Deor

[mothwing]

Before I post my resolutions (which I'll without a doubt break this year, too) I have to share what I spent most of my time procrastinating with today, the Old English poem Deor.

It's from the Exeter Book, and it's strangely encouraging to me. In it the singer describes the various misfortunes that have befallen various heroes and then, finally, himself, always closing, "þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg", which is usually translated as, "this may overcome, so may this be", though it's more ambiguous in the original (for annotations, see here, and a modern English translation as well).

Cut for length.

Triggers: mention of rape, too, which goes for the modern version, too.

Welund him be wurman wræces cunnade,
anhydig eorl earfoþa dreag,
hæfde him to gesiþþe sorge and longaþ,
wintercealde wræce, wean oft onfond
siþþan hine Niðhad on nede legde,
swoncre seonobende on syllan monn.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.

Beadohilde ne wæs hyre broþra deaþ
on sefan swa sar swa hyre sylfre þing,
þæt heo gearolice ongietan hæfde
þæt heo eacen wæs; æfre ne meahte
þriste geþencan hu ymb þæt sceolde.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.

We þæt Mæðhilde mone gefrugnon
wurdon grundlease Geates frige,
þæt hi seo sorglufu slæp ealle binom.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.

Ðeodric ahte þritig wintra
Mæringa burg; þæt wæs monegum cuþ.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.

We geascodan Eormanrices
wylfenne geþoht; ahte wide folc
Gotena rices; þæt wæs grim cyning.
Sæt secg monig sorgum gebunden,
wean on wenan, wyscte geneahhe
þæt þæs cynerices ofercumen wære.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg.

Siteð sorgcearig, sælum bidæled,
on sefan sweorceð, sylfum þinceð
þæt sy endeleas earfoða dæl,
mæg þonne geþencan þæt geond þas woruld
witig Dryhten wendeþ geneahhe,
eorle monegum are gesceawað,
wislicne blæd, sumum weana dæl.

Þæt ic bi me sylfum secgan wille,
þæt ic hwile wæs Heodeninga scop,
dryhtne dyre; me wæs Deor noma.
Ahte ic fela wintra folgað tilne,
holdne hlaford, oþ þæt Heorrenda nu,
leoðcræftig monn, londryht geþah
þæt me eorla hleo ær gesealde.
Þæs ofereode, þisses swa mæg. >/lj-cut>

Comments

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

Oh, great T-Shirt! We didn't do that one in our OE course, though we did traslate The Wanderer, The Seafarer. The latter is probably my favourite among them because it has the word "isigfeþera".

Thanks, glad you like it! It's all due to my Downton Abbey obsession, I took to playing around with the Minerva/Severus/Moon icon a lot while watching that show.