{"product_id":"9780691237183","title":"The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English","description":"\u003cb\u003eAn entertaining and illuminating collection of weird, wonderful, and downright baffling words from the origins of English—and what they reveal about the lives of the earliest English speakers\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOld English is the language you think you know until you actually hear or see it. Unlike Shakespearean English or even Chaucer’s Middle English, Old English—the language of \u003ci\u003eBeowulf\u003c\/i\u003e—defies comprehension by untrained modern readers. Used throughout much of Britain more than a thousand years ago, it is rich with words that haven’t changed (like \u003ci\u003eword\u003c\/i\u003e), others that are unrecognizable (such as \u003ci\u003eneorxnawang\u003c\/i\u003e, or paradise), and some that are mystifying even in translation (\u003ci\u003egafol-fisc\u003c\/i\u003e, or tax-fish). In this delightful book, Hana Videen gathers a glorious trove of these gems and uses them to illuminate the lives of the earliest English speakers. We discover a world where choking on a bit of bread might prove your guilt, where fiend-ship was as likely as friendship, and where you might grow up to be a laughter-smith.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Wordhord \u003c\/i\u003etakes readers on a journey through Old English words and customs related to practical daily activities (eating, drinking, learning, working); relationships and entertainment; health and the body, mind, and soul; the natural world (animals, plants, and weather); locations and travel (the source of some of the most evocative words in Old English); mortality, religion, and fate; and the imagination and storytelling. Each chapter ends with its own “wordhord”—a list of its Old English terms, with definitions and pronunciations.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eEntertaining and enlightening, \u003ci\u003eThe Wordhord \u003c\/i\u003ereveals the magical roots of the language you’re reading right now: you’ll never look at—or speak—English in the same way again.","brand":"Princeton University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42371045916733,"sku":"9780691237183","price":14.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9780691237183_p0.jpg?v=1771591739","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.com\/products\/9780691237183","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}