I'm reminded of an Icelandic love spell:

Legg ég lófa minn i þinn lófa,
minn vilja í þinn vilja.
Verði þér í beinum
sem þú brennir öll,
nema þú unnir mér
sem sjálfri þér.
Svo heit verði
þér þessi orð,
so megn og sterk sem
eilífðin er.

This, again, (lines 5-6) assumes that everyone loves themself a lot :)

Kveðja,
Haukur

> Hello to all -- I'm new to the group here. I'm trying to get an accurate
> translation on a
> poem from one of the Bergen runes.
>
> The complete phrase, as translated into Old Norse, is this:
>
> "kann ek segja thér, sem thú mant reyna af mér, at ek skal unna thér engu
> verr enn mér."
>
> The alleged English translation is this:
>
> "I can say to you, as you will experience with me, that I will love you no
> less than myself."
>
> This seems to me to simply be a word-for-word translation, rather than one
> that
> translates the meaning of the poem. Can anyone here give me a more
> accurate translation
> in modern English that preserves the essence of what the poet is really
> saying? I can't
> imagine the poem is saying, "I love myself so much, hang out with me long
> enough and I'll
> end up loving you the same."
>
> And if the phrase were simply shortened to:
>
> "ek skal unna thér engu verr enn mér"
>
> would this have a different meaning on its own, without the intro? Or
> would it literally be:
>
> "I will love you no less than myself."
>
> Many thanks in advance.
>
> Wade
>
>