Which one do you actually want — and why did an “Old English” tool give you something totally different? Three different things get called “Old English” online. Start with the task cards, then check the real examples below.
You want to
Read or translate Anglo-Saxon texts — Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, charters
That is
Old English (c. 450–1150)
Where to go
Our translator and dictionary — this is what this site does
You want to
Read Chaucer and other later-medieval works
That is
Middle English (c. 1150–1500)
Where to go
Our Middle English tool is not launched yet. Honest alternatives: the Middle English Compendium (University of Michigan) and Harvard’s Chaucer website
You want to
Write dramatic archaic lines — “thee”, “thou”, “verily”
That is
Early-Modern-style creative writing
Where to go
Not translation, and not Old English. This site does not offer a Shakespearean generator — it is modern writing dressed in a historical style.
You want to
Make letters look like blackletter — an “Old English font”
That is
Font styling
Where to go
A text-styling tool, not a translator. The words stay modern English; only the letter shapes change.
Because the label is used loosely. Some tools that promise “Old English” actually add thee/thou and -eth endings — that is an Early Modern (Shakespearean) style, roughly 500 years too late. Others just swap the font. Real Old English is a different language altogether: the Beowulf line below cannot be read by guessing, which is exactly why a translator needs to show its sources rather than its confidence.
Hwæt! Wē Gār-Dena in geārdagum…
“Listen! We have heard of the glory of the Spear-Danes in days of old.” — Beowulf, line 1 (Klaeber’s Beowulf, 4th ed.)
The language of Anglo-Saxon England, with grammar closer to German or Icelandic than to modern English. It has to be learned or translated — it cannot be sight-read. Try the translator or learn the letters on the alphabet page.
Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote…
“When April with its sweet showers…” — Chaucer, Canterbury Tales, General Prologue, line 1
The language after the Norman Conquest reshaped English. The spelling looks odd, but a modern reader can follow much of it with a glossary — Chaucer is homework, not a foreign language.
To be, or not to be: that is the question.
Shakespeare, Hamlet, c. 1600
Essentially modern English with older pronouns (thou, thee), verb endings (-eth, -est) and some changed word meanings. You are reading it fluently already — writing in this style is creative writing, not translation into another language.
This site covers the Anglo-Saxon period only — the first row of the table. Start a translation draft, check words in the dictionary, or see how we label evidence on the methodology page.