Faun - Egil Saga [lyrics and English translation]

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• published: 29 Oct 2012
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[Note: "Linden tree" is a metaphor that means "woman".] "Egil Saga" from the album "Licht". Translation by me. This is a portion of the Old Icelandic "Egils Saga", in which Egil comes across a sick woman and uses runes to heal her. Old Icelandic: "hefir hún haft langan vanmátt," og það var kröm mikil; fékk hún enga nótt svefn og var sem hamstoli væri. "Ristnar hafa verið rúnar, og er sá einn bóndason héðan skammt í brott, er það gerði, og er síðan miklu verr en áður Skalat maðr rúnar rísta, nema ráða vel kunni, þat verðr mörgum manni, es of myrkvan staf villisk; sák á telgðu talkni tíu launstafi ristna, þat hefr lauka lindi langs ofrtrega fengit. Egill reist rúnar og lagði undir hægindið í hvíluna, þar er hún hvíldi; henni þótti sem hún vaknaði úr svefni og sagði, að hún var þá heil English: She has long been weak and it is a powerful wasting sickness; she does not sleep at night and she is as one possessed. Runes have been carved and it was a farmer's son not far from here that did this, and since then it is much worse than before. No man should carve runes without knowing how to read them well; many a man will blunder astray around those dark letters; I saw on shaped whale-bone ten secret letters carved; from this the linden tree got her long suffering. Egil carved runes and put them under the pillow in the bed where she rested. It seemed as though she had woken from sleep and said that she was now well.