The Wordhord by Hanna Videen

Book Review

Many of you know that I spend a lot of my time dressed as an Anglo Saxon and so naturally Old English and the roots of our modern English language fascinate me and I wanted to learn more in an accessible way. This book has not disappointed.

Here’s the blurb:

‘An entertaining collection of strange, delightful and unexpectedly apt words from the origins of English, which illuminates the lives, beliefs and habits of our linguistic ancestors.’

'In this beautiful little book, Hana Videen has gathered gems of words together to create a glorious trove and illuminate the lives, beliefs and habits of our linguistic ancestors. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friend-ship, and you might grow up to be a laughter-smith. These are the magical roots of our own language: you'll never see English in the same way again.

Videen has created a treasure trove of wonderful words with some truely unique turns of phrase that have very specific meanings. Our modern parlance has lost the subtly of these words, so here are some of my favourites from the book.

• cū-wearm - (koo-weh-arm) milk straight from the cow that is still warm

• feoh - (feh-oh) a payment made in livestock

• symbel-wlanc - (suem-bell-wlahnk) - feast proud, arrogant on mead and picking a fight

• drēam-cræft (dray-arm-kraft) music/ joy craft

• ge-bēor-scipe (yeh-bay-or-ship-uh) - a gathering of friends for the purposes of feasting and drinking.

There are many, many more wonderful words in this book and, if you are interested, Videen has also put them together on a website and app here.

This is a book I will go back to again and again and when I’m telling ancient stories from the medieval period, I have started to pepper them with the relevant Old English words, thanks to the help of this book.

If you are interested in the roots of the English language and would like an insight, through this language, into how we once lived, then this is a fascinating book. It’s accessible, humorous and easy to dip in and out of: a most excellent heorþ-genēat (heh-orth-yeh-nay-aht) - hearth companion.

You can buy Hana Videen’s , ‘The Wordhord’ in all good bookshops. If you would like to buy a copy online, please consider visiting my page on Bookshop.org where I have gathered some of the books I read and recommend. Here you will find a plethora of myth, legend and folktale.

And don’t forget to support your local library too. See if they have a copy to borrow.