This is the first extensive study of Old English to utilise the insights and methodologies of sociolinguistics. Building on previous philological and historical work, it takes into account the sociology and social dialectology of Old English and offers a description of its speech communities informed by the theory of social networks and communities of practice. Specifically, this book uses data from historical narratives and legal documents and examines the interplay of linguistic innovation, variation, and change with such sociolinguistic parameters as region, scribal office, gender, and social status. Special attention is given to the processes of supralocalisation and their correlation with periods of political centralisation in the history of Anglo-Saxon England.

Bev Thurber, on Linguist List 34.688, 27 February 2023:
Timofeeva shows that although sociolinguistic methods have not been used extensively in studies of Old English texts in the past, they do have the potential to be extremely helpful. [...] Every case study opens up a new avenue of research. Though each case stands alone, it is not only a route to a new insight but also an example of how a sociolinguistic method can be applied. This will inspire future researchers to find parallel applications as well as following Timofeeva’s lead directly. Overall, Timofeeva has demonstrated what she set out to: that applying sociolinguistic methods to Old English texts on a small scale can provide insight into the society that produced them.