The Rune Poems were a
recitation of the names and kennings (associations) of the
runes. They were presumably used as an aid in memorizing
and transmitting the lore. There are three of the old
poems known; the Icelandic, the Norwegian, and the
Anglo-Sax on. The Anglo-Saxon is later, and shows
considerable influence from Christianity. There was
probably a poem for the Elder Futhark, but it has not come
down to us.
THE NORWEGIAN RUNIC
POEM, English Text
-
Wealth is a source of discord among kinsmen;
the wolf lives in the forest.
-
Dross comes from bad iron;
the reindeer often races over the frozen snow.
-
Giant causes anguish to women;
misfortune makes few men cheerful.
-
Estuary is the way of most journeys;
but a scabbard is of swords.
-
Riding is said to be the worst thing for horses;
Reginn forged the finest sword.
-
Ulcer is fatal to children;
death makes a corpse pale.
-
Hail is the coldest of grain;
Christ created the world of old.
-
Constraint gives scant choice;
a naked man is chilled by the frost.
- Ice
we call the broad bridge;
the blind man must be led.
-
Plenty is a boon to men;
I say that Frothi was generous.
-
Sun is the light of the world;
I bow to the divine decree.
-
Tyr is a one-handed god;
often has the smith to blow.
-
Birch has the greenest leaves of any shrub;
Loki was fortunate in his deceit.
-
Man is an augmentation of the dust;
great is the claw of the hawk.
- A
waterfall is a River which falls from a mountain-side;
but ornaments are of gold.
-
Yew is the greenest of trees in winter;
it is wont to crackle when it burns.
THE
ICELANDIC RUNE POEM, English Text
- Wealth
source of discord
among kinsmen
and fire of the sea
and path of the serpent.
- Shower
lamentation of the
clouds
and ruin of the hay-harvest
and abomination of the shepherd.
-
Giant
torture of women
and cliff-dweller
and husband of a giantess.
- God
aged Gautr
and prince of Ásgarðr
and lord of Vallhalla.
- Riding
joy of the
horsemen
and speedy journey
and toil of the steed.
- Ulcer
disease fatal to
children
and painful spot
and abode of mortification.
-
Hail
cold grain
and shower of sleet
and sickness of serpents.
-
Constraint
grief of the
bond-maid
and state of oppression
and toilsome work.
- Ice
bark of rivers
and roof of the wave
and destruction of the doomed.
- Plenty
boon to men
and good summer
and thriving crops.
- Sun
shield of the
clouds
and shining ray
and destroyer of ice.
- Týr
god with one hand
and leavings of the wolf
and prince of temples.
-
Birch
leafy twig
and little tree
and fresh young shrub.
- Man
delight of man
and augmentation of the earth
and adorner of ships.
- Water
eddying stream
and broad geysir
and land of the fish.
- Yew
bent bow
and brittle iron
and giant of the arrow.
THE
ANLGO-SAXON RUNE POEM, English Text
- Wealth is a
comfort to all men;
yet must every
man bestow it freely,
if he wish to gain honour in the sight of the Lord.
- The aurochs is
proud and has great horns;
it is a very
savage beast and fights with its horns;
a great ranger of the moors, it is a creature of
mettle.
- The thorn is
exceedingly sharp,
an evil thing
for any knight to touch,
uncommonly severe on all who sit among them.
- The mouth is the
source of all language,
a pillar of
wisdom and a comfort to wise men,
a blessing and a joy to every knight.
- Riding seems
easy to every warrior while he is indoors
and very
courageous to him who traverses the high-roads
on the back of a stout horse.
- The torch is
known to every living man by its pale, bright flame;
it always burns
where princes sit within.
- Generosity
brings credit and honour, which support one's dignity;
it furnishes
help and subsistence
to all broken men who are devoid of aught else.
- Bliss he enjoys
who knows not suffering, sorrow nor anxiety,
and has
prosperity and happiness and a good enough house.
- Hail is the
whitest of grain;
it is whirled
from the vault of heaven
and is tossed about by gusts of wind
and then it melts into water.
- Trouble is
oppressive to the heart;
yet often it
proves a source of help and salvation
to the children of men, to everyone who heeds it
betimes.
- Ice is very cold
and immeasurably slippery;
it glistens as
clear as glass and most like to gems;
it is a floor wrought by the frost, fair to look upon.
- Summer is a joy
to men, when God, the holy King of Heaven, suffers the
earth to bring forth shining fruits
for rich and poor alike.
- The yew is a
tree with rough bark,
hard and fast in
the earth, supported by its roots,
a guardian of flame and a joy upon an estate.
- Peorth is
a source of recreation and amusement to the great,
where warriors
sit blithely together in the banqueting-hall.
- The Eolh-sedge
is mostly to be found in a marsh;
it grows in the
water and makes a ghastly wound,
covering with blood every warrior who touches it.
- The sun is ever
a joy in the hopes of seafarers
when they
journey away over the fishes' bath,
until the courser of the deep bears them to land.
- Tiw is a guiding
star; well does it keep faith with princes;
it is ever on
its course over the mists of night and never fails.
- The poplar bears
no fruit; yet without seed it brings forth suckers,
for it is
generated from its leaves.
Splendid are its branches and gloriously adorned
its lofty crown which reaches to the skies.
- The horse is a
joy to princes in the presence of warriors.
A steed in the
pride of its hoofs,
when rich men on horseback bandy words about it;
and it is ever a source of comfort to the restless.
- The joyous man
is dear to his kinsmen;
yet every man is
doomed to fail his fellow,
since the Lord by his decree will commit the vile
carrion to the earth.
- The ocean seems
interminable to men,
if they venture
on the rolling bark
and the waves of the sea terrify them
and the courser of the deep heed not its bridle.
- Ing was first
seen by men among the East-Danes,
till, followed
by his chariot,
he departed eastwards over the waves.
So the Heardingas named the hero.
- An estate is
very dear to every man,
if he can enjoy
there in his house
whatever is right and proper in constant prosperity.
- Day, the
glorious light of the Creator, is sent by the Lord;
it is beloved of
men, a source of hope and happiness to rich and poor,
and of service to all.
- The oak fattens
the flesh of pigs for the children of men.
Often it
traverses the gannet's bath,
and the ocean proves whether the oak keeps faith
in honourable fashion.
- The ash is
exceedingly high and precious to men.
With its sturdy
trunk it offers a stubborn resistance,
though attacked by many a man.
- Yr is a
source of joy and honour to every prince and knight;
it looks well on
a horse and is a reliable equipment for a journey.
- Iar is a
river fish and yet it always feeds on land;
it has a fair
abode encompassed by water, where it lives in
happiness.
- The grave is
horrible to every knight,
when the corpse
quickly begins to cool
and is laid in the bosom of the dark earth.
Prosperity declines, happiness passes away
and covenants are broken.
From Runic and Heroic
Poems by Bruce Dickins
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