Sagas -- Star Wars as a Norse Saga ... more

At one time I read all the Norse Sagas available in translation.

Since then, though ...

First:  Star Wars redone as a Norse Saga (in Norse and in translation back to English).

An excerpt:

A Frisian man accompanied Hólmgöngu-Hani; he was named Tsiubakka. He was the hairiest of men and very big, he had blackish-brown hair and was rather chubby-faced and broad across the brows. Tsiubakka did not know how to speak Norse, but he understood what men said, and Hani spoke Frisian.

One time it so happened that Hani had raided in Norway, and when he was ready to put out to sea, some Norwegian chieftains rode up in that place. They asked who these men were and where they came from.

“I am named Hani Sólósson,” said Hani, “Some call me Hólmgöngu-Hani. And this follower of mine is a Frisian man named Tsiubakka. We have come here from Denmark and we are merchants.

Best begun reading from here:  http://tattuinardoelasaga.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/i-kap/

“Ef it eruð sannarlega kaupdrengir,” segir hǫfðingi, “Þá munuð it hafa vǫrur á skipi ykkar, þær es it vilið selja, ok vér viljum kaupa, ok látið øss sjá varning ykkar.”

Þessir menn gingu síðan upp á skipit, ok þar fundu þeir margar gørsemar, þeim es Hólmgǫngu-Hani ok Tsiubakka hǫfðu stolnar frá þeim. Þessar þeir tóku, ok þeir vildu drepa Hólmgǫngu-Hana.

“Drepið hann eigi,” segir inn fyrsti hǫfðingi, “Því at ek kennda hann í fyrstunni, ok kennda ek fǫður hans ok. Hann es engi vinr Falfaðins konungs, ok erum vér heldr eigi. En vér skulum taka allar þessar vǫrur, þeim es hann stól, ok skulum honum ekki gjalda.”

En því at þat haustaði, ok Hólmgǫngu-Hani hafði ekki ránsfé, þat es hann skyli selja í hendr Jabba konungi, snaraðisk hann sem skjótast við Íslandi ok þar vildi forðask reiði Jabba konungs, unz hann fengi nekkverjan skatt, þann es hann fengi fœrðan konungi.

 Even better is the other material:

https://www.facebook.com/jackson.crawford

The .pdf documents available below contain the Old Norse text of Völuspá or Hávamál, along with a translation of either Eddic poem by me.

Völuspá (often translated “The Seeress’s Prophecy” etc.)

Völuspá with English translation, v. 4.0

Voluspå med norsk umsetjing, v. 4.0 (forklaring her)

Hávamál (often translated “Sayings of the High One” etc.)

Hávamál with English translation, v. 1.5

The Cowboy Hávamál v. 1.0 (explanation here)

What makes these different from other translations you can get online?

1. I teach Old Norse for a living, so I do my translations directly from the original language of the Codex Regius. I’m also not trying to write poetry, so the accuracy of my translations isn’t affected by trying to rhyme or alliterate.

2. I use readable, modern language, devoid of “thee” and “thou,” “wight” and “hight.”

3. Alongside the translation, I print a reconstructed Old Norse text that gives you a look at what the text of the poems might have sounded like ca. 1000 (almost 300 years before they were finally written down).

4. I can update, revise, and add to the text continually in response to my own ideas and those suggested by readers.

 But then, of course, my kids named a pet Kari after Kári Sölmundarson so my perspective is biased.