Wessex Gospels

The Wessex Gospels (also known as the West-Saxon Gospels) are a full translation of the four gospels of the Christian Bible into a West Saxon dialect of Old English and one of several Old English Bible translations. Produced in approximately AD 990 in present-day England, they are the first translation of all four gospels into English without the Latin text. They were translated from the Greek received text manuscripts present in England at the time. Seven manuscript copies survive. Its transcribing was supervised by the monk Aelfric of Eynsham.

The text of Matthew 6:9–13, the Lord's Prayer, is as follows:

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, si þin nama gehalgod. To becume þin rice, gewurþe ðin willa, on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg, and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum. And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice.

See also

• Old English Hexateuch

Further reading

• Geoffrey W. Bromiley (ed.), International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

External links

• The Anglo-Saxon Version of the Holy Gospels at archive.org
• The Holy Gospels in Anglo-Saxon, Northumbrian, and Old Mercian Versions (St Matthew) at archive.org
• The Holy Gospels in Anglo-Saxon, Northumbrian, and Old Mercian Versions (St Mark) at archive.org
• The Holy Gospels in Anglo-Saxon, Northumbrian, and Old Mercian Versions (St Luke) at archive.org
• Works by Wessex Gospels at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)