Old English scholar needed; Eomer and Eowyn's salutes - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

littlemanpoet · 01-13-2004, 07:47 PM

I'm the happy owner of Bright's Old English Grammar & Reader, 3rd edition,

From it I've garnered the following out of the glossary:

ferð = mind, soul, spirit
hal = whole, sound
thu = thou or you
West = west (fancy that! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img])

Though I am no Anglo-Saxon scholar myself, I do like to play around a bit, so thanks for the opportunity! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Regarding "Westu Theoden hal", it could be that, like the Gondorians, the West was used as a metaphor for goodness, blessedness, and so on.

Eowyn's "Ferth Theoden hal!" is more obvious: "Be thou whole in spirit/soul/mind, Theoden!"

So yes, I agree with the educated guesses so far proferred.

For example:

In The Wanderer, line 54 reads, "fleotendra ferð no Þær fela bringeð", which according to the notes, "fleotendra ferð" = minds of the floating ones, which means 'the minds of birds'.

In The Blickling Homily - The End of the World is at hand, line 6 reads in part, "ealle men syn hale and gesunde..." which pretty clearly means, 'all men were hale and sound...'

Thanks for the fun! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

01-13-2004, 07:47 PM	#4
littlemanpoet Itinerant Songster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: The Edge of Faerie Posts: 7,066	I'm the happy owner of Bright's Old English Grammar & Reader, 3rd edition, From it I've garnered the following out of the glossary: ferð = mind, soul, spirit hal = whole, sound thu = thou or you West = west (fancy that! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]) Though I am no Anglo-Saxon scholar myself, I do like to play around a bit, so thanks for the opportunity! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] Regarding "Westu Theoden hal", it could be that, like the Gondorians, the West was used as a metaphor for goodness, blessedness, and so on. Eowyn's "Ferth Theoden hal!" is more obvious: "Be thou whole in spirit/soul/mind, Theoden!" So yes, I agree with the educated guesses so far proferred. For example: In The Wanderer, line 54 reads, "fleotendra ferð no Þær fela bringeð", which according to the notes, "fleotendra ferð" = minds of the floating ones, which means 'the minds of birds'. In The Blickling Homily - The End of the World is at hand, line 6 reads in part, "ealle men syn hale and gesunde..." which pretty clearly means, 'all men were hale and sound...' Thanks for the fun! [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]