Original
Text
Feoh byþ frofur fira gehwylcum;
sceal
ðeah manna gehwylc miclun hyt dælan
gif
he wile for drihtne domes hleotan.
Ur byþ anmod ond oferhyrned,
felafrecne
deor, feohteþ mid hornum
mære
morstapa; þæt is modig wuht.
Þorn byþ ðearle scearp; ðegna gehwylcum
anfeng
ys yfyl, ungemetum reþe
manna
gehwelcum, ðe him mid resteð.
Os byþ ordfruma ælere spræce,
wisdomes
wraþu ond witena frofur
and
eorla gehwam eadnys ond tohiht.
Rad byþ on recyde rinca gehwylcum
sefte
ond swiþhwæt, ðamðe sitteþ on ufan
meare
mægenheardum ofer milpaþas.
Cen byþ cwicera gehwam, cuþ on fyre
blac
ond beorhtlic, byrneþ oftust
ðær
hi æþelingas inne restaþ.
Gyfu gumena byþ gleng and herenys,
wraþu
and wyrþscype and wræcna gehwam
ar
and ætwist, ðe byþ oþra leas.
Wenne bruceþ, ðe can weana lyt
sares
and sorge and him sylfa hæfþ
blæd
and blysse and eac byrga geniht.
Hægl byþ hwitust corna; hwyrft hit of heofones
lyfte,
wealcaþ
hit windes scura; weorþeþ hit to wætere syððan.
Nyd byþ nearu on breostan; weorþeþ hi þeah oft
niþa bearnum
to
helpe and to hæle gehwæþre, gif hi his hlystaþ æror.
Is byþ ofereald, ungemetum slidor,
glisnaþ
glæshluttur gimmum gelicust,
flor
forste geworuht, fæger ansyne.
Ger byÞ gumena hiht, ðonne God læteþ,
halig
heofones cyning, hrusan syllan
beorhte
bleda beornum ond ðearfum.
Eoh byþ utan unsmeþe treow,
heard
hrusan fæst, hyrde fyres,
wyrtrumun
underwreþyd, wyn on eþle.
Peorð byþ symble plega and hlehter
wlancum
[on middum], ðar wigan sittaþ
on
beorsele bliþe ætsomne.
Eolh-secg eard hæfþ oftust on fenne
wexeð
on wature, wundaþ grimme,
blode
breneð beorna gehwylcne
ðe
him ænigne onfeng gedeþ.
Sigel semannum symble biþ on hihte,
ðonne
hi hine feriaþ ofer fisces beþ,
oþ
hi brimhengest bringeþ to lande.
Tir biþ tacna sum, healdeð trywa wel
wiþ
æþelingas; a biþ on færylde
ofer
nihta genipu, næfre swiceþ.
Beorc byþ bleda leas, bereþ efne swa ðeah
tanas
butan tudder, biþ on telgum wlitig,
heah
on helme hrysted fægere,
geloden
leafum, lyfte getenge.
Eh byþ for eorlum æþelinga wyn,
hors
hofum wlanc, ðær him hæleþ ymb[e]
welege
on wicgum wrixlaþ spræce
and
biþ unstyllum æfre frofur.
Man byþ on myrgþe his magan leof:
sceal
þeah anra gehwylc oðrum swican,
forðum
drihten wyle dome sine
þæt
earme flæsc eorþan betæcan.
Lagu byþ leodum langsum geþuht,
gif
hi sculun neþan on nacan tealtum
and
hi sæyþa swyþe bregaþ
and
se brimhengest bridles ne gym[eð].
Ing wæs ærest mid East-Denum
gesewen
secgun, oþ he siððan est
ofer
wæg gewat; wæn æfter ran;
ðus
Heardingas ðone hæle nemdun.
Eþel byþ oferleof æghwylcum men,
gif
he mot ðær rihtes and gerysena on
brucan
on bolde bleadum oftast.
Dæg byþ drihtnes sond, deore mannum,
mære
metodes leoht, myrgþ and tohiht
eadgum
and earmum, eallum brice.
Ac byþ on eorþan elda bearnum
flæsces
fodor, fereþ gelome
ofer
ganotes bæþ; garsecg fandaþ
hwæþer
ac hæbbe æþele treowe.
Æsc biþ oferheah, eldum dyre
stiþ
on staþule, stede rihte hylt,
ðeah
him feohtan on firas monige.
Yr byþ æþelinga and eorla gehwæs
wyn
and wyrþmynd, byþ on wicge fæger,
fæstlic
on færelde, fyrdgeatewa sum.
Iar byþ eafix and ðeah a bruceþ
fodres
on foldan, hafaþ fægerne eard
wætre
beworpen, ðær he wynnum leofaþ.
Ear byþ egle eorla gehwylcun,
ðonn[e]
fæstlice flæsc onginneþ,
hraw
colian, hrusan ceosan
blac
to gebeddan; bleda gedreosaþ,
wynna
gewitaþ, wera geswicaþ.
Modern
English Translation
(Feoh) Wealth is a comfort to all men;
yet
must every man bestow it freely,
if
he wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.
(Ur ) Aurochs is proud and has great horns;
it
is a very savage beast and fights with its horns;
a
great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of mettle.
(Thorn) is exceedingly sharp,
an
evil thing for any knight to touch,
uncommonly
severe on all who sit among them.
(Os) God is the source of all language,
a
pillar of wisdom and a comfort to wise men,
a
blessing and a joy to every knight.
(Rad) Riding seems easy to every warrior while
he is indoors
and
very courageous to him who traverses the high-roads
on
the back of a stout horse.
(Ken) Torch is known to every living man by
its pale, bright flame;
it
always burns where princes sit within.
(Gyfu) Gift brings credit and honour, which
support one's dignity;
it
furnishes help and subsistence
to
all broken men who are devoid of aught else.
(Wynn) Bliss he enjoys who knows not suffering,
sorrow nor anxiety,
and
has prosperity and happiness and a good enough house.
(Hagal) Hail is the whitest of grain;
it
is whirled from the vault of heaven
and
is tossed about by gusts of wind
and
then it melts into water.
(Nyd) Need is oppressive to the heart;
yet
often it proves a source of help and salvation
to
the children of men, to everyone who heeds it betimes.
(Is) Ice is very cold and immeasurably slippery;
it
glistens as clear as glass and most like to gems;
it
is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon.
(Ger) Year is a joy to men, when God, the holy
King of Heaven,
suffers
the earth to bring forth shining fruits
for
rich and poor alike.
(Eoh) Yew is a tree with rough bark,
hard
and fast in the earth, supported by its roots,
a
guardian of flame and a joy upon an estate.
(Peorth) Lot-box is a source of recreation and
amusement to the great,
where
warriors sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.
(Eolh-secg) Elk-sedge is mostly to be found
in a marsh;
it
grows in the water and makes a ghastly wound,
covering
with blood every warrior who touches it.
(Sigel) Sun is ever a joy in the hopes of seafarers
when
they journey away over the fishes' bath,
until
the courser of the deep bears them to land.
(Tir) is a guiding star; well does it keep faith
with princes;
it
is ever on its course over the mists of night and never fails.
(Beorc) Birch bears no fruit; yet without seed
it brings forth suckers,
for
it is generated from its leaves.
Splendid
are its branches and gloriously adorned
its
lofty crown which reaches to the skies.
(Eh) Horse is a joy to princes in the presence
of warriors.
A
steed in the pride of its hoofs,
when
rich men on horseback bandy words about it;
and
it is ever a source of comfort to the restless.
(Man) is dear to his kinsmen;
yet
every man is doomed to fail his fellow,
since
the Lord by his decree will commit the vile carrion to the earth.
(Lagu) Sea seems interminable to men,
if
they venture on the rolling bark
and
the waves of the sea terrify them
and
the courser of the deep heed not its bridle.
(Ing) was first seen by men among the East-Danes,
till,
followed by his chariot,
he
departed eastwards over the waves.
So
the Heardingas named the hero.
(Ethel) Estate is dear to every man,
if
he can enjoy there in his house
whatever
is right and proper in constant prosperity.
(Dag) Day, the glorious light of the Creator,
is sent by the Lord;
it
is beloved of men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor,
and
of service to all.
(Ac) Oak fattens the flesh of pigs for the children
of men.
Often
it traverses the gannet's bath,
and
the ocean proves whether the oak keeps faith
in
honourable fashion.
(Aesc) Ash is exceedingly high and precious
to men.
With
its sturdy trunk it offers a stubborn resistance,
though
attacked by many a man.
(Yr) Bow is a source of joy and honour to every
prince and knight;
it
looks well on a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey.
(Iar) Serpent is a river fish and yet it always
feeds on land;
it
has a fair abode encompassed by water, where it lives in happiness.
(Ear) Dust is horrible to every knight,
when
the corpse quickly begins to cool
and
is laid in the bosom of the dark earth.
Prosperity
declines, happiness passes away
and
covenants are broken.
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