The Endless Knot

We discuss etymology, history, literature, science, and language, and the connections between them.

Episode 104: Words the Vikings Gave Us, with Grace Tierney

Aven McMaster April 12, 2022

Face of a smiling woman with brown hair and glasses, standing in front of the prow of a reconstructed viking ship

Green book cover with the title Wods the Vikings Gave Us

It’s time for some Old Norse, sagas, and daring Viking explorers! In this episode we talk to author Grace Tierney about her newest book, Words the Vikings Gave Us. We had a ton of fun in this conversation, and we’re sure you will too!

Grace Tierney’s blog, Wordfoolery

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Episode 103: Potatoes for Saint Patrick

Aven McMaster March 15, 2022

Thumbnail for a video, reading "The Potato Batter and the Power of World History" against a background of potatoes, with a cartoon of a potato with a lightning bolt across it

Medieval manuscript image of Saint Patrick standing on a snake — *St Patrick standing on a snake in Purgatory: England, 1451 (London, British Library, MS Royal 17 B XLIII, f 132v)*

Two cocktails sitting on a bar. One is amber coloured, in a martini glass. The other is pale green, in a coupe glass rimmed with light coloured metal, with a round slice of cucumber as garnish on the rim of the glass.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! In this episode we talk about the saint’s history, then dig into the potato — its etymology, its history, and how it’s changed the world. With some tangents about batteries, famines, and travel in the Roman world.