Bee Charm
Douglas Simms and Jonathan Slocum
A Bee Charm
MS. 41 Corpus Christi College, Cambridge.
Text from Grendon, Felix. The Anglo-Saxon Charms. Journal of American Folklore 22 (1909): 168. Originally prepared by Douglas Simms; edited by Jonathan Slocum. Each bold word/phrase in a gloss corresponds to a single word in the source; non-bold terms indicate grammatical information.
| Nim eorþan, | take 2.sg. imp; earth fem, acc.sg. |
| throw-over 2.sg. imp; with prep; your fem, dat.sg; right wk.fem, dat.sg; hand fem, dat.sg. | |
| under þînum swîþran fêt and cweð: | under prep; your masc, dat.sg; right wk.masc, dat.sg; foot masc, dat.sg; and conj; say 2.sg. imp. |
| 'Take dirt, throw it under your right foot with your right hand and say:' | |
| Fô ic under fôt; | seize 1.sg. pres; I under prep; foot masc, dat.sg. |
| funde ic hit. | found 1.sg. pret; I 1.sg; it neut, acc.sg. |
| 'I have it under (my) foot, I found it.' | |
| Hwæt, eorðe mæg | Lo interj; earth fem, nom.sg; can 3.sg. pres. |
| with ealra wihta gehwilce, | against prep; all neut, gen.pl; creatures neut, gen.pl; each neut, acc.pl. |
| 'Lo! Earth has power against every creature,' |
|
| and wið andan and wið æ:minde, | and conj; against prep; hatred masc, acc.sg; and conj; against prep; enmity fem, acc.sg. |
| and wið þâ micelan mannes tungan. | and conj; against prep; the fem, acc.sg; great wk.masc, gen.sg; man masc, gen.sg; tongue fem, acc.sg. |
| 'and against hatred and against enmity, and agains the tongue of a great man.' |
|
| Forweorp ofer grêot, | cast 2.sg. imp; over prep; gravel masc, acc.sg. |
| þonne hî swirman, and cweð: | when; they nom. pl; swarm 3.pl. pres. subj; and conj; say 2.sg. imp. |
| 'Cast (it) over gravel when they might swarm, and say:' |
|
| Sitte gê, sigewîf, | sit 2.pl. imp; ye 2.pl. nom; victory-women neut, nom.pl. |
| sîgað tô eorþan, | sink 2.pl. imp; to prep; earth fem, dat.sg. |
| 'Sit ye, victory-women, sink to the earth,' |
|
| næ:fre gê wilde | never adv; ye 2.pl. nom; wildly adv. |
| tô wudu flêogan! | to prep; wood masc, dat.sg; fly 3.pl. pres. subj. |
| 'May ye never fly wildly to the woods!' |
|
| Bêo gê swâ gemindige mînes gôdes, | be 2.pl. imp; ye 2.pl. nom; as adv; my neut, gen.sg; welfare neut, gen.sg. |
| as adv; is 3.sg. pres; mens' masc, gen.pl; each masc, nom.sg; foodmasc, gen.sg; and conj; property masc, gen.sg. | |
| 'Be ye as mindful of my well-being, as every man is of food and property!' |
|
Key to gloss abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | = | 1st (person) |
| 2. | = | 2nd (person) |
| 3. | = | 3rd (person) |
| acc. | = | accusative (case) |
| adv. | = | adverb |
| conj. | = | conjunction |
| dat. | = | dative (case) |
| fem. | = | feminine (gender) |
| gen. | = | genitive (case) |
| imp. | = | imperative (mood) |
| interj. | = | interjection |
| masc. | = | masculine (gender) |
| neut. | = | neuter (gender) |
| nom. | = | nominative (case) |
| pl. | = | plural (number) |
| prep. | = | preposition |
| pres. | = | present (tense) |
| pret. | = | preterite (tense) |
| sg. | = | singular (number) |
| subj. | = | subjunctive (mood) |
| wk. | = | weak |
