Old Norse

Old Norse is a North Germanic language that was spoken by inhabitants of Scandinavia and their overseas settlements from about the 7th to the 15th centuries. A more inclusive term for Old Norse is Old Nordic, which covers the period from c. 700 to 1500. The earliest known text in Old Norse is the Völuspá, a poem composed in the late 10th century. The language was used for other types of poetry as well, including the Eddic poems, skaldic poetry, and sagas. During the 12th and 13th centuries, Old Norse became increasingly influenced by Middle Low German, and as a result, many Norse words were borrowed from that language. By the late 13th century, the spoken language had diverged so much from the written language that it is considered to be a separate language, known as Middle Norwegian. During the 14th and 15th centuries, Norway was under the rule of Denmark and Sweden, and as a result, the language became even more influenced by the Germanic languages of those countries. In the late 15th century, the Danish king introduced a policy of using Danish as the official language, which further marginalized the use of Old Norse. As a result of all these changes, Modern Icelandic is the closest living language to Old Norse. Other North Germanic languages, such as Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish, have also been influenced by Old Norse and contain many loanwords from the language.