Word of the Day
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mead Hall (noun) – Today’s word is a bit of a stretch because, really, it’s two words. But it’s fabulous. The precursor to the tavern, eh? A mead hall, in medieval days, was the “house” where the king let all his thanes (knights) hang out drinking and telling riddles. (Okay, other stuff went on there – for instance, a wench used to be a woman chained to a hook in the floor of a mead hall – but this site could be viewed by eyes under the age of 18, if you know what I mean.) The mead hall had a huge table with benches along the sides. The king sat at the head and, if he was a good king, handed out jewels and rings (a good king was known as a “ring-giver” in their literature) and weapons – all the usual spoils of battle. (Mead comes from the Old English meodu and I have a bottle of mead wine in my kitchen just waiting for my first book signing event…)
Word in a Sentence: In my novel Choices Meant for Gods, Kora Taiman runs the family’s dining room like a cheerful version of the Anglo-Saxon mead hall, inviting the servants in as readily as the officials from the city to the north. (no hook in the floor ;) )
Your turn! You could modernize this word easily if you get creative with it…
“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, grammar, word, Old English, Anglo-Saxon, mead hall
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Mead Hall (noun) – Today’s word is a bit of a stretch because, really, it’s two words. But it’s fabulous. The precursor to the tavern, eh? A mead hall, in medieval days, was the “house” where the king let all his thanes (knights) hang out drinking and telling riddles. (Okay, other stuff went on there – for instance, a wench used to be a woman chained to a hook in the floor of a mead hall – but this site could be viewed by eyes under the age of 18, if you know what I mean.) The mead hall had a huge table with benches along the sides. The king sat at the head and, if he was a good king, handed out jewels and rings (a good king was known as a “ring-giver” in their literature) and weapons – all the usual spoils of battle. (Mead comes from the Old English meodu and I have a bottle of mead wine in my kitchen just waiting for my first book signing event…)
Word in a Sentence: In my novel Choices Meant for Gods, Kora Taiman runs the family’s dining room like a cheerful version of the Anglo-Saxon mead hall, inviting the servants in as readily as the officials from the city to the north. (no hook in the floor ;) )
Your turn! You could modernize this word easily if you get creative with it…
“Some days, I just want the dragon to win.”
Tags: Choices Meant for Gods, Sandy Lender, grammar, word, Old English, Anglo-Saxon, mead hall
posted by Sandy Lender | 5:58 AM
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