A review by kjgrievewriter
The Deorhord: An Old English Bestiary by Hana Videen

Did not finish book.

informative relaxing slow-paced

3.0

Intriguing, but ultimately quite bland compared to the first book (Word Hord), much to my surprise as an animal lover. The distinct lack of any references to other historical works - outside of the very few extant Old English texts Videen has chosen to draw from here - is particularly puzzling when she refers to "a lack of writing" on certain subjects and creatures. Yet she somehow manages to open the book with two chapters on the eagle and the spider respectively, but doesn't mention Tolkien anywhere despite Deor Hord's focus on Christianity vs Paganism, and that the two animals are the angels and demons of his mythology. Neither does she address the fact that the villain Shelob literally means female spider (she + Old English 'lob', meaning spider). Similarly, no references to Myrmidons (from Greek 'myrmex', meaning ant) in the ant chapter. It just seems odd, as she references a number of middle English and Latin texts. So maybe Lord of the Rings is a bit modern, but surely it's not a stretch to expect exploration of the classical epics? I just had the unpleasant sensation of feeling like I had more knowledge than the author on certain subjects purely based on how much low hanging fruit was left out.