I am from Germany and for me it is interessting to see when going back in time, the languages coming clother together. Old Englisch for me is better to understand than modern Englisch. Sister-languages 🇩🇪 😘 🇬🇧
@Omega Centauri it diverged from other Germanic languages mostly because the English are an insular Germanic ethnic group. But yes, the Romance influx came in after the Norman Conquest
English is Old Low German mixed with a smattering of Old Norse and a heaping helping of Norman French, along with a dash of almost everything else, vowel-shifted, not stirred. 🤣 It might explain, among other things, why both countries like beer.
@CAVKING19DELTA TEXAS It is quite relevant in terms of history behind the song. Also, it is secular considering by mid 13th century the dominate religion throughout England was Christianity the song is dated to be around 1225. At this point the Roman Catholic Church had basically converted the Isles. The Norman conquest of 1066, and the Franciscan, Domincan, and various Religious Militant helped seal it early 1200's. While paganism may have continued, it would not have been accepted very well in the current state. This song was found used in a bookmark in the Book of Psalms and just my speculation, but Christians stamping out heathens would have destroyed work like this. It is unfortunate the song is not complete, it is missing a second page (the song actually ends on and, the 'fast' is conjecture on what it could have been on rhyme ababbba) potentially even more stanza's. Sumer is Icumen In circa 1260 is considered the oldest complete English song.
@New King You are correct, however i believe that Old English, Middle English, and Modern English all are considered 'English' in their inspiration and change from the West Germanic Anglo-Frisian dialects which the Anglo-Saxons brought to the Isle's in the 5th century. However, Old English is more influenced by Scandinavian Vikings (Late West Anglo-Saxon or North Germanic) Middle English was more dominated by Anglian dialects, heavily influenced from Anglo-Norman after the Norman conquest (1066) Middle English actually still exists today (aka Old Norman) and can be found in French, Dutch, German, and of course English. However, the Great Vowel shift from 15th century to 17th century is where the Modern English was born we see today, this vowel shift also came spelling and writing changes. (For example, the Middle English th came from a d with a strikethrough so 'an weder strong' translated becomes 'and weather strong')
A modern Translation of the Lyrics: Merry it is while summer lasts, With birds in song; But now there threaten windy blasts And tempests strong. Ah, but the night is long, And I, being done such wrong, Sorrow and mourn and fast.
I would render "neheth" as "draw nigh" or "draw near," and "wedder" as "weather." And "eh, what" is unchanged in British English to this day (although it's now considered an upper-class affectation and be looking for a fight if you use it near a football pitch).
I speak fluent Dutch and English, and it's interesting to me that I pretty much fully understand the lyrics of this song. Most of the words in this song that have been lost to the English language are still alive in Dutch.
Dutch and Frisian are English's closest living relatives, but pretty much all these words have evolved into modern English, including "michel" which is now "mickles" meaning "much, a lot of." The one outlier is "fugheles," which was unusual even at the time. Even if someone speaks no Dutch, if they know most words' third and fourth meanings, they can generally muddle through written Middle English with a determined effort. Hearing it spoken is something else, especially because of the vowel shift. At the time this song was written (about 1250), English's vowels were similar to those on the Continent. English spelling was phonetically accurate in 1400. But the sounds changed, the spelling didn't, and the result is perhaps the world's most difficult spelling system to learn, if you don't count Irish.
That's exactly how I am feeling right now. i have to study hard, i have to work in the fields, i am in love with a girl out of my leauge. when it doesn't rain the weather is cloudy and the night starts way too early. May God have mercy on us. Blagoslovi nasm Gospode. Kyrie Eleyson
I would say instead that there's no such thing as "leagues" and we should all safely and respectfully ask out the people we want to ask out, celebrating if they say yes and moving on if they say no.
@@shane99ca I have no idea, we are country with long medieval tradition and many medieval events on castles, that bands are playing everything from whole europe. Our the most famous medieval like band is Krless, many of that songs are not Czech, it's just something from medieval Europe, mostly in Latin language. I guess creators of that songs can't sue them because of copyright. :-D
Shane Matthews Imagine if classical musicians only played music from their country. I think like any musician, these guys just want to expand their repertoire over a wide array of things. Plus, there aren’t very many musicians interpreting and performing this kind of music, so there’s always room for more, wherever they’re from, to pick it up.
Most excellent! I found this while looking for the sources of the music cues in The Wicker Man [1973]. I wasn't aware that this tune existed - or even had words.
Roughly translated: Merry it is while summer ylast with fowl's song But now neareth winds blast and weather strong Ei, ei, what, this night is long And I with well much wrong Besorrow, mourn and fast
I changed alast to ylast because alast isn't really a proper translation (it serves the function of lasts, though technically it would be lasteth and not lasts). As for fowl, that word is the descendant word from fughel, and is the cognate to the German word - vögel.
Best translation yet. First person I've seen to not 'overtranslate', make it clunky and distort the original vibe, as if a modern reader won't understand the closest thing to the root words.
Love this song of the early thirteenth century, imagining the rest of the lost stanzas. It's seems to date back to when the first farmers arrived from along the Atlantic, from Cadiz, Finisterre, Cornwall, to the West coast of Britannia. Concerned about the circles of wheat and barley: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and eternal renewal of life.
@@Anglisc1682 Agree, not literally but thinking about migrations of the first farmers over millennia, coming around the Atlantic coast and also across Europe. Got carried away with this songs and its echoes of spring, summer, autumn, winter, sowing, reaping, harvesting, resting.... The cycle of life. Yes, written down around 13th century. Of course who knows how far the song goes back in the oral tradition? Nevertheless, stand corrected. Love this interpretation. Thank you.
Miri it is while sumer ilast With fugheles song Oc nn necheth windes blast And weder strong Ei, ei! What this nicht is long And ich with wel michel wrong Soregh and murne and fast
Really thank u for upload... i heard that song years ago and my bro lost the original Gothien's CD, we bought it at Ritchie Blackmore's live. On YT is very hard find something by Gothien...
Anyone else noticed that the song is actually the plot of Game of Thrones in a nutshell (the summer that passed, the winter winds are coming, the mourning of the lost ones, there's even A LONG NIGHT in it!) ?
Why didn't Ridley Scott put this song in his Robin Hood movie instead of "role me bully boys role" which was I believe a 17 or 18 century song, I know this song comes from about 1225 which would've been about 25 years later but still more historically than "role my bully boys role" feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on anything, still learning, and more than happy to be corrected
Yes! This is the music and a single verse. According to Ian Pittaway, who runs a medieval music blog, what you hear in this video was recorded on a scrap of parchment left inside a 12th century Book of Psalms. That parchment also had two songs in French. Here is the article if you want to read more. earlymusicmuse.com/mirie-it-is-while-sumer-ilast/
The peasants sang this in the long sunny hot balmy days of July and August, but tinged with a certain apprehension because soon the harvest would be in, the early morning mist would start appearing across the flood meadows, and then white hoar frost and then hunger cold and starvation and then disease and death,would haunt the land by January and February. The noble in his castole, however, could look forward to autumn and winter as his safest months, in front of his roaring fire, eating of the tithe he had taken from the peasants, for then battles and jousting ceased until the spring rains brought forth fresh grass for the battle horses and the roads to war or the Crusades had become dry and passable once again for the battle wagons.
Teacher: Ok lads, we re going to medieval England, activate the Time machine Girls: Nooooooo, we will be killed and mistreated for being "witches" Boys: Time to fight some Scots, French and then march to Jerusalem, long live Richard Lionheart
English was a mixture between many different languages- this particular song is introduced via middle english- in English we have a lot loan words from different countries/ and their languages - this was mainly due to the invasions throughout our history/ this can go towards the vikings - to the Norman conquest of 1066 etc.
I am from Germany and for me it is interessting to see when going back in time, the languages coming clother together. Old Englisch for me is better to understand than modern Englisch. Sister-languages 🇩🇪 😘 🇬🇧
You csn really see the similarities with the words like Fugel, Ich, and how they pronounced night (similar to german nicht)
@Omega Centauri it diverged from other Germanic languages mostly because the English are an insular Germanic ethnic group. But yes, the Romance influx came in after the Norman Conquest
@@Anglisc1682 english people are saxon from germany
English is Old Low German mixed with a smattering of Old Norse and a heaping helping of Norman French, along with a dash of almost everything else, vowel-shifted, not stirred. 🤣
It might explain, among other things, why both countries like beer.
Hail friend too right english and german are definitely sister languages, Habe einen epsichen tag fruend, prost🍺
This is the oldest surviving secular song in the English language. It's about 800 years old!
there are english religious song which is older, is this your meaning?
@@Despotic_Waffle He means that this is the oldest song in the English language to contain no mention of God or any religious overtones.
@CAVKING19DELTA TEXAS It is quite relevant in terms of history behind the song. Also, it is secular considering by mid 13th century the dominate religion throughout England was Christianity the song is dated to be around 1225. At this point the Roman Catholic Church had basically converted the Isles. The Norman conquest of 1066, and the Franciscan, Domincan, and various Religious Militant helped seal it early 1200's. While paganism may have continued, it would not have been accepted very well in the current state. This song was found used in a bookmark in the Book of Psalms and just my speculation, but Christians stamping out heathens would have destroyed work like this. It is unfortunate the song is not complete, it is missing a second page (the song actually ends on and, the 'fast' is conjecture on what it could have been on rhyme ababbba) potentially even more stanza's. Sumer is Icumen In circa 1260 is considered the oldest complete English song.
@New King You are correct, however i believe that Old English, Middle English, and Modern English all are considered 'English' in their inspiration and change from the West Germanic Anglo-Frisian dialects which the Anglo-Saxons brought to the Isle's in the 5th century. However, Old English is more influenced by Scandinavian Vikings (Late West Anglo-Saxon or North Germanic) Middle English was more dominated by Anglian dialects, heavily influenced from Anglo-Norman after the Norman conquest (1066) Middle English actually still exists today (aka Old Norman) and can be found in French, Dutch, German, and of course English. However, the Great Vowel shift from 15th century to 17th century is where the Modern English was born we see today, this vowel shift also came spelling and writing changes. (For example, the Middle English th came from a d with a strikethrough so 'an weder strong' translated becomes 'and weather strong')
@CAVKING19DELTA TEXAS Nope, I just really enjoy history.
A modern Translation of the Lyrics:
Merry it is while summer lasts,
With birds in song;
But now there threaten windy blasts
And tempests strong.
Ah, but the night is long,
And I, being done such wrong,
Sorrow and mourn and fast.
Sorexis Exactly right!
I think "and ich with wel michel wrong" means; "and I with well much wrong" = "And I very wrongly (sorrow and mourn and fast)".
@@Jon-mh9lk I think the more literal translation keeping with scansion, 'and it does to me much wrong' moving into 'sorrow and mourn and (fast)
I would render "neheth" as "draw nigh" or "draw near," and "wedder" as "weather." And "eh, what" is unchanged in British English to this day (although it's now considered an upper-class affectation and be looking for a fight if you use it near a football pitch).
@@shane99ca aye
Listening this music in the Canadian autumn well the leaves are falling. Makes sense.
I speak fluent Dutch and English, and it's interesting to me that I pretty much fully understand the lyrics of this song. Most of the words in this song that have been lost to the English language are still alive in Dutch.
Lilliath
r/iamverysmart
niels nielsen
Oh good one, did you think that up all by yourself ?
i sang this to a norweigan and she then translated it to me correctly...
uhh the only word that was lost is ‘oc’
fugheles > fowl’s
neheth > nighs
sorge > sorrow
michel > much
Dutch and Frisian are English's closest living relatives, but pretty much all these words have evolved into modern English, including "michel" which is now "mickles" meaning "much, a lot of." The one outlier is "fugheles," which was unusual even at the time.
Even if someone speaks no Dutch, if they know most words' third and fourth meanings, they can generally muddle through written Middle English with a determined effort. Hearing it spoken is something else, especially because of the vowel shift. At the time this song was written (about 1250), English's vowels were similar to those on the Continent. English spelling was phonetically accurate in 1400. But the sounds changed, the spelling didn't, and the result is perhaps the world's most difficult spelling system to learn, if you don't count Irish.
That's exactly how I am feeling right now. i have to study hard, i have to work in the fields, i am in love with a girl out of my leauge. when it doesn't rain the weather is cloudy and the night starts way too early. May God have mercy on us. Blagoslovi nasm Gospode. Kyrie Eleyson
Βοιβόντα Λέρινσκι Αλεξάνδρωφ No woman is out of your league if you both fear God!
I would say instead that there's no such thing as "leagues" and we should all safely and respectfully ask out the people we want to ask out, celebrating if they say yes and moving on if they say no.
Good grief. If you think winters are hard for you, think of a farmer in Saskatchewan where winters are 40 below zero Centigrade.
May God bless you good man!!!
Shane Matthews Minnesotan here, my heart goes out to all the Saskatchewans, even we don’t have it that bad.
Thank you, and salute from Texas.
best version of "miri it is a while" i ever heard. Sounds very authentic and makes an awesome feeling while you hear it. THX for uploading!
Sounds Scottish, actually.
@@shane99ca Actually it's Czech accent, band is from Czechia.
@@Pidalin Interesting. I wonder why they're interested in a Middle English song? Different strokes, I suppose.
@@shane99ca I have no idea, we are country with long medieval tradition and many medieval events on castles, that bands are playing everything from whole europe. Our the most famous medieval like band is Krless, many of that songs are not Czech, it's just something from medieval Europe, mostly in Latin language. I guess creators of that songs can't sue them because of copyright. :-D
Shane Matthews Imagine if classical musicians only played music from their country. I think like any musician, these guys just want to expand their repertoire over a wide array of things. Plus, there aren’t very many musicians interpreting and performing this kind of music, so there’s always room for more, wherever they’re from, to pick it up.
One of the most beautiful songs that I have ever heard in my life. Many thanks for the experience!
Most excellent!
I found this while looking for the sources of the music cues in The Wicker Man [1973].
I wasn't aware that this tune existed - or even had words.
Hey same! You don't happen to still have a list do you?
Me and the boys when the summer holidays end:
XD
Roughly translated:
Merry it is while summer ylast with fowl's song
But now neareth winds blast and weather strong
Ei, ei, what, this night is long
And I with well much wrong
Besorrow, mourn and fast
I think it's lasts not alast and birds not fowl. Fowl don't sing. Also fugheles is similar to the German word for bird - Vogel.
I changed alast to ylast because alast isn't really a proper translation (it serves the function of lasts, though technically it would be lasteth and not lasts). As for fowl, that word is the descendant word from fughel, and is the cognate to the German word - vögel.
O.K. I just think the modern reader thinks of chickens, turkeys, pheasants and partridge etc when they hear the word "fowl", rather than songbirds.
Best translation yet. First person I've seen to not 'overtranslate', make it clunky and distort the original vibe, as if a modern reader won't understand the closest thing to the root words.
this song hits hard as fuccckkk
And people, this how they got the beat for we will rock you.😁
ahhhhahhha ha ha !
It's fun to suddenly leave new comments on an old one
Really?!?
Unimaginably based
Love this song of the early thirteenth century, imagining the rest of the lost stanzas. It's seems to date back to when the first farmers arrived from along the Atlantic, from Cadiz, Finisterre, Cornwall, to the West coast of Britannia. Concerned about the circles of wheat and barley: Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and eternal renewal of life.
No
@@Anglisc1682 Agree, not literally but thinking about migrations of the first farmers over millennia, coming around the Atlantic coast and also across Europe. Got carried away with this songs and its echoes of spring, summer, autumn, winter, sowing, reaping, harvesting, resting.... The cycle of life. Yes, written down around 13th century. Of course who knows how far the song goes back in the oral tradition? Nevertheless, stand corrected. Love this interpretation. Thank you.
Right. In that case, yes
Before modern agriculture, it was always a hazard I'm sad to say
@@Anglisc1682 Richard Marx
Miri it is while sumer ilast
With fugheles song
Oc nn necheth windes blast
And weder strong
Ei, ei! What this nicht is long
And ich with wel michel wrong
Soregh and murne and fast
I love it, early medieval heavy metal!!
Really thank u for upload... i heard that song years ago and my bro lost the original Gothien's CD, we bought it at Ritchie Blackmore's live. On YT is very hard find something by Gothien...
Skvělé. Děkuji.
Super! The mesmerizing music...
👁️🌹👁️It's great to see the recreation of something almost extinct. You guys did a great job. 🤔👶🧒👩🦲👩🦰👼🤶🌲🐂🐴
Anyone else noticed that the song is actually the plot of Game of Thrones in a nutshell (the summer that passed, the winter winds are coming, the mourning of the lost ones, there's even A LONG NIGHT in it!) ?
You mean the plot of game of thrones is this song?
i'm playing this because it's snowing with strong wind. seemed appropriate.
Linda execução!
Queen stole the beginning to compose "We will rock you".
Why didn't Ridley Scott put this song in his Robin Hood movie instead of "role me bully boys role" which was I believe a 17 or 18 century song, I know this song comes from about 1225 which would've been about 25 years later but still more historically than "role my bully boys role" feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on anything, still learning, and more than happy to be corrected
All kinds wrong with that film
It was a rubbish film. I can only think he put no effort in.
His been making a lot of rubbish lately…
happy winter fellas! greetings from greece
I bet you will have a happy winter indeed
*did
I heard that this isn't even the full song, its just all that was recovered, anyone know more about this?
Yes! This is the music and a single verse. According to Ian Pittaway, who runs a medieval music blog, what you hear in this video was recorded on a scrap of parchment left inside a 12th century Book of Psalms. That parchment also had two songs in French. Here is the article if you want to read more. earlymusicmuse.com/mirie-it-is-while-sumer-ilast/
super, klobúk dole česi (y) :-D len tak dalej +1
The peasants sang this in the long sunny hot balmy days of July and August, but tinged with a certain apprehension because soon the harvest would be in, the early morning mist would start appearing across the flood meadows, and then white hoar frost and then hunger cold and starvation and then disease and death,would haunt the land by January and February. The noble in his castole, however, could look forward to autumn and winter as his safest months, in front of his roaring fire, eating of the tithe he had taken from the peasants, for then battles and jousting ceased until the spring rains brought forth fresh grass for the battle horses and the roads to war or the Crusades had become dry and passable once again for the battle wagons.
Teacher: Ok lads, we re going to medieval England, activate the Time machine
Girls: Nooooooo, we will be killed and mistreated for being "witches"
Boys: Time to fight some Scots, French and then march to Jerusalem, long live Richard Lionheart
nice music.
Relaxing moment
Muito bom!!!
Tb achei!
Can i learn old english now ?!?
This sounds a lot like (Flemish) Dutch with some English words
English was a mixture between many different languages- this particular song is introduced via middle english- in English we have a lot loan words from different countries/ and their languages - this was mainly due to the invasions throughout our history/ this can go towards the vikings - to the Norman conquest of 1066 etc.
We also lost a lot of literature, mythology, poems and music after the Norman invasion. I think this was one of the lucky survivers.
Although I believe the song was an Anglo Saxon song bemoaning the subjugation by the new Norman invaders, it very fitting for today and the virus.
i know i wasn't the only one about to sing 'we will rock you' in the intro
I'm on the right section of UA-cam.
what instruments are used?
William Bilson probably a lute and a flute and some drums lol
Feeling Irie ?
It sounds like Flemish.
lol me and tatum Brittan r singing this in school
So am I girl -shanaenaw
cool
talk to me andrew
Propiñán de Melyor!
The drums ruin it. It was meant to be sung by several voices as it was a commoner folk song
I always come to this part of youtube for some good dnd music and lo n behold, the racist neckbeards in the comments
I see none of what you say