From: Kevin Steffen
Message: 2634
Date: 2003-02-04
Thank you Pelle for your response,From: Kevin Steffen <modeldsnr@...> Out of curiosity, what is the opinion of the quality of the Benjamin Thorpe and I.A. Blackwell translations (1906)? My only complaint is that it does not have the original Old Norse text so I can try to follow along and see what I can learn.I'm not sure if you are referring to one or two translations here. I'm not familiar with Blackwell, but I have seen a translation by Thorpe which is dated 1866. Is Thorpe/Blackwell perhaps a revised edition of this? However, I was pleasantly surprised by Thorpe's translation, because its age indicated a pretty bad one. However, I have found it to be surprisingly accurate for such an old translation. That said, please understand I am not saying it is without serious faults. There are some pretty bad bloopers there, as in most other translations, but in many cases it is more accurate than, say, Hollander. I wish I could simply recommend one good translation to you and all others who care about accuracy, but this is something I simply can't do. The only translatation which I consider to be accurate enough for unreserved recommendation is Dronke's, but this is neither complete nor affordable.
I have two volumes of the 1906 Norroena collection. It has the Elder Eddas of Saemund Sigfusson translated by Thorpe and the Younger Eddas of Snorri Sturlesson translated by Blackwell. It does not give a translation date for either, just a publication date.
Night Winds