ater on the text reads: "Dogs attacked the boar from all directions, and the Irish battled it throughout the day until night fell; despite that, a fifth of Ireland was destroyed by it." (Somehow these fractions add up. Let's see - a third plus a fifth - is that a majority of Ireland yet?)
Arthur does not kill the boar -- it lumbers into the sea, its sides bristling with spears, to hunt another day.
posted 2:39 PM
Monday, March 13, 2006
The Fun of Translating Medieval Welsh
Oftentimes people ask me about the translation of Middle (Medieval) Welsh, and the manuscripts I've worked with. Here's a few of the stranger and more humorous lines I've translated from Middle Welsh. The following belong to a manuscript entitled "Culhwch ac Olwen," one of the earliest manuscripts in which King Arthur appears. This is the original Arthur of Welsh tradition, before other European authors added all the bits about him being an upstanding warrior with a Round Table and all that. Let's face it. The original Arthur is just a bit silly. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is closer than we think.
Many of the funny lines involve the men of Arthur's court and their descriptions and talents:
"Penpingion, who goes around on his head in order to save his feet, not upright and not downright, but like a stone rolling on the floor of the court."
"Twyll Golau whose treachery was patent"
"Cynwas Cwryfagyl the clumsy"
"Samson Finsych the dry-lipped"
"Hyfaidd Unllen, who had but one coat"
"Gwrfan Gwallt Afwyn of the unruly hair" (Enemies beware!)
"Gilla Goeshydd stag-legs - he could leap three hundred acres in a single bound; he was the chief leaper of Ireland." (An impressive occupation, I can assure you.)
"Sol, who could stand on one leg all day" (who wouldn't want this super power?)
"Gwefyl son of Gwastad – when he was sad, his lower lip sagged down to his navel, and the other lip became a cowl for his head."
"Uchdryd Farf Draws, the beard flinger - he would fling his red, well-sprouted beard across the fifty rafters of Arthur's hall."
"Gwen Alarch, the swan daughter of Cynwal Canhwch of the hundred hogs"
Once Arthur's adventure starts, he and his warriors meet many an interesting obstacle, including:
"Dillus Farfawg, who was the greatest warrior who had ever avoided Arthur"
posted 3:29 PM