In Old English, the word hord is unlocked in The Exeter Book. That first letter is the letter wynn, ƿ - it developed from the carved rune letter, ᚹ . and remained in written English until around 1300. After that it began to be written as uu and eventually w. Wynn as a rune means joy or bliss. 

This is the home page for a writing project in Exeter, a UNESCO City of Literature in Devon UK. The project, Exeter Word Hoard, will uncover the places hidden in Special Collections and archives and across the city and its connections deep into Devon. Then explore these places to write and share new stories of Exeter and Devon. 

Exeter languages stretch back to Common Brittonic, an early Celtic language spoken in Devon and Cornwall. The Dumnonii, who spoke this, lived alongside and joined the families of the Romans who arrived between 50 and 55 CE, and the city became known as Isca Dumnoniorum. The Romano-British families lived mainly beside the western wall. The Anglo-Saxons began to arrive in 658 CE bringing Old English, the Englisc language in which the Exeter Book is written. In 928 King Athelstan expelled the British (Celts) from their quarter of the city. In 1068 the Normans take the city and introduce Old Northern French which would become Anglo-Norman. 

Scan the QR Code to view and join Exeter Wordhoard's WhatsApp Community. Within the Community is a Dialogue Group to share your questions and ideas. 

Longer dialogues, work-in-progress and completed stories are available in Google Docs and PDFs and are stored in the WhatsApp e-Library Locker, the WELL, as an archive for WhatsApp Community members to explore.