OERP Book Chapter Eighteen

 

By Gary G. Stanfield.  Last updated 27 July 2003.   Previously published in:  Stanfield, Gary G. 1998d. “Excerpts from the OERP Book, Chapters 18 and 19”. The Rune 9 (Winter): 35-44.

 

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

 

 

 

 

 

beorc byþ bleda leas,    bereþ efne swa ðeah

tanas butan tudder,     biþ on telgum wlitig,

heah on helme    hrysted fægere

geloden leafum,    lyfte getenge

 

Translations

(A)  Transliteration

(The) {Poplar, Black Poplar, Grey Poplar, White Poplar}    is    {flower, fruit; harvest; shoot; branch; something produced by an action}     {without, -less}

 

{bear, support, sustain; produced extend}     {even so} {nonetheless, however, though}

 

{sprouts, shoots, suckers; rods of divination}     {without; but not}     (dat.){that which grows from another - offspring, progeny, descendants, fruits}

 

is     {in respect to, in regards to, as regards, in } (dat.){twigs, branches, boughs; shoots} {fair, comely, beautiful, radiant}

 

high on (its) {crown, summit, tree-top; covering; lord}

 

{decorated, adorned} {beautifully; pleasantly}

 

{grown}     (from) leaves

 

(dat.){heavens, (the) sky}     {almost touching, near to; touching, pressing upon; oppressing}

 

(B)

White poplar is blossomless.  • But brings it forth even so
Shoots without seedlings. • On its spans is it lovely.
On tree-top towering • ‘tis beautifully trimmed.
— with foliage grown — • (and) firmament touching.

 

(C)

White Poplar is flower-less. However, (it)

·      bears forth shoots (without progeny);

·        is lovely in its branches;

·        is beautifully decorated high on (its) crown; and

·        (is) grown into the sky by means of leaves.

 

(D)

White poplar is devoid of flowers. However, (it) produces sprouts without (means of) seeds; is comely in its branches; is beautifully adorned high at its summit; and is grown near to the sky by means of leaves.

 

(E)

White poplar is devoid of blossoms.

Bears (it) even so shoots without progeny.

(It) is radiant in its branches;

(And) high on (its) crown, beautifully adorned!

It is grown by means of leaves (until it) almost touches the clouds.

 

(F)

White poplar is devoid of seeds.

Even so, (it) produces suckers without offspring

In regard to its branches, it is lovely.

(And) high on top, (it is ) beautifully adorned!

It is grown by means of leaves (until it) almost touches the clouds.

 

(G)

White poplar is devoid of blossoms.

Even so however, (it) produces cuttings instead of progeny.

In regard to its branches, it is lovely.

(And) high on (its) crown, (it is) beautifully adorned.

(It is) grown by means of leaves, touching the sky.

 

(H)

White Poplar is without flowers • However, (it) produces

Suckers instead of fruits • is comely as regards its boughs

High on (its) crown • pleasantly adorned

(And) grown by means of leaves • near to the sky.

 

(I)

(The) poplar is without flowers • Even so, (it) bears

Suckers instead of fruits • is comely as regards its branches

High on (its) crown • pleasantly adorned

(And) grown by means of leaves • near to the sky

 

(J)

White poplar is seedless • Even so, (it) bears

Suckers instead of fruits • is radiant in its branches

High on (its) crown • pleasantly adorned

(And) grown by means of leaves • near to the sky

 

(K)

White poplar is without harvest. • Even so, (it) brings forth

Suckers instead of fruits • is comely as regards its branches

High on (its) crown • pleasantly adorned

(And) grown by means of leaves • near to the heavens.

 

(L)

White poplar is seedless. • However, (it) produces

Cuttings instead of offspring • is radiant in its branches

High at (it's) summit • beautifully decorated

(And) grown by means of leaves • near to the sky.

 

Issues in Translation

There are two issues in translation: the title word and the meaning of the last half-line. The title word is something of a speed bump, a distraction that needs to be disposed of. The issue regarding the last half-line (geloden leafum) is more significant for the meaning of the poem, as you will see in the discussion section of this chapter.

 

The issues concerning edition are handled quite well by Maureen Halsall (1981: 138-139). Those issues include grammatical variations in a couple of the words and the appearance of ðeah in Line 3 of the “original”, where heah makes more sense. In matters other than those discussed here, I simply followed Ms. Halsall’s lead.

 

The Title Word

There is disagreement on the translation of the title word. It has been considered to indicate some kind of birch or pop­lar. I will show below that the tree in question is definitely poplar.

 

Pronunciation of Beorc 

Linguists have developed a fairly consensual theory of how Old English would have sounded. Under this theory, the b in this stan­za's title would be spoken as a b in Modem English (MnE). The "eo" is two sounds combined in a diphthong An example in MnE is in "sound". The "eo" here com­bines the "e" Edward with an "o" or "uh", and in the combination the second sound takes much less than half the energy of the total diph­thong. The last two consonants are the same as the "rch" sound in Mod­em British upper class or Modern American pronunciation of "birch". Thus beorc sounds akin to the MnE. "birch". This matter re­lates to translation and is referred to in the main text under "The Title Word". (See Diamond, 1970; Kis­pert, 1971; Mitchell and Robinson, 1992; Quirk and Wrenn, 1958).

Disagreement has arisen partly because in ancient times, Beorc referred to both poplar and birch (Amos et al, 1991; Dick­ins, 1915; Bosworth and Toller, 1898; Bosworth and Toller, 1921). Thus, several competent translators of the Old English Rune Poem have ren­dered beorc into Modem English (MnE) as "birch" (Halsall, 1981; Kemble, 1840; Paul, 1996; Pollington, 1996; Thors­son, 1993; Wódening, 1995a; and see also Hall, 1960). In addition, beorc sounds like “birch” and is the direct etymo­logical ancestor of our modem "birch". (See sidebar, “Pronun­ciation of Beorc”.)

 

Not everyone has translated the title word as “birch”. A smaller number of transla­tors have rendered the focal word as "poplar" due to the content of the stanza (Dickins, 1915; Osborn and Longland, 1982; Shippey, 1972). One famous runologist did not translate beorc in his rendering of the stanza, then said in his dis­cus­sion that the tree could not be birch and that the word should mean “birch” (Page, 1993).

 

The title word of this stanza clearly refers to poplar. I will show that this is beyond doubt in the following discussion of four attri­butes of beorc mentioned in this stanza.

 

The first attribute of beorc presented in this stanza is flowerless or seedless reproduction. Birch can be grown from cuttings or shoots, but commonly reproduces by means of flowers and seeds. (Swain Wóden­ing’s 1995a argument that birch trees cannot reproduce from shoots is botanically incorrect.) Poplar trees are much more often reproduced from cuttings or shoots, and some types of poplar in some areas show almost one hundred percent male specimens. This condition has been produced by mankind because the flowers and seeds are nuisances. Fallen catkin flowers can form a fuzzy carpet in the vicinity of mother trees. Silken fibers that sail the seeds afar can bombard ponds or ditches or clog drains and swimming pool filters. More than one source advises that poplars should not be planted near buildings nor open drains. At least some poplars may have difficulty seeding in cold climates.

 

The second attribute mentioned here is that beorc is lovely or radiant in its branches or boughs. There is no specific mention of the characteristic bark of birch, the lovely white bark of younger specimens of some varie­ties of poplar, nor the silvery white on the undersides of the leaves of some adult poplars. Although neither poplar nor birch is an inherently ugly tree, poplars are more often used as ornamental trees than are birches. In general, birches are more remarkable for their uses in leather tanning and medicine, the bark's value as a recording medium or construction material, and for the tree’s aroma.

 

The third attribute mentioned is the tree's beautiful summit. This could refer the domed top of at least one variety of poplar or to the apex of an ornamental columnar poplar. There is nothing very distinctive about the summits of birch trees.

 

The fourth attribute is tallness. Poplars tend to attain a height of 90-100 feet, although a variety found in the American Far West grows to 300 feet. Birches are much less tall, tending to attain 50-66 feet, although at least one variety grows to just 30 feet. (See Dickins, 1915; Gomez, 1998; Grieve, 1931; Helicon, 1998a-f; Learning Company, 1997a and b; Osborn and Longland, 1982; Shippey, 1972; U-Net 1998a, b, and c; Wray, 1997 a, b, and c).

 

Dickins was the first to suggest that in this stanza, a beorc is a poplar tree. He suggested specifically Grey Poplar as a tree cultivated in England by means of cuttings. Osborn and Longland suggested Black Poplar on similar grounds. It is true that Black Poplar was the only poplar in England in early Medieval times and that it is not common elsewhere (Francis, 1998; Helicon, 1998a). However, it is not necessary that a plant or animal mentioned m the OERP be native to England. Recall that in Stanza # 2, the Ur is a beast that did not appear in England during times of human habitation in that island, although it did inhabit much of Europe in early medieval and late medieval times.

 

I found the description of White Poplar especially well suited to the stanza. White Poplar has its native range in Europe and Asia (it was imported to England centuries ago). It is typically repro­duced from cuttings or shoots. The undersides of its leaves shimmer silvery white in the summer breezes. Its domed summit and tallness also fit the stanza. Thus, I have rendered the title word as "White Poplar" in most of my translations. However, the specific variety is not as important as how beorc is used as a metaphor.

 

Geloden Leafum

The next-to-last verse is commonly mistranslated. All of the translators I usually cite have translated geloden in that verse as "loaded". This is an error. Geloden is the past participle of the verb geleoden, meaning to grow or grow from. The past participle of a roughly similar verb meaning to load (hladan or ladan) would be gehladen or geladen.

 

The noun leafum is in dative form, taking a role formerly played by the instrumental case in Teutonic languages, express­ing the idea “by means of”. Non-instrumental interpretations do not make sense. The tree does not really grow from its leaves, but it does grow by means of its leaves (and other resources). (See Bessinger, 1960; Bosworth and Toiler, 1898; Bosworth and Toiler, 1921; Goff; 1992: 27, 32; Hall, 1960). Halsall (1981) points out that geloden is not related to the idea of loading down, but ignores this in her translation.

 

In short, the usual translation of the next-to-last verse as indicating that there are lots of leaves on the poplar is to be rejected. The verse unambiguously means “grown by means of leaves”.

 

Discussion

At the lowest level of meaning "Poplar" is a botanical description of a tree. This implicit stanza manifests the fairly positive attitude toward nature that characterizes the poem as a whole.

 

At the second level of meaning, the tree is used as a metaphor for a person. In this sense, some implicit stanzas coach us that we can be good persons without having to fulfill certain kinds commonly-sought roles. We are also advised that some kinds of personal development can occur without much social value or without having much social etiology.

 

At the third level of meaning, we are coached to shape our religious development by using both ego-centered and socially responsible means. The implicit stanza at that level is supported in part by several implicit stanzas from other parts of the OERP.

 

The stanza speaks to us of personal growth because it discusses how the tree expands into the future and how it grows heavenward. This messages are spoken to everyone, but some meanings are more relevant to women than to men. A clue to this is the Teutonic system of poetic nicknames. Sturluson advises us that plants that grammatically feminine give us nick­names for “woman” in Teutonic poetic diction. Just as the plant in “Eolh­secg” represents men because the plant's name is a poetic nickname for “man”, so the plant in this stanza represents women by being a nickname for “woman” (Faulkes, 1987).

 

Poplar

The clearest support for this implicit stanza is in Translations B, C, D, F, and J. The botanical characteristics of the tree in question are indicated above under the rubric “The Title Word”. The description is not cold and clinical any more than it is complete and definitive. The worship-like feeling of Translation B, and to a lesser extent F, is balan­ced by the clarity of C, D, and J.

 

Personal Value Does Not Require Bearing Offspring

The poplar has value to those around it, to subsequent generations, and to itself. This implicit stanza emphasizes that the tree in question, although devoid of flowers, fruits or nuts, and seeds, is a remarkable achiever. “Personal Value Does Not Require Bearing Offspring” is most directly supported by Translations B, D, G and K

 

The first contrast with lack of sexual reproduction is that the White Poplar survives from one generation into another. The plant reproduces because it produces shoots or because people take cuttings and plant them. The new trees are usually genetically identical to their ancestors. This kind of reproduction is analogous to leading by example or giving instructions. There can be less resemblance genetically between human parents and their offspring than between skills, knowledge, or attitudes that adults teach. For example, everyone who learns to long division by hand or to drive a car does these things very similarly. However, off­spring quite rarely appear to be clones of their parents. Thus, some spinster who teaches grade-school age people grammar will live into subsequent generations to the extent that she has taught well. Translation G expresses the gift of a part of one's own energy and substance to subsequent generations in the notion “cuttings instead of progeny”. Another view of contributing to the future genera­tions is in Translation D's “sprouts without means of seeds”.

 

The second contrast involves appearance. In one sense, the focal tree is not sexy, but in another sense it is visually quite attractive. The stanza reminds us that we need not follow through with producing children to be good looking. It also reminds us that being physically attractive is not just a matter of sex. In modern America, most people are pretty well aware that sexual reproduction per se is not as sexy as recreational sex. Ironically, modem Americans tend to view producing a family of orientation as contrary to being sexually exciting.

 

The matter of appearance is divided into two subtopics: body and head. At this point, the analogy is clear because it is a little strained. Clearly, the artistic intention was not to stick to talking about a type of tree. Obviously, a tree does not have as marked a difference between main body and summit as does the human body with its face, hair, or headwear.

 

Separation of body and head as topics is indicated by the five-sentence Translations F and G. As Appendix A shows, the original punctuation divides the stanza into five chunks of meaning by using periods.  The five-sentence translations I have provided translate each of those chunks into a separate sentence.

 

The third contrast is a matter of dignity. The White Poplar stands tall, grown in part from its own efforts and resources. It may lack the dignity of meeting a commonly-valued condition, but it finds in itself the means of using its environment quite profitably and with its own quiet pride. This is symbolized by the last line in Transla­tion G, “It is grown by means of leaves, touching the sky.”

 

Personal Growth Is Multidimensional

This implicit stanza is closely related to “Personal Value Does Not Require Bearing Offspring”. It speaks to us of personal growth. You can expand without producing a family.

 

Personal growth and beauty are symbolized in Translation B by a few elements. There are the shoots that project an indi­vidual tree into the next generation. Beauty of body is symbolized by the radiant branches, and beauty of face and hair is symbolized by beautifully trimmed treetop. Dignity, pride, and general holiness are symbolized by the heights the tree attains as it is “towards the heavens...lofted”.

 

Similar elements of personal growth are found in Translation J. However Translation B subtly emphasizes by contrast a lack of attempt to repro­duce and the lack of self-esteem or honor that can result. In contrast, the first line in Translation J emphasizes the mere failure to produce a seed. In the previous stanza, “Tir” the title word refers to symbols of honor and achievement, and the flower here is an allusion to that kind of symbol and to the notion that there is honor in the mundane, which is a major theme of “Tir”.

 

Thus, “Personal Growth Is Multidimensional” draws our attention to the fact that our lives can be satisfying, fun, and productive in the long run even if some important aspect of our lives is disappoin­ting, humiliating, or sacrificed. Biological reproduction is certainly one of the most emo­tionally impor­tant and yet commonplace events in human life. It is used here as a symbol for any achievement or condition you or others might think you should attain. In short, biological reproduction here standards for that which is normal and socially important.

 

Individual Growth Can Be Orthogonal to Productivity

Personal growth and beauty are orthogonal to conventional and socially useful productivity. This interpretation is supported most directly by Translation F and by Translation H or I.

 

Personal growth is often achieved apart from the achieve­ment of socially useful results. For example, one-pointing meditation exercises or psycho­therapy can produce personal growth. Of course, one can also grow from the experience of producing something of value (such as bread or car insur­ance). However, it is not necessary that one's produc­tion be produc­tively useful to others (such as seeds or tools).

 

Translation F brings out the point that a high level of social usefulness is not necessary for a person to be lovely of body and beautifully adorned by a fine-appearing head or mind. One can attain a lofty dignity, prestige, or serf-esteem by means of one' s own resources.

 

Translation K gives a similar message to that of Translation F. However, in Translation K the lack of productivity is the more marked since there is no harvest at all.

 

Personal Growth Comes from Within

The structure of Translations E and G put the last line in a position of explaining the others. How is it that the person spoken of metaphorically is able to achieve its contribution to the future, its physical beauty, and the mind that adorns its summit? The leaves symbolize one's own re­sources and energy. Leaves take resources from outside the tree and turn them into growth for the tree, including more leaves to strengthen the tree's ability to work for further growth. "Personal Growth Comes from Within" explains the other personal growth stanzas implicit at the second level of meaning by giving a partial account of how the growth occurs.

 

A Well-Ordered Community

Translation L metaphorically presents an image of a well- ordered society, town, family, or formal organization. These groups reproduce themselves asexually. A well ordered group can extend itself into the future without producing more of its own kind A well-ordered group is attractive to people, who instinctively crave human association. This can mean that simply working well can give a community the cohesion it needs to work well. The helm, which appears in the third line and is translated as summit, is a nickname for "lord", indicating governmental leadership. Of course a well-ordered society is well governed. And a well-ordered community is based on its inner resourcefulness and energy. In a geographically-defined community, this would include a strong economy. But any town, country, family, or formal organization must rely on the strengths of its leaves – that is, its individual members. Therefore, the strengths of a community's leaves help to explain its growth.

 

“A Well-Ordered Community” seems radically different from the other stanzas implicit in "Beorc", and therefore might seem almost out of place. However, discussion of next implicit stanza shows how the focus on community health fits into a coherent system. Because the implicit stanzas of “Beorc” fit into a system that includes implicit stanzas from other areas of the Old English Rune Poem, the message of interdependence of a community's members is reinforced.

 

A Balanced Style

This implicit stanza is supported by all the stanzas implicit at the second level of meaning in “Beorc” and by stanzas implicit in several prior stanzas. Basically, “A Balanced Style” refines a major theme of the poem as a whole.

 

Previous stanzas have emphasized the importance group life in the Pagan conception of what it is to lead a good or holy life. The poem states that for a broad, balanced personal development we need to not lose our so­cial perspective. It is holier to have inner strength and resourcefulness if you put these characteristics to good use in a social context. The impor­tance of the community appears to be a major emphasis of Teutonic Pagan religion.

 

In this implicit stanza, a balance is brought in. The question is raised: Can one attain maximum loftiness merely by being socially very useful? The answer is “No”. Some of the things that are socially useful can be harmful to the individ­ual. The previous stanza (“Tir”) alluded to hero­ically extreme self-sacrifice on behalf of one's community in the implicit stanza “Dependable Ally of the Noble”. But a more subtle point raised here is that social productivity, while not usually harmful, can be supple­mented by nonsocial activities specifically undertaken to make you a better person.

 

Let us consider the logic of “A Balanced Style”. Translations F, K, and the implicit stanza  “Individual Growth Can Be Orthogonal to Produc­tivity” lend themselves to the interesting interpretation that one can be a fairly impressive individual in some terms and yet have little or no last­ing social value. This critique reminds us that achievements that seem deeply attractive may be of relatively limited value.

 

Social responsibility is a major theme relating to messages elsewhere in the poem. In part, “A Balanced Style” is based on implicit stanzas in other parts of the poem. Regarding a couple of previous stanzas, this theme refers to “Beauty Is Not Divine” (in Ger), plus “The Desirable Ugly Tree” and “The Proper Mystic” (in “Eoh”). It is easier to see “A Balanced Style” after seeing those implicit stanzas.

 

“A Well-Ordered Community” tells us that a major benefit of enlight­ened serf-centered personal growth can be a stronger community. This conclusion is supported by the implicit stanza “Way Cool” (in “Is”), which mentions how beautiful it is to have many strong individuals united.

 

Themes

Simple Themes

·        Poplar

·        Growth

·        Productivity/fertility

·        Seeds

·        That which is produced & gains independent existence

·        Fruit, nuts

·        Harvest

·        Offspring

·        Family of Orientation

·        Sexual reproduction

·        Asexual reproduction

·        Artificial reproduction

·        Investing in subsequent generations

·        Leaving a legacy

·        Physical attractiveness

·        Body, limbs

·        Head

·        Chieftain

·        Summit

·        Leaves

·        Members

·        Individual contributions to group strength

·        Importance of personal strengths to the individual

·        Individual growth

·        Dignity

·        Quiet pride

·        Tallness

·        Approaching deities’ levels of holiness

·        Approaching one or more deities

·        Multidimensionality of life

·        Community

·        Characteristics of a good community

·        Interrelations of parts of the whole

·        Social context

·        Balance

 

Contrasts

·        Individual-oriented achievement versus social substance

·        Investment versus production for consumption

·        Growth from social activities versus growth from nonsocial activities

·        Individual versus group

 

Advice for Living

Personal growth comes partly from within. Therefore, it is not something that can be given to you; instead it is something that you must do. It is not a matter of one dimension only, so failures or disappointments of one sort need not discourage your ambitions for development – and certainly need not ruin your enjoyment of life.

 

Just as the quiet and productive can be masculine, so non-mothers can be well-adjusted and productive feminine persons. For both genders, there are other ways to contribute to the future than to bring forth new persons.

 

Sometimes the most accomplished persons must strive to achieve a balance between growth as an individual and social contribution, for one can be overly complacent in view of individual status.