Download Activity 8

ALCUIN AND THE CAROLINGIAN RENAISSANCE
A TEACHING RESOURCE
SAXON POETRY IN
SHAPES
ACTIVITY
SHEET
8
Kennings
Anglo Saxons, like Alcuin, sometimes used a literary device called a
‘kenning’ in their poetry. A kenning is a way of describing a
person, an animal or an object without actually naming it.
Haunting howler
Proud prowler
Kennings often take the form:
Night runner
Moon lover
‘Something somethinger’
For example, a snake could be described as a ‘slippery slitherer’.
Forest fighter
Sharp biter
What could these kennings represent (there may be more than one
right answer)?
Fear raiser
Life taker
Word spinner
World watcher
Pack attacker
Child snatcher
We can also put several kennings together to make a poem about
one person, animal or object. Read the poem of kennings on the
right. What do you think it is about?
Tree creeper
Man eater
Stealthy sprinter
Cold killer
Poetry in Shapes
Saxon and Carolingian manuscripts were often very beautifully
presented. Sometimes the manuscript writers would write poetry in
the shape of its subject. The example on the right comes from
Phaenomena poem by an ancient Greek poet called Aratus, translated
into Latin by Cicero. Phaenomena is about constellations of stars and
other astronomical features. This picture is of Sirius, the dog star.
Here is the kenning above, written in the shape of the creature it
represents:.
Your turn …
Choose an animal,
person or object and
think of as many
kennings as you can.
Choose the best
Sirius, from Phaenomena. British
ones, and work out
Library, reproduced with permission
the most effective
order.
Then draw the outline shape of your subject and fit
your kennings into the shape you have drawn.
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