OERP Book: Chapter Sixteen

 

By Gary G. Stanfield.  Last updated: 27 July 2003.  Previously published in: Stanfield, Gary G. 1998b. “Excerpts from the OERP Book, Chapters 15 and 16”. The Rune 8 (Summer): 31-40.

 

Suggested listing of this edition in reference list format:  Stanfield, Gary G.  2003. “OERP Book: Chapter Sixteen”. In Gary Stanfield's Web Pages [Online]. Available http://pages.prodigy.net/gary_s/toc.htm. [Visited: DateYouWereHere].

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sigel semannum • symble biþ on hihte

ðonne hi hine feriaþ • ofer fisces beþ

oþ hi brimhengest • bringeþ to lande

 

Translations

Transliteration

{sail}    (to)     {those who travel by sea; seamen, sailors}

 

{always; forever; continuously, constantly}     is      {on, upon; at; up to, towards; about; in accordance with}      {trust, hope, joyous expectation, joy} — “on hyhte” is an idiom for “based on hope, joy, or trust”, “in accordance with hope, joy, or trust”, or “(towards) causing a condition of hope, joy, or trust”

 

{When, inasmuch as; therefore; while; when }      they     {it, “him”}       {bear, carry, convey, bring; go; depart}

 

over      “fish’s bath” (the sea)

 

Until      they   (the)    “sea horse” (ship)

 

{brings, bears, carries, transports}       to       {land; earth, soil; land as opposed to water or air}

 

A

Sail is to seamen • a sure thing of hope.
So they fetch it along • across fish's' bath
'Til them the brine-stallion • brings to the shore.

 

B

For sailors, a sail • unceasingly signs hope
While they bring the cloth • across fish's bath
'Til them the sea steed • ships to land

 

C

A sail, to seamen • always is a basis of hope
When they convey it • across (the) fish's bath
Until them (the) sea steed • brings to land

 

D

A sail, to seamen • always is about joyous expectation
When they bring it • upon (the) fish's bath
Until them (the) sea steed • brings to land

 

E

A sail, to seamen • constantly is about joy
While they convey it • across (the) fish's bath
Until them (the) sea steed • brings to land

 

F

A sail, to seamen • constantly is about joy
Therefore they take it along • across the fish's bath
Until them (the) sea steed • brings to land

G

A sail, with seamen • always manifests hope
When they bring it • across (the) sea
Until them (the) sea steed • brings to land

 

H

For sailors, a sail is always a thing of joy; so they bring it all the way across the fishes' bath.

 

J

For seamen, a sail is constantly about hope, so they take it all the way when they cross the sea in a ship.

 

K

To seamen, a jewel is always a thing of trust. Therefore, they bring it upon the fish’s bath until the sea steed brings them to land.

 

L

A sail, to seamen • always is a basis of hope
Therefore they take it along • across (the) fish's bath
Until them (the) sea steed • brings to land

 

Issues in Edition and Translation

The Title Word

Most translators of the OERP render sigel as “sun”. In 1840, John Kemble, one of the early geniuses of Old English philology pointed out that “sail” does fit the substance of the stanza and “sun” does not. Kemble did not spell out his reasoning, and it is time to prevent scholars from trying to re-invent the wheel on this issue. (See Dickens, 1915; Halsall, 1981; Kemble, 1840; Osborn and Longland, 1982; Page, 1973; Paul, 1996; Pollington, 1995; Shippey, 1976; Thorsson, 1987; S. Wódening, 1995a.)

 

It is clear that a sigel is something that sailors can carry in their boat. As I show below, this leaves us with two possibilities. Either sigel here denotes a piece of jewelry, or Kemble is right that the word means sail.

 

Grammatically, both “piece of jewelry” and “sail” are possibilities. Sigel is a spelling variant of sigle (necklace, collar) and sigil (fibula, buckle, brooch, gem). A piece of jewelry could be carried as good luck charm or navigational device. We can eliminate “navigational device”, because any navigational device carried by the ancient Teutonic sailors (namely, a feldspar “sunstone”) would have not been of much technical value and  therefore would have offered little or no hope (Osborn and Longland, 1982: Bill, 1997). Any piece of jewelry would have been a hopeful thing only as a talisman. The verb for sail is spelled sigel in the preterite form “sigelede” (sailed) in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, in an entry for the year 877. This implies that sigel is a spelling variant of the noun for sail (segl). In addition, Osborn and Longland claim that sigel was repeatedly used to gloss a Latin word for sail. (See Bosworth and Toller, 1898; 1921; Hall, 1960; Osborn and Longland, 1982).

Glosses

You often see “glosses” referred to in philological works, Old English dic­tionaries and Old English gram­mars. Glosses are also used in studies of other an­cient tongues. These glosses are notes written in the mar­gins of an­cient manuscripts to help readers — commonly, to help them with Latin. The glosses I refer to in the main text here are instances where a scribe noted that “velum” means sail (sigel) to help ancient Anglo-Saxon readers comprehend a Latin text. Modern scholars can more easily tran­slate Latin than medieval vern­acular lan­guages, so such graffiti are used a lot by professional scholars — in reverse of the intended use. Glosses are touched upon in the section “The Title Word”.

 

As between sail and talisman, sail is the more plausible choice. A sigel would seem associated with sea travel in some way. The notion of use of sigel (“jewel”) to mean a talisman of general sorts is not too far fetched. Observe the misuse of “significant other” in Modern English — it most often is used to refer only to a common-law spouse! Likewise, “sin” often refers only to recreational sexual play or intercourse. However, the prospect that a sigel would be a talisman only of value during sea voyages is unlikely, as this highly specialized use does not appear elsewhere in the surviving Old English literature. On the other hand, sails became important in maritime Nordic cultures during the 500’s-700’s CE (Skov, 1965; Bill, 1997), and could easily have found a place in a poem that was a major philosophical statement of the time.

 

Other Issues

Some editors emend ðonn in the original to ðonne, based on use of ðonn as a contraction of ðonne and alleged requirements of traditional meter. I do not think it makes much difference whether we make this emendation, since neither the meaning nor the rhythm of the stanza is significantly affected. The rhythm is not significantly affected because the ancient English spoke both n’s in ðonn, thus producing a half-syllable at the end of the word.

 

Most translators ignore hine (it) in the third half-line. If they did not ignore it in translation, they would be saying that the sailors take the sun with them.

 

A logical consequence of translating sigel as “sail” is that one must translate semannum as the dative of “sailors” or “seamen”. This is because the sea travelers do not bring the sail. Below, I show the consequences of this translation to semannum.

 

Discussion

At the lowest level of abstraction, the sail is celebrated as a thing of progress in three implicit stanzas. It is a thing of progress on a sea trip in “Journey’s Progress”, but it is a matter of improved lifestyle in “The Sail is Brought as a Convenience” and “Psychological Lift.”

 

At the second level of meaning, two implicit stanzas refer to the everyday importance of technology in human lives. “The Promise of Technology Is in Its Use” recommends that we make use of the best technical advances available. However, two related stanzas, “Results of Technology Depend on Nature” and “Technology Does Not Give Certainty”, warn us not to expect too much.

 

At the third level of meaning, one implicit stanza brings us down to earth as it were. “Critique of Artifice” reminds us that advances in materials and methods manifest the divine side of mankind, but adds that even divinity has its limits.

 

It is not surprising that in runic poetry the technology of sea travel is used as a metaphor for advanced technology in general. In the age when the OERP  was produced and for centuries later, sailing vessels were in the forefront of technological advance. In large areas of Europe, commerce, art, literature, learning, politics, love affairs, diet, etc. — many aspects of life were affected by the sea travel and by improvements in sea travel during the period from the end of the Roman Empire to the writing of the Old Icelandic Rune Poem.

 

A terse discussion of Teutonic sea travel in early medieval times may make more vivid the implicit stanzas of “Sigel”. The sailing ships roughly resembled the famous Viking longships, being long and narrow, with a single mast and using a single sail. Most of the ships had 24-48 oars, although some ships did not have enough oars to make a long trip by rowing. Rowing a twenty-four-oared boat on the open sea would take skill and social coordination. Merely rowing across the English Channel could be hard work and would require two shifts of oarsmen. Under sail, most of the ships could not be tacked upwind. There were no compasses, astrolabes, nor sextants. Thirty to sixty persons on board would be crowded. If a boat carried livestock or working animals, there might not be enough room to work at least some of the oars. Although jetties and wharves were used, the boats were small enough to be beached upon arrival. During the 400’s-1000’s CE, there was (slow) progress in ship design and ship building. Sea travel was more efficient than moving overland. (See Bill, 1992; Howarth, 1977: 82, 92-93, 117-129; Manyon, 1961a: 59-71; Welch, 1992: 118, Color Plate 7; Wormald, 1982a: 102-103).

 

Journey’s Progress

This view of the stanza is supported by Translations E, F, and H. The sail is associated with the joy of rapid travel, of the gratifications of making quick progress and covering long distances. There is also the gratification of gaining results quite out of proportion to the (possibly vigorous) physical efforts involved in operating the boat. Like peorth, the sail means fun! Therefore, the sailors bring it, they enjoy it, and they take it all the way.

 

The Sail is Brought as a Convenience

The key notion here is hope on the part of the sailors — hope that at least part of the way they will not have to row, and hope for the joys and business advantages of a speedy passage. This view of the stanza is best supported by Translations A, L, and J emphasize that a ship’s crewpersons bring the sail along because it is a thing of hope — not necessarily a thing of results, but of hope to take advantage of favorable wind. B and L emphasize that the sailors look forward to using the sail every time, while Translation J emphasizes that the cloth has important potential throughout the voyage.

 

A Psychological Lift

This implicit stanza is best supported by Translations B, C, D, G, H, and J. These translations emphasize that the sail is a psychological benefit during sea travel. Just having a sail on board lends an atmosphere of hope or provides a basis for looking forward to a fast trip. The sail provides a practical basis of hope every time it is brought along (Translation C). It also helps lend an optimistic mien to the voyage on every occasion (Translation G) and throughout every voyage (Translation B). Moreover, the sail symbolizes the joyous expectation of arriving, and arriving soon (Translation D). For psychological lift, sailors bring the sail along on the voyage (Translations H and J).

 

The psychological lift from use of a sail is in addition to the sense of adventure that accompanies sea travel, especially in a relatively small boat. The sense of adventure is alluded to by the traditional nickname “fish’s bath”, used for ocean or sea. The fish’s bath is the natural habitat of fish, so the nickname emphasizes that people are literally a little out of their element while at sea. Likewise, the traditional nickname “sea steed” in this context refers to the analogy with a sentient being which might not perfectly obey its rider’s wishes.

 

The Promise of Technology Is in Its Use

The psychological upside of technology is praised in “The Promise of Technology”, which is supported by all the translations, but most clearly by B, C, and D. Technology is used with the expectation of achieving high levels of efficacy and efficiency. It brings joy of accomplishment and enjoyment of the exercise of power. However, these benefits are experienced via use of technology. It is not just to be beheld or sung about. It has its value when and while we use it.

 

Time & Future

The people of medieval Europe did not place the same value on the future nor on the long run as do we. The ancient Germanic tongues did not even have a future tense. During the era when the OERP was composed and recorded, Old English began to develop a modal future tense, but mostly the ancient Anglo-Saxons just used the present tense when dis­cus­sing the future. I allude to this matter in connection with the implicit stanza, “The Promise of Technology is in its Use.”

Subtly included in “The Promise of Technology Is in Its Use” is that the sail is brought along by and enjoyed by those able to use it — those with the skills and physical abilities of seamen. If your are not any good at using the materials or techniques in question, you will not much out of them.

 

An interesting feature of this implicit stanza is its focus on process as opposed to preparation or goal attainment. We often experience a certain joy in just doing interesting things, a joy that we anticipate as we prepare and that we regret the passing of. “The Promise of Technology Is in Its Use” refers to fun in doing constructive things as opposed to play. This fun is mentioned as available to the sailors, those who bring along the equipment and know how to use it. We are definitely being told that there is an advantage to being able to use the modern technology of the times in which we live, and that that advantage is not just in goal attainment. Work can be fun.

 

Missing from this implicit stanza is the notion of technological progress as an inherent tendency. In cultures following the Industrial Revolution, there has been a tendency for people to take it for granted that technological improvements are caused in part by the state of the industrial and scientific arts. A corollary is the notion that the pace of technological progress tends to accelerate. For us, the promise of technology is not just in potential results from current use, but in an implicit promise for future generations and decades. In the culture that gave us the Old English Rune Poem, the benefits and threats of technological progress per se appeared less important than they appear to us.  This is one of the points where the poem speaks to us as from a different culture.

 

In The Old English Rune Poem: A Critical Analysis, Maureen Halsall (1981) suggests that “Sigel” refers to the story of Noah’s Ark, and or the “fallen man” trying to return to Paradise. However, the ship’s crew willingly go out upon the sea to reach the other shore — the start of the journey is not a fallen state and the destination is not paradisical nor even very important in this stanza. In Christian doctrine, the emphasis is on a goal — an end to alienation from their deity, attainment of eternal salvation, or escape from the hostility of their deity. There is not anything clearly Christian about this stanza.

 

Results of Technology Depend on Nature

This implicit stanza depends on an irony which is clearest in Translations A and J. In A, we are told that the sailors bring their sail because it is unfailingly a thing of hope. That is, the “sure thing” is not the results. Again, J tells us that sailors bring the cloth because while they have it with them on the voyage, it is constantly a matter of hope — not results. In other words, the sailors are not expecting to have good winds on every voyage, nor all the way on any particular voyage. All they can really count on is a having the equipment to exploit a good wind.

 

“Results of Technology Depend on Nature” reminds us that technology only gives us possibilities. Our results depend on nature. Just as sailors depend on the occurrence of wind, modern industry depends on availability of fossil fuels, metals, etc. Obviously, the results of our efforts are not random occurrences. This is merely a reminder from the ancients that predictability in these matters is not perfect.

 

“Results of Technology Depend on Nature” is a major emphasis of “Sigel”. This evaluation is supported by the structure of the stanza in Old English. The chief stave in the first line is symble (always/constantly) and this concept is counterbalanced almost immediately by hyht (hope/trust), referring indirectly to uncertainty.

 

Technology Does Not Give Certainty

 “Technology Does Not Give Certainty” reminds us that even the most powerfully leveraged deeds that we do, even the most impressive state of our arts, do not provide us with results that we can absolutely count on in advance. The uncertainty is not just a matter of natural events, for there are flaws in the things people create. This implicit stanza is best supported by Translation C and the implicit stanza, “Results of Technology Depend on Nature”.

 

The Talisman

Translation K explores the results of translating sigel as “jewel” with the implication of “talisman”. Here, a seaman would take a gem as an object of trust in an otherwise hazardous circumstance (Durant, 1950: 985-989). This reminds us that people often want to place trust absolutely rather than face wyrd (or chance).

 

A search for certainty would have been outside religion as the ancient Teutonics would have known it. Partly because of this, many people turned to practices that were not apparently related to religion in search of certainty. For example, most recorded Anglo-Saxon charms do not refer to any pantheon — Northern or Mediterranean (Flowers, 1989: 105-108; Rodrigues, 1993 ).

 

I have not made much use of the “gem” translation because, as I explained above, it is difficult to justify. The value of “The Talisman” is not that it is an implicit stanza that an ancient audience would have recognized as valid, but that it raises a suggestive question. In other words, the spelling and pronunciation ambiguities and the culture of the time make you at least consider whether “The Talisman” is not meant by the author(s) to be seen here. In one sense there is no implicit stanza “The Talisman” because Translation K is implausible. In another sense, there is such an implicit stanza without a valid translation as its basis.

 

Thus, this is a ghost-type implicit stanza. It is not present at lower levels of meaning, but the mere suggestion has consequences at higher levels of meaning of “Sigel”.

 

Critique of Artifice

Here, we are cautioned to be prepared emotionally and technically, but to expect the unexpected. This implicit stanza is supported by all of the implicit stanzas of “Sigel” — and the ghost implicit stanza — and all the implicit stanzas of “Nyd”. In addition, certain ideas alluded to in three other stanzas support “Critique of Artifice”, for this is a clarification of the divine side of the nature of mankind. In Chapter 4 (Os), I presented the notion that divinity consists of creativity, high levels of consciousness, and standards of decent behavior. In Chapters 9 (Hægl) and 12 (Ger), I discussed limitations on divine powers — even the high deities are neither all powerful nor all knowing. In “Nyd”

 

Clearly, technology is a manifestation of the divine side of human nature, of that which makes us higher than the lower animals. But technology does not give use absolute certainty of the satisfaction for which we hope any more than the deities’ powers give them omniscience or omnipotence.

 

Yet, we are drawn to technology and to technological advancement regardless of non-inevitable success. We like our odds, we like the results we get with the methods and equipment we have, and we are not willing to go back. Debates over the directions of modern scientific and engineering developments concern directions forward, not whether to go back. We place our hopes on technology, and we have become dependent on it to achieve our goals, just as the ancient sailors depended on the sea-steed to bring them to land.

 

The trick, of course, is to be prepared exploit opportunities the best we can, but to not be shocked by failure. This idea is probably put at the highest level of meaning because it is not the comfort that many seek.

 

Incidentally, Halsall (1981) sees this stanza in a radically different light than I. She sees the sea steed (Noah’s Ark) as the Catholic Church and the land as salvation from the wrath of the Christian deity. I do not see the faintest hint of Christianity in “Sigel”.

Themes

Simple Themes

·Sailing

·Boats

·Travel

·Technology

·Hope

·Joy, enjoyment

·Leveraged work

·Fun at work

·Convenience

·Process

·Arrival

·Hazard

·Adventure

·Lack of control over nature

·Dependence on nature

·Imperfection of artifice

·Imperfect predictability

·Possession of technology

·Ability to use technology

·Use of technology

 

Contrasts

·Certainty versus uncertainty

·Travel versus arrival

 

Advice for Living

Taking advantage of the most advanced technology available is not to be sneered at. It can be wonderful fun as well as very practical. Indeed, use of highly efficient and efficacious methods and materials reflects the divine in mankind. If you can, it is well to be prepared and willing to use advanced technology. It not only can give good results, it can be fun! However, it is possible to be overly enthusiastic — even the most advanced technical means of the time will not free us from wyrd, from nature, nor from ourselves.