Here’s my translation and performance of the one and only Palästinalied, the greatest crusader song of all time, in Old Norse. It was written in the 13th century in Middle High German. It is an amazing piece as it is one of the few songs of yore whose melody is actually known to us.
Getting the ABABCCC rhyming scheme into Norse from the German was… interesting, to say the least, but I’m really pleased with how it went, even if some of them are just half-rhymes. I didn’t want to change the actual meaning of the song, so any adjustments thereto are really just superficial. The instruments I’m playing are a talharpa and a basic wooden flute.
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Lyrics:
Sýnisk mér’k á lífi vera,
þvít mitt synda auga sér
þá jǫrð ok land it helga,
er gefin dýrð mikil er.
Svá kom þat, er ek æ bað;
ek em kominn á þann stað,
þar er Guð mannliga trað!
Lǫnd rík ok heiðr svá,
sem hefk annarstaðar sét.
Heiðr þeira ert Þú allra.
Hvat barsk at furðna hér!
Þat at mey ein fǿddi barn,
Dróttin sveita engla!
Var þat ei furða in mesta?
Hér lét inn hreini sik skíra,
svá at maðr hreinn vera megi.
Þar keyptu þeir Hann inn dýra,
svát þrælir frjálsir verðim!
Annars værim vér týndir!
Heil séu spjót, kross ok þyrnir!
Vá þér, heiðinn, þat þik pínir!
Þaðan til Helvítis reið sonr,
ór grǫf þeirri, er Hann lá.
Því Hann var fǫrunautr Fǫður
ok Anda, er skilja ei má.
Sem ǫrvarskapt beinn,
Þrír er sannliga Einn,
svá var Abrahami reynt.
Er Hann djǫful hafði skamman,
betr en mættu gæðingar,
aptr hingat á jǫrð steig Hann.
Þá hófsk angr gyðinga,
þvít Hann Dróttin komsk undan,
ok þá á lífi sásk Hann,
þeira, er hǫndum slógu grǿðarann.
Kristnir, gyðingar ok heiðnir
kveða at landit arfr sé þeim.
Guð at réttu fari dǿmir
í nǫfnum sínum þrem.
Heimr allr stríðir hér,
en tilkall rétt eigum vér.
Réttvísi Guð þat oss berr!
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