Quote of the day!

[highlyeccentric]

Though men of the eleventh century did, in fact, display their emotions much more openly than we do, there is no reason to suppose that they made a practice of fainting away in chorus.
-D.L. Sayers, introduction to "the Song of Roland" trans. D.L. Sayers

Comments

[rayneshadow.livejournal.com]

Haha, that's a great quote!
I remember reading The Song of Roland (in Middle English).
There's no reason to suppose men regularly did just about *anything* in that story. I love how everyone is always cleaving things in two. Forget your regular stab or thrust, everything is always cloven in twain. Armor, helmet, head, horse? no problem, you'll have two in a moment.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

cool, there's a middle english version? of course the "translators" back then weren't half as strict as a modern scholarly translator, they could well have edited out some of the unseemly french hysterics. Sayers was reffering specifically, though, to Charlemagne's weeping and grieving noisily at Roland's death, and all his nobleman following suit. Apparently she has known stoic english interpreters to take that as a sign of weakness, and is at pains to explain that there are 'fasions' in greif as in everything else.

[rayneshadow.livejournal.com]

You know, now that you say that I think it probably was a modern English version we read, but I was thinking of others we read in Middle English. I read it in Medieval Court Lit class along with the Sultan of Babylon and several other old Middle English Charlemagne "romances" so I get them all confused. I remember there was a lot of cleaving in most of them and much ridiculous violence and heroism and conversion to Christianity and such.
The Roland I read probably was one of the ones we read in modern English.

Ferumbras him smote with mayne
And mente to have him slawe.
He smote as doth the dinte of thondir;
It glased down by his sheelde
And carfe his stedes neke asonder
That dede he fille in the felde.
Wightly Olyvere up-sterte
As bacheler, doughti of dede,
With swerde in honde him for to hirte
Or Ferumbras goode stede.

Oh the manliness.... I can't take it ;) The poor horse though... carved his steed's neck asunder, ouch.

[highlyeccentric.livejournal.com]

:D:D

that's not the modern-most modern english translation out there, but i for one like the antiquated versions. much more heroic :D

i'm only forty laisses into it, and i've already decided Roland's a twat...

the translator's introduction was hilarious. Talking about Oliver's tendancy to say 'i told you so' she declares that responsibility yoked with irresponsibility is often so. Many a married woman will sympathise with Oliver.