Beowulf Vocabulary Words
Beowulf was not originally written down. It
would have been told to the people by a scop.
scop – composers and storytellers of Anglo-Saxon
poetry
2. The men aboard the ship moored it to the dock,
so it would not float away.
moored – secure a ship
3. The House of Seven Gables is named after a
home in Salem that features seven of the
architectural designs.
gables – decorative triangular-shaped roofing
structure
1.
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
4. . During Anglo-Saxon times, a person could pay a
wergild and be set free from punishment for a
crime.
wergild – a fine paid to the relatives of a murdered
person to free the offender from further obligations
or punishment
5. Often, halls would be accented with linden; the
lighter wood was often used as a design element.
linden – soft light wood
6. The men drank mead in celebration of their
victories.
mead – an alcoholic drink of fermented honey and
water
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
7. I often become vexed when my students do
not listen to my instructions.
vexed – irritated, annoyed
8. Upon returning from battle, the warriors
would gorge themselves on the banquets
provided by the king.
gorges – eats greedily
9. The sentinels would often have post at the
top of the castle towers to watch for
intruders or attacks.
sentinel – a person or thing that stand watch
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
10. Eagles use their large talons to grab prey
from the ground.
talons – claws
11. Beowulf could hear the sinews in
Grendel’s arm tearing as Beowulf ripped it
free from the shoulder.
sinews – tendons
12. They would bestow upon their hoary king
all of the gleaming treasure from across the
sea.
hoary – gray or white with age
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
13. In Star Wars, Luke sets up a pyre for Darth
Vadar after he dies fighting the Dark Lord.
pyre – a bonfire for burning a dead body
14. My sister was known to hoard items as a child,
this ranged from candy after Halloween to birthday
money.
hoard – a hidden or carefully guarded supply or
accumulation of valuables
15. In movies, we often watch in slow motion as the
warrior pulls his sword from his scabbard.
scabbard – a sheath for a sword
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
16. The warriors would locate the town's hidden
hoard, then head back to their ship, their sacks
filled with golden chalices, and ancestral swords
whose hilts, engraved with runic characters, told of
ancient times.
runic – consisting or set down in an ancient alphabet
used for writing Germanic script, especially in
Germanic languages, most often of Scandinavia and
Britain from about the third to the thirteenth
centuries
17. When my roommate has a bad day, I try to show
her solace in an attempt to improve her mood.
solace – to console or cheer
Beowulf Vocabulary Words
18. I skulked around the corner in an attempt to
conceal my location from my niece so that I could
surprise her.
skulked – moved stealthily
19. You can tell a lot about people’s scruples by the
way they treat people they feel are lower than
themselves.
scruples – morals or ethical considerations that
restrain one’s behavior and inhibits certain actions
20. The comitatus between Hrothgar and his men
was evident to Beowulf when he arrived.
Comitatus – a bond between a king and his men