Category Archives: Sitting to Battle

Stanza 14: The Game

byþ symble         plega. and hlehter
wlancum         ðar wigan sittaþ
on beor sele         bliþe æt somne 
᛬᛫

It is a feast game and laughter
For proud          sitting to battle… More

Stanza 16: Sun

semannum         symble biþ on hiht
ðonn hi hine feriaþ         ofer fisces beþ
oþ hibrim hengest         bringeþ to lande
᛬᛫

For mariners, it is always hoped upon
When they ferryMore

Translating Sigel

The answer to this riddle is the sun, though when you read it it could be something else related to seafaring. Semannum, more commonly spelled sæmanum, means mariners, plural, people… More

Translating Peorð

Nobody knows what this is for certain. The only time we ever see the word peorð in Old English is in lists of rune names, so we only know what the Rune Poem riddle says, that it is what it isMore

How to Navigate by the Sun

I do not advise navigating by the sun. It’s a mathematical mess with all parts in motion, the sun, the sea, you. Pure chaos. If you must get in a boat, stick to the coastline where… More

S is for Saxon

People hear Anglo Saxon and assume it means a genetically white person living in any time period from the end of the Roman occupation of Britain to our own. Some use the term Anglo Saxon… More

Battle

 

 

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L-a

S-g is m-g

W-t c-n it be?

N-y k-s

So d-t l-k at me.… More

Sitting to Battle

Imagine yourself sitting in a beer hall with the rune carvers, playing a game requiring strategy, skill, luck. You are feeling wlanc, proud, boastful. What are you boasting about?… More

X≠Y≠Z: Settlers

Y: I wanted to play Monopoly.

X: Monopoly is stupid, there’s no skill in Monopoly.

Y: There is skill.

X: No, it’s just luck. It’s boring and old, it’s what … More

Always

 

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P is for Poetry

Old English poetry was performed, probably sung, for purposes beyond mere entertainment. The Germanic tribes Tacitus visited at the end of the first century would prep for battle… More

How to Play the Game

You don’t just play this game. It’s fun, yes, everybody battling peacefully united, but this is more than that and deadly serious. Focus. If you want to win you have to … More

Rune Casting: Peorþ

Something’s missing. It’s missing and what it is exactly is unclear. What is clear is that you will soon have time for fun and recreation  so lean into it. Gather together… More

Rune Casting: Sigel

It’s clear as day you’ve been feeling all at sea lately, but don’t give up hope. If you can’t find your inner compass to guide you to shore, trust in an outer… More

Voiceless bilabial stop. Send air through your mouth, now stop it, now start. If you vibrate your vocal cords you make a B. This is not that, keep your larynx still and put a little extra… More

Alveolar voiceless spirant. Send air into your mouth, almost closed, then slip it out sibilantly. See? Splendid.

Carve a line down, change your mind and go back up, no, go down again.… More