Category Archives: War and Peace

Stanza 19: War Horse

byþ for eorlum         æþelinga wyn.
hors hofum wlanc.         ðær him hæleþ ymb.
welege on wicgum         wrixlaþ spræce.
 biþ unstyllum         æfre frofur 
᛬᛫

It is for warriorsMore

Stanza 11: Ice

byþ ofer ceald         ungemetum slidor
glisnaþ glæs hluttur         gimmum gelicust.
flor forste geworuht         fæger ansyne
᛬᛫

It is overly cold, immeasurably slipperyMore

Translating Is

The Is stanza says there is nothing more cold than ice. it is oferceald. There is nothing more slippery than ice: slidor ungemetum. Met means measurement, it is slippery beyond measure.… More

Translating Eh

There’s lots of words for horse in Old English, hors, for one. But there’s wicg, hengest, friþhengest, onrid, radhors, mearh, sceam, steda, stott, blanca, gelew, all… More

How to Change the World

How to change the world? Invent something, something important. Look at the stirrup: a metal rounded triangle you can attach to a saddle as a place to put your feet. Very simple, basic,… More

E is for ⁊

⁊ is shorthand for the word et which means “and” in Latin. It shows up in place of “and” seven times in the only copy we have of the Rune Poem. The placements… More

X≠Y≠Z: Y

Life is about to change for Y. The herd has been dwindling, with Z already exiled in wretchedness. X is on edge, chin elevated, ears pinned back, and has decided that Y’s days inMore

Hildegicel

H: At the start of an Old English word, H is almost silent, an H on its way out. Hha. A burst of breath in cold air, watch it freeze.

I: Short vowel. Hint and hinge and hinder.

L: Hill.

D: Duh.More

War and Peace

During the time of the Rune Poem, a properly kitted warrior owned a decent war horse to take to battle. These were bigger horses than the usual so they could handle a person wearing heavy… More

How to Stab Somebody with an Icicle

You want to stab somebody with an icicle. Good. It’s best when the murder weapon disappears. Here’s the plan:

Acquisition of Murder Weapon
If you are harvesting from … More

Friþ

More

I is for Iceland Spar

It’s one thing to get from place to place by boat if you can keep an eye on the coastline the entire time. But if you want to cross the open sea without GPS, you will need some sort of… More

How to Listen to a Horse

Publius Cornelius Tacitus
Ingaevones Territory
Year 98 of the New Calendar

Gnaeus Julius Agricola
Governor, Britannia, ret.

Dearest Father in Law,

How are you, I am fine. Julia sends… More

Rune Casting: Is

Cool it. Put it on ice baby love. Call an end to the hostilities and chill. You want to keep fighting this same fight? What are you battling exactly? Might as well punch a tree for all the… More

Rune Casting: Eh

Saddle up, you’ve got a battle on your hands, and no wonder, you are feeling protective and as well you should. You’ve got plenty to protect. You are well equipped for this… More

Vowel, high (mouth slightly open) front (tongue forward) unrounded lax (lips) = bit, unrounded tense = bite. Don’t bite your lips. I and Y were very similar in Old English, … More

This is the rune for Eh, war horse, letter E. In the Cotton library manuscript called Galba A.ii (burned in a different fire from the one that got the Old English Rune Poem) the name of … More