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sund-hwæt

Posted on November 6, 2025 by Hana Videen

sund-hwæt, adj: water-quick, active in swimming. (SUND-H’WAT / ˈsʌnd-ˌhwæt)

Medieval manuscript illustration of four deer moving through water towards a tree or plant.
Bestiary from a didactic miscellany; England, 1220-1240; Cambridge University Library, Kk.4.25, f. 62r. [cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk]
Posted in hord highlights, water Leave a comment

fullunga

Posted on November 5, 2025 by Hana Videen

fullunga, adv: fully. (FULL-lung-ga / ˈfʌl-lʌŋ-ga)

Posted in measuring Leave a comment

yrfe

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Hana Videen

yrfe, n.n: cattle. (UER-vuh / ˈyr-və)

Medieval manuscript image of two cows and a bull; the bull inexplicably seems to be breathing fire.
Bestiary from a didactic miscellany; England, 1220-1240; Cambridge University Library, Kk.4.25, f. 58r. [cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk]
Posted in animals, deorhord book 3 Comments

weald

Posted on November 3, 2025 by Hana Videen

weald, m.n: high land covered with woods, forest. (WEH-ald / ˈwɛald)

Posted in deorhord book, places, trees + plants Leave a comment

nīd-gedāl

Posted on November 2, 2025 by Hana Videen

nīd-gedāl, n.n: an inevitable parting, the parting of body and soul. (NEED-yeh-DAHL / ˈniːd-jɛ-ˌdaːl)

Medieval manuscript illustration of a naked human body with no visible sexual organs rising up from a grave containing a skeleton that extends its arms; a winged and haloed figure hovers above.
Miscellany; N England, mid 15th century; British Library, Additional 37049, f. 81v. [medievalkarl.com]
Posted in body + health, religion Leave a comment

hālig-waras

Posted on November 1, 2025 by Hana Videen

hālig-waras, pl.m.n: holy people, saints. (HA-lih-WA-rahs / ˈhaː-lɪj-ˌwa-ras)

Posted in people, religion Leave a comment

hēafod-bān

Posted on October 31, 2025 by Hana Videen

hēafod-bān, n: skull. (HAY-ah-vod-BAHN / ˈheːa-vɔd-ˌbaːn)

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Medieval manuscript image of a fish swimming over a grinning skull.
Hours of Saint-Omer; France, c. 1320; British Library, Add 36684, f. 88r. [discardingimages.tumblr.com]
Posted in body + health Leave a comment

grislīc

Posted on October 30, 2025 by Hana Videen

grislīc, adj: grim, horrible; inspiring terror, horror or awe. (GRIZZ-leech / ˈgrɪz-liːtʃ)

Posted in deorhord book Leave a comment

cwic-sūsl

Posted on October 29, 2025 by Hana Videen

cwic-sūsl, f/n.n: living torment, eternal punishment; hell. (KWITCH-soo-zull / ˈkwɪtʃ-ˌsuː-zəl)

Medieval manuscript illustration of people being tormented in hell, including two people being eaten by the two heads of a long-necked creature and a woman having her hair combed by a demon while other demons hang off of her playing musical instruments.
Apocalypse; Belgium, c. 1313; Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Français 13096, f. 86v. [discardingimages.tumblr.com]
Posted in deorhord book, places Leave a comment

dēaþ-wyrda

Posted on October 28, 2025 by Hana Videen

dēaþ-wyrda, pl.f.n: death-events, fates. (DAY-ath-WUER-da / ˈdeːaθ-ˌwyr-da)

Medieval manuscript image of a crowned, haloed woman looking down at a man in pilgrim’s garb lying dead on a bed; a black-cloaked figure bearing a scythe in one hand and a ring in the other sits on the end of the bed.
Le Pèlerinage de la vie humaine (Pilgrimage of the human life); France, 14th century; Bodleian Library, MS. Douce 300, f. 121v. [digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk]

Posted in etc Leave a comment

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