MA/PhD/Postdoc/Postdoc (in person admission) Practitioners (online admission)
Fee	£ 350 - Full fee. £ 300 - Early bird rate, when booked by 1 May 2023. £ 150 - Hybrid fee. Full fee includes: Tuition and workshops Study materials Coffee/tea Daily 3-course lunch Saturday social activities Library visits Conference dinner Hybrid fees will include access to all streamed lectures and electronic access to the grammar and dictionary during the week.
Academic coordinator	Anne Popkema (Faculty of Arts, UG) Johanneke Sytsema (Linguistics Dpt, University of Oxford)
Contact	oldfrisian ling-phil.ox.ac.uk

Requirements

The summer school is aimed at students, PhD candidates and early career researchers with an interest in (Old) Germanic languages who want to familiarise themselves with Old Frisian.

It is expected that the participants have a sufficient command of the English language to actively participate in the discussions.

Course schedule

We are currently updating the course schedule

Learning outcomes

By the end of the week, students should be able to translate a medium level Old Frisian text with the help of handbooks and have gained a good level of knowledge of the place and importance of Old Frisian within the Old Germanic language family and of medieval Frisia as a Western European region.

Work Load

Preparation: 0 hours
Lectures: ca. 14 hours
Workhops: ca. 14 hours

Upon having attended the full programme, the Summer School offers a Certificate of Attendance. Students can apply for recognition of these credits to the relevant authorities in their home institutions, therefore the final decision on awarding credits is at the discretion of their home institutions. We will be happy to provide any necessary information that might be requested in addition to the certificate of attendance.

Introduction to lecturers

Prof Andreas Deutsch, Deutsches Rechtswörterbuch, Heidelberg (Specialist in Old Germanic Law)
Dr Peter-Alexander Kerkhof, Frisian Academy, Ljouwert/Leeuwarden (Specialist in Old Frisian, Old Dutch and medieval history)
Prof Simon Horobin, University of Oxford (specialist in Middle English Language and Literature)
Dr Rafael Pascual, University of Oxford (Specialist in Old English)
Mr Hilbert Vinkenoog (MA Student of Medieval History, YouTube channel “History with Hilbert”)
Mr Anne Popkema MA, Groningen University (Specialist in Old Frisian
Dr Johanneke Sytsema, University of Oxford (Specialist in Old Frisian and Middle Dutch)

Application procedure

Application deadlines

1 May for early birds – (in-person)
31 May for in-person participation
15 June for online attendance.

To apply, please send your CV and a letter of motivation to oldfrisian ling-phil.ox.ac.uk.

Last modified:

27 November 2023 3.59 p.m.