The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 3
It is enough for me to maintain two things: that they are popular traditions; and that without these popular traditions we should have bothered about Alfred about as much as we bother about Eadwig.
Es genügt mir, zwei Dinge festzuhalten: dass es sich um volkstümliche Überlieferungen handelt; und dass wir uns ohne diese volkstümlichen Überlieferungen um Alfred etwa so viel gekümmert hätten wie um Eadwig.
One other consideration needs a note.
Eine weitere Überlegung bedarf einer Anmerkung.
Alfred has come down to us in the best way (that is, by national legends) solely for the same reason as Arthur and Roland and the other giants of that darkness, because he fought for the Christian civilization against the heathen nihilism.
Alfred ist uns auf die beste Weise überliefert worden (nämlich durch nationale Legenden), und zwar allein aus demselben Grund wie Artus und Roland und die anderen Giganten jener Finsternis, weil er für die christliche Zivilisation gegen den heidnischen Nihilismus kämpfte.
But since this work was really done by generation after generation, by the Romans before they withdrew, and by the Britons while they remained, I have summarised this first crusade in a triple symbol, and given to a fictitious Roman, Celt, and Saxon, a part in the glory of Ethandune.
Da dieses Werk jedoch wirklich von Generation zu Generation vollbracht wurde, von den Römern, bevor sie sich zurückzogen, und von den Briten, solange sie blieben, habe ich diesen ersten Kreuzzug in einem dreifachen Symbol zusammengefasst und einem fiktiven Römer, Kelten und Sachsen einen Anteil am Ruhm von Ethandune gegeben.
I fancy that in fact Alfred's Wessex was of very mixed bloods; but in any case, it is the chief value of legend to mix up the centuries while preserving the sentiment; to see all ages in a sort of splendid foreshortening.
Ich vermute, dass Alfreds Wessex tatsächlich von sehr gemischtem Blut war; aber in jedem Fall besteht der hauptsächliche Wert der Legende darin, die Jahrhunderte zu vermischen und dabei das Gefühl zu bewahren; alle Zeitalter in einer Art herrlicher Verkürzung zu sehen.
That is the use of tradition: it telescopes history.
Das ist der Nutzen der Überlieferung: Sie rafft die Geschichte zusammen.
G.K.C.
G.K.C.
DEDICATION
WIDMUNG
Of great limbs gone to chaos, A great face turned to night-- Why bend above a shapeless shroud Seeking in such archaic cloud Sight of strong lords and light?
Von großen Gliedern, hingegeben dem Chaos, einem großen Antlitz, der Nacht zugewandt – warum beugt man sich über ein formloses Leichentuch und sucht in solch uraltem Dunkel den Anblick starker Herren und Licht?
Where seven sunken Englands Lie buried one by one, Why should one idle spade, I wonder, Shake up the dust of thanes like thunder To smoke and choke the sun?
Wo sieben versunkene Englands eines nach dem anderen begraben liegen, warum sollte ein müßiger Spaten, so frage ich mich, den Staub der Thane wie Donner aufwirbeln, um die Sonne zu vernebeln und zu ersticken?
Vocabulary
- genügt
- Suffices; is enough
- Dinge
- Things; plural of 'Ding'
- festzuhalten
- To hold fast; to establish or note down
- volkstümliche
- Folk; popular; relating to traditional culture
- Überlieferungen
- Traditions; handed-down stories or legends
- handelt
- Deals with; acts; handles
- ohne
- Without; preposition indicating absence
- volkstümlichen
- Folk; popular; inflected form of 'volkstümlich'
- etwa
- About; approximately; for example
- gekümmert
- Cared; past participle of 'sich kümmern'
- hätten
- Would have; subjunctive II of 'haben'
- weitere
- Further; additional
- Überlegung
- Consideration; reflection; deliberate thought
- bedarf
- Requires; needs; third person singular of 'bedürfen'
- Anmerkung
- Annotation; remark; note
- beste
- Best; superlative of 'gut'
- Weise
- Way; manner; wise person
- überliefert
- Handed down; transmitted through tradition
- nämlich
- Namely; that is; specifically
- nationale
- National; relating to a nation
- Legenden
- Legends; traditional stories of heroic figures
- zwar
- Indeed; admittedly; it is true that
- allein
- Alone; solely; only
- demselben
- The same; dative of 'derselbe'
- Grund
- Reason; ground; basis
- Giganten
- Giants; enormous legendary figures
- jener
- That; those; of that time
- Finsternis
- Darkness; gloom; obscurity
- christliche
- Christian; relating to Christianity
- Zivilisation
- Civilization; organized advanced human society
- gegen
- Against; opposing; preposition
- heidnischen
- Pagan; heathen; non-Christian
- Nihilismus
- Nihilism; rejection of all values and meaning
- kämpfte
- Fought; past tense of 'kämpfen'
- Da
- Since; because; there
- Werk
- Work; deed; creation
- jedoch
- However; yet; nevertheless
- wirklich
- Really; truly; actually
- Generation
- Generation; a group sharing an era
- vollbracht
- Accomplished; achieved; past participle of 'vollbringen'
- Römern
- Romans; dative plural of 'Römer'
- bevor
- Before; prior to; subordinating conjunction
- zurückzogen
- Withdrew; retreated; past tense of 'sich zurückziehen'
- Briten
- Britons; inhabitants of ancient Britain
- solange
- As long as; while; for the duration
- blieben
- Stayed; remained; past tense of 'bleiben'
- Kreuzzug
- Crusade; holy military campaign
- dreifachen
- Triple; threefold; inflected form of 'dreifach'
- Symbol
- Symbol; sign representing something else
- zusammengefasst
- Summarized; compiled; past participle of 'zusammenfassen'
- fiktiven
- Fictional; imaginary; inflected form of 'fiktiv'
- Römer
- Romans; inhabitants of ancient Rome
- Kelten
- Celts; ancient Indo-European peoples
- Sachsen
- Saxons; Germanic tribal people
- Anteil
- Share; portion; part of something
- Ruhm
- Glory; fame; renown
- gegeben
- Given; past participle of 'geben'
- vermute
- Suspect; assume; first person of 'vermuten'
- tatsächlich
- Actually; indeed; in fact
- gemischtem
- Mixed; blended; dative of 'gemischt'
- Blut
- Blood; the fluid in living bodies
- jedem
- Every; each; dative of 'jeder'
- Fall
- Case; fall; instance
- besteht
- Consists; exists; third person of 'bestehen'
- hauptsächliche
- Main; principal; primary
- Wert
- Value; worth; importance
- Legende
- Legend; traditional heroic story
- darin
- Therein; in it; in that
- Jahrhunderte
- Centuries; plural of 'Jahrhundert'
- vermischen
- To mix; to blend together
- dabei
- In doing so; thereby; at the same time
- Gefühl
- Feeling; emotion; sense
- bewahren
- To preserve; to keep; to protect
- Zeitalter
- Age; era; historical period
- Art
- Kind; type; manner
- herrlicher
- Splendid; glorious; inflected form of 'herrlich'
- Verkürzung
- Abbreviation; shortening; condensation
- Nutzen
- Use; benefit; utility
- Überlieferung
- Tradition; handing down of stories
- rafft
- Gathers up; compresses; third person of 'raffen'
- Geschichte
- History; story; tale
- zusammen
- Together; combined; jointly
- WIDMUNG
- Dedication; an inscription dedicating a work
- Gliedern
- Limbs; members; dative plural of 'Glied'
- hingegeben
- Devoted; surrendered; past participle of 'hingeben'
- Chaos
- Chaos; complete disorder and confusion
- Antlitz
- Countenance; face; literary term
- Nacht
- Night; the dark hours of darkness
- zugewandt
- Turned toward; facing; devoted to
- warum
- Why; for what reason
- beugt
- Bends; bows; third person of 'beugen'
- formloses
- Formless; shapeless; without structure
- Leichentuch
- Shroud; burial cloth for the dead
- sucht
- Seeks; searches; third person of 'suchen'
- solch
- Such; of that kind
- uraltem
- Ancient; primordial; dative of 'uralt'
- Dunkel
- Darkness; gloom; obscurity
- Anblick
- Sight; view; appearance of something
- starker
- Strong; powerful; genitive of 'stark'
- Herren
- Lords; gentlemen; plural of 'Herr'
- Licht
- Light; illumination; brightness
- versunkene
- Sunken; submerged; lost to history
- begraben
- Buried; interred; past participle of 'begraben'
- liegen
- To lie; to be located
- sollte
- Should; was supposed to; subjunctive of 'sollen'
- müßiger
- Idle; leisurely; genitive of 'müßig'
- Spaten
- Spade; digging tool with flat blade
- Staub
- Dust; fine dry powder of particles
- Thane
- Thane; Anglo-Saxon nobleman or warrior
- Donner
- Thunder; loud sound from lightning
- aufwirbeln
- To whirl up; to stir up dust
- Sonne
- Sun; the star at center of solar system
- vernebeln
- To obscure; to fog; to cloud over
- ersticken
- To suffocate; to smother; to choke
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