Kenning

Kenning is a stylistic device used in Old Norse, Old English, and other Germanic poetry. A kenning replaces a plain noun with a descriptive, metaphorical phrase made from two or more words, often forming a compact image rather than a straightforward term. It tends to be poetic and can add emphasis, color, or symbolic meaning within the line.

The term kenning comes from the Old English word kenning, related to knowledge or knowing, and modern scholarship uses it to describe this figured use of language. The device is especially associated with medieval Norse skaldic poetry and English heroic verse, where it serves both aesthetic and mnemonic purposes within fixed metrical patterns and alliteration.

Form and examples: Kennings are typically compound expressions that designate a thing indirectly. Common patterns include a head noun paired with a second element that supplies the image. Well-known examples include whale-road for the sea, ring-giver for a king, and bone-house for the body. Some kennings are extended or layered, creating a richer or more oblique reference that invites interpretation.

Function and interpretation: Kennings enrich poetry by offering vivid, sometimes enigmatic imagery and by signaling cultural associations—sea as a journey, kingship as gift-giving, the body as a house of bones. They also help meet the demands of meter and alliteration in traditional verse, while engaging listeners in a moment of recognition as the metaphor unfolds.

Legacy: Kennings remain a hallmark of ancient Germanic poetry and are frequently discussed in studies of translation, literary history, and fantasy literature, where modern writers sometimes replicate or adapt the device to evoke a similar aged or mythic feel.