Subject: [norse_course] Re: help with
translation? (the end of the road)
Sæl öll and hello all,
> and what about
Llama Nom, did he go back to Tibet or what
Yes, Patricia, but still,
from my secret mountain stronghold in the depths of Shambhala,
illuminated only by the glow of my third eye, I think I can manage a
reply. Can't promise it'll be very enlightening
though...
> "so he met his end"
ok lét hann líf sitt þá
lét hann líf sitt
The verb is 'láta' in the sense of "let go of, give
up". From this comes one euphemism for death: 'lát', n. "loss,
death", pl. "manners". Also: 'líflát' "loss of one´s life, death"
and 'andlát', giving up the ghost/breath.
'lok', n. "end, conclusion, close; bolt; lock; locker; cover, lid;
a kind of fern or weed" appears in the phrase 'líða undir lok' "to
die" (lit. to pass under the LOK) -- but is this LOK in the "cover"
sense rather than "end"? Anyway, with the sense of conclusion,
'ævilok', 'æfilok', n.pl. "life's end, death" (Zoega). 'lok' is
from the verb 'lúka' "to close, conclude, finish". It's the
typical verb for for ending stories, e.g. Lýkr hér nú sögunni af Sörla
inum sterka ok hans miklu afreksverkum með svá sögðu niðrlagi ok
endalykt. "Here ends now the story/saga of Sorli the Strong and
his mighty feats with this [so said] finish and
conclusion."
'fall', n., as in English can mean "death in battle"
as well as simply a "fall" -- but also "an epidemic", "animal carcass",
"an end, finish, lack, a running out of", "hurt, loss", "fault, offence,
wrongdoing, sin", "grammatical case" (Fritzner).
You might also
consider the various words for fate, just as long as you don't start
experiencing 'æðra' "fear, despair, despondency"...