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I like old English like "Coole their heeles", "thee" ,"thy" ,"ye" etc.

Where can I find old English text but with explanations and meaning?

I would also like to read old text, can you list them too, like top 100 classical English texts. Will be a big plus if available on Project Gutenberg.

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closed as not constructive by simchona♦, Alenanno, Mitch, onomatomaniak, kiamlaluno Dec 1 '11 at 20:33

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2 Answers

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Old English, also known as Anglo-Saxon, is the term that describes English up to the first half of the eleventh century and it has to be learnt more or less as a foreign language. The sort of English you’re referring to is, I suspect, Early Modern English. This is much more accessible. Gutenberg will almost certainly have what you’re looking for. For more recent texts, you might also find The Victorian Literary Studies Archive of some interest.

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you are a literati, you must have a "must read books" list. would you please consider sharing. – Anubhav Saini Dec 1 '11 at 8:18
@AnubhavSaini: If you're interested in the English language, I have some reading suggestions on my blog here: realgrammar.posterous.com/pages/references – Barrie England Dec 1 '11 at 8:36
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@AnubhavSaini: a literati? – Kris Dec 1 '11 at 9:31
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@BarrieEngland: OP seems to have been careful in not capitalizing old and new. – Kris Dec 1 '11 at 9:33
@Kris oops. embarrassed. a literate. never used it beyond someone who is able to read and write till now. – Anubhav Saini Dec 1 '11 at 12:44
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Back in school, we had an edition of Beowulf like that. The original text on one side, and modern English on the other side. Probably you can find such an edition if you look. I did some Google, and found this:

Beowulf: A New Verse Translation
translated by Seamus Heaney
This highly-praised bilingual edition offers the Old English text side-by-side with Heaney's rendition. Less flowery than older versions, Heaney's translation nevertheless manages to capture the power of the ancient epic, yet makes for a quick and exciting read. Winner of the Whitbread Award.

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