One of the many things I love about Celtic stuff are the medieval Irish and Welsh poems. They always have a different rhyme than we have, or a different metre, and definitely different metrical rules. And more often than not, the sound of the words together is the art, not the meaning per se. That makes them difficult to translate, because you lose a lot of the magic of the original.
So here is an Irish poem from the 9th or 10th century, with a translation, but be sure to look at the Irish original as well, even if you can't understand it! If I could read it to you all, I would.
Scél lemm dúib 'I bring news to you'
dordaid dam bells a stag
snigid gaim 'the winter snows
ro-fáith sam the summer is gone
gáeth ard úar high and cold wind
ísel grían low sun
gair a rith short its course
ruirthech rían swift ocean
rorúad rath russet bracken
ro-cleth cruth shapes are hidden
ro-gab gnáth suddenly a wild goose
giugrann guth raised its voice
ro-gab úacht cold has taken
etti én the wings of a bird
aigre ré a time of ice
é mo scél this is my news'
This is my own translation, but I based myself on the translation of James Carney, from 'Medieval Irish Lyrics'. His translation is a poëtical one and I wanted to stay as true to the Irish version itself as possible.
Until next time,
Lian
Sources photography: photo by Peter Denness on redbubble.com
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