hwīt

Posted on February 22, 2016 by Hana Videen

hwīt, adj: white, bright, clear, fair. (H’WEET / ˈhwiːt)

lufu

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Hana Videen

lufu, f.n: love; warm affection, attachment; strong feeling, passion. (LUH-vuh / ˈlʌ-vʌ)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

spearca

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Hana Videen

spearca, m.n: a spark (literal or metaphorical). (SPEH-ar-ka / ˈspɛar-ka)

rǣdels

Posted on January 11, 2016 by Hana Videen

rǣdels, m/f.n: counsel, consideration; debate; conjecture, imagination, interpretation; enigma, riddle. (RAD-ells / ˈræː-dɛls)

hord-wynn

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Hana Videen

hord-wynn, f.n: delightful treasure (hoard-joy). (HORD-WUEN / ˈhɔrd-ˌwyn)

Image of the Staffordshire Hoard from Medievalists.net.

morgen-steorra

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Hana Videen

morgen-steorra, m.n: morning star (epithet for Satan or the Devil). (MOR-gen-STEH-or-ra / ˈmɔr–gɛn-ˌstɛɔr-ra)

Codex-Gigas-287728 — Codex Gigas, the “Devil’s Bible”, currently housed in the National Library of Sweden.

Oxna-ford

Posted on November 26, 2015 by Hana Videen

Oxna-ford, n: Oxford, a place-name meaning ‘ford of the oxen’. (AWK-sna-vord / ˈɔk-sna-vɔrd)

*Der Naturen Bloeme*, by Jacob van Maerlant. Flanders or Utrecht, 15th-century. Koninklijke Bibliotheek, KB, 76 E 4, f. 10r. From The Medieval Bestiary.

āglǣca

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Hana Videen

āglǣca, m.n: hostile fighter, fierce combatant, great opponent. (AH-GLACK-ah / ˈa-ˌglæː-ka)

There aren’t any good word-for-word translations. Often translators use ‘monster’ but there is no word in Old English that means simply ‘monster’, and āglǣca can refer to (human) heroes as well as monsters. Grendel is an āglǣca but so is Beowulf.