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Old English Word of the Day

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stæf-wīs

Posted on June 14, 2025 by Hana Videen

stæf-wīs, adj: skilled in letters, literate. (STAFF-WEES / ˈstæf-ˌwiːs)

Medieval manuscript page in Latin written in two different styles of lettering, as well as a large S decorated with knot-work that begins the word Sapientes.
De natura rerum; E France, 9th century; Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc.Nat.1, f. 41r. [digitale-sammlungen.de]

Posted in education + knowledge Leave a comment

lēad-gedelf

Posted on June 13, 2025 by Hana Videen

lēad-gedelf, n.n: lead mine or quarry. (LAY-odd-yeh-DELF / ˈleːad-jɛ-ˌdɛlf)

Posted in places 2 Comments

þyrel

Posted on June 12, 2025 by Hana Videen

þyrel, n.n: hole. (THUE-rell / ˈθy-rɛl)

A hole in a page of a medieval manuscript reveals a dragon on the page beneath.
De natura rerum; E France, 9th century; Bamberg, Staatsbibliothek, Msc.Nat.1, f. 26v. [digitale-sammlungen.de]
Posted in deorhord book Leave a comment

wēsten

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Hana Videen

wēsten, m.n: desert, wilderness. (WAY-sten / ˈweː-stɛn)

Posted in deorhord book, places Leave a comment

lāð

Posted on June 10, 2025 by Hana Videen

lāð, adj: hostile, malign, bearing hate toward another. (LAWTH / ˈlaːθ)

Medieval marginalia depicting an elephant with a trunk nearly the size of its entire body and a tower bearing three soldiers on its back facing off with a man who carries a shield and a giant sword.
Rothschild Canticles; Flanders or the Rhineland, c. 1300; Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library, MS 404, f. 168v. [collections.library.yale.edu]
Posted in battle, deorhord book, emotions Leave a comment

rǣden

Posted on June 9, 2025 by Hana Videen

rǣden, f.n: condition. (RAD-en / ˈræː-dɛn)

Posted in deorhord book Leave a comment

hālga gāst

Posted on June 8, 2025 by Hana Videen

hālga gāst, n: Holy Spirit. (HALL-ga GAHST / ˈhaːl-ga ˈgaːst)

Medieval historiated initial depicting the apostles and Virgin Mary being visited by the Holy Spirit in the form of a haloed dove.
Sherbrooke Missal; England (East Anglia), 1310-1320; National Library of Wales, MS. 15536E. [commons.wikimedia.org]
Posted in deorhord book, religion Leave a comment

lǣwede

Posted on June 7, 2025 by Hana Videen

lǣwede, adj: lay, i.e. not learned, not of the church; by gradual change of meaning it became modern English ‘lewd’. (LAE-weh-duh / ˈlæː-wɛ-də)

Posted in religion Leave a comment

stǣger

Posted on June 6, 2025 by Hana Videen

stǣger, f.n: staircase. (STAE-yer / ˈstæː-jɛr)

Medieval manuscript illustration of a king ascending a flight of stairs, raising his left hand and holding his cloak with his right.
Les livres de Salomon et les Prophètes, 13th century; Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Latin 11560, f. 32r. [gallica.bnf.fr]

Posted in etc Leave a comment

gold-fæt

Posted on June 5, 2025 by Hana Videen

gold-fæt, n.n: thin plate of gold. (GOLD-VAT / ˈgɔld-ˌvæt)

Posted in arts + crafts, deorhord book Leave a comment

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