1. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
Beowulf was not originally written down. It would have been told to the people by a scop.
scop – composers and storytellers of Anglo-Saxon poetry
2. A kenning is a metaphorical phrase or compound word used to name a person, place or thing indirectly. Used primarily in Anglo-Saxon poetry, the epic poem Beowulf is full of kennings. For example, the term whale-road is used for the sea and "shepherd of evil" is used for Grendel..

2. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
3. During Anglo-Saxon times, a person could pay a wergild and be set free from punishment for a crime.
wergild – a fine paid to the relatives of a murdered person to free the offender from further obligations or punishment
4. Often, halls would be accented with linden; the lighter wood was often used as a design element.
linden – soft light wood

3. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
5. The comitatus between Hrothgar and his men was evident to Beowulf when he arrived.
Comitatus – a bond between a king and his men
6. The men drank mead in celebration of their victories.
mead – an alcoholic drink of fermented honey and water

4. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
7. Often the verse line is divided into two halves separated by a rhythmical pause, or caesura

5. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
8. Beowulf could hear the sinews in Grendel’s arm tearing as Beowulf ripped it free from the shoulder.
sinews – tendons
9. They would bestow upon their hoary king all of the gleaming treasure from across the sea.
hoary – gray or white with age

6. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
10. My sister was known to hoard items as a child, this ranged from candy after Halloween to birthday money.
hoard – a hidden or carefully guarded supply or accumulation of valuables
11. In movies, we often watch in slow motion as the warrior pulls his sword from his scabbard.
scabbard – a sheath for a sword

7. Beowulf Vocabulary Words
12. The warriors would locate the town's hidden hoard, then head back to their ship, their sacks filled with golden chalices, and ancestral swords whose hilts, engraved with runic characters, told of ancient times.
runic – consisting or set down in an ancient alphabet used for writing Germanic script, especially in Germanic languages, most often of Scandinavia and Britain from about the third to the thirteenth centuries. (runes)

8. Beowulf Vocabulary Words