Kentish Old English

Kentish was a special way of speaking Old English used a long time ago in a place called the kingdom of Kent. Old English was the language spoken by people who lived in England many hundreds of years ago. Kentish was one of four main groups of this old language. The other groups were Mercian, Northumbrian, and West Saxon.

People who came from Germany lived in areas that are now Kent, Surrey, Sussex, southern Hampshire, and the Isle of Wight. They were called Jutes by a writer named Bede. These people spoke Kentish as their own special version of Old English.

We know about Kentish mainly from old writings, like laws made by Kentish kings. These laws were written down much later, so they look a little different from the original words. But by looking closely, we can see small differences between Kentish and West Saxon, the version of Old English that became most common. Even with these small differences, the two versions were easy enough to understand that people could talk to each other without trouble. Important examples of Kentish writing include old Kentish Glosses, a Kentish Psalm, and some old documents from kings like Oswulf and Abba.

West Saxon: Ine, 20	Kentish: Wihtræd, 23
Gif feorcund mon oððe fremde butan wege geond wudu gonge [ond] ne hrieme ne horn blawe, for ðeof he bið to profianne, oððe to sleanne oððe to aliesanne.	Gif feorran[-]cumen man oþþe fræmde buton wege gange, [ond] he þonne nawðer ne hryme ne he horn ne blawe, for ðeof he bið to profianne, oþþe to sleanne oþþe to alysenne.
If a man who is come from afar or a stranger should go outside the track towards the woods and neither calls out or blows his horn, he is to be regarded as a thief, either to be killed or to be redeemed.	If a man [who is] come from afar or a stranger should go off the track and he then neither calls out nor does he blow his horn, he is to be regarded as a thief, either to be killed or to be redeemed.

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