Books

A book, “The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary”, by Hana Videen, resting on a log with an orange leaf beside it. The cover background is white with a gold and green border with decorative gold squares. The title and author’s name are written inside an arched window shape, with a border of words around it: culfre, heafod swelce mona, healf-hundingas, æmette, igil, hind, dentes tyrannum, fenix, reord-berend, ungefrægelican deor, nædre, wulf and hwæl. The area surrounding the Old English word border has wood-cut style illustrations in green and gold, each in its own compartment but overlapping slightly: a wolf, a whale, a dove, a spiky lizard with big teeth, a dog-headed person holding a cross, a deer, a weird-looking rhino-like creature, a phoenix in a burning nest, a nun writing, a snake and a griffin. By the author’s name it says “Author of The Wordhord”, which Neil Gaiman described as “Marvellous”, and some ants crawl alongside it.

The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary

Why did the earn (eagle) fly to the sun? Where do you find henna (hens) that burst into flame? How do you defeat an ylp (elephant)? And what on earth is a moon-head? Welcome to the strange and delightful world of Old English animals — the ordinary, the extraordinary, the good, the bad and the baffling.

Profile Books 2023 / Princeton UP 2024

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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 Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English

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.

Profile Books 2021 / Princeton UP 2022

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