Ian Stuart Sharpe - Old Norse For Modern Times

OLD NORSE FOR MODERN TIMES Text Copyright 2020 Ian Stuart Sharpe, Arngrmur Vdaln, Joshua Gillingham. Published by Outland Entertainment LLC 3119 Gillham Road Kansas City, MO 64109 Founder/Creative Director: Jeremy D. Mohler Editor-in-Chief: Alana Joli Abbott Senior Editor: Gwendolyn N. Nix ISBN: 978-1-947659-86-5 Worldwide Rights Created in the United States of America Editor: Tara Cloud Clark Cover & Interior Illustrations: Nicols R. Giacondino Cover Design: Jeremy D. Mohler Interior Design: Mikael Brodu This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Created in the United States of America. Printed and bound in China. Visit outlandentertainment.com to see more, or follow us on our Facebook Page facebook.com/outlandentertainment/.

For as long as I can remember, Ive thought this book would be a good idea. Not exactly necessary, mind you butamusing. In fact, in the author blurb attached to my novels I mention how I once won a prize at school for Outstanding Progress.

I chose a dictionary as a reward, secretly wishing it had been an Old Norse phrasebook. Growing up in 20th century Norfolk, England, it didnt feel like an anachronism. Time seemed to stand still on the farms and fens of East Anglia. Then, at some point during the three years I spent wondering why I was doing a Law degree, I was gifted a copy of Latin for All Occasions (Lingua Latina Occasionibus Omnibus). This 1990 book by Henry Beard translated expressions like Get your ducks in a row to Anates tuas in acie instrue. As Beard noted, the significance of having ducks lined up would be lost on an ancient Roman (or indeed to a non-American), which made the whole escapade utterly hilarious.

The Norns had clearly spoken. I had to get there before Neil Gaiman did. Looking back, Beards book has two limitations. Firstly, what have the Romans ever done for us? And secondly, an awful lot has changed since the nineties. The world Beard describes is almost unrecognizable to me, just thirty short years later. Behaviour that was commonplace has become quaint, if not downright obsolete.

Even the way we consume information - like the words in this book - has changed irrevocably. I think, at root, Old Norse for Modern Times is an attempt to make sense of all that bewildering newness through the unique perspective of a Norseman. A group of warriors, merchants and sailors who uncovered all manner of strange and exciting new things as they explored the world. A culture that praised poets and worshipped wordplay. A civilization that has already given us hundreds of words and place names still in common use, as well as a language of startling directness. Who better than the Norse to tell us that Thor must be mightily pissed off (rr mun reiur vera) or that the fishing trip isnt going as planned? (Were going to need a bigger boat/ urfa munu vr skip strra).

And when Jrmungandr is finally reeled in? Ordering the beers sounds more emphatic in Old Norse (This drink, I like it! ANOTHER! Lkar mr drykkr essi! ANNAN!). I didnt start on this voyage alone. Joshua Gillingham, author of The Gatewatch is co-authoring, along with Dr. Arngrmur Vdaln, Adjunct Professor of Icelandic Literature at the University of Icelands School of Education. Joshua and I first bandied the idea for the book around in the summer of 2019 while playing a prototype of his excellent boardgame Althingi. By the autumn, we met with Jn Karl Helgason, who was Visiting Professor at the University of Victoria. He recommended Arngrmur as the perfect skald right away, a man who possessed the right blend of erudition and humour.

We literally couldnt have done this without him. There are plenty of other people to thank the mellifluous Siobhan Clark who will be helping record the phrases contained herein; Mathias Nordvig at the University of Colorado for his input on our star map; the inspirational Steven Dunn whose website Fjorns Hall is a treasure trove for Norse fans (and whose Northern Herbalist store delivered the Tea of Suttungr to our backers!); our indefatigable publisher Jeremy Mohler at Outland Entertainment; and our artists Nicols R. Giacondino and Keith Curtis who helped bring a bygone age to life. And of course, the 386 Kickstarters who pledged their support for this phrasebook and helped turn a dream into a reality. You are all the stuff of sagas.

Ian Stuart Sharpe (In Stvarur Skarpi) likes to imagine he is descended from Gurum, King of the East Angles, although DNA tests and a deep disdain for camping suggest otherwise.

He is the author of two novels set in his alternate Vikingverse, the All Father Paradox and Lokis Wager. As a child he discovered his love of books, sci-fi and sagas: devouring the works of Douglas Adams, J.R.R. Tolkien, Terry Pratchett and George MacDonald Fraser alongside Snorri Sturluson and Sigvat the Skald. He once won a prize at school for Outstanding Progress and chose a dictionary as his reward, secretly wishing it had been an Old Norse phrasebook. It took him thirty years, but he has finally realised his dream. Dr. Arngrmur Vdaln is Adjunct Professor of Icelandic Literature at the Faculty of Subject Teacher Education at the University of Icelands School of Education.

His field is Nordic medieval literature, but he also studies Icelandic literature of later ages. He has published extensively on monsters in Old Norse literature and is currently working on the translation of Alice in Wonderland into Old Norse. Joshua Gillingham (Isteinn Gythlingaheim) is a Canadian author from the seaside city of Nanaimo, BC. His debut series, The Saga of Torin Ten-Trees, is inspired by his unremitted fascination with Norse Myths and Icelandic Sagas. Book 1: The Gatewatch invaded bookshelves and online retailers in May 2020 and will soon be followed by Book 2: The Everspring in Spring 2021.

If you are like me, it has been a few lifetimes since anyone in your family conversed in Old Norse, and you are probably a bit rusty. If you are like me, it has been a few lifetimes since anyone in your family conversed in Old Norse, and you are probably a bit rusty.Next page