World Lit. Beowulf Vocabulary

Pyre

such a pile for burning a dead body, especially as part of a funeral rite.

Barrow

a heap of earth placed over one or more prehistoric tombs, often surrounded by ditches.

Maraud

to roam about and raid in search of plunder

Wassail

riotous drinking or an early English toast to someone's health

Malignant

tending to produce death; evil in nature, influence, or effect (injurious)

Gable

the vertical triangular end of a building

Forestall

to exclude, hinder, or prevent (something) by prior occupation or measures; to intercept

Manacle

a shackle for the hand or wrist; a restraint

Keen

to lament, mourn, or complain loudly

Stalwart

marked by outstanding strength and vigor of body, mind, or spirit

Buffet

to drive, force, move, or attack by or as if by repeated blows

Thane

(in Anglo-Saxon England) a man who held land granted by the king or by a military nobleman, ranking between an ordinary freeman and a hereditary noble.

Geat

a member of a Scandinavian people of southern Sweden to which the legendary hero Beowulf belonged

Mere

an old-fashioned word for any standing body of water