Bēorsele, according to Wictionary,1 is Old English for "Beer-hall", being made up of the words bēor, or beer, and sele, or hall. Both words are mostly poetic forms found in old literature, my favorite example being this line from Beowulf:
Gebeotedon beore druncne oret-mecgas, ðæt hie in beor-sele bidan woldon Grendles guðe: The sons of conflict, drunk on beer, promised that they would wait in the beer-hall for Grendel’s attack.
This meaning of Bēorsele is confirmed in a few other places, for example, an 1882 edition of An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary.2
I like the word and I like the image it brings to mind: much like the German Biergarten, it conjures up images of a large area filled with good friends enjoying good beer.
1. "Beorsele." Wikipedia, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 July 2010. Web. 15 Feb 2011.
2. Toller, T. Northcote, ed. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary. London: Oxford UP, 1882. 87. Print.
