About the Site

This website hopes to achieve two primary goals: First, to serve as a horde for those studying Germanic Languages. Second, (and most importantly) to serve as a place to share my love to those interested in the language, history, mythology, and culture of those peoples who spoke those languages.

Creating the horde was first conceived out of frustration six years ago. I was gaining proficiency in the Old English Language and was becoming frustrated that I was having a difficult time finding the kinds of things I wanted out there on the web. Yes, there were plenty of websites with translations (of varying degrees of accuracy and beauty), there were random smatterings of discussions, and two of the three primary dictionaries were available for free online. But, I wanted more. I said to myself, "Self, why isn't there one website dedicated to the Old English language that has links to all of the various materials that are out there?".

So, I made a note to myself that "one day when I get time, I will create that website". And, that note ended up inside of my copy of Mitchell's An Invitation to Anglo-Saxon England, essentially forgotten. I was at a point where I needed less outside help with Old English and had started to get enough hard-copy materials that I no longer needed to search the web as much for hints and had plenty of bookmarks in my browser to sources I consulted frequently. When I did think of that website, it was always "yeah, someday".

Then I started my Ph.D. program. I was not only still doing research in Old English, but also other Germanic languages such as Old Norse, Old High German, and Old Saxon. I again encountered my old frustration: "Why isn't all of this in one place!?". Yes, there are websites that are very good and have a great number of materials, but none of them suited my needs and what I wanted.

Sharing my love of the language, history, mythology, and culture of those peoples is in many ways also selfish: I love to teach. And moreover, I love to teach stuff that I am passionate about. And when I say "teach", I mean "explore" ‐ I am a very exploration-oriented instructor. My exploration shows itself usually in the form of questions: is Beowulf really a hero or are his actions a commentary on what it means to be moral? Is it both? Why does OHG Tatian seem so similar to OS Heliand? Is the Tesseract in the Marvel Cinematic Universe related to something in the Viking mythos? I think I know the answer to a couple of those questions, but maybe I don't.

I realized that a website might not be the best way to explore all the topics I find interesting, so the website idea evolved into a "web-presence" idea. Yes, I still wanted a website, but I also wanted to become proficient in communicating through social media, videos, and podcasting. Thus, this website will eventually work in concert with Instagram, Facebook, podcasts, and Youtube (all coming soon!). I want places to share what I and others are exploring in the early medieval Germanic world in as many media as I can create. I want the early Germanic world to be accessible for everyone ‐ academic, student, or the curious. So, if you know of any resources, if there is anything you would like to see on the site, or if there is something you think is interesting to explore, please email me.