Old Frisian and its Neighbours

We are currently updating our course overview for 2021-2022. The information below might be updated.

In collaboration with Oxford University

The central theme of this summer school concerns medieval language shifts along the North Sea coast: Old Frisian, Old/Middle Dutch and Old Saxon/Middle Low German. Old Frisian is a West Germanic language spoken by inhabitants of the coastal region of the Low Countries since approx. the 5th century. The Old Frisian language area stretched as far as the Rhine/Meuse estuaries in the south-west and the Weser mouth in the north-east. During the Middle Ages language shifts took place both in the south-western area (in favor of Dutch) and in the north-eastern area (in favor of Low German). As a result, Frisian is at present still spoken in the Dutch province of Fryslân as well as in various isolated regions and islands of Northwestern Germany.

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. There will be lectures about the various language shifts Frisian experienced over the medieval period when it gave way to Dutch or Low German in formerly Frisian-speaking areas.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, the RUG and Oxford University have decided to make the Old Frisian Summer School an online event. In the online setup you will still receive the full programme of lectures as well as several social events. The application deadline is extended until 1 June 2021. Please check our website for updates on the programme over the next few weeks.

Confirmed speakers

• Prof. Arjen Versloot (University of Amsterdam)
• Prof. Rolf Bremmer (Leiden University)
• Prof. Marc Pierce (University of Texas)
• Dr. Nelson Goering (University of Oxford)
• Dr. Johanneke Sytsema (University of Oxford)
• Dr. Michiel de Vaan (University of Lausanne)
• Dr. Nelleke IJssennagger (Frisian Academy)
• Dr. Han Nijdam (Frisian Academy)
• Dr. Peter Alexander Kerkhof (Leiden University)
• Redmer Alma, MA
• Frederik Hartmann, MA (Universität Konstanz)
• Anne Popkema, MA (University of Groningen)

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) and the University of Amsterdam; students at these institutions will receive considerable discount. For more information, please contact us at ofss rug.nl.