Category Archives: wordhord book

mere-grota

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mere-grota, m.n: a pearl. (MEH-ruh-GROT-ah / ˈmɛ-rə-ˌgrɔ-ta)

It’s Wordhord Wednesday #50 and in honour of the occasion, I’ve decided to make this particular post free for everyone to read. See ‘pearls, margaritas and giant grapes’ on Patreon.

Bestiary. North France, c. 1250-1260. Bibliothèque Nationale de France, lat. 14429, f. 117v. [bestiary.ca]

scenc

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scenc, m.n: a draught, cup. (SHENCH / ˈʃɛntʃ)

This week’s Wordhord Wednesday post is on scenc and pronouncing c in Old English. Read it on Patreon.

0906 scenc
A pig-like figure lifting a cup of wine and a hare placing a stick upon a dog’s head. ‘Barcelona’ Haggadah. Spain (Barcelona), c. 1340. British Library, Additional 14761, f. 26v. [bl.uk]

hwæles ēðel

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hwæles ēðel, compound: ‘whale’s home’, the ocean. (H’WAL-uz-AY-thell / ˈhwæ-ləz-ˌeː-θɛl)

For more on medieval whales, check out my other blog, Dēor-hord, the medieval and modern bestiary!

m0003 481
Yunus (Jonah) and the whale, from Rashid al-Din’s Jami al-tawarikh (The Collection of Histories). Iran (Tabriz), c. 1314. University of Edinburgh Special Collections, MS 20, f. 23v. [collections.ed.ac.uk]