Hūs and Cynn

Most of the sample sentences in this post are from Learn Old English with Leofwin (a brilliant book).

For the most part, people in early medieval England lived in small houses often with just the one room. Their walls would have been made of wooden planks or 'wattle and daub,' the windows would have had shutters and no glass, and the roof would have been thatched (with no chimney).

The villages or towns they lived in were not much bigger. The fictional couple in this post, Leofwin and Golde, live in a town called Prittewella (now Southend-on-Sea_) containing only six or seven houses. These may have surrounded a larger hall (heall) intended for the local social elite and for group activities like feasting. There may have also been a church, either made or wood, stone, or a blend of the two. This gives you a picture of the scale of English life at this time.

None of these houses have survived today, but they can be identified by the postholes they leave in the ground and by local archaeological finds.

Recreation of an early medieval village at West Stow

Some sample sentences from Learn Old English with Leofwin, describing some parts of the house and what might be found in there.

ēala! ic eom leofwin. ic onerdie tūn þe hāteð prittewella

hello! I am Leofwin. I live in a town that is called Prittewella

sind siex oððe seofon hūs

there are six or seven houses

ðis is mīn hūs

this is my house

bið duru, fēower weallas and hrōf

it has a door, four walls and a roof

ðis is ðæt ēagðȳrel

this is the window

ðis is se flōr

this is the floor

ðis is se heorð and ðæt ālfæt. her golde bæcð

this is the hearth and the cooking pot. Golde bakes here

golde hæfð webbēam, ac hē nis hēr

Golder has a loom, but it is not here

golde and ic slēpað hēr. ðis is ūre bedd

Golde and I sleep here. This is our bed

wē wascað ūs wiðutan. spreculmūð and his cynn oneardiað ðæt lȳtele hūs. hīe sind þēowas

We wash outside. Spreculmūð and his family live in that little house. They are slaves.

ðis is se wyrtgeard, and ðis is ðæt gangern - hit stincð!

This is the garden, and this is the outhouse - it stinks!

ðis is ðæt bachūs, ðis is se ofen, and ðis is ðæt webbēamhūs

this is the (cooking)house, this is the oven, and this is the (loom)house.

Each house contained a family (cynn) unit, likely with four to five members. As with many other pre-modern societies in Europe, this would have been headed by a father and mother. It is likely that the father attended to business outside of the house whilst the mother attended to matters inside of the house. Here is a mock description of a cynn by foxtægel, the son of the aforementioned Leofwin. It will give you some idea of the language describing the family.

ēalā! ic hāte foxtægel. ic eom eahta gēar eald. ic eom wel snotor!

Hello! I am called Foxtægel. I am eight years old. I am very clever!

ic hæbbe āne sweostor, þe clūfweart hāteð. mē līcað clūfweart forðǣm ðe hēo is leohtmōd and mildelic.

I have one sister, who is called Clūfweart. I like Clūfweart because she is funny and kind.

mē licað ēac mīne ealdor. hīe hātað leofwin and golde. ic lufie mīnne fæder forðǣm þe hē is leoftmōd, and mīne mōdor forðǣm þe hēo is gðyldig.

I also like my parents. They are called Leofwin and Golde. I love my father because he is funny, and my mother because she is patient.

ic hæbbe ēac hund. hē hāteð hæleð, and hē is dȳsig, ac hē is mīn betsta frēond.

I also have a dog. He is called Hæleð, and he is stupid, but he is my best friend.

mīn ealdmōdor is fēower and siextig gear eald. hire nama is ǣlfgifu. ne līcað mē mīn ealdmōdor forþǣm þe hēo is unmildelic and yfel.

My grandmother is 46 years old. Her name is ǣlfgifu. I do not like my grandmother because she is unkind and evil.

That's all for now!