This article is an attempt to search for a general principle which
could account for the apparently irregular and anomalous character of
Anglosaxon word-order. The approach, based, in general terms, on the
Praguian linguistic principles of FSP (Functional Sentence Perspecti¬
ve), leads us to think that word-order in Old English relies on an
underlying pragmatic and textual principle, as opposed to the senten¬
tial and syntactic one which governs Modern English linear setting of
linguistic elements. This is in accordance to the general structure and
the distribution of the remaining syntactic and semantic resources of
the language we know as Anglosaxon. The study means to be just a
preliminary step into the subject, lacking much further research, but as
it is proves fruitful.
