An example of Old English, that the students engaged with, is Beowulf, a heroic poem set in the 6th century, and written in the 8th century. It tells the story of a Scandinavian hero called Beowulf, and his quest to free Heorot from the dreaded monster, Grendel.
One of the features of Beowulf are it’s ‘kennings’. A kenning is a compound phrase with metaphorical meaning that stands in for a noun. Examples of kennings in Beowulf include “whale-road” to mean the sea, “light-of-battle” to mean a sword, “battle-sweat” to mean blood, “raven-harvest” to mean a corpse, “ring-giver” to mean a king, and “sky-candle” to mean the sun.
10B set about writing their own poems, composed of Kennings.
Can you guess what these poems describe (check your answers at the end)?
Kenning 1, By Florian
Monkey playground
Nature's-calendar
Leaf umbrella
Shade-giver
Lungs of earth
Kenning 2 by Mia
Toy of Apollo
Singing music box
Campfire storyteller
Instrument of emotion
Stringed friend of the musician
Kenning 3, by Torben
White Death
Light and dark Wave
Snow killing
Winter’s blanket attacking
Thor’s laughter down the mountain
Kenning 4, by Luca
Pupil helper
Hell’s worker
A fleshed dictionary
Cane whipper
Discipline provider
Mad Philanthropist
Kenning 5, By Thomas
The great red pearls of the trees,
Adornments of the orchards,
Newton's muse,
The guts of a strudel,
Accomplice of cheese and crackers,
Arboreal potato,
A tastier orange,
The harvest's gift.
Kenning 6, by Luka
Viscous entrance to hell,
armed with countless knives;
A word-hole,
A portal of eloquence,
A cave of literature;
The Door of kissing,
Vacuum of food;
A river's entryway.