This seems an appropriate Old English word to re-blog, having recently written my ode to the thorn character (þ = th) and discussed murder and manslaughter on Amie’s blog (I used to work on homicides in a former career)…
myrþrung, f.n: murder, homicide.
Image from the Walters Art Museum: The murder of Thomas Becket in the Carrow Psalter. English, ca. 1250.
“This miniature from an English psalter presents a spirited account of the murder. Three of the four knights attack the archbishop, who is kneeling in prayer before the altar. One of the knights kicks Thomas to the floor, and sends his miter flying as his sword cracks open Thomas’s head.”
babbitman 