Frederick Bodmer says in his book "Sprachen der Welt" original title : "Loom of Language" that the german of today, with so many rules reflects the english of about 900 years in the past.
I highly recomment this book to anyone interested in european languages ! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/up.gif" alt="" />
Mostly because it contains an excellent comparison of european languages ...