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Monday, April 04, 2005
OE in Smithsonian Global Sound downloads 
The Smithsonian has a wonderful world folk music shop that includes several tracks in OE, including Cædmon's Hymn and The Ruin. New English versions of many of the same tracks are available.

Downloads seem to vary in price, but are about 99 cents apiece. Better yet, they are in mp3 format with no Digital Rights Management to hamper fair use such as moving between your own computers and portable devices. Thanks to Boingboing.net for this info.

†this post made by Jerry : 8:54 AM


Monday, March 21, 2005
Performance of Beowulf in Sewanee, TN 
My old friend and colleague Betsy Sandlin at the University of the South in Sewanee, TN just sent me an email telling me about a performance of Beowulf there in early April:

On Friday 8 April, in conjunction with the Sewanee Medieval Colloquium and the Humanities program, there will be a dramatic performance of "Beowulf" by award-winning performance artist and storyteller Christine Vinsonhaler. The performance will take place at 8 pm at the Proctor Hill Theater, the Tennessee Williams Center. Further details will appear soon. I hope many of you will be able to come -- and please encourage your students to do likewise.

Sue Ridyard


If you are anywhere near SE Tennessee I am sure this is not to be missed. I may have to make arrangements myself.

†this post made by Jerry : 11:02 AM


Speaking of Old English... 

Bill Wyman (yes, that Bill Wyman, the bassist for the Rolling Stones) has a new book coming out on finding historical artifacts in the Isles, with comments from both professional and amateur archeologists. Richard Havers, Bill's usual cowriter, also lends a hand.



Treasure Islands:  Britain's History Uncovered by Bill Wyman and Richard Havers



†this post made by Jerry : 10:29 AM


Monday, March 14, 2005
Nimmeþ eure seaxe 
My Armoury has posted a short article by Frank Docherty on the seax or scramseax, the odd but utilitarian shortsword for which the Saxons were named.

a seax short sword

Source: My Armoury.com



Note the runes on the back of the blade. Cool stuff.

†this post made by Jerry : 10:29 AM


Friday, November 12, 2004
Lacnunga Elf Charm 
If you're not as Ælfræd ("Elf-counseled") as you should be, take note of the Lacnunga Elf Charm.

†this post made by Jerry : 1:37 AM


Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Old English... brain surgery? 
The BBC reports today that a skull found near the abandoned village of Wharram Percy in Yorkshire shows evidence of trepanning. Trepanning is a primitive form of surgery that involves relief of pressure in the brain cavity by boring (or, here, expanding) a hole in the skull. The skull in question seems to have belonged to a peasant who lived between the 10th and 12th centuries. He probably received a blunt trauma wound that created a hole in his skull, which was then cleaned and expanded by healers to relieve swelling:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3714992.stm

Scholar Brian Mays, a skeletal biologist with English Heritage, notes that the use of such an elaborate procedure on a peasant is incongruous with long held notions about healing practices in Anglo-Saxon times.

†this post made by Jerry : 8:19 AM


Monday, September 13, 2004
New look and title 
Hail, Saxons! I hope everyone is enjoying the new layout. I have much tinkering left to do (for instance, the top nav bar is not actually linking to anything yet), so please bear with. The only pages that are active at the moment are this one and the main page.

I've also discovered that Prof. Catherine Ball at Georgetown already has an OE page called "Hwæt," so I've decided to rename this one "Hornbora," or meaning horn bearer or trumpeter. Can you guess my favorite Germanic god?

Keep checking back, and wes þu hal.

†this post made by Jerry : 11:19 PM


Tuesday, September 07, 2004
Viking graves found in northern England 
The graves of six people, with artifacts including two brooches, unearthed near Cumwhitton:

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040907/D84UH2I00.html

†this post made by Jerry : 2:04 PM


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