Kenning (Noun)
Meaning
Conventional metaphoric name for something, used especially in Old English and Old Norse poetry.
Classification
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.
Examples
- The Old Norse poem referred to the sea with the kenning 'whale's road', a common metaphor used by the Viking poets.
- In Old English literature, a kenning such as 'ring-giver' was used to signify a king.
- A skilled poet created an intricate kenning by describing the sun as the 'sky's candle'.
- The kenning 'battle-sweat' was employed in an Old English epic to represent armor or specifically the armor's tendency to become wet with the wearer's sweat during battle.
- In Beowulf, the Anglo-Saxon poet frequently utilized kennings such as 'whale's home' or 'wave's home' to metaphorically denote the sea or the ocean.