The Husband's Message Resources

This is the translation we used in this guide. It comes from Old and Middle English c. 890 – c. 1400: An Anthology, edited and translated by Elaine Treharne.

This 1911 translation is from Early English Poems, selected and edited by Henry Pancoast and Duncan Spaeth.

At anglo-saxons.net you can find information about the history, culture, and famous figures of Anglo-Saxon England. It also links to side-by-side translations of four old Germanic poems, "Deor," "The Seafarer," "The Wanderer" and the Old Norse "Havamál."

Explore the British Museum's collection of Anglo-Saxon artifacts, from a spooky-looking knight's helmet to beautiful, ornate twisted-gold jewelry of the sort the messenger describes in the poem.

Anglo-Saxonists were bowled over by the recent discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard, the largest gold-hoard ever to be unearthed. This site collects information about its discovery and history and allows you to view hundreds of objects from the hoard.

Before the discovery of the Staffordshire Hoard, the Sutton Hoo burial site was the largest source of Anglo-Saxon artifacts. The Sutton Hoo Society's website provides images of the site and artifacts as well as its own, extremely comprehensive "best of the web"-like page for Anglo-Saxon literature, history, and archaeology.

Professor Peter Baker's online "workout room" for learning Old English provides a guide to the grammar and vocabulary of the language accompanied by game-like exercises to reinforce the lessons.

Professor Michael D.C. Drout reads "The Husband's Message" aloud in Old English. The "Anglo-Saxon Aloud" project aims to provide online recordings of the entire Anglo-Saxon Poetic Record, as well as some prose works.

Although we weren't able to find a picture of "The Husband's Message" in its manuscript form, you can view other similar poems from The Exeter Book, including "The Wanderer" and "Deor."

The history of Anglo-Saxon England as written by the Anglo-Saxons themselves.

Interested in reading more of the poems in The Exeter Book? Check out this website, which provides the texts of other "riddles" plus modern English translation.

This anthology contains prose translations of a lot of Anglo-Saxon poetry. These translations are probably the most faithful to the originals in terms of word choice and syntax.

Young-adult fiction author Kevin Crossley-Holland's interpretations of Anglo-Saxon poetry and prose are beautiful but not faithful translations. They provide a good, accessible introduction to the Anglo-Saxon literature.