{"id":2772,"date":"2017-02-03T17:24:56","date_gmt":"2017-02-03T22:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/?page_id=2772"},"modified":"2023-01-30T14:13:28","modified_gmt":"2023-01-30T19:13:28","slug":"deor","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.nd.edu\/manuscript-studies\/translations\/deor\/","title":{"rendered":"Deor"},"content":{"rendered":"
Panel Depicting Weland from the Franks Casket, an 8th century Anglo-Saxon chest made of whale’s bone and inscribed with runes, now in the British Museum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As part of Notre Dame’s ongoing Medieval poetry translation and recitation project<\/a>, I offer a creatively translated\u00a0Deor<\/em><\/a>, a poem\u00a0from the Exeter Book (Exeter Cathedral Library MS 3501),\u00a0which I have titled “Deor’s Dark\u00a0Elegies” and which describes a series of unfortunate events befalling legendary figures of heroic legend for the perspective of a struggling narrator. As a\u00a0translation, “Deor’s Dark\u00a0Elegies” is an adapted\u00a0and interpretive rendition\u00a0of the Exeter Book\u00a0poem, and should not be taken as a literal\u00a0translation of the Old English despite that it follows closely to the original in many places.<\/p>\n

Old\u00a0English Deor<\/em>:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Welund him be wurman wr\u00e6ces cunnade.
\nAnhydig eorl\u00a0\u00a0 earfo\u00fea dreag,
\nh\u00e6fde him to gesi\u00fe\u00fee\u00a0\u00a0 sorge ond longa\u00fe,
\nwintercealde wr\u00e6ce,\u00a0\u00a0 wean oft onfond,
\nsi\u00fe\u00fean hine Ni\u00f0had on\u00a0\u00a0 nede legde
\nswoncre seonobende \u00a0 on syllan monn.
\n\u00de\u00e6s ofereode,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feisses swa m\u00e6g!<\/em><\/p>\n

Beadohilde ne w\u00e6s\u00a0\u00a0 hyre bro\u00fera dea\u00fe
\non sefan swa sar\u00a0\u00a0 swa hyre sylfre \u00feing:
\n\u00fe\u00e6t heo gearolice\u00a0\u00a0 ongieten h\u00e6fde
\n\u00fe\u00e6t heo eacen w\u00e6s\u2014\u00a0\u00a0 \u00e6fre ne meahte
\n\u00feriste ge\u00feencan,\u00a0\u00a0 hu ymb \u00fe\u00e6t sceolde.
\n\u00de\u00e6s ofereode,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feisses swa m\u00e6g!<\/em><\/p>\n

We \u00fe\u00e6t M\u00e6\u00f0hilde \u00a0 monge gefrugnon
\nwurdon grundlease\u00a0\u00a0 Geates frige,
\n\u00fe\u00e6t hi seo sorglufu\u00a0\u00a0 sl\u00e6p ealle binom.
\n\u00de\u00e6s ofereode,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feisses swa m\u00e6g!<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00d0eodric ahte\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feritig wintra
\nM\u00e6ringa burg\u2014\u00a0\u00a0 \u00fe\u00e6t w\u00e6s monegum cu\u00fe.
\n\u00de\u00e6s ofereode,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feisses swa m\u00e6g!<\/em><\/p>\n

We geascodan\u00a0\u00a0 Eormanrices
\nwylfenne ge\u00feoht;\u00a0\u00a0 ahte wide folc
\nGotena rices.\u00a0\u00a0 \u00de\u00e6t w\u00e6s grim cyning.
\nS\u00e6t secg monig\u00a0\u00a0 sorgum gebunden,
\nwean on wenan,\u00a0\u00a0 wyscte geneahhe
\n\u00fe\u00e6t \u00fe\u00e6s cynerice\u00a0\u00a0 ofercumen w\u00e6re.
\n\u00de\u00e6s ofereode,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feisses swa m\u00e6g!<\/em><\/p>\n

Site\u00f0 sorgcearig\u00a0\u00a0 s\u00e6lum bid\u00e6led,
\non sefan sweorce\u00f0,\u00a0\u00a0 sylfum \u00feince\u00f0
\n\u00fe\u00e6t sy endeleas\u00a0\u00a0 earfo\u00f0a d\u00e6l.
\nM\u00e6g \u00feonne ge\u00feencan\u00a0\u00a0 \u00fe\u00e6t geond \u00feas woruld
\nwitig dryhten\u00a0\u00a0 wende\u00fe geneahhe,
\neorle monegum\u00a0\u00a0 are gesceawa\u00f0,
\nwislicne bl\u00e6d,\u00a0\u00a0 sumum weana d\u00e6l.
\n\u00de\u00e6t ic bi me sylfum\u00a0\u00a0 secgan wille,
\n\u00fe\u00e6t ic hwile w\u00e6s\u00a0\u00a0 Heodeninga scop,
\ndryhtne dyre.\u00a0\u00a0 Me w\u00e6s Deor noma.
\nAhte ic fela wintra\u00a0\u00a0 folga\u00f0 tilne,
\nholdne hlaford,\u00a0\u00a0 o\u00fe\u00fe\u00e6t Heorrenda nu,
\nleo\u00f0cr\u00e6ftig monn\u00a0\u00a0 londryht ge\u00feah,
\n\u00fe\u00e6t me eorla hleo\u00a0\u00a0 \u00e6r gesealde.
\n\u00de\u00e6s ofereode,\u00a0\u00a0 \u00feisses swa m\u00e6g!<\/em><\/p>\n

Old English\u00a0Deor<\/em>\u00a0from edition by Bernard Muir,\u00a0The Exeter Anthology of Old English Poetry<\/em>, Volume I, Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2000; a reproduced edition is also\u00a0available\u00a0online<\/a>.<\/p>\n

“Deor’s Dark Elegies:” A Modern English Translation by Richard Fahey:
\n<\/strong>Translator\u2019s Preface<\/a><\/i>
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Weland<\/span><\/p>\n

He knew himself some misery
\namong the worms.
\nThe single-minded man endured torture.<\/p>\n

He had for himself as companions,
\nsorrow and longing.<\/p>\n

The winter-cold wretch found woe often,
\nonce Nithhad bound him in service
\nwith a trim sinew-bond on the better man.
\nThat passed away, may this too.<\/em><\/p>\n

Beadohild\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her brother\u2019s death, for her,
\nwas not as troubling to her mind
\nas her own issue,
\nwhen she began to realize
\nthat she was pregnant.<\/p>\n

She was never able to think clearly
\nabout how that should be.<\/p>\n

That passed away, may this too.<\/em><\/p>\n

M\u00e6\u00f0hild\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For her, we have heard that
\nthere were many endless embraces with the Geats,
\nthat sorrow-love stole all her sleep.<\/p>\n

That passed away, may this too.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00d0eodric<\/span><\/p>\n

He possessed the stronghold of the Merovingians
\nfor thirty winters,
\nwhich was known to many.<\/p>\n

That passed away, may this too.<\/em><\/p>\n

Eormanric<\/span><\/p>\n

We have learned of his wolfish thought,
\nhe, who widely ruled the people
\nOf the Gothic realm.<\/p>\n

That was a grim king.<\/p>\n

Many a man sat
\nbewound with sorrows,
\nwoe upon woe,
\nand wished often
\nthat the kingdom were overcome.<\/p>\n

That passed away, may this too.<\/em><\/p>\n

I sit, sorrow-weary, bereft of joys.
\nMy mood darkens.
\nIt seems to me that my share of troubles
\nis endless.<\/p>\n

Then I am prompted to contemplate how
\nthe wise ruler frequently turns.<\/p>\n

Honor is shown to many a man,
\ntrue glory,
\nbut to some a share of woe.<\/p>\n

This I will say about myself,
\nthat I, for a while,
\nto my dear lord,
\nwas the poet of the Heodenings.<\/p>\n

Deor<\/span>\u00a0was my name.<\/p>\n

I held, for many winters,
\ngood service to my loyal lord,
\nuntil now, when Heorrenda,
\nthat song-crafty man,
\nreceived the land-rights
\nthat the protector of the realm
\nbefore gave to me.<\/p>\n

That passed away, may this too.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

Recitations by Richard Fahey<\/strong><\/p>\n

In Old English (edited by Tom Fahey):<\/p>\n