In terms of explaining a very old language, both in pronunciation and meaning, breaking down the various segments of the Hávamál, and showing the actual Old Norse text, this may be the most informative video on UA-cam. Given the dearth of legitimate printed scholarly work on the subject, and the investigating one must do to sift through the multitude of Old Norse "experts" out there with strange Qabalistic leanings and pro-Aryan biases, this video deserves even more praise. Thank you very much, Dr. Jackson Crawford, for sharing your hard-earned knowledge with us via this easily-accessible video format.
I am loving this so much! Only just found your vids, whih is odd since ive watched many on similar topics, but as others have alredy said in the comments, it really is great to hear this translated here for us to hear My only small complaint/wish would be that when you speak the english, you leave the norse up on screen so we can see/hear/compare as it is said Does your translations of the edda (your book) have the 2 languages side by side? Pretty sure i will be buying it regardless of your answer, ive seen it before and somehow hearing you speak from it has made my decision as to whose translations Really wish i had learned and studied all of this when i was still a younger man, but i guess there is no reason not to learn it now, its just harder to make it sink in it seems
I don't know if it's the same, or a very different version I have read in book on the viking age many years ago, where the archeologist wrote a few verses that she suggested were skjlade songs kind of rules to live by and best I can translate it and remember. Die shall goods/estate Die shall gold. Die will friends, and die will you. But I know one thing that will never die, and that is a name won by deed.
I am supposed to pick a stanza in Hávamál and read in front of the class tomorrow and say what it means literally and also how I choose to read it. I am from Iceland so I love reading these and your videos have possibly tought me as much about Old Norse as my school so thanks :)
Good Evening Professor Crawford, Is there a particular site you are aware of, or recommend in regard to seeing and hearing each word of Havamal being read aloud? I know you read the Havamal on two occasions, but I am looking for a word by word breakdown. Thank You for your Time Kevin R. Atherton
I am interested in the orthography. I noticed that you are using the Younger Futhark, and I understand why, but why did you write both the Á in HÁV with "ár" and the A in VA with "ár," but the Á in MÁL with "As"? Thank you!
This is fascinating. It reminds me of Desiderata attributed to Max Ehrmann in 1927 but thought to originate farther back in time. I now have a copy of the Poetic Edda by yourself (available in the UK from Wordery). I must make time to study. Thank you Dr Crawford for your work. I am so pleased that I found this channel.
Dr. Crawford, stanza 77, why the translation of "dómr" to "reputation", when it is clearly "doom" ? Livestock definitely dies, but unlike kinsmen or self, livestock does not have "reputation", though it certainly does have "doom". It just seems that for as tight as the phonetic structure had to be for the meter, that a sloppy conceptual/narrative structure seems out of place. I'm no expert though, which is why I'm asking. In any case, this is one the very best, if not the best, scholarly videos on the Havamal available anywhere. Thank you!
Gweilo Xiu Might be that "doom" here has the older meaning of "judgement", that is, how the dead man is judged by the people who knew him in life. It probably doesn't have the usual Modern English meaning of "destiny" or "death" here. It doesn't have anything to do with cattle having a reputation either. "Cattle die and kinsmen die, but people's verdict on your action in life doesn't"
I've no clue about Old Norse, but "doom" in English used to mean law, conviction or judgement. Compare "doomsday", the day of judgement. It's cognate to (among others, I'm sure) Swedish "dom", which still means "judgement". "Reputation", i.e. "the judgement of others about you", seems fitting if my folk-etymology isn't entirely off.
Mr. Wen \m/ Thanks for answering, that makes sense. I've seen it translated both ways. Every other use of "dóm" in the Edda's refers to a type of doom (judgement) that has absolutely nothing to do with reputation. This goes for every other context in which "dómr" is used in any source that I have seen, from the general period. I'm saying "reputation" as a translation is a sloppy narrative because the stanza speaks of things that have something in common with no exception, they all die. The only exception is made poetically: the only thing that doesn't die is "..the doom on each one dead". If we infer exceptions beyond the one that is actually made, the stanza loses some of its poetic impetus or power. It gets sloppy. It just seems like if there good cause to replace a literal translation with something else, the replacement should be based in the very least on some really well founded extrapolation and not on the basis of what makes more sense subjectively to the translator. I think when it comes to replacing what is actually there with something else, if there is not a rock solid objective basis for the change, that a word should be translated as literally as possible. The Edda's can be confusing AF sometimes, but better confusion than sloppiness in my opinion. I am not so anal. I was just curious if there were objective reasons for the change. I know very little which is why I ask very specific questions sometimes.
Max Maria Wacholder That interpretation does make sense, thank you. I just don't see that there is enough objective (etymological or philological) evidence to change what's there based on subjective conceptual preference. Subjective inference supported by objective evidence is a better recipe to me, even though arriving at it might not always be a tasty experience. And I am asking because I don't know and I do want to find out.
I do want to add that the work done by these translators is far beyond anything I've done or am capable of, and that I am incredibly grateful to all of them through time (including Dr. Crawford of course) who's work has made these amazing ancient works accessible. Translating Eddic poetry from ON to English is tricky to say the least so there no fault in people doing their best. This is why I urge everyone who loves this stuff to at least attempt their own translation of the Poetic Edda. There are entire vast oceans of meaning to be found in doing so and half the fun is figuring out how much of that is legit and how much is not.
Dr. Jackson Crawford Sir, can you have a syllabus of recommended texts in the description as well as a link to your university class. Thanks love your videos
Brandon Winstead olive Brays translation is quite free in many of its choices. It's more readable than other classic translations like Bellows or Thorpe, but not necessarily more correct.
Just curious about the choice of characters in Younger Futhark (YF) on the flipchart....the roman lettering has the first and last 'A's accented and yet in the YF characters, the first two As are written with the same character despite having different pronunciations. I know that the YF was a simplified version of the EF so I understand that there's perhaps more flexibility in the usage, but I don't know why the first two 'A's would use 'ár' and the third would use 'ás'...would it not make more sense to use the same character for the first and last A and not the first two? Hope that wasn't too confusing of a question. I'm far from an expert in this so any insight would be great :)
Scholarly presentation - v much enjoyed it. One pt worthy of mention is the emphasis is on 'breath' and 'higher will/spirit life-force power' (Ande and Megin). The greatest human travesty is that we too often (with our personal/ego ID form being TimeSpace bound) become caught in the physical plane of the hagl runic principle (Heimdal - the cross-roads of incarnate/dis-incarnate). Hence we lose the connection to the immediacy of vertical ascension available to us all. As an overview, the Nordic ancestors practiced and placed great emphasis on the breath/vocal connection via will (Galdr) and more (pardon the new-age cliche) shamanic connectivity (Seidr) to their ancestral connection (the Van and Aesir) and an approximately yet not geographically equivalent practice called Stav to Advaita (and other) Tantra and Vedanta. Hence, given you are teaching a scholarly account of the Havamaal etc I advise to look into the Skaldic POV of this deep wisdom as he teachings were not just intellectual, rather to be fully absorbed via the full human capacity (big emphasis on natural (spontaneously arising) rhythm via breath (in/ex-halation / draw and release/proactive surrender of will) ... you need only to look at the 'numerological' rather than just literal written accounts of Snorre Sturlason (in depth) to comprehend what I am banging on about.
the stanza about getting up early to kill someone doesn't have to be taken literally. When I first heard it I thought about how it could apply to our modern-day life and it could mean something along the lines of "the early bird gets the food" meaning, if you get in early you'll have a head start on others in things like business etc. Just my thoughts on the topic. :)
Interesting - the 'a' s in 'Havamal' would still be pronounced the old way in North East of England 'Geordie' dialect. Not surprising I suppose owing to the history! Great videos - a real 'kist o riches! Cheers!
Is 'kist' an old English word for a chest? Just curious because 'kiste' in Danish means a chest. That would be an interesting linguistic connection if so. I guess it could have viking roots.
What are in your opinion the similarities between ancient babylon(Laws of Hammurabi) and ancient Iceland/Norway's Code of Hávamál? Please answer I watch all of your videos 🙂
Applying poetic language to direct, earthy advice is no mean feat. I can imagine the author having a hard time with this. My favorite stanzas are the ones involving men and women. How folks forget; the medieval times were no kind era.
Matt McRae people spent more time in public, so they are more aware of human nature. These days people spend too much time in their own heads, thinking idealised thoughts.
No Mál=the spoken languedge in this case The word of Háva Mál can mean a lot of things Tungumál=language Málfræði=grammer Ekkert mál=no problem Málið er=the thing is Sorry for the Icelandic confusion we have many words like that. Jæja is the greatest one it litteraly can mean anything.
"This is a good thing to reflect on before making youtube comments"... So savage, I love your personality.
hes a drengr
Good to reflect on a lot of things before makimg comments 😆
@@jaetyler1 drengr góðr
In terms of explaining a very old language, both in pronunciation and meaning, breaking down the various segments of the Hávamál, and showing the actual Old Norse text, this may be the most informative video on UA-cam.
Given the dearth of legitimate printed scholarly work on the subject, and the investigating one must do to sift through the multitude of Old Norse "experts" out there with strange Qabalistic leanings and pro-Aryan biases, this video deserves even more praise.
Thank you very much, Dr. Jackson Crawford, for sharing your hard-earned knowledge with us via this easily-accessible video format.
Why have only one God, when you can Havamal....
I love this comment but I hate you so much....
Lmao
I, Jupiter lolololololololololol!!!!!!😍
😂🙃😂
hahahahahahahaha thank you.
I just wanted to thank you for taking the time to make these videos. They are so interesting and informational.
My sentiments exactly mirrored here.
Autumn Mystic ASMR, What a relaxing channel you have there :)
I have spent my day off reading the Poetic Edda and watching Jackson Crawford Videos. A day off well spent. 🤓
I want to copy this. You’ve inspired me!
Have you ever considered doing distance courses? I would love to take one of your classes.
23:57 "a good thing to reflect on; before making youtube comments". Hilarious and oh so true
Thank you Jackson. Your work here is very much appreciated.
Man, Odin gives good advice. Thank you for the translation.
To find so much information about nordic texts online is rare. This is a great resource
I am loving this so much! Only just found your vids, whih is odd since ive watched many on similar topics, but as others have alredy said in the comments, it really is great to hear this translated here for us to hear
My only small complaint/wish would be that when you speak the english, you leave the norse up on screen so we can see/hear/compare as it is said
Does your translations of the edda (your book) have the 2 languages side by side? Pretty sure i will be buying it regardless of your answer, ive seen it before and somehow hearing you speak from it has made my decision as to whose translations
Really wish i had learned and studied all of this when i was still a younger man, but i guess there is no reason not to learn it now, its just harder to make it sink in it seems
oh, just what I needed today. some long notes from the good doctor. thanks teach. haha.
Don't bogart the mead horn.
I don't know if it's the same, or a very different version I have read in book on the viking age many years ago, where the archeologist wrote a few verses that she suggested were skjlade songs kind of rules to live by and best I can translate it and remember.
Die shall goods/estate
Die shall gold.
Die will friends, and die will you.
But I know one thing that will never die, and that is a name won by deed.
I am supposed to pick a stanza in Hávamál and read in front of the class tomorrow and say what it means literally and also how I choose to read it. I am from Iceland so I love reading these and your videos have possibly tought me as much about Old Norse as my school so thanks :)
Falkenbach's Havamal song brought me here.
Amazing video - thank you!
Good Evening
Professor Crawford,
Is there a particular site you are aware of, or recommend in regard to seeing and hearing each word of Havamal being read aloud?
I know you read the Havamal on two occasions, but I am looking for a word by word breakdown.
Thank You for your Time
Kevin R. Atherton
I am interested in the orthography. I noticed that you are using the Younger Futhark, and I understand why, but why did you write both the Á in HÁV with "ár" and the A in VA with "ár," but the Á in MÁL with "As"? Thank you!
Jackson Crawford is a name youd expect a friend/ contact of indiana jones to have or something xD
Dr, is the face on your forehead, (above your right eye), an intentional graphical construct, or a pure coincidence? Can you see it?
Can you tell me or send me a link to how "Sigmund" would have been written? (Oldest Version)
This is fascinating. It reminds me of Desiderata attributed to Max Ehrmann in 1927 but thought to originate farther back in time. I now have a copy of the Poetic Edda by yourself (available in the UK from Wordery). I must make time to study.
Thank you Dr Crawford for your work. I am so pleased that I found this channel.
You are so damn awesome. Thanks for being awesome.
Is it possible to buy your books directly from the publishers? If so, please send necessary information. All the videos are wonderful!
Thank You for share this ancient wisdom!
Dr. Crawford, stanza 77, why the translation of "dómr" to "reputation", when it is clearly "doom" ? Livestock definitely dies, but unlike kinsmen or self, livestock does not have "reputation", though it certainly does have "doom".
It just seems that for as tight as the phonetic structure had to be for the meter, that a sloppy conceptual/narrative structure seems out of place. I'm no expert though, which is why I'm asking.
In any case, this is one the very best, if not the best, scholarly videos on the Havamal available anywhere. Thank you!
Gweilo Xiu
Might be that "doom" here has the older meaning of "judgement", that is, how the dead man is judged by the people who knew him in life. It probably doesn't have the usual Modern English meaning of "destiny" or "death" here.
It doesn't have anything to do with cattle having a reputation either. "Cattle die and kinsmen die, but people's verdict on your action in life doesn't"
I've no clue about Old Norse, but "doom" in English used to mean law, conviction or judgement. Compare "doomsday", the day of judgement. It's cognate to (among others, I'm sure) Swedish "dom", which still means "judgement". "Reputation", i.e. "the judgement of others about you", seems fitting if my folk-etymology isn't entirely off.
Mr. Wen \m/ Thanks for answering, that makes sense. I've seen it translated both ways.
Every other use of "dóm" in the Edda's refers to a type of doom (judgement) that has absolutely nothing to do with reputation. This goes for every other context in which "dómr" is used in any source that I have seen, from the general period.
I'm saying "reputation" as a translation is a sloppy narrative because the stanza speaks of things that have something in common with no exception, they all die. The only exception is made poetically: the only thing that doesn't die is "..the doom on each one dead". If we infer exceptions beyond the one that is actually made, the stanza loses some of its poetic impetus or power. It gets sloppy.
It just seems like if there good cause to replace a literal translation with something else, the replacement should be based in the very least on some really well founded extrapolation and not on the basis of what makes more sense subjectively to the translator.
I think when it comes to replacing what is actually there with something else, if there is not a rock solid objective basis for the change, that a word should be translated as literally as possible.
The Edda's can be confusing AF sometimes, but better confusion than sloppiness in my opinion.
I am not so anal. I was just curious if there were objective reasons for the change. I know very little which is why I ask very specific questions sometimes.
Max Maria Wacholder That interpretation does make sense, thank you. I just don't see that there is enough objective (etymological or philological) evidence to change what's there based on subjective conceptual preference. Subjective inference supported by objective evidence is a better recipe to me, even though arriving at it might not always be a tasty experience. And I am asking because I don't know and I do want to find out.
I do want to add that the work done by these translators is far beyond anything I've done or am capable of, and that I am incredibly grateful to all of them through time (including Dr. Crawford of course) who's work has made these amazing ancient works accessible.
Translating Eddic poetry from ON to English is tricky to say the least so there no fault in people doing their best. This is why I urge everyone who loves this stuff to at least attempt their own translation of the Poetic Edda. There are entire vast oceans of meaning to be found in doing so and half the fun is figuring out how much of that is legit and how much is not.
Dr. Jackson Crawford Sir, can you have a syllabus of recommended texts in the description as well as a link to your university class. Thanks love your videos
COOL
What do you think of the olive bray translation of Loddfofnir as "stray singer"?
Brandon Winstead olive Brays translation is quite free in many of its choices. It's more readable than other classic translations like Bellows or Thorpe, but not necessarily more correct.
Hooray! Thanks for posting!
Just curious about the choice of characters in Younger Futhark (YF) on the flipchart....the roman lettering has the first and last 'A's accented and yet in the YF characters, the first two As are written with the same character despite having different pronunciations. I know that the YF was a simplified version of the EF so I understand that there's perhaps more flexibility in the usage, but I don't know why the first two 'A's would use 'ár' and the third would use 'ás'...would it not make more sense to use the same character for the first and last A and not the first two? Hope that wasn't too confusing of a question.
I'm far from an expert in this so any insight would be great :)
Scholarly presentation - v much enjoyed it.
One pt worthy of mention is the emphasis is on 'breath' and 'higher will/spirit life-force power' (Ande and Megin). The greatest human travesty is that we too often (with our personal/ego ID form being TimeSpace bound) become caught in the physical plane of the hagl runic principle (Heimdal - the cross-roads of incarnate/dis-incarnate). Hence we lose the connection to the immediacy of vertical ascension available to us all.
As an overview, the Nordic ancestors practiced and placed great emphasis on the breath/vocal connection via will (Galdr) and more (pardon the new-age cliche) shamanic connectivity (Seidr) to their ancestral connection (the Van and Aesir) and an approximately yet not geographically equivalent practice called Stav to Advaita (and other) Tantra and Vedanta.
Hence, given you are teaching a scholarly account of the Havamaal etc I advise to look into the Skaldic POV of this deep wisdom as he teachings were not just intellectual, rather to be fully absorbed via the full human capacity (big emphasis on natural (spontaneously arising) rhythm via breath (in/ex-halation / draw and release/proactive surrender of will) ... you need only to look at the 'numerological' rather than just literal written accounts of Snorre Sturlason (in depth) to comprehend what I am banging on about.
Can’t you spell havamal With an F rune instead of the U rune ?
the stanza about getting up early to kill someone doesn't have to be taken literally. When I first heard it I thought about how it could apply to our modern-day life and it could mean something along the lines of "the early bird gets the food" meaning, if you get in early you'll have a head start on others in things like business etc.
Just my thoughts on the topic. :)
Interesting - the 'a' s in 'Havamal' would still be pronounced the old way in North East of England 'Geordie' dialect. Not surprising I suppose owing to the history! Great videos - a real 'kist o riches! Cheers!
Is 'kist' an old English word for a chest? Just curious because 'kiste' in Danish means a chest. That would be an interesting linguistic connection if so. I guess it could have viking roots.
A question on stanza 77 "Ek veit einn". "Einn" seems to be masculine. Why? Shouldn't it be neuter? Does it have to agree with dómr?
Fantastic job. skål !
Can anyone tell me why Oss is used for the last A in Havamal? Still learning. Thank You
Thank you for doing this video. I'm not a scholar, but I found it extremely interesting.
I feel transported through time while listening to you speak old Norse. Thank you
He fell in love with billie mays
In dutch we say vee for cattle, it could be related to fé. pronounciation is exactly like what you said.
In old English it’s Feoh
What are in your opinion the similarities between ancient babylon(Laws of Hammurabi) and ancient Iceland/Norway's Code of Hávamál? Please answer I watch all of your videos 🙂
Not a lot of similarities. The Code is closer to Biblical law. I find Havamal is close to Sirach and is kind of like backwards Confucius.
God video
Thank you for this great video!
3:17 in so far.... pause... brb.... getting popcorn....
love it thank you could u please make it louder !? thanx
Applying poetic language to direct, earthy advice is no mean feat. I can imagine the author having a hard time with this. My favorite stanzas are the ones involving men and women. How folks forget; the medieval times were no kind era.
Matt McRae people spent more time in public, so they are more aware of human nature. These days people spend too much time in their own heads, thinking idealised thoughts.
23:01
To be honest, besides all the killing and paranoia stuff, pretty good advice that people nowadays could listen to as well.
Hey do you have any text about magic practice or whitchcratf ???
Plenty of it
Great video, thank you
Fé. Still used today 😀
Thank you so much for this!
Love your stuff keep it up.👍
magnificient thank you !!!!!!
36:09
12:25
In my language "hoog" is high. And "oog" is eye.
S Oomkes In my language “hár” is high and “auga” is eye😉(🇮🇸)
still nothing on Thjotreyrir even when you go through Ljodatal? I guess Ill never know who it is :/
Thank you so much, excellent video! Hugs & sunshine 🌞 N
Can we translate mál as lay?
No
Mál=the spoken languedge in this case
The word of Háva
Mál can mean a lot of things
Tungumál=language
Málfræði=grammer
Ekkert mál=no problem
Málið er=the thing is
Sorry for the Icelandic confusion we have many words like that.
Jæja is the greatest one it litteraly can mean anything.