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    The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
    The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
    The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
    Audiobook8 hours

    The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary

    Written by Hana Videen

    Narrated by Isabel Adomakoh Young

    ()

    About this audiobook

    From the author of The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English, which Neil Gaiman called “a delightful book," an audiobook narrated by Isabel Adomakoh Young that takes you on an entertaining tour of Old English words for animals


    Many of the animals we encounter in everyday life, from pets and farm animals to the wild creatures of field and forest, have remained the same since medieval times. But the words used to name and describe them have often changed beyond recognition, starting with the Old English word for “animal” itself, deor (pronounced DAY-or). In The Deorhord, Hana Videen presents a glittering Old English bestiary of animals real and imaginary, big and small, ordinary and extraordinary—the good, the bad, and the downright baffling.


    From gange-wæfran or walker-weavers (spiders) and hasu-padan or grey-cloaked ones (eagles) to heafdu swelce mona or moon-heads (historians still don’t know!), The Deorhord introduces a world both familiar and strange: where ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friend, where dog-headed men were as real as elephants, and where whales were as sneaky as wolves. The curious stories behind these words provide vivid insights into the language, literature, and lives of those who spoke Old English—the language of Beowulf—more than a thousand years ago.


    A delightful journey through the weird and wonderful world of Old English, The Deorhord is a magical menagerie of new creatures and new words for the modern englisc reader to discover.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPrinceton University Press
    Release dateFeb 20, 2024
    ISBN9780691262888
    The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary
    Author

    Hana Videen

    Hana Videen has been hoarding Old English words since 2013, when she began tweeting one a day. Now over 20,000 people follow her for these daily gems from her wordhord. After her Old English doctorate at King's College London, she is now a writer and blogger in Canada, translating curiosities of history into engaging narratives. Follow Hana on Twitter: @OEWordhord And visit her website: www.oldenglishwordhord.com

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