Hwæt. That word, barking through the clatter of the mead hall, typically opened an Old English poem in the Dark Ages, and roughly translates to “What” or “Listen now.” Old English is largely Germanic, ...

There’s a certain state of mind I call crossword brain: It’s both intuitive and counterintuitive, knowing when to turn away from the seemingly obvious solution, but also knowing when to trust your ...

My thanks for one of your wonderful book reviews. On your pages, I find books that other, more “trendy” reviewers largely ignore. This one, “The Wordhord” by Hana Videen, reviewed by Henry Hitchings ...

Say the term “Anglo-Saxon” to most people, and they’re likely to picture the Smashing Saxons from Horrible Historiesor the protagonists of Bernard Cornwell’s The Last Kingdom. In the popular ...