As part of Notre Dame’s ongoing Medieval poetry translation and recitation project, I contribute my first Old Norse-Icelandic contribution, a versification of Þat mælti mín móðir. As a lyrical translation, “My Mother Told Me” brings together the original Old Norse-Icelandic poem, the modern English adaptation used in the show Vikings and penned by the series’ creator, Michael Hirst (alongside the show’s musical team, including Trevor Morris and Einar Selvik), and my own translation. Taken together, “My Mother Told Me” by Brothers Grimm is an adapted and interpretive project in collaboration with neofolk band, Winds of Alluria, performed at Enchanted Orchard Renaissance Faire and NorthFolk NightMarket by FaeGuild Wonders. Below are transcriptions of all three interwoven verses.
Old Norse-Icelandic “Þat mælti mín móðir” from Egils saga:
Þat mælti mín móðir
At mér skyldi kaupa
Fley ok fagrar árar
Fara á brott með víkingum
Standa upp í stafni
Stýra dýrum knerri
Halda svá til hafnar
Hǫggva mann ok annan
Hǫggva mann ok annan
Modern English “My Mother Told Me” from Vikings by Michael Hirst:
My mother told me
Someday I would buy
Galleys with good oars
Sail to distant shores
Stand up high in the prow
Noble barque I steer
Steady course for the haven
Hew many foe-men
Hew many foe-men”
Modern English “My Mother Told Me” trans. by Richard Fahey:
Translator’s Preface
My mother told me
That for me I should buy
Swift ship and fair oars
To fare away with the vikings
Stand up high in the prow
Dear boat I steer
Hold steady to the haven
Hew one and another
Hew one and another