Walking the Hedge

Hedge Witchery

Hedge is a Teutonic term originally meaning any fence, boundary or enclosure, later meaning a specific type of living thicket planted to act as a fence, enclosure or boundary.

Old High German (language used roughly from 500 to 1050 C.E): hegga, hecka

Old Dutch (600 to 1150 C.E.): heggehn

Old Saxon or Old Low German (800 to 1200 C.E) : haeg

Anglo-Saxon or Old English (550 C.E to 1250C.E): hecg, hegge, haga, hecge or hege

Middle English (11th century and about 1470 C.E): hedge, hegge, hedgen, heggen

Suffolk dialect (at least 1300 C.E. to present day): hetch

Modern English (1550 C.E to modern day): hedge

Middle English hagathorn meaning “hedge thorn” becomes the modern hawthorn

Old Teutonic stem haja- meaning “behind the hedge” gives rise to the Old English haja, Middle English heye, haye and thus the English hay. Behind the hedge lays the hay field.

The old words for hedge also gave rise to the words hawk (hedge-bird), haggard, edge and hag (witch).

Old English for hedgerow is heggeræw.

Saxon haegtessa and the Old English haegtesse, roughly translates to hedge-rider, hag-rider, witch and witch-fury.

In a 13^th century Icelandic text called the Poetic Edda,… Continue reading →