A kenning was a circumlocution used instead of the ordinary noun in Old Norse, Old English, and later Icelandic poetry. Some examples include “battle-sweat” for blood, “flame-farewelled” for an (honorable) death, and “Freyja’s tears” for gold, or sometimes amber. I particularly like “whale-road” or “whale-way” which means the sea.
April 25th, 2016 6:55pm
