Richard Rolle has hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head. That is exactly my experience praying the Divine Office. Thank you for re-opening my eyes to the beauty of the Psalms.
A wonderful reminder of the treasures of the psalter. Loved speaking the Middle English out loud, and when I didn't think about what it meant, it made sense.
Yes, Rolle's Middle English is relatively approachable for speakers of modern English, and you're right, Middle English in general has a mysterious way of making its meaning known if you let yourself hear and "feel" the words and phrases without focusing too much on the details.
As far from an expert as I can be in old English, and although I acknowledge the transliteration, I understand this to mean "in praise of Jesus Christ."
Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you mentioned this, because it comes with an interesting philological story. You are correct that "in louynge of ihū crist" can mean "in praise (or praising) of Jesus Christ," but by translating it as "loving" I maintain the close connection between (and overlapping meaning of) these two words in Middle English.
The Old English word "lof" means "praise" or "song of praise" and was spelled lofe, loue, luffe, etc. in Middle English. It probably comes from the same Germanic root as Old English "lufe," which was spelled lofe, loue, lov, luffe, etc. in Middle English and is now "love" in modern English. It appears that in Middle English, the similarity of the words contributed to a stronger semantic association between these two concepts, which are quite closely related (especially when the object of the love/praise is God), but which feel more distinct to us because our primary words for them ("love" vs. "praise") are very different.
Furthermore, the Old English verb "lofian" (to praise) essentially merged in many Middle English texts with the Old English verb "lufian" (to love); it is a known difficulty among scholars that in Middle English religious texts, "love" meaning "to praise" and "love" meaning "to love" cannot always be distinguished (perhaps because the intended meaning was not either but both!).
So again, "praising" would be a perfectly good translation here, but for modern readers it would weaken the sound and meaning associations present in the Middle English version, and it wouldn't flow as nicely into the passionate sentiments expressed in the next sentence: "They ... kindle his will with the fire of love, making him hot and burning within, and fair and lovely in the eyes of Christ."
It has a texture like sculpted sandstone, and stays close to the earth...
Yes! Hebrew is what the earth would sound like if it could speak.
That's how I feel about Hebrew but I've never put it into words quite that way. I'm going to remember that sentence.
Richard Rolle has hit the proverbial nail squarely on the head. That is exactly my experience praying the Divine Office. Thank you for re-opening my eyes to the beauty of the Psalms.
Truly, Father, the Psalms are a singular gift from the good God, and it is our great privilege to be ever re-discovering their wonders.
Thank you for making it easier to understand the Psalms!!!
A wonderful reminder of the treasures of the psalter. Loved speaking the Middle English out loud, and when I didn't think about what it meant, it made sense.
Yes, Rolle's Middle English is relatively approachable for speakers of modern English, and you're right, Middle English in general has a mysterious way of making its meaning known if you let yourself hear and "feel" the words and phrases without focusing too much on the details.
"in louynge of ihū crist"
As far from an expert as I can be in old English, and although I acknowledge the transliteration, I understand this to mean "in praise of Jesus Christ."
Thank you for the comment! I'm glad you mentioned this, because it comes with an interesting philological story. You are correct that "in louynge of ihū crist" can mean "in praise (or praising) of Jesus Christ," but by translating it as "loving" I maintain the close connection between (and overlapping meaning of) these two words in Middle English.
The Old English word "lof" means "praise" or "song of praise" and was spelled lofe, loue, luffe, etc. in Middle English. It probably comes from the same Germanic root as Old English "lufe," which was spelled lofe, loue, lov, luffe, etc. in Middle English and is now "love" in modern English. It appears that in Middle English, the similarity of the words contributed to a stronger semantic association between these two concepts, which are quite closely related (especially when the object of the love/praise is God), but which feel more distinct to us because our primary words for them ("love" vs. "praise") are very different.
Furthermore, the Old English verb "lofian" (to praise) essentially merged in many Middle English texts with the Old English verb "lufian" (to love); it is a known difficulty among scholars that in Middle English religious texts, "love" meaning "to praise" and "love" meaning "to love" cannot always be distinguished (perhaps because the intended meaning was not either but both!).
So again, "praising" would be a perfectly good translation here, but for modern readers it would weaken the sound and meaning associations present in the Middle English version, and it wouldn't flow as nicely into the passionate sentiments expressed in the next sentence: "They ... kindle his will with the fire of love, making him hot and burning within, and fair and lovely in the eyes of Christ."