A battle scene from "The Elene"

"The Elene" is an Old English poem, sometimes known as "Saint Helena Finds the True Cross." Written somewhere between the 8th and 10th centuries by the poet Cynewulf about whom little is know, including exactly when he lived. He is belived to have been from Mercia or Northumbria and wrote in that dialect. He was probably a monk or other religious figure. Four of his poems survive. "The Elene" is 1,321 lines long.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ridon ymb rofne, ðonne rand dynede,
camp wudu clynede, cyning ðreate for,
herge to hilde. Hrefen uppe gol,
wan ond wælfel. Werod wæs on tyhte.
Hleopon hornboran, hreopan frican,
mearh moldan træd.

Translation;

“They rode about the famous one; then the shield dinned,
the battle-tarp clanged, the king advanced with a troop,
a battalion to the battle. The raven yelled from above,
dark and greedy for carrion. The troop was on the march.
The horn-bearers ran, the heralds called out,
the horse trod the earth”

A Gospel in Sercquiais/Jerriais

The Channel Islands (Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm, and Les Casquets) are actually closer to France than to England or Ireland but have been under British rule in the 13th century. Prior to this the islands were part of the Kingdom of Normandy and people there spoke various dialects of Norman-French. One of these that survive is Sercquiais, spoken on Sark by only a few dozen people, although is there is a great deal of mutual intelligibility between the various Channel tongues and French. The French refer to these tongues as "patois". Below is part of the gospel of St. Matthew;

Sercquiais version;
"L'chen qui sème s'n allit s'mai ; Et tàndis qu' i s'maitt une partie d' la s'menche quitt le long du ch'mìnn et l's oesiaux du ciel vìndrint et i la màndgirent. Une aûtre quitt dans d's endréts roquieurs, où alle n'avait pas fort de terre; et ou l'vist ossivite, parçe que la terre où al' 'tait n'était pas ben avant. Mais l'solé se l'vitt et ou fut brulaie; et coumme ou n'avait pas d'rachinnes, ou s'quitt. Une aûtre quitt dans d's épinnes, et l's épinnes vìndrent à craitre, et l'etoupidrent. Une aûtre enfin quitt dans d'bouanne terre, et ou portit du fritt; quiq' grâins rèndirent chent pour un, d'aûtres sessànte, et d'aûtres trente. L'chen qu'a d's oureilles pour ouit qu' il ouêt." (S. Makyu. Chap. XIII. 3-9)

English translation;
"A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. He who has ears, let him hear." Gospel of St Matthew, NIV)