I'm An Unashamed Hoarder

 

Bob bought me this fabulous book last Christmas. It is a linguistic treasure, full of words from "Old English" - some of which we recognise and use today [like word]  and others like fneosung [pronounced f'nay-oh-zung] which means sneeze. 

The author, Hana Videen, did her doctorate in Old English at King's College, London. In 2013 she began tweeting an OE word everyday. She is now a writer and bigger based in Canada. 

Hana's research is meticulous, and her writing style is informative and readable. It's a bit like the best fruitcake - each mouthful densely packed with a huge variety of tasty morsels. 

This means I can only read a chapter at a time as there is so much to learn. Each chapter has a theme [eating and drinking, wildlife, learning and working etc] and there is a list of new words at the end of each chapter. Much of the OE writing we have is religious - but also there is poetry, like the story of the great warrior Beowulf. 

Hana explains hapax - those words which only appear once in OE literature, so there is speculation about their interpretation. She shares kennings, words which are two words combined. Words such as gar-leac [gar-leak] from gar [arrow/dart/spear] and leac [herb/plant] Just look at the pointy leaves of a garlic plant and you'll understand. 

I suspect that future blogposts will feature words which have really excited me - and I hope you will enjoy them too. Now I shall eat some  bread & butere. Strictly speaking bread in OE meant food, and I should say hlaf [pronounced h'lawf] This book is utterly addictive! [thanks Bob] 

And obviously, as hord means treasure, wordhord means a treasure trove of words. Some OE religious writing refers to "Christ, the Guardian of the Way, unlocking his wordhord" I love that idea!