The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary

The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary by Hana Videen

'A dream! I learnt something new and fascinating on every page' Lucy Mangan

'If you love words, the weird and the wild, I guarantee you'll crouch over this book like a dragon over gold' Meg Clothier

'Endlessly fascinating' - the Spectator

Many of the animals we encounter in everyday life, from the creatures in our fields to those in our fantasies, have remained the same since medieval times - but the words we use, and the ways we describe them, have often changed beyond recognition...

Old English was spoken over a thousand years ago, when every animal was a deor. In this glittering Old English bestiary we find deors big and small, the ordinary and the extraordinary, the good, the bad and the downright baffling. From walker-weavers (spiders) and grey-cloaked ones (eagles) to moon-heads and teeth-tyrants (historians still don't know!), we discover a world both familiar and strange: where ants could be monsters and panthers could be your friend, where dog-headed men were as real as elephants and where whales were as sneaky as wolves.

From the author of The Wordhord comes another delightful dive into the realm of Old English - words and creatures that will change the way you see the world.

The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary - About the Author

Hana Videen is the author of "The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English" and "The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary". She has been hoarding Old English words since 2013, when she began tweeting one a day. Now, thousands follow her for these daily gems. Having received her Old English doctorate at King's College London, she is now a writer and blogger in Canada, translating the curiosities of history into engaging narratives.