Welcome to Litsy!

The family went to the San Antonio Museum of Art today to see a special exhibit from England of medieval armor. I bought this one from the gift shop. Sort of part of the great February book haul

A great concept and a well-structured book. I liked the lists of words at the end of each chapter and the pronunciation guides; these make the word lists fun to read aloud!

Fascinating, informative & fun, this book was a joy from start to finish. The author's love of language is evident on every page & her enthusiasm is thoroughly infectious. It's so interesting to discover the roots of modern English, what's changed and what's stayed the same. The pronunciation guides keep this book accessible to the armchair linguist & the wit & warmth avoids the stuffiness of a more academic tome. An ideal gift for word lovers!

It is a wet and gloomy day in Yorkshire's east riding today. Can't wait to get in from work and settle down with this book, a blanket & a large coffee!

I'm a language/etymology nerd and got turned onto this book by my favorite podcast, A Way With Words. A well-researched and engagingly written study of Old English and how it eventually morphed into the language we speak today. Worth it alone to learn the subtle differences between aelf-siden (elf-enchantment), aelf-adl (elf-disease), and aelf-sogetha (elf-ailment). 😂

Reading has been slow-going as of late, but on the plus side I did come across this early medieval recipe for treating "elf-enchantment" ?‍♀️?‍♂️

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Wander down a small alley off London's Fleet Street and you'll find a pub with a crooked, creaky charm.

This book is enjoyable reading. The notions she explores about ordinary living in the Old English period in Britain are fun & surprising. Women in early medieval Britain could rule; they could own, inherit, & sell land… news to me! I enjoyed finding origins of words, such as lufu=love, sōth (spelled with a “thorn”)=truth, source of our “sooth,” as in soothsayer. It‘s light on language history, but works as a foray into an old tongue & its mindset.

Got this gorgeous book for Christmas. It's totally up my street. Also, as an enthusiastic armchair linguist, I love the title. Word and hord. Ward and hord. Word and hurd. I love the English language!