Aloha,
J Blain wrote:
> I'd think influences and concepts could go in either direction -
> heathen-christian or christian-heathen or something else. (Dubois
> points out, though, that christianity in North Europe was more
> resistant to incorporation of previous elements.) Dating of Hávamál is
> disputed, and whether this bit is currently seen as early or late I
> don't know. But it's powerful stuff.
I'm not sure about just when the Christian Cross and the World Tree were
conflated or conjoined. But I imagine that it's a fairly obvious linkage
to make,
and that it happened early on. It definitely endures in Western occulture.
There is a different, but maybe not always separate, problem that could
have
various influences on how the scene described in the poem ends up being
visualized
and given significance. Translation.
The Havamal is originally written in alliterative verse of a distinct
metre called
Ljóđaháttr. Translators into Modern English sometimes try to copy or
imitate this
verse form, and the copying may influence word choices and arrangement. So,
of course, may the effort to establish or to suggest particular
religious meanings
or linkages.
I found this translation on the Astruar.org site. It incorporates the
term "rood."
Jenny choose a different yet alliterative term "rising." And that
suggests a different
imagery and meaning complex.
138
Wounded I hung on a wind-swept gallows
For nine long nights,
Pierced by a spear, pledged to Odhinn,
Offered, myself to myself
The wisest know not from whence spring
The roots of that ancient rood
139
They gave me no bread,
They gave me no mead,
I looked down;
with a loud cry
I took up runes;
from that tree I fell.
http://www.asatru.org/havamal.html
Musing A Tree Of Wisdom! Rose,
Pitch
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