Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Middle English Now here is something interesting. I slept very deeply last night, dreamed of the early days of the revolution, and awoke with the ability to speak Middle English.  No, not Old English  -- hardly anyone can speak that.  Middle English.  How do I know this?  Well, Raul is a reader, you know, and he has been reading a paperback copy of this guy Chaucer's Canterbury Tales for some time now.  He left his copy here a couple of  days ago when he was out here at the estate having drinks with me and some of our associates. Well, on with the story.  I had my cup of coffee that I always have in the morning, and just happened to pick up the book lying on a table, and as I was thumbing through the pages (There weren't many pictures), I found I could read the darn thing!   Holy Mother of God, I could read it!  Now this is amazing because to tell the truth I have always had trouble with English, Modern English that is. Of course, I do not care if I speak English or not.  I always have my translators.  (One of them is editing this note.)  But to be able to suddenly and without training read from a language many hundreds of years old -- well, I do not know how to express my amazement. Why this happened I do not know, but it is for a reason this I am sure of.  I will definitely have more to say in the near future.  For now, here is a brief passage from the Bible (New Testament) that shows Middle English and Modern English translations, just to give you an idea of what is going on here.  I hope you enjoy it. Comments welcome. And it is don, aftirward Jesus made iourne bi cites & castelis prechende & euangelisende þe rewme of god, & twelue wiþ hym & summe wymmen þat weren helid of wicke spiritis & sicnesses, marie þat is clepid maudeleyn, of whom seuene deuelis wenten out & Jone þe wif off chusi procuratour of eroude, & susanne & manye oþere þat mynystreden to hym of her facultes     "And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, and certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, and Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance."    - Translation of Luke 8.1-3 from the New Testament       from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_English 10:25:39 AM

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