# The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary - Hardcover

by **Hana Videen** (Author)

**An entertaining tour of Old English words for animals, from the author of _The_ _Wordhord:_ _Daily Life in Old English_, which Neil Gaiman called "a marvelous book"**

Many of the animals we encounter in everyday life, from pets and farm animals to the wild creatures of field and forest, have remained the same since medieval times. But the words used to name and describe them have often changed beyond recognition, starting with the Old English word for "animal" itself, _deor_ (pronounced DAY-or). In _The Deorhord_, Hana Videen presents a glittering Old English bestiary of animals real and imaginary, big and small, ordinary and extraordinary--the good, the bad, and the downright baffling.

From _gange-w fran_ or walker-weavers (spiders) and _hasu-padan_ or grey-cloaked ones (eagles) to _heafdu swelce mona_ or moon-heads (historians still don't know!), _The Deorhord_ introduces a world both familiar and strange: where ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friends, where dog-headed men were as real as elephants, and where whales were as sneaky as wolves. The curious stories behind these words provide vivid insights into the language, literature, and lives of those who spoke Old English--the language of _Beowulf_\--more than a thousand years ago.

A delightful journey through the weird and wonderful world of Old English, _The Deorhord_ is a magical menagerie of new creatures and new words for the modern _englisc_ reader to discover.

### Author Biography

**Hana Videen** is a writer, a blogger, and the author of _The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English_ (Princeton). She holds a PhD in Old English from King's College London, and has been hoarding Old English words since 2013, when she began tweeting one a day. Website: www.oldenglishwordhord.com.

**Number of Pages:** 352

**Dimensions:** 1.5 x 8.6 x 5.6 IN

**Publication Date:** February 20, 2024

## Details

- **Price:** 24.95 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 24.95 USD | In stock |

## Images

- The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary - Hardcover

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