Talk:Karlevi Runestone

Picture

Yay! Nice pic. Haukur 10:46, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Thanks! :).--Berig 14:56, 18 June 2007 (UTC)

Dear Wikipedians, could some check the coordinates again? Google Earth has better pics now. Looks like the old entry points about 500m to a wrong direction. My proposal: 56°36'26.83"N, 16°26'23.29"E. Sincerely, 84.60.180.165 22:22, 29 September 2007 (UTC).

Translations

Here is the danish translation, which word for word explains the real mening of the inscription. STAIN SA UAS SATR AIFTIR SIBA HIN FRUDA
denne sten var satt efter Sibbe, den glæde
SUN FULTARS
Folders søn
IN HÆNS LIDI SATI AT U TAUSAID
en (af) hans led satte (stenen) ved øens landsend
FULKIN LIKR HINS FULK DU FLAISTR UISI DAT
folk begraver sit folk, de fleste ved det
MAISTAR TAIDIR TULKA DRUDAR TRAUKR I DAIMSI HUKI
mester Taids stridens kræfter førte til denne høj
MUNAT RAID UIDAR RADA RUKSTARKR I TANMARKU
skal den rette Gud råde slagstark i Danmark
ÆINTILS IARMUNKRUNTAR URKRÆNTARI LÆNTI
Eintils jordgrund, ulastelig land.

Read more about the Karlevi inscription:
www.sitecenter.dk/schleu.dk

Best regards
Gerhard Schleu

—Preceding unsigned comment added by 62.65.192.86 (talk) 17:12, 29 May 2008 (UTC)

I know we've got a glut of these already, but there's another translation (of just the verse) in Foote & Wilson (1970): The Viking Achievement, p. 329, which might make a less confusing alternative (if accompanied by an explanation of the kennings), and it has the advantage of being something we can cite a reference for:

Tree of Thrúd of hostilities, the man whom the greatest virtues accompanied - most men know that - lies buried in this mound; a more upright chariot-Vidur of wondrous-wide ground of Endil will not rule, strife-strong, land in Denmark.

In particular, this differs from the others in rendering folginn as "buried", and fylgðu [...] dæðiR as "virtues accompanied". These senses of are well attested and more meaningful in the context than the needlessly cryptic "hidden" and "deeds followed". Dependent Variable (talk) 18:23, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

I see what you mean, but the more famous runestones, like the Karlevi runestone, have often been interpreted in more than one way. To make things easier, and more easily verifiable, I have stuck to the "official" ones provided by the Rundata project. The translations are freely downloadable in their database.--Berig (talk) 18:44, 1 January 2008 (UTC)

I don't think it's so much a major difference of interpretation as a nuts-and-bolts translation issue. I suppose a more natural way of putting it in Englsh would be: "He who possessed the greatest virtues lies buried in this mound." (or the "[...] the finest qualities [...]"). The problem is that we don't normally use "follow" with this sense in Present-day English to mean "belong to (as a quality or trait)". The nearest I could find in the OED is "4. fig. To accompany, attend upon, ‘go with’; to be a (necessary) concomitant or accompaniment to; to be consequent upon", for which the most recent quote is from 1885: "Law Rep. 29 Ch. Div. 283 The right to a grant of administration follows the right to the property." So someone who doesn't know any Old Norse might be left with the impression that these deeds followed in the man's wake somehow, either in space or time. Readers could assume that it's attributing the deeds to his followers rather than directly to him - or wonder why, and from whom, the body has been hidden when all it's saying is that he's been buried in the usual way. For folginn with this sense, see Ynglingatal st. 32 (Lexicon Poeticum). Or maybe I'm quibbling; I guess the overall sense is clear from the context... Dependent Variable (talk) 23:25, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

I do think the translation you've offered is clearer. Haukur (talk) 23:28, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

It does not hurt to add a third translation. I have added it below Rundata's.--Berig (talk) 09:53, 3 January 2008 (UTC)