this is “Shakespearean” or Early Modern English, Old English properly refers to the oldest known form of the English language spoken from around the 7th century until William the Conqueror invaded England and introduced French loanwords into English, thus creating Middle English. Old English is so different from modern English that it is mostly unintelligible to modern English speakers.
Sample:
Cnut cyning gret his arcebiscopas and his leod-biscopas and Þurcyl eorl and ealle his eorlas and ealne his þeodscype, twelfhynde and twyhynde, gehadode and læwede, on Englalande freondlice. And ic cyðe eow, þæt ic wylle beon hold hlaford and unswicende to godes gerihtum and to rihtre woroldlage. Ic nam me to gemynde þa gewritu and þa word, þe se arcebiscop Lyfing me fram þam papan brohte of Rome, þæt ic scolde æghwær godes lof upp aræran and unriht alecgan and full frið wyrcean be ðære mihte, þe me god syllan wolde. Nu ne wandode ic na minum sceattum, þa hwile þe eow unfrið on handa stod: nu ic mid godes fultume þæt totwæmde mid minum scattum. Þa cydde man me, þæt us mara hearm to fundode, þonne us wel licode: and þa for ic me sylf mid þam mannum þe me mid foron into Denmearcon, þe eow mæst hearm of com: and þæt hæbbe mid godes fultume forene forfangen, þæt eow næfre heonon forð þanon nan unfrið to ne cymð, þa hwile þe ge me rihtlice healdað and min lif byð.
Rough translation:
Canute, the king, greets his archbishops and his provincial bishops and Earl Thurcyl and all his earls and all his people, rich and poor, ordained and laymen, in England, in friendly manner. And I assure you I wish to be a gracious lord and devoted to the laws of God and to just human law. I have remembered the writs and the words that Archbishop Lyfing brought me from the Pope of Rome, that I should in all ways support the praise of God and put down injustice and promote perfect peace to the extent of the strength that God would grant me. I have never spared my wealth as long as discord was among you; now with God’s help I have dispersed it with my wealth. When I was informed that more affliction had come upon us than we could put up with, then I went myself to Denmark with those men who caused you the most injury; and with God’s help I have now seen to it that from this time on no breach of the peace will ever come to you from that source, so long as you obey me properly and my life endures.
this has been an old english psa
