Frankenbeasts through Gothic Eyes

[Edmund Fairfax]

Atsaihwith faura thaim diuzam!

Sums staths ist -- than manna du Babylauniai leithith -- saei haitada Laintibailsinaia, ana thammei bairanda *hanons galeikos thaimei in unsis sind raudis hiwjis*. Jah jabai thos hwa niman wili aiththau thaim attekan, *frabrannjand allata is leik...Jainaruhthan bairanda wilthja diuza. Jah tho diuza, bithe mans stibna gahausjand, suns thliuhand. Haband ahtau fotuns jah haljarunos augona jah twa haubida. Jabai tho hwa gafahan wili, sein leik intandjand...

Beware these beasts!

There is a place -- when one goes to Babylonia -- which is called Lentibelsinea, wherein hens are born like those among us which are red. If anyone tries to take a hold of them or touch them, they incinerate his body...Wild beasts are also born there. Whenever these animals hear a person's voice, they at once flee. They have eight feet, witch-eyes, and two heads. If someone is about to catch them, they set their body aflame...

Note:
An asterisk before a word indicates a conjectural form, an asterisk following a conjectural meaning. The text is from a passage in the Old English >Wonders of the East<, normalized here (the letter 'eth' is rendered as 'th', as in the Gothic passage above, and 'ash' as 'ae'):

sum stow is -- thonne mann faerth to thaere Readan Sae -- seo is gehaten Lentibelsinea, on thaem beoth henna acende gelice thaem the mid us beoth reades hiwes. And gif hie hwic mann niman wile oththe hira aethrineth, thonne forbaernath hie sona eall his lic. Thaet sindon ungefraegelicu lybblac. Eac swa thaer beoth wilddeor cennede. Tha deor, thonne hie mannes stefne gehierath, thonne hrathe hie fleoth. Tha deor habbath eahta fet and waelcyrgan eagan and twa heafdu. Gif hie hwilc mann gefon wile, thonne hira lichaman, thaet hie onaelath. Thaet sindon ungefraegelicu deor.

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/gothic-l/attachments/20130629/c3006c0c/attachment.htm>