Jonathan Slocum, Interim Director :: PCL 5.112, 1 University Station S5490 :: Austin, TX 78712 :: 512-471-4566
Indo-European Texts
Old Russian
Douglas Simms and Jonathan Slocum
The Lay of the Campaigns of Igor 11: 1-19
Text from Volodymyr Peretc, ed., Slovo o Polku Igorevim, Russian Reprint Series 65 (The Hague: European Printing, 1967, pp. 93-94), and Joachim Klein, Zur Struktur des Igorlieds (Munich: Dr. R. Rudolf Trofenik, 1972, p. 169). Originally prepared and translated by Douglas Simms; edited by Jonathan Slocum.
Slovo o pŭlku Igorevě tale neut, nom.sg; about; host neut, dat.sg; Igorian neut, dat.sg. Igorję, syna Svjętŭslavlję vnuka Olĭgova. Igor masc, gen.sg; son masc, gen.sg; Svjat"slav masc, gen.sg; grandson masc, gen.sg; Oleg masc, gen.sg. 'The Tale about the Host of Igor,
Igor's, of the son of Svjat"slav, of the grandson of Oleg.'Ne lěpo li ny bjęšetŭ, bratie, not; good/fitting; inter.ptc; too adv; is 3.sg. impf; brothers masc, nom/voc.pl. načjęti starymi slovesy trudnykhŭ to-begin inf; old neut, inst.pl; words neut, inst.pl; difficult masc, acc.pl. 'Is it not fitting, brothers,
to begin with old words difficult'pověstii o pŭlku Igorevě, tales; about; host masc, dat.sg; Igorian masc, dat.sg. Igorję Svjętŭslaviča? Igor's masc, gen.sg; Svjat"slavich's masc, gen.sg. 'tales about the host of Igor,
Igor's, of the son of Svjat"slav?'Načjęti že sję tŭ pěsni begins; and; itself acc. refl; this masc, nom.sg; song masc, nom.sg. po bylinamĭ sego vremeni according-to; tales fem, dat.pl; own gen. refl; time neut, gen.sg. a ne po zamyšleniju Bojanju! ptc; not; according-to; design neut, dat.sg; Bojanian neut, dat.sg. 'And this song is started,
according to the tales of our time,
and not according to Bojan's design!'3. Bojanŭ bo věščii, Bojan masc, nom.sg; for conj; prophetic ašče komu khotjęše pěsnĭ tvoriti when adv; someone indef, dat.sg; wanted 3.sg. impf; tales masc, acc.pl; create inf. to rastěkašetsję mysliju po drevu then; burst 3.sg. impf. refl; thought fem, inst.sg; along; tree neut, dat.sg. sěrymŭ vŭlkomŭ po zemli grey masc, inst.sg; wolf masc, inst.sg; along; earth fem, dat.sg. šizymŭ orlomŭ podŭ oblaku. blue-grey masc, inst.sg; eagle masc, inst.sg; beneath; cloud neut, dat.sg. 'for prophetic Bojan
when he wanted to fashion tales for someone
he would then surge as a thought around a tree,
as a grey wolf across the earth,
as a blue-grey eagle beneath a cloud.'4. Pomnjęšetĭ bo, reče, remembered 3.sg. impf; for conj; said 3.sg. aor. pŭrvykhŭ vremenŭ usobitsě former neut, gen.pl; times neut, gen.pl; civil-strife fem, gen.sg. 'for he was mindful, one said,
of the earlier times of internal strife.'Togda puščašetĭ 10 [desjętĭ] sokolovĭ then adv; send-forth 3.sg. impf; ten; falcons masc, acc.pl. na stado lebeděi, into; herd neut, acc.sg; swans masc, gen.pl. 'he sent forth, then, ten falcons,
into a flock of swans.'kotoryi dotečaše, who inter.pron, nom.sg, def; run-down 3.sg. impf. ta predi pěsnĭ pojęše that fem, nom.sg; earlier adv; tale masc, acc.sg; took-up 3.sg. aor. 'one of which was run down,
that one first took up a song'staromu Jaroslavu, old masc, dat.sg; Jaroslav masc, dat.sg. khrabromu Mstislavu, brave masc, dat.sg, def; Mstislav masc, dat.sg. 'to old Jaroslav
to that brave Mstislav,'iže zarěza Rededju he-who rel.pron; slew 3.sg. aor; Rededja masc, acc.sg. predŭ pŭlky Kasožĭskymi, in-front-of; host neut, dat.sg; Kasogian masc, dat.pl. krasnomu Romanovi Svjętŭslavličju. beautiful masc, dat.sg; Roman masc, dat.sg; Svjatoslavevich masc, dat.sg. 'who slew Rededja,
in front of the army of the Kasogians,
to beatiful Roman, to the son of Svjatoslav.'
Key to gloss abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 3. | = | 3rd (person) |
| acc. | = | accusative (case) |
| adv. | = | adverb |
| aor. | = | aorist (tense) |
| conj. | = | conjunction |
| dat. | = | dative (case) |
| def. | = | definite |
| fem. | = | feminine (gender) |
| gen. | = | genitive (case) |
| impf. | = | imperfect (aspect) |
| indef. | = | indefinite |
| inf. | = | infinitive (verb form) |
| inst. | = | instrumental (case) |
| inter. | = | interrogative (mood) |
| masc. | = | masculine (gender) |
| neut. | = | neuter (gender) |
| nom. | = | nominative (case) |
| pl. | = | plural (number) |
| pron. | = | pronoun |
| ptc. | = | particle |
| refl. | = | reflexive |
| rel. | = | relative |
| sg. | = | singular (number) |
| voc. | = | vocative (case) |