This Week's Requests (05/29) (Patreon)

Other than trying to get videos edited in time to post on their usual days (I'm more behind on this than usual), my big project right now is going through the proofs of The Wanderer's Hávamál and making the last additions and corrections that I can make to that text. My publisher, Hackett, is already working on the internal design of the book--there's not much I can show you that wouldn't be a spoiler, but above is the current look of the Table of Contents. Once I send this set of proofs back to Hackett on Monday, that's pretty much it for any significant changes--the book then ceases to be a Word document, and between Monday and publication I can only change something if it's to fix a really egregious typo or error, and even then it can't be something that changes the lines on the page or the page count in any way. So this is a stressful, important time, and I find myself adding much more to the Commentary on Hávamál than was originally there--essentially, I'm trying to anticipate all the questions a reader might have about the text, whether they're reading it in Old Norse or English. A challenging task, but I think you'll be pleased with the result. If the timeline goes roughly like it did with The Saga of the Volsungs, I'll probably be holding a physical copy of the finished book in about two months, and once I approve it, it'll be on its way to whatever bookseller you prefer in the late summer.

Since my last post, there's been only one video update: Raven Flags of the Vikings.

Below are the requests sent to Stella at admin@jacksonwcrawford.com between last Wednesday and Tues. 05/28. For those of you considering making a request in the future, please see my tips on how to do that in a way that makes it easier for me to give you what you want.

Stella is taking a much-deserved break right now to spend some time with family, so responses may be a little slower than usual for a while.

All the best for now and thank you for your support this month,

Jackson Crawford

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A note about translation requests: Please respect the once-a-month limit and the word limits in the description of your tier on Patreon. This kind of translation is a much more time-consuming and intensive process than most people imagine, which is why I charge a lot more to do it for the movie companies etc. Also please keep in mind that writing words and names in any language other than Old Norse in Younger Futhark is virtually impossible. I've used this example before but, for instance, Old Norse has no “sh-/sch-“sound, and it’s impossible to know what that sound would have sounded like to an Old Norse speaker or how they might have written it  in runes. Nor is there an equivalent rune to the letter /c/, with its many possible meanings depending on context (or vice versa with the many runes that can represent multiple sounds).

A note about tattoos (and other applications of translation requests): I take the time to provide small translations into Old Norse as a thank-you to Patreon supporters, and I do so in the most historically accurate way I know possible (basing my runic spellings directly on real runestones from the Viking-Age, when I can find the words I need there). If you choose to use one of these translations as a tattoo for yourself or someone else, or for any other kind of application, that is your decision on how to use the words I’ve written and I have nothing to do with it. I accept no responsibility or liability for what you choose to have tattooed on yourself or others, or any other way you might use these translation requests. I don’t personally like tattoos and have no interest in seeing them or in knowing that you intend to use a request for a tattoo.

—> Jan Bosman requests "Thor consecrate the oaths sworn on this ring" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

ᚦᚢᚱ  ᚢᛁᚴᛁ  ᚦᚬ  ᛅᛁᚦᛅ  ᛅᛏ  ᚦᛁᛋᚢᛘ  ᛒᛅᚢᚴᛁ  ᚢᚾᛅ
Þórr  vígi  þá  eiða  at  þessum  baugi  unna.

—> Josiah Jackson requests "kill the boy and let the man be born" or "kill the boy and become the man" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark (whichever translates best, said from one man to another)

ᛏᚱᛅᛒᛏᚢ  ᛋᚢᛅᛁᚾᛒᛅᚱᚾ  ᛅᚢᚴ  ᛚᛅᛏᚢ  ᛘᛅᚾ  ᚠᚢᚦᛅᛋᚴ
dreptu sveinbarn ok láttu mann fǿðask
kill the boy and let the man be born

ᛏᚱᛅᛒᛏᚢ  ᛋᚢᛅᛁᚾᛒᛅᚱᚾ  ᛅᚢᚴ  ᚢᛁᚱᚦ  ᛘᛅᚦᛦ
dreptu sveinbarn ok verð maðr
kill the boy and become the man

—> Matt Lukes requests "beware of black iron" in Old Norse (or 'don't trust black iron', if that translates better, it's a blacksmithing reference for context) 

I don’t know enough about blacksmithing to know if there might be a specific translation for “black iron,” but just translating the elements (“black” and “iron”) would get you:

ᚢᛅᚱᚢᚦ  ᚢᛁᚦ  ᛋᚢᛅᚱᛏᚢ  ᛁᛅᚱᚾᛁ
varúð við svǫrtu járni

I’ve heard of “black rust,” so just in case (in my ignorance) that’s what you’re looking for:

ᚢᛅᚱᚢᚦ  ᚢᛁᚦ  ᛋᚢᛅᚱᛏᚢ  ᚱᚢᚦᛁ
varúð við svǫrtu ryði

—> Stefan Telvian requests "As we are / we two, we three / As I alone will never be" + "Family" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark (it's a riddle and its answer, for context)

ᛋᛁᛘ  ᚢᛁᛦ  ᛁᛦᚢᛘ  /  ᚢᛁᛏ  ᛏᚢᛅᚢ  /  ᚢᛁᛦ  ᚦᚱᛁᚢ  /  ᛋᛁᛘ  ᛁᚴ  ᛅᛁᚾ  ᛘᚢᚾ  ᛅᛚᛏᚱᛁᚴᛁ  ᚢᛁᛋᛅ  +  ᚼᛁᚢ  (ᚠᚱᚬᛏᛦ)
sem vér erum / vit tvau, vér þrjú / sem ek ein(n) mun aldrigi vesa + hjú (frændr)

"Alone" is "einn" if the speaker is male, "ein" if the speaker is female; the runic spelling is the same.

—> Fabienne Lässle requests "You've moved further down this path than you have been a short time [/while] ago." in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

ᚦᚢ  ᛁᚱᛏ  ᚴᚢᛘᛁᚾ  ᛚᛅᚴᛦᛅ  ᚬ  ᚢᛁᚴᛁᚾᚢᛘ  ᛅᚾ  ᚦᚢ  ᚢᛅᛋᛏ  ᛚᛁᛏᛚᛅ  ᚼᚱᛁᚦ  ᛋᛁᚦᛅᚾ
Þú ert komin lengra á veginum en þú vast litla hríð síðan.

—> Kenn Baker requests “We are the wolves of war. Axe and sword, our fang and claw” in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

ᚢᛁᛦ  ᛁᛦᚢᛘ  ᚢᛚᚠᛅᛦ  ᚢᛁᚴᛋᛁᚾᛋ  ᚢᚴᛋ  ᛅᚢᚴ  ᛋᚢᛁᚱᚦ  ᛏᛅᚾ  ᛅᚢᚴ  ᚴᛚᚢ
Vér erum úlfar vígsins. Øx ok sverð, tǫnn ok kló.

—> Victoria Kifeva requests "Iron Will" in Old Norse and Younger Futhark

ᛁᛅᚱᚾᚢᛁᛚᛁ
járnvili
iron-will

This compound isn’t attested in Old Norse, but it is used in Modern Icelandic and can be pretty easily converted into Old Norse.