On the BBC Radio 4 programme ‘Word of mouth’ the poet Laurence Sail described kennings as ‘a way of describing something indirectly’ They are a kind of ‘mini riddle’ - but one which is very much aimed at listeners rather than readers.

All about kennings By the end of the lesson we will be able to: (from the Vikings to the present day) By the end of the lesson we will be able to: 1. Define what a kenning is Say something about the history of kennings 3. Work out what some kennings refer to

The two words can be the following: At their simplest kennings can just be two words fused together with a hyphen to make a new noun. The two words can be the following: noun/noun (swan-road = river) noun/verb (skull-splitter = axe) used to make a list describing an object, emotion, quality or animal, in any combination.

An example of this kind of simple kenning (in riddle form) is: Round-facer No-smiler Still-stander Two-hander Night-friendly Heart-beater Time-keeper Sudden-shrieker What am I?

An alarm clock

(The national flag of Norway) The word kenning is derived from the Old Norse phrase kenna eitt við, which means "to express a thing in terms of another", and is found throughout Norse, Anglo-Saxon and Celtic literature. (The national flag of Norway)

Characteristics of a kenning: Originated in Anglo-Saxon Old English and Old Norse poetry A type of figurative language, specifically a METAPHOR Some kennings were coined by poets and used repeatedly in various works Sometimes utilized ALLITERATION

When English books were rare, all the "literature" in a particular part of the country might be all put together in one book. The great book we know as the "Exeter Book" was given to the library of Exeter Cathedral by the first bishop of Exeter, Leofric, who died in 1072. The Exeter book contains many riddles referring to things like a ‘thief-guest who was no wiser for having swallowed words’ (a bookworm)

Now let’s look at some modern versions of kennings and see if we can work out what they’re about….. Ready?

A famous kenning from 1970s advertising Lipsmackin' thirstquenchin' acetastin' motivatin' goodbuzzin' cooltalkin' highwalkin' fastlivin' evergivin' coolfizzin' What is it?

Soda (i.e. Pop)!

Don’t let this picture fool you! Think hard about this one! Silent wood-splitter Snow-surviver Print-maker Footless-wanderer Heart-speaker Breathless-voice What am I?

I’m the lead in a pencil!

Let me give you a clue about the next one! Multi-Tasking Carrier Narrow-Street Mobile Always-Controlled Engineless Force Breathless-Ribcage Used and Abused Four-Wheeled Wonder Coral-Convict What is it?

A supermarket trolley!

Modern example of kennings include: “gas guzzler” “head-hunter” “gold digger”

1. Define what a kenning is? So now can you: 1. Define what a kenning is? Say something about the history of kennings (where could I find a book full of them?) 3. Try some of the simple ones yourself. Writing them about animals is a good place to start Over to you……