Anglo-Saxon Translator
The Anglo-Saxons are the people who gave England its name — quite literally, “Angle-land.” From the 400s to 1066, their language was the English of Alfred the Great, of Beowulf, of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. This free Anglo-Saxon translator turns your modern English into their tongue — or decodes Anglo-Saxon text back into modern words. “Hello, my friend” becomes “Wes hāl, mīn frēond”; “God bless you” becomes “God blētsie þē.” One important note, stated plainly: Anglo-Saxon and Old English are the same language — “Anglo-Saxon” is the people’s name for themselves, “Old English” the modern linguistic term. If you arrived here searching for an Old English translator, you are in exactly the right place. No signup, no limits, free forever.
Understand the Translation
Recent translations
Free · No signup · Renders genuine The tongue of the Anglo-Saxons (c. 450–1100) — a reading aid, not a scholarly translation.
Who Were the Anglo-Saxons?
When Roman Britain collapsed in the 400s, Germanic tribes — Angles, Saxons, and Jutes — crossed the North Sea and settled the island. Over centuries they forged seven kingdoms (the Heptarchy): Wessex, Mercia, Northumbria, East Anglia, Essex, Sussex, and Kent. Their greatest king, Alfred of Wessex (871–899), held back the Viking invasions and sparked a golden age of learning — the very Anglo-Saxon Chronicle was begun on his orders around 890.
The Anglo-Saxon age ended at Hastings in 1066, when Norman French flooded the language and Old English began its long transformation into Middle English. But the Anglo-Saxons never truly left: roughly a third of everyday modern English — house, bread, water, strong, love, night — comes straight from them. Our Old English translator covers the same language from the linguistic angle; this page tells the people’s story.
How the Translator Works
Every word in the dictionary is genuine Old English vocabulary — the actual tongue of the Anglo-Saxons, complete with the letters þ (thorn), ð (eth), and æ (ash). Common phrases are hand-built in correct forms: Wes hāl (“be well” — their hello), Ic þē þancie (“I thank you”).
Tap “Understand the Translation” on any result to learn each word’s meaning, or flip to Anglo-Saxon → English to decode text — even ASCII spellings like hwaet work, for keyboards without þ and ð. Like everything on this site, it runs entirely in your browser: instant, private, free.
Words the Anglo-Saxons Gave You
You already speak more Anglo-Saxon than you think. Cyning became king, hlāf became loaf (and “lord” — the hlāf-weard, loaf-ward!), niht became night, wæter water, eorþe earth, heorte heart. Days of the week are a Norse-tinged Anglo-Saxon calendar: Tiw’s day, Woden’s day, Thor’s day, Frigg’s day. Try translating “The brave king” below — the beald cyning — and feel a thousand years collapse into three words.
Try These Examples
- Hello, my friend! → Wes hāl, mīn frēond!
- Good morning. → Wes hāl. (their all-purpose greeting)
- Thank you very much. → Ic þē þancie swīþe.
- What is your name? → Hwæt is þīn nama?
- God bless you. → God blētsie þē.
- The brave king. → The beald cyning.
Type any of these into the translator above — or tap “Try an Example” and explore.
Anglo-Saxon vs. Old English — What’s the Difference?
Nothing — and that’s the honest answer. “Anglo-Saxon” (Angelseaxisce) is what the people called their language; “Old English” is what linguists call the same tongue today. Two names, one language, 450–1100 AD.
So why two pages? Because people search for both names — and each page teaches something different. Our Old English translator approaches it as a language (grammar, the strange letters, Beowulf); this page approaches it as a people (Alfred, the kingdoms, the Chronicle). Same engine underneath, because the language is the same. No tricks, no duplication of intent — just two doors into the same mead-hall.
Anglo-Saxon Translator FAQs
Is Anglo-Saxon the same as Old English?
Yes — exactly the same language. “Anglo-Saxon” is the historical people’s name for their tongue; “Old English” is the modern linguistic term. This translator and our Old English translator share one engine because there is only one language to translate.
Why do you have two pages for one language?
Because people search for both names, and each page teaches something different: the Old English page covers the language itself (grammar, letters, Beowulf), while this page covers the people (Alfred the Great, the seven kingdoms, the Chronicle). The tool is shared; the learning is not duplicated.
Is the Anglo-Saxon translator free?
Yes — completely free, no signup, no character limits, in both directions.
What are þ, ð, and æ?
Letters English later dropped: þ (thorn) and ð (eth) both sounded like “th” (þing = thing), and æ (ash) sounded like the “a” in “cat.” The translator accepts ASCII spellings too — type hwaet for hwæt.
Who was Alfred the Great?
King of Wessex (871–899), the only English monarch called “the Great.” He defeated the Vikings, founded the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and made Winchester a center of learning. Without him, English as we know it might not exist.
Where can I read real Anglo-Saxon?
Start with Beowulf (in translation alongside the original), then the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle — the year-by-year account Alfred commissioned. Both are public domain. Paste short passages into this translator’s Anglo-Saxon → English mode to decode them word by word.
