TransWikia.com

How does this Old English text (from the dedication of the book “The White Horse King”) translate in Modern English?

English Language & Usage Asked by Joel DeWitt on July 23, 2020

The dedication of the book The White Horse King (Merkle, 2009) contains the following:

Hwa Þeos, Þe gesihÞ swa swa se morgen
Fæger swa se mona
Beorht swa se sunne
Torhtmod swa se scildweall.

I have not travelled to 9th century England ever since my time machine broke, so my Old English is a bit rusty, but I can identify the obvious, such as morgen = “morning”, mona = “moon”, sunne = “sun”, and scildweall = “shield wall”. How would a full translation read?

One Answer

It roughly translates to:

What this, thee sight so as the morning
Beautiful as the moon
Bright as the sun
Glorious as the shield.

Hwa Þeos, Þe gesihÞ swa swa se morgen
Fæger swa se mona
Beorht swa se sunne
Torhtmod swa se scildweall.

  • hwa (pronoun) who/what
  • þéos (Pronoun) this
  • þé (pronoun) thee
  • gesihþ (nominative) 1. sight; vision 2. sight of a person or object; singular (se gesihþ)
  • sé (definite article/pronoun)- the/that
  • swá/swá - so or as
  • morgen (noun) morning
  • Fæger (adjective) beautiful; good-looking; attractive
  • mōna (noun) - moon
  • Beorht (strong adjective) (West Saxon) bright; clear
  • sunne (noun) - sun
  • Torhtmod - golorious/noble
  • scildweall (noun) sheild - wall; wall of shields; the shields held by a line of soldiers

Correct answer by Jay on July 23, 2020

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question

Get help from others!

© 2024 TransWikia.com. All rights reserved. Sites we Love: PCI Database, UKBizDB, Menu Kuliner, Sharing RPP