Anglo-Saxon Vocabulary

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Alliteration

• Repetition of initial consonant sounds– Ex.: Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled

peppers.

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Anglo-Saxon/Old English

• The Germanic language spoken by the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes who invaded Britain in the 5th century.– Ex.: cyning = king

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Caesura

• A pronounced pause in a line of poetry, usually near the middle of the line (pregnant pause)– Ex.: “I promise you this:// she’ll find no

shelter,” from Beowulf

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Cultural Hero/Epic Hero

• A brave character who overcomes great trials and embodies the ideals of his society– George Washington

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Elegy

• A serious poem of lament, usually mourning a death or another great loss– “Elegy Written In A Country Church-yard”

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Epic

• A long narrative poem telling about the deeds of a great hero and reflecting the values of its society– The Odyssey

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Kenning

• In Old English poetry, an imaginative metaphorical phrase used in place of a single noun– Ex.: whale road = sea

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Metaphor

• A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using like, as, resembles, or than.

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Oral Tradition

• The process of passing literature by word of mouth from one generation to the next– Ex.: The story of Santa Clause

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Scop

• An Anglo-Saxon traveling minstrel who composed or memorized oral literature and passed it down in the oral tradition.– Ex.: story tellers

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