The "Orrmulum": English or Anglicized Norse?

Despite a generalized discredit of its literary value, the early Middle English exegetical verse text known as "Orrmulum" presents many peculiarities that demand and deserve the attention of the scholars. After briefly sketching the documentary history of the "Orrmulum", this paper will focus on one of the most debated linguistic problems posed by the text, i.e. the dialectal variety to which it belongs. The issue will be addressed from the new perspective opened up by Emonds and Faarlund's recent hypothesis that the late 12th-century exegetical text is the first known work to employ a form of Anglicized Norse from which Middle and Modern English developed. A crucial question will be posed, whether the textual data can actually support this claim or not.