The Lost (?) Art of Kennings

[Altair]

I have only a passing familiarity with Northern European myth, but one part of that storytelling tradition I find fascinating is kennings--using a roundabout way to refer to ordinary things, eg, "battle sweat" instead of "blood". From the little I've read--it must have been in a preamble to the prose Edda--the skill of storytellers was often judged by their successful use of kennings, particularly if they invented a new one that was particularly apt (i.e., was colorful, immediately grasped, and taken up by others for future use).

Are kennings still in use today? I have a hard time coming up with much in English language material. Tolkein used them (Durin's Bane = balrog, Isildur's bane = the One Ring), which only makes sense considering the source material he worked with...but other than that, I'm at a loss.

The one contemporary thing that springs to mind that comes close is a hit dance song from a few years back with the lyric "What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her?"--which (for me, anyway) immediately conjures the image of a house being dropped on the Wicked Witch of the East in The Wizard of Oz. It's clever, and leaves no doubt as to what one thinks of the "she" in question. The power of that lyric and the story associations it evokes suggest to me that kennings could be a powerful storytelling tool of our own.

I may try some in my own writing, but I fear it may prove very difficult to employ successfully--maybe because folks today don't have the same common knowledge base of story that ancient Northern European culture had back then. It's tough to find stories to allude to that we all have in common.

Or am I missing obvious examples? Are kennings used all the time today, and I'm just not recognizing them as such? Any thoughts on kennings would be welcome.

[spoOk]

I have only a passing familiarity with Northern European myth, but one part of that storytelling tradition I find fascinating is kennings--using a roundabout way to refer to ordinary things, eg, "battle sweat" instead of "blood". From the little I've read--it must have been in a preamble to the prose Edda--the skill of storytellers was often judged by their successful use of kennings, particularly if they invented a new one that was particularly apt (i.e., was colorful, immediately grasped, and taken up by others for future use).

Are kennings still in use today? I have a hard time coming up with much in English language material. Tolkein used them (Durin's Bane = balrog, Isildur's bane = the One Ring), which only makes sense considering the source material he worked with...but other than that, I'm at a loss.

The one contemporary thing that springs to mind that comes close is a hit dance song from a few years back with the lyric "What's she gonna look like with a chimney on her?"--which (for me, anyway) immediately conjures the image of a house being dropped on the Wicked Witch of the East in The Wizard of Oz. It's clever, and leaves no doubt as to what one thinks of the "she" in question. The power of that lyric and the story associations it evokes suggest to me that kennings could be a powerful storytelling tool of our own.

I may try some in my own writing, but I fear it may prove very difficult to employ successfully--maybe because folks today don't have the same common knowledge base of story that ancient Northern European culture had back then. It's tough to find stories to allude to that we all have in common.

Or am I missing obvious examples? Are kennings used all the time today, and I'm just not recognizing them as such? Any thoughts on kennings would be welcome.

sure they are,they just aren't called kennings.
I can't recall the word for it right now...but it's just when people get creative with their descriptions of average things.
like I could say right now:
my words are lacking because I haven't had any brain juice. (coffee)

[Altair]

sure they are,they just aren't called kennings.
I can't recall the word for it right now...but it's just when people get creative with their descriptions of average things.
like I could say right now:
my words are lacking because I haven't had any brain juice. (coffee)

Ah! OK, they're hiding in plain sight. For some reason (or maybe it's just the persistence in my head of juvenile college freshman drinking enthusiasm), there seem to be a lot for vomiting:

Pray to the porcelain god
Round-trip lunch ticket
Technicolor yawn
Spew chunks
...and so forth.

BUT that's only one form of kenning. There's another from Northern European tradition that relied upon greater use of story. For example, Wikipedia mentions:

Þjazi and his brothers Gangr and Idi had a father named Olvaldi. Olvaldi was very rich in gold, and when he died his three sons divided their inheritance between them by each in turn taking a mouthful. For this reason the expressions "speech of Þjazi, Gangr or Idi" and "Idi's shining talk" are kennings for gold

Are there any kennings of that sort these days, which only have meaning if one knows the story alluded to?

[Asch]

Ah! OK, they're hiding in plain sight. For some reason (or maybe it's just the persistence in my head of juvenile college freshman drinking enthusiasm), there seem to be a lot for vomiting:

Pray to the porcelain god
Round-trip lunch ticket
Technicolor yawn
Spew chunks
...and so forth.

BUT that's only one form of kenning. There's another from Northern European tradition that relied upon greater use of story. For example, Wikipedia mentions:



Are there any kennings of that sort these days, which only have meaning if one knows the story alluded to?

I'm sure there are though likely you would only come across their usage within the subgroups where that tale etc are widely known. I'm not coming up with any examples atm but I'm sure I've come across them...

[Lokabrenna]

Any thoughts on kennings would be welcome.

I think we just call it "purple prose". :P
Okay, seriously now, I think modern English has progressed to a point where we're very direct with our speech, so unless you want to sound pretentious, annoy your friends, or happen to be a poet, nobody really sees much of a point in using them in regular speech, except, perhaps, as slang. Most know that when I talk about "the curse" I'm not talking about spellcraft. :P

[Altair]

I think we just call it "purple prose". :P
Okay, seriously now, I think modern English has progressed to a point where we're very direct with our speech, so unless you want to sound pretentious, annoy your friends, or happen to be a poet, nobody really sees much of a point in using them in regular speech, except, perhaps, as slang. Most know that when I talk about "the curse" I'm not talking about spellcraft. :P

While I agree kennings aren't appropriate in all contexts, I think the artistry behind a good kenning is marvelous. And it can convey so much so economically. (Again, though it's not a true kenning, I think back to that dance hit lyric, which says 1. she's a wicked witch; 2. she merits not just death, but an awful, spectacular death; 3. now let's visualize it! All in a few oblique words.)

[bobthesane]

I'm sure there are though likely you would only come across their usage within the subgroups where that tale etc are widely known. I'm not coming up with any examples atm but I'm sure I've come across them...

Black Friday
Whole Nine Yards
Rule of Thumb
A few fries short of a happy meal

I'm sure we can come up with many more than we think...

[Asch]

Black Friday
Whole Nine Yards
Rule of Thumb
A few fries short of a happy meal

I'm sure we can come up with many more than we think...

Lol fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine Bob be that way

All true

[Juniperberry]

Lol fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine Bob be that way

All true

Eye candy

Ear worm

[bobthesane]

Lol fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine Bob be that way

All true

LOL Hey, I'm from the Internet. And I'm here to help!