The paper presents work in progress on the interaction between information structure and word order in Old High German based on data from the Tatian translation (9th century). <br>The examination of the position of the finite verb in correspondence with the pragmatic status of discourse referents reveals an overall tendency for verb-initial order in thetic/all-focus sentences, whereas in categorical/topic-comment sentences verb-second placement with an initial topic constituent is preferred. <br>This conclusion provides support for the hypothesis stated in Donhauser & Hinterhölzl (2003) that the finite verb form in Early Germanic serves to distinguish the information-structural domains of Topic and Focus. <br>Finally, the investigation sheds light on the process of language change that led to the overall spread of verb-second in main clauses of modern German.