Ei likbør hadde han sett komma, Sigande frå Trodladalen opp Lundamyri, Audmjuk han i akttok synet, Kven hadde dauden i teke, Med otta han keik i kista, Børi hadde med seg, Daud, velstelt, Hvå llætti han var, Etter dette han visste at Arntor aldri kom attende, Ja, stolt han kunne møta dauden, Gått viljugt i strid for å sikra ætti grid, Gått mannadrap so ein krigar byrg, Nekta trelldom, svik, ofra liv i grid, Men so hemn for oppreisa og slag, Ville svikarane setegarden ta, Ein gard so store at den på ein dag ikkje kunne gå, Tilmed heiden grunn garden er tufta på, Ei nye ætt skulle setegarden rå, Sette livet til for ætte og æra miste både setegarden og sæla, Men då dauden var nær vart han heidra likferd, Ein tragedie for ætlingane dette var, Skulle dei verkeleg missa slik ein gard, Vreida hans Sverre ville ingen ende ta
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
Another translation from last.fm's Ola Nordal.
To ”heidra” means to hail or honour someone. Often used about hailing someone’s glorious memory.
He had seen a funeral procession coming Drifting from Trodladalen and up Lundamyri (*) Humble he gazed Who had death taken?
With awe he looked into the coffin that the procession carried Dead, wel-groomed, from Hvàllætti he was (**) Thus he knew that Arntor never would come back
Yes, proud he could meet death Gone willingly to war to secure the lineages mercy (***) He murdered as a proud warrior Denied slavery, betrayal, sacrificed lives in mercy
But so, as revenge for loss and battles would betrayers his farm take (****) A farm so great that one could not walk it in one day Even the hades on which the farm lies A new lineage would rule the land
Lost his life for lineage and honour lost both his farm and his loved ones But when he was close to death he was honoured with likferd (*****)
A tragedy for his heirs this was Should they really loose this land Sverres anger was without end
*a valley and a mire in Sogn
** Arntors family/lineage
*** the Norwegian word “grid” translates directly “mercy” but it’s not a humble mercy (like the Christian mercy) – it’s a proud mercy won through glorious deeds. Arntor has fought bravely, and all though he lost his life he won his lineage glory, respect and honour.
**** the direct translation here is “farm” but the more appropriate word is “land” or “estate”. The Viking farms were almost small communities, and Arntor and his kin were almost like feudal landlords.
***** see comments on the word “likferd” in the translation of “Dauden”
Quite tricky this one. My knowledge of the English language is sadly too limited to recreate the special lyrical style of Windir. Valfar write in a kind of Sogne-dialect mixed up with an old Norwegian style. All though you can translate and understand the words, they do not give exactly the right meaning in English.
As far as I have understood this song tells the tale of the fall of Arntor in the summer of 1184, for which Sverre later gets his revenge, vividly described in “Destroy”. It might also be one of Arntors kin that’s been murdered, or maybe even Magnus Erlingsson, and so the person who meets the funeral procession understands that Arntor has lost – but my primary guess is that this is Arntor himself.
I haven’t read much of the lyrics for 1184, but it seems to me like a concept album describing the bloody events of Fimreite in 1184 – where several thousand people lost their lives and floated round the Sognefjord. Sadly I haven’t found much about this in my history books (they’re basically covering the 20th century only). Shame on me. I should know these things. After all I call myself a historian.