The phrase "wert the head of" may look confusing at first, but its spelling is actually quite straightforward when broken down phonetically. The word "wert" is pronounced /wərt/ and is an archaic form of the verb "were." The next two words, "the" and "head," have their usual pronunciations in standard English. Therefore, "wert the head of" is simply a way of saying "were the head of." Despite its outdated phrasing, this expression is still occasionally used in literature today.