Introduction

Abstract

Abstract This chapter introduces the issues to be investigated in the book. It defines the concept of referential null subject, and gives an outline of previous statements concerning the status of such subjects in Old English, as well as a presentation of the null subject phenomenon as it manifests itself in the wider Old Germanic context. Previous works on null subjects in Old English have reached widely diverging conclusions: some scholars say that null subjects did not occur in Old English, while others state that Old English was a canonical pro-drop language. Walkden (2013) suggested the compromise that null subjects are a case of diatopic variation. The question of the possibility of null subjects in Old English, and the diverging descriptions and explanations of this phenomenon, are presented as the main motivations for the book. The chapter also introduces the data material and methods used.