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Rune Poems 1

                Rune Poems 1


                           Norwegian Rune Poem

The Norwegian Runic Poem was first printed (in Runic characters) by Olaus Wormius, Danica Literatura Antiquissima, page 105 (Amsterodamiae, 1636) from a law MS. in the University Library at Copenhagen, which perished in the fire of 1728. This version was used by Vigfusson and Powell in their Icelandic Prose Reader (Oxford, 1879) and Corpus Poeticum Boreale (Oxford, 1883), where the textual difficulties are death with in a very arbitrary fashion.

The MSS. had, however, been copied later in the seventeenth century by Arni Magnusson and Jon Eggertson, whose transcripts, far more accurate than Worm's, exists at Copenhagen and Stockholm. It was on these that Kalund based his text in the first critical edition, Smastykker (Kobenhavn, 1884-91), pp. 1 ff.,100ff., in which are incorporated valuable suggestions by Sophus Bugge and B.M.Olsen. Kalund added the names of the Runic letters, but printed the texts in their original orthography. However it has been though more satisfactory to adopt the normalised Old Norwegian spelling used in the German translation of Wimmer's work, Die Runenschrift, pp. 273-80 (Berlin, 1887).

The poem has certain affinities to the Anglo-Saxon and is ascribed to a Norwegian author at the end of the thirteenth century; ræið and rossom alliterate, which would be impossible with the Icelandic forms of ræið and hrossum. It is composed in six syllabled couplets, each of which contains two semi detached statements of a gnomic character; the first line which has two alliterating words, is connected by end-rhyme except for 15 and the second which has none.

  Old Norse                               Modern English

Fé vældr frænda róge;
føðesk ulfr í skóge.

Úr er af illu jarne;
opt løypr ræinn á hjarne.

Þurs vældr kvinna kvillu;
kátr værðr fár af illu.

Óss er flæstra færða
fo,r; en skalpr er sværða.

Ræið kveða rossom væsta;
Reginn sló sværðet bæzta.

Kaun er barna bo,lvan;
bo,l gørver nán fo,lvan.

Hagall er kaldastr korna;
Kristr skóp hæimenn forna.

Nauðr gerer næppa koste;
nøktan kælr í froste.

Ís ko,llum brú bræiða;
blindan þarf at læiða.

Ár er gumna góðe;
get ek at o,rr var Fróðe.

Sól er landa ljóme;
lúti ek helgum dóme.

Týr er æinendr ása;
opt værðr smiðr blása.

Bjarkan er laufgrønstr líma;
Loki bar flærða tíma.

Maðr er moldar auki;
mikil er græip á hauki.

Lo,gr er, fællr ór fjalle
foss; en gull ero nosser.

Ýr er vetrgrønstr viða;
vænt er, er brennr, at sviða.

 

Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.

Dross comes from bad iron;
the reindeer often races over the frozen snow.

Giant causes anguish to women;
misfortune makes few men cheerful.

Estuary is the way of most journeys;
but a scabbard is of swords.

Riding is said to be the worst thing for horses;
Reginn forged the finest sword.

Ulcer is fatal to children;
death makes a corpse pale.

Hail is the coldest of grain;
Christ created the world of old.

Constraint gives scant choice;
a naked man is chilled by the frost.

Ice we call the broad bridge;
the blind man must be led.

Plenty is a boon to men;
I say that Frothi was generous.

Sun is the light of the world;
I bow to the divine decree.

Tyr is a one-handed god;
often has the smith to blow.

Birch has the greenest leaves of any shrub;
Loki was fortunate in his deceit.

Man is an augmentation of the dust;
great is the claw of the hawk.

A waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side;
but ornaments are of gold.

Yew is the greenest of trees in winter;
it is wont to crackle when it burns.

 

[Icelandic Rune Poem] [Anglo-Saxon Rune Poem]

                                                                                    


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