This is what you get...

[Bermy]

...if you translate Stig's signature...

Cattle die,
dying kin
dies himself et same;
I know one,
that never dies:
Registrar of each dead man.

 

[woodworkingboy]

What's so unusual about that? He's a philosophical undertaker that nearly kills himself selling wood, and he raises a few head of cattle while at it.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Hell if I know!

 

[Bermy]

Just thought I'd run it through a translator...and see what came out!

 

[MasterBlaster]

I love teh interwebs!

 

[stig]

Cattle die ( mistranslation: the word "Fe'" covers all farm animals not just cattle)
Friends die ("Frændr" covers both family and friends)
Even I and you all shall die
One thing I know
that never dies
The judgement of the dead.

That is as close as I can get it since I have to translate it from old Norse to Danish and again to English.

It is from Havamal, the speech of the high one ( Odin).
The closest thing to a bible, the vikings had.

Basically it means, live a good life, then you needn't fear death, since we all shall die eventually and your good name will live on.

I put it on here when Neil Armstrong died.

 

[Burnham]

Well quoted, Stig.

 

[Thor's Hammer]

Cattle die,
kinsmen die
you yourself die;
I know one thing
which never dies:
the fate of the honored dead


Hávamál

 

[stig]

I know that is what you get from Google, but fate and Dómr just isn't the same.
Judgment is a better translation.

Dómr translates to " posthumous reputation" in this case.

They also miss the translation by Frederik Winkelhorn, which IMO is the best when it comes to recreating the "feel" of the original, though it misses a bit of the literal translation.

 

[SkwerI]

'legacy'

 

[stig]

That would work.

Judgment is the more literal translation.

The word for a judge is dommer, which comes from Dómr.

 

[Bermy]

Cool Stig...I like it.

 

[Al Smith]

I think it first becomes a challange simpley translating from one language to another .Then if "figures of speech " enters in it becomes doubley hard .

For example quotations from the King James version of the Bible were translated from the Stevens text which was written in Greek .Then converted to old English script which in itself can be quite confusing as compaired to the English usage of today .

 

[stig]

I was wondering, Fiona did you try to translate from old Norse to English or did you think it was in Danish.
That might make a difference, I think.

 

[pete mctree]

Great signature Stig

 

[Bermy]

I put in Danish to the translator...so yes, from your explaination, that made a difference.
I was just curious...