āHwƦr cwom mearg? HwƦr cwom mago? HwƦr cwom maĆ¾Ć¾umgyfa? HwƦr cwom symbla gesetu? HwƦr sindon seledreamas? Eala beorht bune! Eala byrnwiga! Eala Ć¾eodnes Ć¾rym! Hu seo Ć¾rag gewat, genap under nihthelm, swa heo no wƦre.ā
ā
āWhere is the horse? Where the rider? Where the giver of treasure? Where the seats of the feast? Where are the joys of the hall? Alas for the bright cup! Alas for the heroic warrior! Alas for the splendor of the king! How they have passed away, Dark under night-cover, As if they never were.ā - The Wanderer, An Anglo-Saxon poem of lamentation, which was the inspiration for Tolkienās Lament of the Rohirrim. (via currentboat)
If not already noticed, āmaĆ¾Ć¾umgyfaā includes the root of the Hobbit word āmathomā (the thing that nobody wants but wonāt throw away so it ends up being handed on (and on, and on) as a gift with no other purpose than being givenā¦)
Hereās the LotR version:
āWhere now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing? Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing? Where is the hand on the harpstring, and the red fire glowing? Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing? They have passed like rain on the mountain, like a wind in the meadow; The days have gone down in the West behind the hills into shadow. Who shall gather the smoke of the dead wood burning, Or behold the flowing years from the Sea returning?ā
