A page from the Ormulum demonstrating the editing performed over time by Orrm (Parkes 1983, pp. 115–16), as well as the insertions of new readings by "Hand B"
The Ormulum or Orrmulum is a twelfth-century work of biblical exegesis, written by an Augustinian canon named Orrm (or Orrmin) and consisting of just under 19,000 lines of early Middle English verse. Because of the unique phonemic orthography adopted by its author, the work preserves many details of English pronunciation existing at a time when the language was in flux after the Norman conquest of England. Consequently, it is invaluable to philologists and historical linguists in tracing the development of the language.
After a preface and dedication, the work consists of homilies explicating the biblical texts set for the mass throughout the liturgical year. It was intended to be consulted as the texts changed, and is agreed to be tedious and repetitive when read straight through. Only about a fifth of the promised material is in the single manuscript of the work to survive, which is in the Bodleian Library in Oxford.
Orrm developed an idiosyncratic spelling system. Modern scholars have noted that the system reflected his concern with priests' ability to speak the vernacular and may have helped to guide his readers in the pronunciation of the vowels. Many local priests may have been regular speakers of Anglo-Norman French rather than English. Orrm used a strict poetic metre to ensure that readers know which syllables are to be stressed. Modern scholars use these two features to reconstruct Middle English as Orrm spoke it.[1]
The Ormulum or Orrmulum is a twelfth-century work of biblical exegesis, written by an Augustinian canon named Orrm (or Orrmin) and consisting of just...
Peterborough Chronicle, which continued to be compiled up to 1154; the Ormulum, a biblical commentary probably composed in Lincolnshire in the second...
1150s–80s), was an Augustinian canon from south Lincolnshire who wrote the Ormulum, a collection of verse homilies that is the oldest English autograph and...
ᫌ : Combining insular g, used in the Ormulum Ꝿ ꝿ : Turned insular g Ꟑ ꟑ : Closed insular g, used in the Ormulum ɢ : Latin letter small capital G, used...
and courts of law. Early examples of Middle English literature are the Ormulum and Havelock the Dane. In the fourteenth century major works of English...
voiceless dental fricative [θ] ᫎ : Combining small insular t was used in the Ormulum ʇ : Turned small t is used in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA)...
Ꞃ ꞃ – Insular r (Gaelic type) ᫍ – Combining Insular r, as used in the Ormulum 𐤓 – Semitic letter Resh, from which the following letters derive Ρ ρ –...
"enclosure" is yard. An early example of this transformation is from the Ormulum: þatt ure Drihhtin wollde / ben borenn i þiss middellærd that our Lord...
the Danelaw. Orm may also refer to: Orrm or Orrmin, the author of the Ormulum, a 12th century Christian text the commissioner of the Kirkdale sundial...
block contains three combining insular letters for the Middle English Ormulum, ◌ᫌ ◌ᫍ ◌ᫎ. The Combining Diacritical Marks Supplement block contains additional...
most common form for medieval Latin and vernacular verse, including the Ormulum. Its first use in English is possibly the Poema Morale of the twelfth/thirteenth...
Unicode 14.0 (2021) added characters, including Insular letters, for the Ormulum: Ꟑ ꟑ Closed Insular G (U+A7D0, U+A7D1) ◌ᫌ Combining Insular G (U+1ACC)...
1066, the Englisc language ceased being a literary language (see, e.g., Ormulum) and was replaced by Anglo-Norman as the written language of England. During...
Mary is described as "handfast (to) a good man called Joseph". "?c1200 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2389 "Ȝho wass hanndfesst an god mann Þatt iosæp...
Middle English dialects emerged and were later found in such works as the Ormulum and the writings of the Gawain poet. In the later Middle Ages, a Mercian...
manuscript of the first six books of the Old Testament (the Hexateuch). The Ormulum is in Middle English of the 12th century. Like its Old English precursor...
King's mirror, Konungs_skuggsjá, written in the mid 13th century in Norway Ormulum, written by a certain Orm in Central England, bears an indirect reference...
manuscript A few English Bible verses Old English 700 to 1000 Vulgate The Ormulum Some passages from the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles Middle English...
violence, but Middle English then transitioned to Early Modern English. The Ormulum, produced by the Augustinian friar Orm of Lincolnshire around 1150, includes...
giving the appearance that no lengthening happened; but evidence from the Ormulum indicates otherwise. For details see Phonological history of Old English:...
of these was purchased by Junius: this was the unique manuscript of the Ormulum. It is as the first known owner of this manuscript in modern times that...
then being prepared by Joseph Bosworth. About 1832 he started editing the Ormulum, a harmonised gospel narrative in verse, preserved in a unique manuscript...
Dictionary of English Etymology. His preparation of an edition of the Ormulum was supervised by J. R. R. Tolkien. Onions recommended him to Dan Davin...
available in English by the eleventh century". After the Norman Conquest, the Ormulum, produced by the Augustinian friar Orm of Lincolnshire around 1150, includes...
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