Wessex Gospels

Main article: Old English Bible translations

The Wessex Gospels (also known as the West-Saxon Gospels) are a full translation of the four gospels into a West Saxon dialect of Old English. Produced in approximately 990, they are the first translation of all four gospels into English without the Latin text. Seven manuscript copies survive.

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.

Further reading

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

See also

• Old English Hexateuch

External links

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