daily daily

ic swince þearle

my day begins with texts in old english
today I am absorbed in the colloquia of aelfric
he that was abbot of eynsham round about the year 1000
he set out to familiarise his trainees with the latin language
to that end he wrote a series of imaginary conversations
with local craftsmen and traders
others have transformed his latin into old english
this is the only text I know which throws light
on the ways and means of ordinary people

in reply to the question
hwaet dest þu
the inevitable reply is along the lines of
ic swince þearle

swincan is full of meanings
ic swince þearle comes across as I really do work very hard
but ic swince can also mean I struggle

and I think of myself
and my struggles with some old english writings

this week’s task has been to focus on the description of beowulf’s funeral
ic swince
I really do
I really do struggle
I diligently parse every single word
but to convey connected thought into modern speech I cannot
still less am I able to respond with lines
half lines
of rhythmical verse
even imitative alliteration eludes me

I struggle
ic swince þearle
I really do

giese leof