Herr Mannelig in Old Norse | The Skaldic Bard
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- Опубліковано 3 кві 2024
- Here's my translation of Herr Mannelig in Old Norse. Vocals primarily by my wife and some by me later in the song, and music by me.
Herr Mannelig likely needs no introduction for most, but for the uninitiated, it's a very popular Swedish folk ballad about a Christian man resisting the advances of a pagan troll. I have added the original Swedish text at the top and the English translation of my Old Norse translation. I've attempted to keep the meaning and the rhyming scheme of the Swedish, which means it's not always an exact translation of the original in Old Norse.
The lovely art is by ZhdaNN: www.deviantart.com/zhdann/art...
I do not own any of the artworks in this video - they have been selected for educational purposes. All credit goes to the original artists and I would be happy to remove them if so required
I hope you enjoy!
Follow me on Spotify (The Skaldic Bard): open.spotify.com/artist/7E7Qq...
If you'd like to support my work, you can do so here: www.buymeacoffee.com/theskald.... Thank you for your kindness.
Lyrics:
Árla morguns eins fyrr en sólin upp reis,
fyrr en fuglarnir tóku at syngja.
Bergatrǫllkona bað sér fagrs ungsveins,
en flá var í henni tungan.
Herramaðr, herramaðr,
trúlofaðu þér mik!
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Við munt þú kveða annathvárt já eða nei!
Hvárt vilt þú eða ei?
Þér vil ek gefa þá gangara tólf,
er ganga úti í rósalundi.
Aldrigi hefr verit nǫkkurr sǫðull á þeim
né beizl lagðr við munninn.
Herramaðr, herramaðr,
trúlofaðu þér mik!
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Við munt þú kveða annathvárt já eða nei!
Hvárt vilt þú eða ei?
Þér vil ek gefa þær kvernar tólf,
er standa eyja tveggja milli.
Steinar þeir eru ór rauðustu gulli
ok hjólin á þeim smelt með silfri
Herramaðr, herramaðr,
trúlofaðu þér mik!
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Við munt þú kveða annathvárt já eða nei!
Hvárt vilt þú eða ei?
Þér vil ek gefa gullrekit sverð eitt,
er á fimmtán gullhringir klingja.
Hvárt þú vel eða illa vegr á vígvelli
munt þú fagran sigrsǫng syngja!
Herramaðr, herramaðr,
trúlofaðu þér mik!
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Við munt þú kveða annathvárt já eða nei!
Hvárt vilt þú eða ei?
Þér vil ek gefa skyrtu nýja,
ina beztu, er á þér hafa viltu.
Eigi er hon saumuð nál eða þræði,
Hon er váðvirkjuð silki hvítu.
Herra Mannligr, Herra Mannligr,
trúlofið yðr mik?
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Þér skuluð víst kveða annathvárt já eða nei
Hvárt vilið þér eða eigi?
Slíkum svá gjǫfum hefðak vel tekit við
ef þú værir kristin kona.
En svá er at þú ert in versta trǫllkona
af ættboga nykra ok djǫfla!
Herramaðr, herramaðr,
trúlofaðu þér mik!
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Við munt þú kveða annathvárt já eða nei!
Hvárt vilt þú eða ei?
Trǫllkonan hljóp út ór durunum.
Hon grætr ok hristir sik beiskliga.
Hefðak fengit þann fagra ungsvein
svá hefðak rekit af mér vanda!
Herramaðr, herramaðr,
trúlofaðu þér mik!
Við þat gjaldak gjafir gjarna!
Við munt þú kveða annathvárt já eða nei!
Hvárt vilt þú eða ei?
Please do not redistribute my work without permission. Feel free to email me with any inquiries! - Розваги
![Varangian Guard: Brothers of the North Sea [Old English/Old Norse/Medieval Greek] | The Skaldic Bard](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/KyAKL2_ix14/mqdefault.jpg)
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Here's my translation of Herr Mannelig in Old Norse. Vocals primarily by my wife and some by me later in the song, and music by me.
Herr Mannelig likely needs no introduction for most, but for the uninitiated, it's a very popular Swedish folk ballad about a Christian man resisting the advances of a pagan troll. I have added the original Swedish text at the top and the English translation of my Old Norse translation. I've attempted to keep the meaning and the rhyming scheme of the Swedish, which means it's not always an exact translation of the original in Old Norse.
The lovely art is by ZhdaNN.
I hope you enjoy! Lyrics in the description.
If you'd like to support my work, you can do so here: www.buymeacoffee.com/theskaldicbard/c/8570904?uid=3194985
Thank you all as always for the support!
not gonna lie the temptation of a lady giving me gifts is.....well tempting.
The woman in the ballad isn't actually a troll. She's just a pagan. But at this time in history, that was crime enough to be treated like a monster.
Tackar för denna //🇸🇪
*You* have a wife? She can sing, I already knew you could.
Idea: although it is not Old English or Old Norse, a medieval Dutch song would be interesting. Medieval Dutch has similarities with Old English, and the other Germanic languages along the north sea.
The worst he can say is "no"
Meanwhile his answer:
the worst he can say:
Slíkum svá gjǫfum hefðak vel tekit við
ef þú værir kristin kona.
En svá er at þú ert in versta trǫllkona
af ættboga nykra ok djǫfla!
May the Lord bless those who try to resist their desire for something great.
@@samin6918What???
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in life, while it can be difficult at times the end result makes it worth it.
@@samin6918 You ALWAYS Have To Make Sacrifices, The Difference Is Sometimes They Are Greater Than Usual
This performance deserves 12 fresh horses, 12 silver-coated mills, gilded sword of fifteen golden rings and a silk shirt.
Love it
Your profile picture gave me PTSD
@@emperor6878 That must make me one ugly son of a b****.
@@emperor6878 oh yeah yeah
The sound of Old Norse never fails to imbue a song with a heavy, mystic solemnity.
It doesn't sound like Old Norse to a Scandinavian speaker, especially for someone who understands both Icelandic, Old Norse, Old Scanian, Danish, Norwegian and Swedish...
The translations are okay, the pronunciation can as we say in Sweden, dra åt skogen.
@@livedandletdie What about it sounds off to you? Listening very intently though it, both singers get most consonants and vowel qualities right.
I can't tell if they pronounce ⟨hr⟩ as /hr/ or /r̥/ (perhaps it's even /hr̥/, it's hard to tell). ⟨ʀ⟩ (the ending r in words like herramaðr) sounds like it's pronounced like a rhotic flap, and in a few words a trill, which would be consistent with later East Norse and of course West Norse which had that development earlier. ⟨hv⟩ sounds like it's pronounced /hʷ/ which is a very likely reconstruction (and is consistent time-period-wise with the ⟨ʀ⟩ pronunciation). And a detail many reconstructions get wrong (don't know why) but they get right is that ⟨v⟩ is realized as /w/!
Damn, those trilled "r"-s hit hard.
When Hitler came to power, he briefly considered to become a folk singer. Unfortunately...
@@andreasmartin7942 I live in Germany and I can assure you that he only rolled r cuz he was Austrian. Most of Germany does not roll r, except Bavaria and some other southern regions. I'm eastern European, we all roll r, really, and I really do like it when it rolls. There is also a German song called "r" which you can find by googling "ich rolle das r by Heldmaschine" it literally is about how a guy that rolls r and tells everyone to fuck of with their strange r's
Čto-by erka, no cěla ta pěsnja!
@@andreasmartin7942 The last straw was what they said about his mother after he presented his painting "Adolfin".
My oldest daughter talked with those Rs when she learned to speak up to 3-4 years old more or less. Really articulated.
"Babe, wake up, The Skaldic Bard has dropped another banger."
Its absolutely crazy that I as a modern swede and native speaker of modern swedish actually understood much of this, yet have I never studied this language of my ancestors.
It's crazy you understood anything seeing how poorly the pronunciation was.
Моё сердце с вами ..
"Hey, did you hear about it? The Skaldic Bard is here! He shall perform on stage! Hurry up! You do not want to miss it!"
- Friendly person from the Old Camp
Gothic!!
@@ukaszflis828 Yes!
And how am i supposed to go when i just itch for an opportunity to take some ore? Then you can go to bar and get hammered with rice schnapps!
Came for the "R"
Your wife was the star of this song! She played it well and nailed the performance!
northern swede here. My grandma actually still believed in trolls. the culture was very much alive just 30 years ago with the old folks.
Amazing instrumentation and translation as always, and please, give my compliments to your wife, what an amazing vocal performance! Exceptionally clean and precise.
It's a rare thing to be so early. I'll use this to mention that your music inspires me in my writing and I'm grateful for that.
Awesome to hear, brother
A fellow writer here, and I can confirm the same!! 😊
@@RuthenianGirl Very nice. What kind of work do you do?
I've heard a lot of renditions of Herr Mannelig, and I've always thought Garmarna's version was head and shoulders above the others. But I must say this one is on par with theirs! Very well done.
This is magnificent! What a beautiful language Old Norse is! Since Old Norse is the root language of Swedish there are so many word similarities. It is amazing.
I also love the differences between Old Eastern Norse vs Old Western Norse, it has led to some interesting differences in old Skandinavian songs such as "Þæt Mælti Minn Móðir" and "Drømde Mik en Drøm í Nat"
In old western, "Drømde Mik en Drøm í Nat" would be "Draumde Mik en Draumur í Nátt".
The Skandinavian languages, especially of old truly are beautiful!💖
@@KenamiAkutsui Thanks! Since I'm able to speak and read some Swedish, I think "Drømde Mik en Drøm í Nat" would mean something like "I dreamed a dream last night." If "mik" is "me/myself" then it would be reflexive, then literally it would be "Dreamed myself a dream in night."
Is this correct?
@@Mossy-Rock Affirmative, that is correct.
My shitty day just became wonderful with this banger! Thank you!
At zije Velkomoravská Říše!
Finally your wife gets the spotlight! Lovely voice and harmonizing thrown in there. Wonderful rendering of this Nordic classic into Old Icelandic, and awesome vocals, instrumentation and arrangement from your end, as always.
Her voice has the creepy enchantedness and seductiveness of the mountain witch somehow 🫠
Old Icelandic? Not old norse?
Old Icelandic is a bit of a misnomer for Old West Norse, really, which itself is hard to differentiate from Old East Norse given the lack of source material for the latter (OEN can only really be pieced together from runestones, but the differences were extremely minor and we know they were fully able to communicate with other Scandinavians). All of the words in this song can be found in an "Old Norse" corpus, it's just that the vast majority of source material comes from later Icelandic writers whose language didn't change to nearly the same extent as that of the other Scandinavians after the end of the Viking Age. So the language in this video is firmly Old Norse, albeit with some slightly later spelling conventions
@@SkaldBard Thanks! For the info and the beautiful song.
Your wife has a beautiful voice 👍
I just love how the linguists beautifully adapt the latin alphabet to write old germanic languages.
Much better job than they do nowdays. Why does everything outside of non-western Europe have /j/ and /w/? It's ugly and Fr*nch! and are so much better!
As someone who loves old English and Mittelhochdeutsch, I’ve just stumbled upon this song and channel and I’m quite enthralled!
this is sublime ❤ the translation of the chorus of "við þat gjaldak gjalfir gjarna" is so much fun to sing, and a lovely piece of consonant-alliteration. i discovered this while cooking and became instantly obsessed, to the point of burning my dinner.
I have heard many variations of this magnificent and emotional song, this one is definitely one of my favourites.
These lyrics are some of the most stereotypically medieval lyrics I've ever read, real. The song as well is very catchy! Great job to you and you wife.
I also want to ask if you're still considering making a song in old Albanian.
Thank you! Still needing to get to grips better with Albanian, but would indeed like to give it a go some day!
@@SkaldBard Thanks a lot! You have no idea how much your work means for medieval music lovers like me, and when you do make a song in old Albanian, for the Albanian people overall.
Albanian is a really beautiful but difficult language to learn, and even a native speaker such as myself struggles with the archaic. However I cannot express how excited I would be by an Albanian song-we have so much folklore and history to draw from. By the way, this song was amazing ❤
@@timothyhagen6208meanwhile me , as a historian and college teacher in Hellenistic , bronze and archaic Mediterranean period , trying to figure out if someone with archaic Albanian means Illyric . The Greek Illyric . Because back then the race of Albanians didn't really existed . They appeared after the Mongol invasion and ottomans . Actually they are a mix of Mongols , ottomans and Slavs .
No way! ❤❤❤😊 whaaa love love this brother! Oof thank you for this. Hail! Your music always continues to surprise me.
أرجوك استمر لا تقطع الشغف انا أستمتع بهذا الفن والأصوات الملائكيه .
الف تحيه لك وللفريق ❤
Isn't music haram though?
@@kebi7792 yes it is lol, islam is dumb, but there are many christian and other faiths arabs
@@kebi7792 Not all Arab-speakers are Muslim. There are many Christians. Some are not even ethnically Arab but Assyrian, Coptic, Phoenician, etc. Also, Muslims are a spectrum. Not all are fundamentalists like the Taliban. Most are not. Arab and Middle Eastern music is ancient, rich, and diverse.
Nice now we have more than one version of Herr Mannelig on youtube! and a very good one at that =)
Goose bumps it gives. B-D-Y marvellous this.
Sublime! This has definitely become my favourite channel for historical/historicist music!
Awesome to hear man
I had a feeling that eventually toud get to this song but im elated its sooner than later. I found out about this song roughly 3 years ago and it is by far a top shelf item ive got in my playlists. To now have you remake this gem into old Norse is an amazing gift that shouldnt be taken for granted. I honestly cant decide of i like the old Swedish more or old Norse, close call
Your wife did a fantastic performance singing this piece, God bless you both and i look forward to your Spotify addition
Amazing song and great story. Subbed!
Listening to this while doing classwork. Thanks for making this song.
As a Swedish old Norse geek that loves this old song and who has attempted to translate songs in the past I must say that you did one h*ll of a good job!
There were som minor things that my brain got stuck on translation wise (ofc) but as soon as I thought "rhythm and pase" your choices made total sense. 😊
If I have any feedback it would be to look a bit closer on the old Norse versions of the Swedish "I" and "eder" - but it is a bit complicated 😊
Regardless: Good job 👍
Vocals and acoustics on point, hope you had a good Easter Mr. Bard!
Thanks, friend! T'was a good one, and back at you
Absolutely loving this! I knew about Herr Mannelig, of course, but I never thought I’d listen to an Old Norse version. And it came from my favourite channel. Thanks a loooooooot!
This is just breathtaking
I love the early viking age pronunciation too. Det er perfekt 👌🏽
Incredible work, once again a beautiful translation
I was first introduced to this song by Ex Cathedra’s showing by Garmarna. Ever since that has been the version I have Primariky heard, save other classical versions and one by Harald Foss i believe.
There is a striking impressiveness to this translation and arrangement. It sounds separate and off enough for me to hear it’s different whilst still not taking away from this beautiful song.
Also, I’ve said this countless times but you and your wife have pristine voices and, as yours does to palästinelied, her voice lends perfectly to this song, especially with the Old Norse translation and I am chuffed to bits to hear her take the lead of this.
I also think where you took the lead later on and a small harmony between your leads really added loads of depth to the song
As always, your instrument playing and singing, as well as her voice were stunning
God Bless you and your wife
My friend, thanks so much for taking the time to write such a thoughtful and touching comment - we both really appreciate the edifying words
Amazing cover! Sounds so authentic while still being close to the original, good job!
Very nice take on this old classic and your voices worked really well together at the end.
Best of luck with your next project.
Greetings from Hellas ! The songs you play are lovely and i have to say some similarities "rythm" with our local traditional songs.
Anyway , i hope you ll become famous . You deserve it !
Well I mean i am speechless this is more than perfect. I am just shocked that every time you bring us a more magical and beautiful song. I just simply love everything about it. Keep up this great work and see you soon!
Banger as per usual.
Amazing, better than rest i had seen perform it!, great duo.
I’ve never seen English translation subtitles for the lyrics of this song, so thank you for that! It’s a beautiful performance. ❤
Was definitely not expecting this today! Beautiful song Skald!
thats...the most betiful song i have heared this is truly amazing!
A dear friend who taught me much about the ways of life used to love this song very much. Thank you for, as always, soothing the soul as well as the ears my brother.
A wonderful performance both vocally and musically. Good work on translating the name Herr Mannelig, by the way. Maybe "Liti Kjersti og Bergekongen" is next?
Thanks! And I'll make a note of the suggestion, cheers :-)
Wonderful as always. This is not the first song of yours that I've received an alert on while doing work and needing a new song to listen to. Cheers!
This has long been my favorite, so to hear this new unique presentation was a real blessing. You guys really nailed it, and made it stand out amongst the various versions that exist. If you arent aware of the Haggard version, I highly recommend it.
This is absolutely amazing. Great song with a great story, and I really appreciate how the guy basically says "begone pagan thot" to her.
"pagan" is a derogatory term used by abrahamists to describe original European pre-abrahamic religions and traditions
Saying "begone pagan thot" is neither cool nor based, you're basically spitting on your ancestors.
That is, if you're European yourself.
I think, there is more. The song starts with the troll woman talking "with false tongue"; but in the last verse, she becomes more or less the victim. The christian man stands to his religion, but more as a social construct; but he fails to see the problem the woman has and is not able to overcome the social structure. So, he at last fails to be a true christian.
May be this song was to encourage the marriage between christians and pagans. There may be a real reason for that: In medieval times, a social outcast can become a member of society again, if he or she marries a member of this society. This could be for example the case for criminals or prostitutes.
Amazing 🤩😍 I already know the old swedish version of Herr Mannelig by Garmarna, but in Old Norse it also sounds really awesome!
Your wife can pronounce the r really good, unfortunately I'm not as good in pronouncing the Rs, it sounds so sharp its too hard for me, like sometimes I can but most of the time I can't do it sound so sharp all of the time.
I love all of your old english and norse music😍❤, I just wished you could sometime do sing in old high german Hildebrandslied, unfortunately I don't know that many songs in old high German, but there are many songs also called Minnelieder in Middle High German, just look for Dr. Ludwig there is a 3h compilation with many songs.
If you and your wife want to sing in Middle High German then go for it, the lyrics can be found online. It would be a shame if you all don't because German is also a germanic language.
In this song I even recognized one of many other words too, many swedish words, other from germanic languages like klingja = klingen in German and its also a Swedish word. It means "sound". It sounds = Es klingt. 😊
I've got it in Protogermanic if you'd like to hear it ;)
@@proto-germanicsongsandtexts yes 🥳
This shook me to the core. Added to my playlist right away. Holy crap, this is insane. I adore it
hey i was waiting for this for months, nice
This is awesome, going straight to my playlists.
God Bless your work my brother, this music teached the virtues centuries ago, and now is teaching and touching now, far from the lands of their original composer. God Bless From Brazil.
🇧🇷 Viva Cristo Rei
🇬🇧 Hail Christ the King
So interesting and refreshing to hear another performance of "Herr Mannelig" that's not by Garmarna.
I only knew the version by German band In Extremo.
@@jenneldoodeldoo7803 try Garmarna - Herr Manelig
Just getting a comment in before this blows up. Old Norse is very attractive. It has a mystical feel to it.
You and your wife have clearly tasted the mead of poetry, beautifull rendition! And it's interesting to see as a Swedish speaker that most of the Old Norse words are still recognizable as the ancestor of their modern equivilants.
Alltaf finnst mér áhugavert, hvað gamla tungumálið er ekkert svo frábrugðið Íslenskunni. Líklega af því það þróaðist ekki eins mikið eins og kannski í hinum norðulöndunum.
Ég mun alltaf muna þetta lag, er ég heyrði fyrst á Sænsku og það er alltaf jafn fallegt.
Takk fyrir fallega útsetningu af laginu. Kveðja frá Íslandi.
Good Lord, this is another Skaldic banger.
the pronunciation are always so awesome❤
Holy shit… other renditions of this song give me chills, but this one sent such constant shivers through me that I felt like I was vibrating
Your wife sung sheenfully in this sheenful song... You and your wife is so skillful and everything-I mean everything-you have made is astonishing.
I shall look forward seeing more of your work as always.
Beautiful voice! The best Herr Mannelig version I've ever heard. Thank you.
Great work!
Beautifully crafted.
Wzruszyłem się😮
Excellent as usual
The original version is beautiful and I have listened it for a long time, but this... This I find even better, it's enhanced, it's magical. Continue your work 🖤🖤🖤
goosebumps from the pronunciation , so good love it
Great adaptation. It's interesting to see how little some words have changed over time.
simply beautiful
It's so beautiful!
A masterpiece! Adore it
Once again, well done! I wish I knew how to learn old languages like you, you make it seem badass lol
The best version ever...
This is one of my favourite Swedish songs and it’s so wonderful to hear it in Old Norse. Interesting how the formal “you” pronoun in the archaic Swedish becomes the informal one in Old Norse.
Insanely good
Your wife's singing is very calming and delightful!
Hāl, bard! The music is great! Can we see this song performed by you in Proto-Germanic?
Would be amazing!
I will have to give it a go!
Its already there, check out the channel "protogermanic songs and texts'
I love your wifes voice.
Sounds amazing!
Det här gav stor glädje! Tack för den vackra sången.
How did you learn so many languages to the point of being able to write songs in them? Keep up the good work man, all your stuff never fails to impress!
Lots of studying, reading and experimenting, my good man! Thanks a lot for the kind words
Another banger!
Sounds great!!!! Thanks for sharing
Why is this so much of a huge banger? Divine voice btw, even better than the original!
Absolutely beautiful.
I love this song. Beautiful.
this is amazing, you and your wife are amazing. It baffles me how you don't have more fame. Keep up the grind, by the way , is this in spotify aswell?
Thank you! Yep, will be coming to streaming services shortly :-)
That's pure beauty!
🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺
Beautiful and haunting 😍
Amazing
I’m proud I know several versions of this great piece of cultural history without ever having heard a single song of Taylor Swift. I just know her name because it’s constantly on display, but I’d rather listen to this. Wonderful interpretation!
So beautiful!
This song touches my heart in every language, in every tempo, at every time. It's so beautiful I want to cry.
Вы проделали великолепную работу!
Как иначе воспринимается песня, как красиво звучит...❤