|
annswinfen
|
|
|
|
I thought I'd start a new thread on this. (Welcome back, Saxon Annie!)
If you read Rosemary Sutcliff's books as a child, you'll recall that she used kennings, some from the Anglo-Saxon, some probably invented herself. Without referring back, I remember 'whale-road' as another for the sea, and 'wave-rider' for a ship. I love the use of kennings, but I suppose today they are mainly used in poetry.
BTW, the start of that other thread reminded me that Louise did a great online review with me, at
http://louisewise.blogspot.com/2010/07/testament-of-mariam-by-ann-swinfen.html
Not sure that will work at a link - I haven't quite worked out links from YWO. One of you techy people might be able to!
Ann
|
|
MLT
|
|
|
|
One of the delightful things about this site is that you can learn all sorts of strange things. I'd never heard of kennings before and, being too lazy to go and find a dictionary, assumed when it was first mentioned that it must be something to do with second sight. How wrong can you be!!
|
|
sulcus
|
|
|
|
Quote: MLT, Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 13:24One of the delightful things about this site is that you can learn all sorts of strange things. I'd never heard of kennings before and, being too lazy to go and find a dictionary, assumed when it was first mentioned that it must be something to do with second sight. How wrong can you be!! you're not too far out with the second sight thing. One of its shades of meaning is range of sight, as in understanding or knowledge
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
|
|
annswinfen
|
|
|
|
I've always assumed the word is related to the Scottish use of 'ken' meaning 'know'. If my memory serves me right, 'ken' also occurs in Middle English. (Too lazy to go upstairs and check in my Shorter Oxford Dictionary!)
Ann
|
|
sulcus
|
|
|
|
Quote: annswinfen, Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 14:11I've always assumed the word is related to the Scottish use of 'ken' meaning 'know'. If my memory serves me right, 'ken' also occurs in Middle English. (Too lazy to go upstairs and check in my Shorter Oxford Dictionary!) Ann It does, both shades of meaning are contained within word 'ken'
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
|
|
mkrobinson12
|
|
|
|
Quote: annswinfen, Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 14:11I've always assumed the word is related to the Scottish use of 'ken' meaning 'know'. If my memory serves me right, 'ken' also occurs in Middle English. (Too lazy to go upstairs and check in my Shorter Oxford Dictionary!) Ann I believe you're right. Ken is still used in the north. Kenning is not in the Webster's Dictionary, nor is it in my version of the Oxford Dictionary. Not often that a word escapes writers and dictionaries. I was introduced to the concept by my father-in-law after he read my last work. He said his misspent youth at Oxford finally paid dividends. We drank beer and talked about kennings and the way life used to be . . . I discovered he attended tutorials under Tolkien, although he eventually went into finance instead of literature. I notice kennings now, more of them out there than people realise, although they're mostly compounded and not hyphenated. Whale-road is an old one, but half the fun is making up new ones. Here's a kenning I made up a few days ago: star-salted sky. Works? Doesn't work? Anyone know any more?
|
|
antonygloster
|
|
|
|
I use various forms of kennen - to know, lots of times during the week. But then I do live in Deutschland.
AG
|
|
sulcus
|
|
|
|
Quote: mkrobinson12, Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 15:32Quote: annswinfen, Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 14:11I've always assumed the word is related to the Scottish use of 'ken' meaning 'know'. If my memory serves me right, 'ken' also occurs in Middle English. (Too lazy to go upstairs and check in my Shorter Oxford Dictionary!) Ann I believe you're right. Ken is still used in the north. Kenning is not in the Webster's Dictionary, nor is it in my version of the Oxford Dictionary. Not often that a word escapes writers and dictionaries. I was introduced to the concept by my father-in-law after he read my last work. He said his misspent youth at Oxford finally paid dividends. We drank beer and talked about kennings and the way life used to be . . . I discovered he attended tutorials under Tolkien, although he eventually went into finance instead of literature. I notice kennings now, more of them out there than people realise, although they're mostly compounded and not hyphenated. Whale-road is an old one, but half the fun is making up new ones. Here's a kenning I made up a few days ago: star-salted sky. Works? Doesn't work? Anyone know any more? the word kenning is defined in the online dictionary. Star-salted sky? Not quite sure how that works. Isn't that a straight metaphor? The word 'sky' is redundant if you mean for 'star-salted' to stand in for it. Have you got any other examples.
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
|
|
mkrobinson12
|
|
|
|
Okay. How about this? A favourite when I was growing up in Appalachia . . . Chicken-scratch, writing in other words. Here are more, some are common Norse/Old English kennings, others I made up (not to say someone else hasn’t used them somewhere or at some time): Star-peppered sky. Star-salted night. Star-salted sky. Cloud-blown sky. Cloud-puffed day. Rain-misted sky. Sky-candle=sun. Sky’s-jewel=sun. Salted-moon. Spray-misted air. Far-blue sky. Blue-bell sky. Star-ember sky. Steel-grey sky. Sail-pointed horizon. Foam-kissed beaches. Wave-horsed sea. Ship-studded sea. Wave-bent boats. Wave-caressed boats. Wave-slapped boats. Sea-steed. Wave-steed. Sail-road. Whale-road. Fish-road. Hilly-waves. Grey-painted horizon. Wave-rider. Nettle-stare. Moss-hair. Fire-eyes. Leaf-green eyes. Ember-eyes. Hearth-eyes. Moonshine smile. Crescent-moon smile. Sunshine-smile. Forked-tree. Hawk-hooked nose. Pot-ladled nose. Jug-handled ears. Anvil-forged face. Lip-streams=words of a poet. Word-fisher=poet. War-gull=raven. Battle-sweat=blood. Raven-harvest=corpse. Blood-worm=sword. Storm of weapons=battle. Weapon-storm=battle. Fish-scale. Anvil-hard. Earth-baked. Night-soil=excrement. Nettle-subtle.
|
|
sulcus
|
|
|
|
Quote: mkrobinson12, Tuesday, 10 Aug 2010 20:39Okay. How about this? A favourite when I was growing up in Appalachia . . . Chicken-scratch, writing in other words. Here are more, some are common Norse/Old English kennings, others I made up (not to say someone else hasn’t used them somewhere or at some time): Star-peppered sky. Star-salted night. Star-salted sky. Cloud-blown sky. Cloud-puffed day. Rain-misted sky. Sky-candle=sun. Sky’s-jewel=sun. Salted-moon. Spray-misted air. Far-blue sky. Blue-bell sky. Star-ember sky. Steel-grey sky. Sail-pointed horizon. Foam-kissed beaches. Wave-horsed sea. Ship-studded sea. Wave-bent boats. Wave-caressed boats. Wave-slapped boats. Sea-steed. Wave-steed. Sail-road. Whale-road. Fish-road. Hilly-waves. Grey-painted horizon. Wave-rider. Nettle-stare. Moss-hair. Fire-eyes. Leaf-green eyes. Ember-eyes. Hearth-eyes. Moonshine smile. Crescent-moon smile. Sunshine-smile. Forked-tree. Hawk-hooked nose. Pot-ladled nose. Jug-handled ears. Anvil-forged face. Lip-streams=words of a poet. Word-fisher=poet. War-gull=raven. Battle-sweat=blood. Raven-harvest=corpse. Blood-worm=sword. Storm of weapons=battle. Weapon-storm=battle. Fish-scale. Anvil-hard. Earth-baked. Night-soil=excrement. Nettle-subtle. okay maybe I'm misunderstanding this. The one's where you've got an ='s, in work brilliantly; word-fisher = poet etc. The others to me are metaphors, but they're not actually standing in for or replacing the actual thing itself, they're just describing its quality metaphorically
This post was last edited by sulcus, 10 Aug 2010, 21:04
"A,B&E", "Not In My Name" and "52FF" (flash fiction anthology) all available on Amazon Kindle"How a psychopath makes sweet love. I can get you ringside. Royal box even."
|
Anglo-Saxon Kennings
10 Aug 2010, 11:23
