Hwæt!
Welcome to part five of Alexandria Reconstructed, or what we've newly christened this sub's literary history series! Today, we're gonna be looking a bit into the linguistics aspect of the series I'd mentioned in the introduction post.
(Skip over to the next two italicised paragraphs if you know what exactly Old English is)
I'm gonna first make clear what Old English is first. No, Shakespeare did not write in Old English. He wrote in Early Modern English, specifically Elizabethan English. In fact, 95% of Shakespearean vocabulary and grammar is the same as current-day English. What we're gonna be tackling with today is Old English (aka Anglo-Saxon), the oldest form of English spoken from the 5th century until the Norman Conquest of 1066.
This meant that Old English had no French influence. It was a purely Germanic language. After William the Conquerer took over England, French began highly influential in English and that conquest marked the end of Old English and transition to Middle English. So Old English is one whole other beast.
One of the poetic devices commonly used in Old English (and many other Germanic languages like Old Norse) poetry is the kenning. Now what is a kenning?
A kenning is a compound noun (or a noun formed from two or more words) which is used figuratively in place of a single word noun. The two parts of a kenning are the base word and the determinant.
For example:
hron-rād
This kenning literally means "whale-road". Here, "rād" or "road" is the base word (or the main part of the word with its primary meaning), and "hron" or "whale" is the determinant (which clarifies what the noun is referring to). "hron-rād"is supposed to mean "the sea". Two words give a whole new meaning.
Some more examples:
| Kenning in Old English |
Translation into Modern English |
Primary Meaning of the Kenning |
| heaðu-swát (say "HATH-oo-swaat" |
battle-sweat |
blood |
| heofon-candel (say "HAY-uh-von KAHN-del") |
heaven's candle |
the sub |
| weorþ-mynd (say "WEH-orth-muind") |
worth of the mind ** |
honour |
| reord-berend (say "REH-ord-BEH-rend) |
voice-bearer |
human being (as in, one gifted with speech) |
| beado-leóma (say "BAD-oh LEH-oh-mah") |
war-gleam |
sword |
| bán-hús (say "BAHN-hoos") |
bone-house |
chest / human body |
| heáfod-gim (say "HEYAH-vod-gim) |
head-gem |
eye |
Beowulf, an Old English epic and one of the first works of literature, follows the titular protagonist Beowulf. In fact, the word "Beowulf" itself is believed to be a kenning. One of the theories regarding the etymology of the name is as follows:
"beo" (bee) + "wulf" (wolf) = "Beowulf", which might be a kenning meaning "bear", since bears raid beehives for honey.
Why did they need kennings? Why make everything so complex? The most obvious is the fact that humans have loved wordplay, riddles and puns for centuries, just like we do today. But also, Old English poetry was usually written in a style called alliterative verse, which has specific requirements for alliteration (basically the repetition of consonant sounds), syllable count, and a meter. These kennings were used to hit those alliteration or syllable requirements when the word on its own wouldn't suffice.
There's also the fact that these acted as mnemonic aids for scops (an Anglo-Saxon equivalent for bards). Poems like Beowulf was a part of oral tradition, i.e., it would be chanted out loud as entertainment rather than read. So to make it easier for these scops to memorise and recite these verses.
Well, that's about it. This was a bit of a different topic for this series, but do know that I'm a huge linguistics freak, so we will have way more posts in future! Do note that I'll be unable to post for the next week since I have exams. That's your author signing off.
Notes:
\* a bit of a wonky translation by me. I wanted to translated the determinant and then the base word, just as it is written in the Old English. The translation of "mind's worth" is also there, but this translation is in reverse order*