Re: Allusions to Steinn Steinarr Orfeus & Evridís / Alan's Transl

--- "AThompson" wrote:

> I have attempted to translate Orfeus og Evridís, and would be

grateful

> for any comments.

My pleasure.

> And looking up I noticed I was late

I'd love to turn you on - to Megas. His lyrics are
great for studying, because his vocabulary and idiom
span a 1000 years of the language.

> MEGAS: ORFEUS & EVRIDÍS
> Orpheus and Euridice

> einsog hamar ótt á steðja
> Like a hammer rapidly on an anvil

> uppá þaki regnið bylur
> up on (the) roof the rain pounds
>
> en í þínu þæga tári
> but in your obedient tear

ÞÆGUR - perhaps the meaning here is closer to
"sympathetic", even "expedient" - but it is a
bit ambiguous. TEAR, here, is almost certainly
supposed to mean "(a) drop (to drink)" - Icel.
commonly uses "tear" thus. For example, kaffitár
= a bit of coffee, víntár = a smidgen of wine.
Here, the reference is definitely to alcohol.

> þar er gleði birta ylur
> there when happiness reveals wamth

ÞAR ER = (simply) there is + three nouns:
GLEÐI = joy
BIRTA = brightness, light
YLUR = warmth

You were misled by the lack of punctuation.

The first three stanzas are a "drykkjukvæði"
(drinking poem), a sort of eulogy to Bacchus.
The second three stanzas are an "ástarkvæði"
(love-poem), and the last three a "hestakvæði"
(horse-poem). They are all based in traditional
Icelandic genres. One thing of interest is to
note how the metre loosens as the poem proceeds.
In the first three stanzas it is strictly trochaic,
but there are more dactyls as it progresses.

> á þínum góðu yndistöfrum
> in your good enchantment
>
> önd mín sál & kraptur nærist
> my soul, soul and strength (will) nourish

ÖND, perhaps closer to "spirit", or even "mind".
NÆRIST is definitely present tense. NÆRAST Á E-U
= take nourishment from something - here, the
"pleasing enchantment" of the alcoholic drink.

> þér ég æ mun fé & föggum
> you I always will sacrifice wealth and ?

FÖGGUR (plural only): belongings, baggage, stuff.

> fórna meðan hjartað hrærist
> while the heart stirs

I.e. he is willing to spend everything on booze.

> svefn þinn guð í glasi áskenktu
> your sleep, God, in a glass filled,

ÁSKENKTU says a bit more than just "filled",
perhaps "poured out" or something similar. We
are not told who the "guð" is - he needs not
be the Hebraic one ...

> greiðir fró í stríði hörðu
> gives (?) comfort in a hard war

"Offers relief", perhaps. STRÍÐ, here, better
translated as "struggle" - what is meant is
the "struggle of life", generally.

> þanninn fæ ég þreyð af árin
> ? I get tired from the years

ÞANNIN is just a colloquial spelling of ÞANNIG
"that way, thus". ÞREYJA = endure, hold out.

> þartil loks ég sef í jörðu
> until finally I sleep in (the) ground

> fjallahringurinn hann er dreginn
> the circle-of-mountains, it is (has) drawn
> hringinn í kringum mig
> the circle around me

Strictly: "The mountain-circle is drawn in a
circle around me". DREGINN is passive. This
definitely does not sound as good in English.
The concept of the "fjallahringur" is very
common in Icelandic - it basically means the
"horizon", but in Iceland the horizon is usually
hidden by mountains ...

>
> & utan hans þar er ekki neitt
> and outside it there is not a thing
>
> því innan hans þar hef ég þig
> because inside it there I have you

Here the "ástakvæði" begins.

>
> en við verðum að láta' okkur litla hríð
> but we must resign ourselves for a little time
>
> lynda það sem til bar
> to that which (whatever) happens.

Note that BAR is past tense. So, the meaning
is rather "that which happened".

> þú hvílir í brekkunni bakvið húsið
> you rest on the slope behind the house

This actually means "you are buried in the
slope" - "your final resting place is there".

> bráðum finnumst við þar
> soon we (will) be found there

"Soon we will meet (find each other) there",
i.e. when I join you. FINNUMST is reciprocal.

> hún var falleg hún var góð
> she was beautiful, she was good
>
> hún var betri en þær
> she was better than those

"... than they (were)", i.e. "... than the others".

> & þegar hún sefur við síðuna' á mér
> and when she sleeps with the (her) side to me

"By my side", literally "by the side of me".

> þá sef ég góður & vær
> then I sleep good and tranquil
>
>
> sólin kemur upp í austri
> The sun comes up in (the) east
>
> en í vestri sezt hún niður
> but she (it) sets herself (itself) down in (the) west

You would simply say: "the sun rises", "the sun
sets", wouldn't you?

> í dalnum þarsem ég opnaði augun
> in the dales where I opened the (my) eyes

"In the valley" (singular).

> í árdaga ríkir kyrrð & friður
> in the beginning silence and peace rules

"Í árdaga" carries the meaning of "in the beginning
(of time)". There is a feeling of utter timelessness
here.

> hesturinn minn heitir blesi
> (the) horse of mine (my horse) is named Blesi
>
> höfum við sömu lifað árin
> we have the same lived years (we are the same age)

Literally: "We have lived the same years" - i.e.
we have shared our lives.

> ég held áfram en hún styttist
> I (will) keep going but she (will) be cut-short
> óðum leiðin fyrir klárinn
> quickly the way for the workhorse

"Hún", because "leið" is feminine, thus: "I go on,
but the road for my horse is swiftly growing shorter".
"Hún" is simply used (colloquially) in anticipation
of "leið" in the next line.

> blesi minn í brekkunni friðsælu
> My Blesi on the peaceful slope

The dactyl of "friðsælu" is distinctly odd
in the overall rhythm scheme.

> búinn er þér hvílustaður
> a resting-place is prepared for you
>
> einhverntíma ái ég með þér
> sometime I (will) lie (?) with you

ÆJA (áði, áð): make a halt, stop for a rest.

> örþreyttur gamall vonsvikinn maður
> an exhausted old disappointed person

Here "maður" definitely means "man". "Person"
sounds too PC (and Megas is anything but!).

Hope this helped - now we'll just have to find
a way for you to listen to the recording! In
case you are interested it is the last song on
the album called "Á BLEIKUM NÁTTKJÓLUM" where
Megas worked with SPILVERK ÞJÓÐANNA, an album
many consider to be his best, and certainly one
of the best ever produced in this country.

Best,
Eysteinn