Tag: translation

An Introduction for Esa

Esa inghean Donnchaidh was one of the first people I met in the SCA and a dear friend, so I was thrilled when I heard that she was going to receive her Laurel. While I unfortunately was unable to attend the glorious event, I was able to contribute in a small way by writing an introduction to court for her. This was then translated into Scots Gaelic by Naran Noyon, who heralded her entry for her elevation.

English Text

The evening star rises, heralds
last light of the day.
Sun strikes wave-washed islands,
inflames sanguine
Brodgar, Stanness, and sleeping Maeshowe.
See striding forth from stones’ heart
broch-builder’s blood-borne kindred,
a sea-eyed advocate and true-tongued teacher,
scholar of Caithness
and the womb’s ways,
the esteemed and beloved
Esa inghean Donnchaidh. 

Scots Gaelic Translation

One of the faults in my education is my lack of Scots Gaelic, so this translation was wonderfully done by by Naran Noyon. The text below is not his final version, and any transcription errors are mine; I hope to update this post soon with the final version that also includes the correct diacritics. As a translator myself, it was exciting to have someone translate my words, and I hope to hear more about his translation choices.

Reul an Fheasgair ag eirigh, A gairm solas mu dheireadh dh’en latha, 
Buailidh grian eileanan air am fliuchadh le tonnan,
‘Cuir teine ri Brodgar fuilteach , Staness ‘s Maeshowe nan cadal,
Faic Ise, A tighinn gu dana a-mach a cridhe chlachach,
Fior nighean Bhroch-togalaiche. 
Bean-tagraidh le suilean-mhara, 
Tidsear na fior theanga, 
Ban-Eolaiche Ghallaibh ‘s Doighean machlaig, 
Gaolach, Urramaichte. 
Esa Ingean Donnchaidh. 

The Apprentice’s Manuscript

So things kept happening to get in the way of my properly apprenticing to Ollam Lanea (rainstorms, commitments, a pandemic), so when we finally were able to set a firm date, I lost my mind a little and decided to make her a gift for The Occasion. I decided to make her a book. Not any book — a book that contained two of her pieces, two of mine, and some other important items. Since I chose poems that incorporated our languages, I decided they had to be properly glossed. This is literally my third piece of calligraphy ever, my second with a proper pen, and I learned to bookbind over the summer by half-watching a dozen random YouTube videos. And because I knew Lanea would get a kick out of it, instead of documentation, I wrote a library catalog entry. I told you I lost my mind.

The Book

The Catalog Entry

Teach Folcadáin Bó Caitlin MS Ripton A.i

Date Inconsistently dated to both ~800 and 2021 (?)
Title The Apprentice’s Manuscript
Content The present volume contains 4 poems and some additional back matter (a short verse and a single sentence). Two poems, On Kings (ff. 2r-8v) and Song of Amergin (ff. 24r-29v) have been glossed by the original scribe. The glossing of On Kings indicates that the scribe was familiar with the language and attempted to keep a poetic translation in the gloss. However, they also excluded words that were the same in both texts, making it difficult to reconstruct the gloss’s original form. Inaccuracies in the glossing of Song of Amergin indicate that the scribe was not familiar with the language; E. Meredith (2021) has suggested that the scribe was attempting to combine two texts with only the vaguest understanding of Celtic languages.

Contents:
ff. 2r-8v: On Kings
ff. 9r-15r: On Returning Home
ff. 18r-22v: You Call Yourselves Bards?
ff. 24r-29v: Song of Amergin
f. 31r: Gawain and the Green Knight (?) excerpt
f. 32v: Back matter

Decoration: 5 illuminations, of a horse between three lozenges (f. 1r), a bird (f. 16r), a raven on a pall between three Brigid’s crosses (f. 17r), a great black dog (f. 23r), and a golden winged shoe (f. 30r). There are additional small decorations throughout, most significantly a decorated O on f. 18v.
Languages English, Modern
English, Old
Irish, Old (?)
Physical Description Materials: Pergamenata, Noodler’s Eel Black, Koh-I-Noor watercolor, FineTec gold and silver.

Dimensions: approximately 90 x 70 mm. No indication of trimming.

Foliation: ff. 32. There is one modern foliation sequence in the manuscript in pencil.

Layout: written in one column of four or eight lines to a page. All four-line pages contain glosses in a different language.

Script: Half-uncial. While the hand has similarities to the Book of Kells, as do some of the illuminations, the number of errors and uneven lines indicate an inexperienced scribe deeply in over their head.

Binding: Rebound in the first quarter of the 21st century by an enthusiastic amateur using green silk thread, cardboard, linen, leather, and PVA glue.
Origin, provenance Unknown; bears indicators of both 8th/9th-century Hiberno-Saxon traditions (especially Northumbrian) and 21st-century Nacirema techniques from Piscataway Nation territory.

Progress Pictures

Calligraphy in progress: printed text above with a page drying, ductus and practice below, and perg placed on top of the lined practice sheet.
Finished pages kept in order, with other pages drying and the text I was working from to the right.
Punching holes for binding into the folios with a guide. This page also has one of my favorite corrections.
Finished binding, with the first folio visible.
Binding glamour shot.

Translation for Mistress Rosalind

Calligraphed version courtesy of Mistress Rosalind

Before Gideon ap Stephen was Laurelled at Ymir 2020, Mistress Rosalind asked me to translate the poem she had written to release Gideon from his apprenticeship into Old English. I happily did so — I love translations and find it a great challenge! Below is the text that I sent her; I also sent her a (very rough) recording for pronunciation. While I usually don’t use ċ (/ch/) or ġ (/j/) in my translations as they are entirely a modern conceit for transcription, I included them here to help indicate the pronunciation differences from c (/k/) and g (/g/) for performance.

Original Translation
Gideon ap Stephen     great of heart Gideon ap Stephen     great in breostsefan
A word-warrior     for the Knowne World Cyneword-ċempa     for þære cuþre worulde
Famed for ferocity     in defense of humble folk Rof for reþnesse     in randġebeorh eadmede-folces
Awesome of hair     a voice ocean-deep Seldlic in feaxe     stefn ġeofon-sidu
In prose and poetry     you have shown your prowess þurh wordcræft ond woþcræft     þin ġewald þu ġeseþe
Our path together     of time and travel Ure gomenwaþu to-gædere     on geongum ond byrum
Late night counsel     creation and craft Nihtlangum leoþurunum     listum ond sceaftum
We, your mentors     you, a man of our houses Wit, þin rædboran,     þu, reord-berend unċer inhireda
Now ends your oath     of fealty to us Nu endaþ þin aþ     to us of heldan
We take back the belt     once gladly bestowed Wit oþfeorraþ þone fetel     fore fuslice ġelacodon
But our heart-bond     can never be broken Ac ure breostsefa-bend     ne abirsteþ næfre

 

Translation Translator’s Notes Regarding Particular Choices
Gideon ap Stephen     great in breostsefan Breostsefa  = mind or heart, literally “the mind in the breast”
Cyneword-cempa     for þære cuþre worulde Cyneword-cempa = champion of fitting words
Rof for reþnesse     in randgebeorh eadmede-folces Randgebeorh = protection such as that afforded by a shield
Seldlic in feaxe     stefn geofon-sidu Seldlic = rare, strange, wondrous, extraordinary, having unusual good qualities
Sid = wide, broad, spacious, and is specifically usually applied to the ocean, world, and universe
þurh wordcræft ond woþcræft     þin gewald þu geseþe Syntax of second half-line is “your prowess you show”
wordcræft = the art of speaking and writing
woþcræft = the art of poetry or song
gewald = power, mastery (I chose it for the latter meaning)
Ure gomenwaþu to-gædere     on geongum ond byrum Syntax of second half-line is “of travels and times”; I chose to make plural because there was presumably more than one
Byre has many meanings, but I particularly like the translation of “an event, a favourable time, an opportunity”
Nihtlangum leoþurunum     listum ond sceaftum Syntax of second half-line is “craft and creation”
nihtlang = night-long
leoþurun = counsel conveyed in verse (I thought this meaning was appropriate!)
list = art, skill, cunning, craft, artifice
Wit, þin rædboran,     þu, reord-berend uncer inhireda Wit = dual for Mistress Rosalind and Master Dunstan
reord-berend = fig. person/man, lit. voice-bearer/one gifted with speech
in-hired = family, household, house (I liked the triple meaning)
Nu endaþ þin aþ     to us of heldan
Wit oþfeorraþ þone fetel     fore fuslice gelacodon
Ac ure breostsefa-bend     ne abirsteþ næfre Repeating breostsefa from the beginning

 

Poetry Translation for Master Eldred Ælfwald Þegn’s Scroll

In early 2019, Master Eldred Ælfwald requested that Lady Kaaren Valravn create his court baron scroll (scroll information here). In turn, she asked Lord Ishmael Reed to write an original poem and me to translate the poem into Old English. Ishmael wrote the poem in the style of the 14th-century alliterative revival, which I then translated into Old English alliterative verse.

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