Computing for the Medieval World

Rímere

Overview

In an age before silicon-based screens, computation was the craft of scribes, scholars, and quiet thinkers. These were the people who transformed symbols into meaning. Rímere reimagines programming as it might have existed in that world: a language shaped not by modern syntax, but by the cadence and vocabulary of Old English.

Rather than calling functions or executing commands, a programmer in Rímere chants instructions, binds values, and declares truths using words inspired by a time when knowledge was handwritten and computation was an art. By blending historical language with modern programming principles, Rímere invites its users to experience coding as both logic and storytelling.

Rímere is not intended to be a perfectly reconstructed linguistic model of Old English. Instead, it is a thematic programming language that draws from Old English vocabulary and style while remaining readable, teachable, and implementable in a modern compiler project.

Examples

Example Programs

hello.rim

sprecan "hātan grētan, Rímere!";

variables.rim

bindan x as 5;
bindan y as 10;
sprecan x + y;

if.rim

bindan x as 5;
gif x > 3:
  sprecan "big";
elles:
  sprecan "small";
end

function.rim

ritan add with a, b:
  cweðan a + b;
end

sprecan add(2, 3);

loop.rim

foran i fram 1 to 3:
  sprecan i;
end

wyrd.rim

sprecan "wyrd";

Developers