Ælmesse (eald leóþ) - Alms-giving (old poem)
13 years ago
Þeáh iċ neom crísten iċ ġiet brúce þisses leóþes.
Though I am not a Christian I still enjoy this poem.
^.^
Wel biþ þám eorle þe him on innan hæfþ —
Reþehyġdiġ wer — *rúme heortan
þæt him biþ for worulde, *weorþmynda mǽst
And for ússum Dryhtne, dóma selast
Efne swá hé mid wætre, þone weallendan
Leġ ádwǽsċe, þæt hé lenġe ne mæġ
Blác byrnende, burgum sċieþþan
Swá hé mid ælmessan, ealle *tósċeófeþ
Synna wunde, sáwle lácnaþ
It will be good for the noble man who within him has —
The just-minded man — a great heart,
That he will have in regards to the world the greatest of *honours
And before our Lord the best of judgments.
Just as he with water, the raging
flame may quench, so that it no longer can,
bright burning, cause damage to cities,
So does he with alms-giving altogether *removes
The wound of sins, (and) heals the soul.
*rúm literally means roomy, spacious but also figuratively means great, noble, liberal, unrestricted.
*weorþmynd is usually taken to mean honour, but the full meaning is more complex. weorþ means worth, (of things) value, (of people) worthiness, and -mynd is from ġemynd which not only means the mind but also that which is remembered, memory, memorial, commemoration. So weorþmynd means an honour that is more a commemoration of one’s worthiness.
*tósċeófan literally means to shove or to thrust to different directions, to disperse, to scatter but also figuratively means to remove, to do away with.
Though I am not a Christian I still enjoy this poem.
^.^
Wel biþ þám eorle þe him on innan hæfþ —
Reþehyġdiġ wer — *rúme heortan
þæt him biþ for worulde, *weorþmynda mǽst
And for ússum Dryhtne, dóma selast
Efne swá hé mid wætre, þone weallendan
Leġ ádwǽsċe, þæt hé lenġe ne mæġ
Blác byrnende, burgum sċieþþan
Swá hé mid ælmessan, ealle *tósċeófeþ
Synna wunde, sáwle lácnaþ
It will be good for the noble man who within him has —
The just-minded man — a great heart,
That he will have in regards to the world the greatest of *honours
And before our Lord the best of judgments.
Just as he with water, the raging
flame may quench, so that it no longer can,
bright burning, cause damage to cities,
So does he with alms-giving altogether *removes
The wound of sins, (and) heals the soul.
*rúm literally means roomy, spacious but also figuratively means great, noble, liberal, unrestricted.
*weorþmynd is usually taken to mean honour, but the full meaning is more complex. weorþ means worth, (of things) value, (of people) worthiness, and -mynd is from ġemynd which not only means the mind but also that which is remembered, memory, memorial, commemoration. So weorþmynd means an honour that is more a commemoration of one’s worthiness.
*tósċeófan literally means to shove or to thrust to different directions, to disperse, to scatter but also figuratively means to remove, to do away with.
tamurross
~tamurross
Very fine sentiment
FA+
