---
title: "Anger in Old English — paper by Mozo (1999) · SELIM 9"
description: "Manuela Romano examines how Old English speakers conceptualised ANGER. 16 references."
authors: ["Manuela Romano Mozo"]
year: 1999
venue: "SELIM 9"
source: "https://reunido.uniovi.es/index.php/SELIM/article/view/13509"
doi: "10.17811/selim.9.1999.45-56"
licence: "CC BY-NC-ND (journal licence per DOAJ; SELIM)"
licence_url: "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/"
summary_licence: "Elamur Cosmic License"
canonical: "https://research.elamur.ai/free/en/papers/mozo-2019-anger-old-english/"
---
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# Anger in Old English

**Authors:** Manuela Romano Mozo · **Year:** 1999 · **Venue:** [SELIM 9](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/venues/selim-journal-of-the-spanish-society-for-medieval-english-language-and/) ([SELIM Journal of the Spanish Society for Medieval English Language and Literature 1999](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/venues/selim-journal-of-the-spanish-society-for-medieval-english-language-and/1999/)) · **Publisher:** [University of Oviedo](https://md.research.elamur.ai/free/en/publishers/university-of-oviedo/) · **Licence:** [CC BY-NC-ND (journal licence per DOAJ; SELIM)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

**Links:** [Publisher's page](https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.9.1999.45-56) · [PDF](https://reunido.uniovi.es/index.php/SELIM/article/download/13509/12227) · [DOI 10.17811/selim.9.1999.45-56](https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.9.1999.45-56) · [OpenAlex](https://openalex.org/W6925466279)

**Citations:** 0 citations (OpenAlex, 2026-10-14)

## Summary
Manuela Romano examines how Old English speakers conceptualised ANGER. Modern work on emotion metaphor rarely looks at older stages of languages, and Anglo-Saxon dictionaries define emotion words as vaguely and circularly as modern ones do. The study belongs to a larger project on basic emotion concepts in Medieval Germanic languages.

Romano used the Toronto-produced microfiche concordance of the Old English corpus as her source, collecting about 40 anger-related nouns, verbs and adjectives along with roughly 900 of their contexts. She grouped their collocations by the source domain they imply, using the cognitive metaphor framework of Lakoff & Kövecses (1987).

The main result is a strong overlap with Contemporary American English. Physiological metonymies are prominent, and the HEAT and DANGEROUS ANIMAL systems are the most productive. Some mappings appear specific to the period, such as ANGER IS A LIQUID and ANGER IS A CUTTING INSTRUMENT.

The work matters for two reasons. It supports the claim that the folk model of anger is embodied and has stayed stable for about ten centuries. It also shows that diachronic corpus data can test synchronic theory.

## Key points
- The data are roughly 40 terms and about 900 contexts from 9th–12th century texts, taken from the Toronto Microfiche Concordance (Healey & Venezky 1980). Nouns and verbs with their collocations were the most informative word classes.
- Core vocabulary includes ierre, wrap, anda, gram, torn, wielm (nouns) and iersian, gebelgan, gramian, wrapan (verbs). Many of these words are polysemous; anda, for example, also covers envy, enmity and fear. Context was used to settle each reading.
- Physiological effects of anger in the data include:
  - visibility;
  - blinded perception;
  - agitation;
  - body heat;
  - upright posture;
  - teeth-gnashing and roaring.
- Within HEAT, the subsystems ANGER IS FIRE and HOT FLUID IN A CONTAINER are equally developed. The minor domains are:
  - person/enemy;
  - place;
  - plant;
  - cutting instrument;
  - liquid/wine;
  - force;
  - object;
  - disease.
- The prototypical scenario holds a tension between controlling anger and avenging it. Most contexts favour moderating, appeasing or hiding anger.

## Interesting ideas
- An abstract noun used as subject of a concrete verb (anger "devours", "kindles", "seizes") reveals the source domain by the verb alone.
- Prepositional patterns such as "filled with", "in the heart" and "turn away from" encode container and location views of emotion.
- Physiological metonymy lets bodily cues stand for an unnamed emotion.
- The author separates universal from culture-specific structure by comparing her inventory against a contemporary baseline mapping inventory.
- Describing the emotion as a scenario with conflicting social norms (restrain vs. avenge) gives a structure for moral judgment.

## For Mova

How these ideas could serve Mova, our small open language model — its files, stages and tests:

- **I1** (frames): when an emotion noun fills the agent slot of a VerbNet class expecting an animate or physical agent, emit an explicit metaphor-mapping frame instead of a literal agent role.
- **I2** (world): represent emotions as states held inside an experiencer container, so phrases like "his anger rose" or "let out his rage" update a single, explainable state.
- **I3** (world): add inference rules that derive a probable anger state from described cues (gnashing teeth, flushed face, shouting) and record the rule as the explanation.
- **I4** (learn): use a reference inventory of mappings as a control and flag frames that fall outside it for teacher review rather than accepting them silently.
- **I5** (answer): in fable QA, judge whether a character's angry act is restrained or vengeful against such a scenario to answer "was it right?" questions transparently.

*Our summary of the paper, in our own words — not its text. The work belongs to its authors; read it at the links above.*

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## Cite

Cite as: Manuela Romano Mozo. 1999. Anger in Old English. SELIM 9.

The paper itself, not this page. BibTeX from the library's record of the work.

```bibtex
@inproceedings{mozo1999anger,
  title = {{Anger in Old English}},
  author = {Manuela Romano Mozo},
  booktitle = {SELIM 9},
  year = {1999},
  doi = {10.17811/selim.9.1999.45-56},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.17811/selim.9.1999.45-56}
}
```

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## References

16 references, 0 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet.

1. Manuela Romano Universidad Autónoma de Madrid Anger in O ld English Bosworth, J, & Toller, T. N. 1898[1991]: An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Oxford: OUP. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Manuela+Romano+Universidad+Aut%C3%B3noma+de+Madrid+Anger+in+O+ld+English+Bosworth%2C+J%2C+%26+Toller%2C+T%2E+N%2E+1898%5B1991%5D%3A+An+Anglo%2DSaxon+Dictionary%2E+Oxford%3A+OUP%2E)
2. Benveniste, E. 1969: Le Vocabulaire des Institutions Indo-Européenes vols.I and II. Paris. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Benveniste%2C+E%2E+1969%3A+Le+Vocabulaire+des+Institutions+Indo%2DEurop%C3%A9enes+vols%2EI+and+II%2E+Paris%2E)
3. Black, M. 1962: Models and Metaphors. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press. [↗](https://doi.org/10.7591/9781501741326)
4. Buck, C. D. 1949/1988: A Dictionary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European Languages. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Buck%2C+C%2E+D%2E+1949%2F1988%3A+A+Dictionary+of+Selected+Synonyms+in+the+Principal+Indo%2DEuropean+Languages%2E+Chicago%3A+University+of+Chicago+Press%2E)
5. Bybee, J., R. Perkins & W. Pagliuca 1994: The Evolution of Grammar. Tense, aspect and modality in the languages of the world. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Bybee%2C+J%2E%2C+R%2E+Perkins+%26+W%2E+Pagliuca+1994%3A+The+Evolution+of+Grammar%2E+Tense%2C+aspect+and+modality+in+the+languages+of+the+world%2E+Chicago%3A+The+University+of+Chicago+Press%2E)
6. Clark, J. R. 1894/1984: A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Clark%2C+J%2E+R%2E+1894%2F1984%3A+A+Concise+Anglo%2DSaxon+Dictionary%2E+Toronto%3A+University+of+Toronto+Press%2E)
7. Geeraerts, D. 1983: Prototype theory and diachronic semantics: a case study. Indogermanische Forschungen 88, 1-32. [↗](https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110243307.1)
8. Geeraerts, D. 1997: Diachronic Prototype Semantics. A contribution to historical lexicology. Oxford: Clarendon Press. [↗](https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780198236528.001.0001)
9. Healey, A. and Venezky, R. 1980: A Microfiche Concordance to Old English. Toronto: University of Toronto Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Healey%2C+A%2E+and+Venezky%2C+R%2E+1980%3A+A+Microfiche+Concordance+to+Old+English%2E+Toronto%3A+University+of+Toronto+Press%2E)
10. Kövecses, Z. 1990: Emotion Concepts. New York: Springer. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=K%C3%B6vecses%2C+Z%2E+1990%3A+Emotion+Concepts%2E+New+York%3A+Springer%2E)
11. Lakoff, G. & Johnson, M. 1980: Metaphors We Live By. Chicago: Chicago University Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Lakoff%2C+G%2E+%26+Johnson%2C+M%2E+1980%3A+Metaphors+We+Live+By%2E+Chicago%3A+Chicago+University+Press%2E)
12. Lakoff, G. & Kövecses, Z. 1987: ‘The cognitive model of anger inherent in American English’. In D. Holland and N. Quinn (eds.), Cultural Models in Language and Thought. New York: CUP, 195-221. [↗](https://doi.org/10.1017/cbo9780511607660.009)
13. Lakoff, G. & Turner, M. 1989: More than a Cool Reason. A field guide to poetic metaphor. Chicago: Chicago University Press. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Lakoff%2C+G%2E+%26+Turner%2C+M%2E+1989%3A+More+than+a+Cool+Reason%2E+A+field+guide+to+poetic+metaphor%2E+Chicago%3A+Chicago+University+Press%2E)
14. Romano, M. (forthcoming) The scope of metaphor for FRIENDSHIP in Old English and Old Norse: a contrastive analysis. Manuela R o mano Sweetser, E. 1990: From Etymology to Pragmatics (Cambridge Studies in Linguistics 54). Cambridge: CUP. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Romano%2C+M%2E+%28forthcoming%29+The+scope+of+metaphor+for+FRIENDSHIP+in+Old+English+and+Old+Norse%3A+a+contrastive+analysis%2E+Manuela+R+o+mano+Sweetser%2C+E%2E+1990%3A+From+Etymology+to+Pragmatics+%28Cambridge+Studies+)
15. Traugott, E. 1989: On the rise of epistemic meaning: An example of subjectification in semantic change. Language 65, 31-55. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Traugott%2C+E%2E+1989%3A+On+the+rise+of+epistemic+meaning%3A+An+example+of+subjectification+in+semantic+change%2E+Language+65%2C+31%2D55%2E)
16. Traugott, E. And B. Heine 1991: Approaches to Grammaticalization vols. I and II. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. * † * [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Traugott%2C+E%2E+And+B%2E+Heine+1991%3A+Approaches+to+Grammaticalization+vols%2E+I+and+II%2E+Amsterdam%3A+John+Benjamins%2E+%2A+%E2%80%A0+%2A)

*Updated 1 November 2026*