A Comparative Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Language

work by March

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June 24, 2026

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Francis Andrew March's A Comparative Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Language (1870) is a foundational work in modern Old English linguistics. March, a professor of English language and comparative philology, researched the relationships between Anglo-Saxon and other languages like Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and various Germanic languages. This research established the cornerstone for subsequent historical studies of the English language. Old English, spoken from the 5th to the 12th centuries, had distinct dialects and a complex grammatical structure with inflected nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs. March's work was crucial in understanding these linguistic connections and the historical development of English.12

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Francis Andrew March
March’s monumental work was A Comparative Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Language (1870; reprinted, 1977), based on 10 years of intensive research. He examined the relationship of Anglo-Saxon to Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and five Germanic languages. It was immediately recognized in Europe and the United States as a front-ranking achievement,…
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March’s monumental work was A Comparative Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Language (1870; reprinted, 1977), based on 10 years of intensive research. He examined the relationship of Anglo-Saxon to Sanskrit, Greek, Latin, and five Germanic languages. It was immediately recognized in Europe and the United States as a front-ranking achievement,…
Read More