This Week's Requests (04/03) (Patreon)

For the first time in a while, I posted a new design in my Teespring shop, this photograph my brother Travis took of two ravens in the Grand Canyon with all of Odin's names from Grímnismál written out in Younger Futhark. This is in relation to today's video post, the final installment in my stanza-by-stanza readthrough of Grímnismál, featuring stanzas 45-54 in which Odin reveals his names. Of course, Odin (or "Mr. Wednesday") reveals his names in a similar scene in American Gods, a show where Odin's spear Gungnir has been unusually prominent, and my Saturday video covered that topic. On Monday, I posted my second April Fool's video, this one featuring a few colleagues and me talking about our "discovery" of the lost Eddic poem Heimdalargaldr (we do know this poem existed, but no, we haven't found more than the two lines Natalie Van Deusen quotes in that video from the Prose Edda). You can see my April Fool's video from last year here, where Travis played me while discussing a scene in which Odin appears in disguise.

Yes, it is true what I've said in the last couple videos: I was a consultant on American Gods, season 2. If you're watching the show as it airs this month on Sundays on the Starz channel, you haven't seen much in the way of my contributions yet.

Below are this week's translation requests, as provided to me by Stella. If you have a request, send it to Stella at admin@jacksonwcrawford.com and I'll answer in a weekly digest post like this next Wednesday (please get requests to Stella before 9:00 a.m. Tuesday Mountain Time). As always, folks, thank you for your support on Patreon and have a great one. 

I wonder if anyone alive has written more Younger Futhark than I have at this point.

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—> Kat Smith requests “Let me complement you by drawing you as a caricature.” in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

Láttu mik hrósa þér með því at gørva skopstælingu af þér.

There is no Old Norse word for “caricature,” but I’m using Modern Icelandic skopstæling, literally “jeer-imitation.”

ᛚᛅᛏᚢ  ᛘᛁᚴ  ᚼᚱᚢᛋᛅ  ᚦᛁᛦ  ᛘᛁᚦ  ᚦᚢᛁ  ᛅᛏ  ᚴᚢᚱᚢᛅ  ᛋᚴᚢᛒᛋᛏᛅᛚᛁᚴᚢ  ᛅᚠ  ᚦᛁᛦ

—>Alessandra Crerar:"A battle is won before it is begun" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

Sigrinn ræzk áðr en orrustan hefsk.

ᛋᛁᚴᚱᛁᚾ  ᚱᛅᛏᛋᚴ  ᛅᚦᚱ  ᛅᚾ  ᚢᚱᚢᛋᛏᛅᚾ  ᚼᛅᚠᛋᚴ

—> Matthew Bock requests"drengskapr" in Younger Futhark

drengskapr

ᛏᚱᛁᚴᛋᚴᛅᛒᛦ

This one is pretty easy because it’s actually attested in Younger Futhark.

—> Alex Fallen requests "Fimbulvinter, Sköl, Sol, Hati, Mani, Nidhogg, Garm, and murder" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

Fimbulvetr  ᚠᛁᛒᚢᛚᚢᛁᛏᚱ
Sól  ᛋᚢᛚ
Hati  ᚼᛅᛏᛁ
Máni  ᛘᚬᚾᛁ
Níðhǫggr  ᚾᛁᚦᚼᛅᚴᛦ
Garmr  ᚴᛅᚱᛘᛦ
morð  ᛘᚢᚱᚦ

—> Cody Little requests "En er Þorsteinn kom, gekk hann inn í blóthúsið og féll fram fyrir stein þann er hann blótaði og þar stóð í húsinu og mæltist þar fyrir." From Harðar saga og Hólmverja Ch. 38, to English from Old Norse

“But when Thorstein came, he walked into the worship/sacrifice-house and fell forward before the stone where he worshipped and which stood in the house. He said his piece there before it.”

—> Elias Thomas requests "heilbrigð sál í hraustum líkama" and "ferðaþrá" in Younger Futhark

Heilbrigð sál í hraustum líkama: ᚼᛅᛁᛚᛒᚱᛁᚴᚦ  ᛋᛅᛚ  ᛁ  ᚼᚱᛅᚢᛋᛏᚢᛘ  ᛚᛁᚴᛅᛘᛅ

(For whatever it’s worth, this specific translation, “Healthy soul in strong body,” strikes me as pretty modern in phrasing; I wouldn’t put it this way in Old Norse but instead as “Heill hugr í hraustu líki” ᚼᛅᛁᛚ  ᚼᚢᚴᛦ  ᛁ  ᚼᚱᛅᚢᛋᛏᚢ  ᛚᛁᚴᛁ)

Ferðaþrá (“wanderlust”): ᚠᛅᚱᚦᛅᚦᚱᛅ

—> Alex Manning requests "Fate whispers to the warrior 'You cannot withstand the storm.' And the warrior whispers back, 'I am the storm.'" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

Urðr hvíslar við hermann, “Þú fær eigi storminn þolðan.” En hermaðrinn hvíslar aptr, “Ek em stormrinn.” 

ᚢᚱᚦᛦ  ᚼᚢᛁᛋᛚᛅᛦ  ᚢᛁᚦ  ᚼᛅᚱᛘᛅᚾ  ᚦᚢ  ᚠᚬᛦ  ᛅᛁᚴᛁ  ᛋᛏᚢᚱᛘᛁᚾ  ᚦᚢᛚᚦᛅᚾ  ᛁᚾ  ᚼᛅᚱᛘᛅᚦᛦᛁᚾ  ᚼᚢᛁᛋᛚᛅᛦ  ᛅᛒᛏᚱ  ᛁᚴ  ᛁᛘ  ᛋᛏᚢᚱᛘᛦᛁᚾ

It surprises people that Old Norse barely talks about warriors per se; most men were fighters when need called for it, but they aren’t usually identified by that label. But I use hermaðr “war/army-man” here for “warrior.”