bā, pron: both. (“baa”)
“Wæter and eorþe sint on gecynde cealda bā twā” (Water and earth, both the two are by nature cold)
hēah-engel
hēah-engel, m.n: an archangel. (“heh-ah-en-gell”)
Today is the Feast of Michael the Archangel.
Hwæt we weorðiað wide geond eorðan / heahengles tiid on hærfeste, / Michaheles, swa þæt menigo wat, / fif nihtum ufor þæs þe folcum byð, / eorlum geywed emnihtes dæg.
– Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium), lines 176-80
How widely throughout the earth we celebrate the feast of the Archangel, of Michael, in autumn, as a multitude (of people) know, five nights after the day of equinox is revealed to people, to men!
– translation by Kazutomo Karasawa
Karasawa says in his book on the Menologium:
The name of the Archangel appears nowhere else in the extant Old English poems. The veneration of the saint, which is said to have been originated in Phrygia*, was quite widespread and there was a variety of dates for his feast. (p. 118).
*Present-day Turkey.
Kazutomo Karasawa, The Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium)(Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2015)
Initial Q: Saint Michael and the Dragon. Germany (Würzburg), c. 1240-1250. The J. Paul Getty Museum, MS. Ludwig VIII 2, fol. 61v. [discardingimages]
stocc
stocc, m.n: a stock, trunk, log. (“stok”)
stōc
stōc, n.n: place (?); a word occurring mostly in place names, either alone or in compounds. (“stoh-k”)
wull
pening-weorþ
pening-weorþ, n.n: a penny-worth. (“peh-ning-weh-orth”)
bēah-gifa
bēah-gifa, m.n: a ring-giver, a giver of ring or bracelet money. (“beh-ah-yee-vah”)
It’s Gold-gifa Week, the last seven days of the month, when I feature words chosen by my gold-gifa supporters…but I don’t have any yet! Will you be first? Find out more at my Patreon page.
Anglo-Saxon gold, including four rings, dating from the 7th to 11th centuries. [bbc.co.uk]
pistol
pistol, m.n: an epistle, letter. (“pees-toll”)
The beginning of the Epistle to Galatians in an unidentified illuminated manuscript (if you know it, please comment). The image shows Paul giving his Epistle to a Galatian. [Wikimedia]
wang-stede
wang-stede, m.n: a place in open country, a place. (“wong-sted-eh”)
god-spell
god-spell, n.n: gospel. (“god-spell”)
The gospel is the teaching or revelation of Christ. The gospels are the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), which record Christ’s life and teaching.
Today is the feast of St Matthew the Apostle, one of the writers of the gospels.
…þegn unforcuð, / godspelles gleaw, gast onsende / Matheus his to metodsceafte / in ecne gefean.
– Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium), lines 170b-73a
…the reputable thegn, skilled in (writing) the Gospel, Matthew, sent out his spirit, at the appointed destiny, into the eternal joy.
– translation by Kazutomo Karasawa
Kazutomo Karasawa, The Old English Metrical Calendar (Menologium) (Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2015)
St Matthew in the Gospels of Macdurnan. Ireland, 9th century. Lambeth Palace Library, MS 1370, fol. 4v. [Pinterest]
