Listen to the rare ‘extended’ edition of J. R. R. Tolkien’s BBC interview conducted in 1964
Back in August, we talked about a rare recording of J.R.R. Tolkien reading his famously composed ‘One Ring’ poem. Well, this time around we have…
English
Listen to the earliest surviving secular English song, dated from 13th century AD
A few days ago, we talked about the world’s oldest known secular Norse song. Well, this time around, shifting our focus to another Germanic language…
Video showcases how some fairly basic English words are derived from Old Norse
English is easily the most widely spoken Germanic language, and as such an astronomical 359 million people spoke it as their first language – according…
Listen to the Beowulf being read in original Old English
Beowulf is commonly known as the oldest surviving long poem in Old English, consisting of an impressive 3182 alliterative lines. And while such credentials translate…
12 things you should know about the Battle of Hastings
The Battle of Hastings, fought on 14 October 1066, proved to be a pivotal event in the long run – with medieval continental Europeans gaining…
Listen to what English king Richard III sounded like, in a recreation by University of Leicester
The last king of the House of York and also the last of the Plantagenet dynasty, Richard III’s demise at the climactic Battle of Bosworth…
Metaphors have been there in English for at least 1,300 years!
A fascinating project (made in 2015) entailing the first ever compiled ‘Metaphor Map’ has given some incredible insights into the evolution of English language and…
Listen to what Shakespeare sounded like in the original pronunciation from 1600s
William Shakespeare is rightly considered as one of the greatest writers (and dramatists) in the English language. But we in our present-era only get to…
Nifty animation presents the history of English with a dash of ‘British’ humor
After numerous twists and turns (and loaning) for over 1400-years, English is without a doubt the global lingua franca of our modern era. In fact,…
The earliest reference to the F-word is probably dated from early 14th century
The history of swearing, a practice that even the best among us resort to at times, is a rich and colorful one, spanning over several…
