Heill Daníel!

> Sorry it's taken awhile to get back to you, I've had a bit of

backlog to get through.

>
> Many thanks for this, it's been a great help.
>
> I've attempted a translation of your passage, but I suspect it's

rather crude - corrections?

> One must attack a player (musician)
> (and break the peace)
> that shall ever be a worthy thing
> One must (defile?) a player
> he who with fiddle goes
> or with fiddle fares
> or (on) drum (beats)
> then shall hang that one who beats (it)
>
> because with fair songs
> and striking up playing (music)
> shall all (of them) worship heathen gods
>
> konrad_oddsson wrote:
>
> > Here is how the law SHOULD read:
> >
> > Verðr leikari barðr
> > (ok friðr á brotinn)
> > þat skal æ gilt vesa
> > Verðr leikari sárgaðr
> > sá es með gígju gengr
> > eða með fiðlu ferr
> > eða (á) bumbu (berr)
> > þá skal hengja þann es barði
> >
> > þvíat með fögrum söngvi
> > ok slegnum slætti
> > skal fjörg öll fága

My makeshift rewrite of this law was intended as a satire on what in
my opinion is an unjust and indefensible law. The original basically
states that if a musician is physically beaten, then that selfsame
musician should be further punished by a humiliating ordeal. This
ordeal involves being whipped while holding onto the greased and
shaven tail of a young cow and while standing in a newly greased
pair of shoes. As a musician and hopeful defender of basic human
dignity, I find such laws reprehensible. While many unjust laws were
propagated in the various Scandinavian countries, especially against
real or perceived "heathens", this is the only one that I know of
which specifically targets musicians as such. The gist of the law
could be summed up as follows: musicians are less than human and can
therefore be beaten or otherwise humiliated without fear of legal or
other social consequence. My satire could be literally translated as
follows:

Becomes a player beaten (=if a musician is beaten)
and peace on broken (=and his peace violated)
that shall always valid/legal be. (the original states "UNvalid")

(These lines imply that a musician has no right to legal procedure)

Becomes a musician sored (=if a musician is wounded)
that which with "gígja" goes (=he that with a "gígja goes)
or with fiddle fares (=or with a fiddle travels)
or on drum beats (I added the word "beats" for alliterative purposes)
then shall hang that which beats (=then shall he who beat the
musician be hung)

Gígja is a kind of antique Scandinavian fiddle. It was brought to
the British Isles by early Scandinavian settlers, where the word
itself was later reinterpreted and applied to a style of tune and
dance now refered to as a "jig". As a musician myself, I certainly
enjoy the hardcore traditional Celtic music in which tunes of one
type are called "jigs", other "reels", and still others names of
various kinds. What I do NOT enjoy, and have NO tolerance for, are
people or policies which endeavor to illiminate music as "the work
of the Devil" by destroying musical instruments, killing or maining
musicians, or otherwise interfering with free musical expression.
Given my views on this subject, it should come as a surprise to no
one that the one issuing the beating should be punished in my satire
of the old law. What kind of musical heritage will a nation have
which mains its musicians and burns their instruments? The last part
of my satire translates as follows:

of this that with beautiful song (=because with beautiful song)
and slayed slay (=and played tune) (to "play" is to "slay" in Norse,
as in to "strike a tune", and a tune is called a "striking")
shall gods all worship (=shall the gods be worshiped/honoured)

As the authers of the law against musicians were "Christians", my
satire appropriately enshrines worshiping Gods of the "Heathens" by
singing and playing beautiful music in their honour. I hope that
this renders my new "law" intelligible to all, including musicians.

Regards,
Konrad.