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The Wordhord

Literary Classics

,

Mature

Audio only

The Wordhord

Daily Life in Old EnglishBy Hana VideenNarrated by Sara Powell

The Wordhord

Length8h 23m

About this audiobook

This audiobook narrated by Sara Powell takes listeners on an entertaining and illuminating tour of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English Old English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer's Middle English, Old English—the language of Beowulf—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven't changed (like word), others that are unrecognizable (such as neorxnawang, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation ( gafol-fisc, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith. The Wordhord takes readers on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own "wordhord"—a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations. Entertaining and enlightening, The Wordhord reveals the magical roots of the language you're reading right now: you'll never look at—or speak—English in the same way again.

Mythological World

Nature & Wilderness

Audiobook details

GenreLiterary Classics, History

Length8 hrs 23 mins

Narrated bySara Powell

FormatAudiobook

Publish dateMay 10, 2022

LanguageEnglish

Table of contents

1Opening Anno, Chapter 1, The Language You Thought You Knew

8Chapter 8 - The World Outside

2Chapter 2 - Eating and Drinking

9Chapter 9 - Wildlife

3Chapter 3 - Passing the Time

10Chapter 10 - Travel

4Chapter 4 - Learning and Working

11Chapter 11 - Beyond Human

5Chapter 5 - Playing (and More Drinking)

12Chapter 12 - Searching for Meaning

Show all chaptersShow less

6Chapter 6 - Making Friends and Enemies

13Chapter 13 - Hoarding Words, Closing Anno

7Chapter 7 - Caring for Body and Mind

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