A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary

I am doing my graduate thesis on Anglo-Saxon literature and have been using borrowed copies of this dictionary for months, to supplement my readings of Anglo-Saxon texts. The dictionary itself is wonderful so I decided to buy a copy. This version, however, is practically a scam. My book arrived today and was an utter disappointment. The original J.R. Clark Hall dictionary was published in the 1890s and there have been 3 subsequent editions (1916, 1930ish, and most recently, around 1964). This book appears to be a scanned version of the 1890s edition, meaning that it is not only lacking the updates of more recent editions, it is also barely legible, because the original font has been condensed and darkened to the extent that it's almost impossible to discern the difference between some Anglo-Saxon characters and Modern English characters. Since this is a dictionary, the importance of being able to tell how something is spelled is quite obvious. Further, the definitions themselves are not much easier to read - the text itself is less thick but it's often broken off mid-letter. I am quite frustrated to find that I cannot order a new copy of a reliable classic without it being so cheaply made. I am going to try to find a used copy of the 1964 edition, since it appears that this is the only version that Amazon sells new. I wish I had not wasted my money on this because I will now have to spend more to send it back and find a usable version.

There's another one-star review out there by a "Perpetual Lit Student." Go read it. He says it all.The print in this issuance of Clark-Hall's dictionary is illegible; worse, it was updated twice but this is not the updated version.Very sorry I bought it. It's so useless I now must buy another one.UPDATE: I did buy another one, and I'm much happier with it. It's the one that has white cover with blue stripes at the top and bottom with a sort of arched window through which you can see OE writing. Further, it is clearly the third edition and the print is much easier to read (at least it has the preface to the third edition: the spine actually says "Fourth Edition.") Amazon is giving the ISBN-13 as 978-0802065483.Note that the one that is crud is ISBN-13: 978-1617201875. This is the one with the cruddy print that is apparently the first edition. It has an all-blue cover on Amazon's page for it at the moment.I point all this out because Amazon is robotically lumping reviews for both books together.A final point: are you aware that serious professors of OE eschew Clark-Hall -- not because of the font and the edition hassle, but because the dictionary makes no bones about normalizing forms for ease of lookup, forms which do not actually appear in extant literature. Just thought you'd like to know.

A good basic Old English dictionary for students. However, this print has three columns of entries, as opposed to the more typical two columns. Moreover, the clarity of the print is not ideal.

This is my second try at getting the John R. Clark's Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary; on my first try (from another seller), what I got was a crummy photocopy with loads of illegible pages. This edition, on the other hand, is the real book, published in 1969 by Cambridge University Press; it's not a photocopy. I'm thrilled as all get-out.

The print quality is extremely poor and very hard to read. It is difficult to know when you’re purchasing if you’re getting this crappy copy or a legible up to date edition. I was sent the crappy copy.

This edition is a very poor facsimile reproduction of a great reference. Consider the 4th edition (1984) from the University of Toronto Press instead.As for content, this is more of a glossary than a full-featured dictionary, but it's very handy for quick lookups. For a more thorough treatment, check out Bosworth-Toller online.

This dictionary doesn't pretend to be comprehensive, and as it was last revised 80 years ago, it doesn't take account of advances in Old English lexicography since then. However, as a student (two semesters so far) of OE, as opposed to a research scholar, I find it very adequate to my needs, and a useful supplement to glossaries found in textbooks and editions. Handy and economical, it's great for what it is, and more useful than the online resources I've found so far.

This is a decent version of a rare item.

This compilation is an excellent resource let down by the indifferent quality of reproduction. What a pity the publisher did not typeset the copy but relied instead upon a photocopy of an earlier print. It does not make the text unreadable, but if you are unfamiliar with the words then it is sometimes possible to misread them, which is an unnecessary complication for any student. If it was the case that the book had to be produced in this manner or go out of print, then it is a reasonable solution (I note that it is available on a free download which may explain matters). In using the dictionary I feel afronted on behalf of the author - an unusual feeling with a text book - as it seems to discount the enormous amount of work put in by Mr Clark-Hall.I would still recommend it, but with that one reservation.

I did not like it because I do not know Old English Anglo Saxon but with this dictionary you must, the book is Anglo Saxon words but with modern English translation afterwards.

A very useful tool for your business or university

Showing signs of wear but still a good buy, well worth the money.

Print slightly hard to discern in some places, otherwise ok. Used for reference.