Most of the dialogue is in a Northern English dialect that seems as much Gaelic as Anglo-Saxon. While no doubt authentic, this dialect sometimes becomes almost incomprehensible to the contemporary English-speaking reader. Without a translation thesaurus, the reader may decide some of the words and phrases will remain incomprehensible and rely on his or her sense of the story gleaned from those sections in plain English. While the use of this dialect lends some color and a sense of authenticity to the story, it can also obscure portions of the narrative that supply nuance and texture.