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Jun 2024
31m 57s

Words, Words, Words 15: HWÆT!

Spencer Klavan
About this episode

Next time you want to get everyone's attention for a speech at a party, try this: stand up on a table, pound your mead-chalice on a hard surface (you've got a mead-chalice, right?) and shout HWÆT! No one will have any idea what you're saying, but they'll have no choice but to listen. That's the power of Old English. We've hit bedrock in our excavation of the history of English, which brings us to Beowulf and what Seamus Heaney calls "the coffered riches of grammer and declensions."

Check out our sponsor, the Ancient Language Institute (now offering Old English instruction!): https://ancientlanguage.com/youngheretics/

Pre-order my new book, Light of the Mind, Light of the World: https://a.co/d/2QccOfM

Subscribe to my new joint Substack with Andrew Klavan (no relation): https://thenewjerusalem.substack.com

Mark Forsyth's books on curiosities of the English language: https://a.co/d/fxudMAn

https://a.co/d/3A5XpbQ

Live reading of Beowulf from Hillsdale: https://youtu.be/CH-_GwoO4xI?si=tQCTnID9A7gi5s5_

 

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