The Norse poem Atlakviða shows an irregular metre which is difficult to classify. This makes it a useful test case for comparing the explanatory abilities of two major theoretical frameworks of Germanic alliterative verse: the positional theory and the word-foot theory. I argue that the word-foot theory is more successful, especially in deriving…[Read more]

An overview of the dialect of Old English used by Tolkien to represent the language of Rohan. I argue that Tolkien chose the dialect represented by the early glossaries in Old Mercian, especially the eighth-century Corpus Glossary, as representatives of the kind of Old English he thought Beowulf was originally composed in.

Thijs Porck, “Runenoefeningen. De Oudgermanistiek in Leidse kinderschoenen”, in Tot publijcque dienst der studie: Boeken uit de Bibliotheca Thysiana, ed. Wim van Anrooij & Paul Hoftijzer (Hilversum: Verloren, 2023), 118-119

Thijs Porck, “I can read Hollandsch very fairly. The Correspondence between James Murray (1837-1915) and Pieter Jacob Cosijn (1840-1899)”, in Language Use, Usage Guides, and Linguistic Norms, ed. Luisella Caon, Marion Elenbaas & Janet Grijzenhout (Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2021), 107-129.

Digital Humanities has become a “hot” topic in academia over the last few years (as of 2012), primarily in research and scholarship. While many push forward into new realms of using technology to articulate cool findings, others at non research intensive universities are moving forward with engaging their undergraduate students in var ious for…[Read more]

Schematic (bullet-point) overview of Old Saxon and Old High German metre, with a particular emphasis on alliterative verse. My goal is to sketch out the main features of the metre, especially in comparison with Old English, rather than to delve into theoretical fundamentals (though an appendix touching on that topic is included). I also append a…[Read more]

An overview of the main features of Old English metre, including a comparison of theories for the basic operation of the metrical system.

This chapter is published within Early Medieval English Life Courses: Cultural-Historical Perspectives, ed. Porck and Soper. Please email me if you would like to cite it and I will send you a PDF with page numbers.