The origin for the word English word 'Weird' is the Old English (Saxon) word Wyrd - which originally meant "fate, destiny,"
in fact literally "that which comes."
I was first made aware of this older meaning when reading the old English saga Beowulf in which there are numerous references to 'Wyrd' in this pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon saga,‘Gaeth a wyrd swa hio scel!’ (“Fate always goes as it must.”) and “Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good.” ... there are numerous references.
In the study notes, Wyrd is referenced as sometimes referring to the shaper of destiny i.e. a force outside of man's control - for example the goddess Fate. However we usually don't use the term in this manner, unless like me, your a bit of a geeky language user .... in which case you either get blank looks, or more usually people assume that you have garbled up your terminology.
The modern usage of the term developed from Middle English use of weird sisters for the Three Fates in classical mythology or Norns (in Saxon Germanic mythology), the goddesses who controlled human destiny. However it was their portrayal as both ugly and frightening in plays like "Macbeth," which led to the adjectival meaning "odd-looking, uncanny, strange" and which was first used in writing in 1815.
Anyway enough of my geekiness .... using the more modern usage, its strange (or weird if you like), how often we see weird things these days .....
... take this recent photo I took on a trip to a major northern town in the UK. I never found out what was going on: Alien Invasion by Monsters, A giant version of the Simpson's Kang or Kodos, maybe Beowulf's monster Grendel or just a promotion for something .... who knew?
We just accept odd things happening as being normal or not to be questioned or in our control .... Weird!
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| The Norns - Men's Wyrd Determined By Their Threads |
in fact literally "that which comes."
I was first made aware of this older meaning when reading the old English saga Beowulf in which there are numerous references to 'Wyrd' in this pre-Christian Anglo-Saxon saga,‘Gaeth a wyrd swa hio scel!’ (“Fate always goes as it must.”) and “Fate often saves an undoomed man when his courage is good.” ... there are numerous references.
In the study notes, Wyrd is referenced as sometimes referring to the shaper of destiny i.e. a force outside of man's control - for example the goddess Fate. However we usually don't use the term in this manner, unless like me, your a bit of a geeky language user .... in which case you either get blank looks, or more usually people assume that you have garbled up your terminology.
The modern usage of the term developed from Middle English use of weird sisters for the Three Fates in classical mythology or Norns (in Saxon Germanic mythology), the goddesses who controlled human destiny. However it was their portrayal as both ugly and frightening in plays like "Macbeth," which led to the adjectival meaning "odd-looking, uncanny, strange" and which was first used in writing in 1815.
Anyway enough of my geekiness .... using the more modern usage, its strange (or weird if you like), how often we see weird things these days .....
 |
| Weirdness Everywhere - Often With No Explanation. |
... take this recent photo I took on a trip to a major northern town in the UK. I never found out what was going on: Alien Invasion by Monsters, A giant version of the Simpson's Kang or Kodos, maybe Beowulf's monster Grendel or just a promotion for something .... who knew?
We just accept odd things happening as being normal or not to be questioned or in our control .... Weird!
Update: Northern Weirdness Explained
After I recently posted this blog post on Wyrdness being everywhere, and included some pictures of some unexplained weirdness in a major Northern city .....Well a recent news report has partially explained that photograph.
After I recently posted this blog post on Wyrdness being everywhere, and included some pictures of some unexplained weirdness in a major Northern city .....Well a recent news report has partially explained that photograph.
It was an advertising stunt as apparently the worlds joint biggest
nightclub, with a capacity of 10,000 patrons is to open on the site
of the old Manchester Mayfield station. Called the Warehouse Project, it will be
bigger by a factor of two than London's largest nightclub (Printworks in Rotherhithe), and equal to Privilige
in Ibiza.
However the site may close almost as fast as it opens, as the
organiser state that its not clear how long it will allowed to operate
from that site.
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