plur. 1, 2, 3. bundon. bunden.

Both the grammatical forms and still more the orthography vary much from time to time, from place to place, and even from writer to writer.  The forms used in this work are for the most part those employed by West Saxons in the age of AElfred.

A few examples of the language as written at three periods will enable the reader to form some idea of its relation to the existing type.  The first passage cited is from King AElfred’s translation of Orosius; but it consists of the opening lines of a paragraph inserted by the king himself from his own materials, and so affords an excellent illustration of his style in original English prose.  The reader is recommended to compare it word for word with the parallel slightly modernised version, bearing in mind the inflexional terminations.

Ohthere saede his hlaforde,         | Othhere said [to] his lord,
AElfrede cyninge, thaet he           | AElfred king, that he of all
ealra Northmonna northmest         | Northmen northmost abode.
bude.  He cwaeth thaet he             | He quoth that he abode
bude on thaem lande northweardum    | on the land northward against
with tha West-sae.                  | the West Sea.  He said,
He saede theah thaet thaet land       | though, that that land was
sie swithe lang north thonan;      | [or extended] much north
ac hit is eall weste, buton on     | thence; eke it is all waste,
feawum stowum styccemaelum          | but [except that] on few stows
wiciath Finnas, on huntothe        | [in a few places] piecemeal
on wintra, and on sumera on        | dwelleth Finns, on hunting on
fiscathe be thaere sae.  He           | winter, and on summer on
saede thaet he aet sumum cirre        | fishing by the sea.  He said
wolde fandian hu longe thaet        | that he at some time [on one
land northryhte laege, oththe       | occasion] would seek how long
hwaether aenig monn be northan       | that land lay northright [due
thaem westenne bude.  Tha            | north], or whether any man by
for he northryhte be thaem          | north of the waste abode.
lande:  let him ealne weg           | Then fore [fared] he northright,
thaet weste land on thaet steorbord, | by the land:  left all the
and tha wid-sae on thaet             | way that waste land on the
baecbord thrie dagas.  Tha           | starboard of him, and the wide
waes he swa feor north swa tha      | sea on the backboard [port,
hwael-huntan firrest farath.        | French babord] three days.
| Then was he so far north as
| the whale-hunters furthest
| fareth.

In this passage it is easy to see that the variations which make it into modern English are for the most part of a very simple kind.  Some of the words are absolutely identical, as his, on, he, and, land, or north.  Others, though differences of spelling mask the likeness, are practically the same, as sae, saede, cwaeth, thaet, lang, for which