Author Archives: Hana Videen

wordhord

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wordhord, n.n: a word-hoard, a store of words. (WORD-HORD / ˈwɔrd-ˌhɔrd)

Today is a word-of-the-day redux from 2,731 days (and words) ago. I try not to repeat words, but I’m making an exception today because of a special announcement: my book The Wordhord will be published exactly six months from today!

Find out more and where to buy at oldenglishwordhord.com/book.

The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English will be published in the UK by Profile Books on 11 November 2021, and in North America by Princeton University Press on 12 April 2022!

Ever been to neorxnawang (paradise)? Or heard of a gafol-fisc (tax-fish)? Or spoken a word (word)? Discover the magic of Old English... coming November 2021.
A book, The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English, by Hana Videen, against a background of woven textiles. The cover background is white with a gold and red border with decorative gold dots. The title and author’s name are written inside an arched window shape, with a border of Old English words surrounding it: wæfre-gange, gafol-fisc, hring-finger, on-lucan, cwen, æg, dust, beo-gang, lig-draca, wyrd, dream-cræft, hærfest, and druncen-georn. The area surrounding the Old English word border has wood-cut style illustrations in red and gold, each in its own compartment but overlapping slightly: a spider, a fish, the letter h in a calligraphic style, a hand with a ring, a key, a woman carrying a basket of eggs, a bee, a dragon, an ink pot and quill with scroll of paper, a man playing a harp, a bundle of wheat, and a goblet.
The back cover of a book against a background of woven textiles. The cover background is white with a gold and red border with decorative gold dots. The text within an arched window shape are quotations from Edward Brooke-Hitching and David Crystal. ‘A blurb for the book says: ‘Ever seen the beauty of neorxnawang? Heard of a gafol-fisc? Or spoken a word? When is un-tima, and why is it a time to do nothing? And what exactly is bee-bread? Come, reader, the wordhord is unlocked… A border of Old English words surrounds the window: blowan, cwen-fugol, uht, feond-scipe, mona, cen, æppel-tun, wyrd-writere, cu-wearm, wif, and flod-wudu. The area surrounding the Old English word border has wood-cut style illustrations in red and gold, each in its own compartment but overlapping slightly: a flower, a rooster, the sun, a sword, the moon and stars, a torch, grapes on a vine, and a monk writing in a book.