Glossary

I have added a running glossary to the right side of the blog page. I excluded many common words, but it is otherwise comprehensive. I will add to it as occasion allows, since it helps me remember these words, too. Obviously, they are not in alphabetical order (I see nothing to be gained by such collation), but I have provided Japanese hiragana readings and romaji transliterations in addition to an English translation for each entry. Do alert me to any errors. Here is the first edition:

kanji - hiragana - transliteration - translation

妖精 - ようせう - yousei - fairy
女王 - じょおう - joou - queen
赤十字 - あかじゅうじ - akajuuji - red cross
騎士 - きし - kishi - knight
物語 - ものがたり - monogatari - story
真 - まこと - makoto - truth
神聖 - しんせい - shinsei - holiness
守護者 - しゅごしゃ - shugosha - guardian
汚らわし - けがらわし - kegarawashi - filthy
迷妄 - めいもう - meimou - fallacy; illusion
打ち破り - from うちやぶる - uchiyaburu - to hit
偽善 - ぎぜん - gizen - hypocrisy
陥れよう - from おとしいれる - otoshiireru - to hatch a plan and deceive someone
館 - やかた - yakata - mansion; small castle
いざなう - izanau - to tempt, lure, induce
気高い - けだかい - kedakai - sublime
野 - の - no - field
駒 - こま - koma - horse; foal (archaic)
進めていた - from すすめる - susumeru - to advance
身 - み - mi - body; oneself
固めた - from かためる - katameru - to harden
頑丈 - がんじょう - ganjou - solid; firm; stout
鎧 - よろい - yoroi - armor
銀 - ぎん - gin - silver
盾 - たて - tate - shield
幾多 - いくた - ikuta - many; numerous
血腥い - ちなまぐさい - chinamagusai - fishy; raw; smelling of fish or blood
戦場 - せんじょう - senjou - battlefield; battleground
むごい - mugoi - cruel; atrocious; merciless; inhuman; brutal
記念 - きねん - kinen - commemoration
深く - from ふかい - fukai - deep; profound
くぼんだ - from くぼむ - kubomu - to cave in, become depressed
古い - ふるい - furui - old; ancient; outmoded
打ち傷 - うちきず - uchikizu - bruise
残っていた - from のこる - nokoru - to remain, be left
武器 - ぶき - buki - weapons; arms
一度も - いちども - ichidomo - never
振るった - from ふるう - furuu - to swing, wield
猛り立つ - たけりたつ - takeritatsu - to ramp?
馬 - うま - uma - horse
止め轡 - やめくつわ - yamekutsuwa - curb, bit (for a horse)?
ままに - mamani - do as one's told
動く - うごく - ugoku - to move; to shake
大いに - おおいに - ooini - very; much; greatly; a lot of
不満 - ふまん - fuman - dissatisfaction; displeasure; discontent; complaints; unhappiness; disgruntled
馬銜 - はみ - hami - bit mouthpiece (for a horse)
苛立ち - いらだち - iradachi - irritation
泡 - あわ - awa - bubble; foam; froth
吹いていた - from ふく - fuku - to blow; to emit, spout
いかにも - ikanimo - indeed; really
凛々しい - りりしい - ririshii - gallant; brave; chivalrous; manly
武者振り - むしゃぶり - mushaburi - gallantry; prowess
馬上 - ばじょう - bajou - horseback; riding
槍試合 - そうしごう - soushigou - battle involving spears?
激しい - はげしい - hageshii - violent; vehement; intense; furious
合戦 - かっせん - kassen - battle; engagement
ふさわしい - fusawashii - appropriate
人らしく - adv. from adj. ひとらしい - hitorashii - like a decent person; human
颯爽 - さっそう - sassou - gallant; dashing
跨っていた - from またがる - matagaru - to straddle
だが - daga - but
胸当 - むねあ - munea - breastplate
主 - しゅ - shu - Jesus Christ (yes, He has His own kanji)
受難 - じゅなん - junan - suffering; agony; passion
尊い - たっとい or とうとい - tattoi or toutoi - precious; valuable; priceless; noble; exalted; sacred
形見 - かたみ - katami - memento; souvenir
血 - ち - chi - blood
十字架 - じゅうじか - juujika - crucifix; the Cross of Christ

FQ 1.1.2.1-2

だが騎士の胸当には、主の受難の尊い形見の
血の十字架がつけてあり、この主のために

daga kishi no munea ni wa, shu no junan no toutoi (?) katami no
chi no juujika ga tsukete ari, kono shu no tame ni

Seasons Greetings, my insane followers of this insane blog. I had to take time off to grade yet more exams and then relax for a bit. Today I found some time to translate the first two lines of the second stanza of the first canto of the first book, which is shown in the usual notation in the post title as it will henceforth be indicated in the posts themselves.

Let's try a translation without the aid of the original:

だが - conjunction (helpfully glossed as そして soshite, which means "and")*
騎士 - we know this one! knigget!
の - possessive particle
胸当 - breastplate, usually 胸当て according to my dictionary
に - either an indirect object, some other "dative" meaning, or I don't know (locative?)
は、- topic particle
主 - Lord (i.e. Jesus Christ)
の
受難 - suffering, agony, passion
の
尊い - annoying word pronounced either たっとい tattoi or とうとい toutoi; I have no idea which one to use here, and I have no idea how Japanese people would have any idea, either
形見 - memento
の
血 - blood
の
十字架 - crucifix (seen earlier in the argument)
が - subject particle
つけて - could be many things, possibly the て form of the verb 着ける which has about twelve meanings, few of which are synonymous (I think it's "to wear")
あり、- not sure... maybe "aru" in base 2 or whatever it's called (stem 2?)**
この - this
主 - Lord
の
ために - on behalf of, for

* actually, the note seems to say that そして was used in the 初版 or first edition (of this translation?), not that the word used here has the same meaning, so let's translate this instead as "but"

** update - I suspected this might be the て + aru form I learned about but seldom see, so I looked it up in a grammar guide to confirm. In this case, the "aru" might be in base 2 form in anticipation of a verb I haven't gotten to yet

I need to cut and paste the Japanese again to translate. You are really experiencing my process here:

だが騎士の胸当には、主の受難の尊い形見の
血の十字架がつけてあり、この主のために

But as for on the breastplate of the knight, a crucifix of blood of a holy reminder of the suffering of the Lord has been affixed, for this Lord...

The next "main verb" I can find is 輝く, かがやく, "to glitter" which doesn't seem helpful. The sentence itself doesn't end for another two lines, so we may have to wait to get the full sense here. Obviously, the meaning is something along the lines of:

But on the knight's breast emblazoned was a bloody cross, a holy reminder of the passion of Christ.

Finally, for budding Spenser fans, here is the original:

But on his brest a bloudie Crosse he bore,
The deare remembrance of his dying Lord,

Hey, I think I did pretty damn well that time! I think I'm going to reward myself by making some homemade vegetarian phở.

First stanza redux

I thought I'd take this opportunity to recap the adventure so far. The Redcrosse knight has a long way to go! Here's the entire first stanza in Spenserian, Japanese, Romaji, and my translation:

A Gentle Knight was pricking on the plaine,
Y cladd in mightie armes and siluer shielde,
Wherein old dints of deepe wounds did remaine,
The cruell markes of many a bloudy fielde;
Yet armes till that time did he neuer wield:
His angry steede did chide his foming bitt,
As much disdayning to the curbe to yield:
Full iolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt,
As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.

気高い騎士が野に駒を進めていた。
その身を固めた頑丈な鎧と銀の盾には
幾多の血腥い戦場のむごい記念の
深くくぼんだ古い打ち傷が残っていたが
武器は今まで一度も振るったことはなかった。
猛り立つ馬は、止め轡のままに動くのが
大いに不満なのか、馬銜に苛立ち、泡を吹いていた。
騎士はいかにも凛々しい武者振りで、馬上槍試合にも
激しい合戦にもふさわしい人らしく颯爽と馬に跨っていた。

kedakai kishi ga no ni koma o susumeteita.
sono mi o katameta ganjou na yoroi to gin no tate ni wa
ikuta no chinamagusai senjou no mugoi kinen no
fukaku kubonda furui uchikizu ga nokotteita ga
buki wa ima made ichido mo furutta koto wa nakatta.
takeritatsu uma wa, yamekutsuwa no mama ni ugoku no ga
ooi ni fuman na no ka, hami ni iradachi, awa o fuiteita.
kishi wa ikanimo ririshii mushaburi de, bajou soushigou (?) ni mo
hageshii kassen ni mo fusawashii hitorashiku sassou to uma ni matagatteita.

A noble knight was advancing his steed in a field.
On his body hardened by sturdy armor and silver shield
deeply dented old wounds, the cruel commemorations
of many bloody battlefields, remained, but nevertheless
till now he had never swung his weapons.
His ramping roan, as much bristling to obey the bridle
so much disgruntled by his irritating bit, spouted foam.
The truly gallant knight, seeming fit for furious fights
and knightly battles both, dashingly bestrode his horse.

I can't claim that my version is an improvement, but hopefully I've given you some sense of what the Japanese translation does with Spenser's strange English.

Twelve feet to the end

Today, rather than grading exams, I decided to finish up the first stanza. It only took me about a month. The last line of a Spenserian stanza is known as an "alexandrine." Whereas the first eight lines are ten syllables long, or five "feet" of--in this case--two (usually iambic) syllables each, the last line of the stanza, with rare exceptions, is an extra long twelve, comprising six feet. This longer line caps off the stanza while simultaneously winding us up for the next one. Here are the last two lines of the stanza in Japanese, which I have less-painstakingly-than-usual figured out how to transcribe:

騎士はいかにも凛々しい武者振りで、馬上槍試合にも
激しい合戦にもふさわしい人らしく颯爽と馬に跨っていた。

And the romaji:

kishi wa ikanimo ririshii mushaburi de, bajou soushigou (?) ni mo
hageshii kassen ni mo fusawashii hitorashiku sassou to uma ni matagatteita.

And the original English:

Full iolly knight he seemd, and faire did sitt,
As one for knightly giusts and fierce encounters fitt.

And now my attempt to retranslate:

The knight indeed by means of dignified gallantry, both for horseback riding spear-attempts and
For violent battles appropriate and honorably dashing his horse was straddling.

More simply:

The truly gallant knight, seeming fit for furious fights
and knightly battles both, dashingly bestrode his horse.

And here's the grammatical breakdown:

騎士 - "kishi" is our old friend "knight"
は - topic particle
いかにも - adverbial, meaning "indeed"
凛々しい - one of many words in this section that means "gallant" or "brave"; the 々 repeats the previous kanji
武者振り - this word also means gallant, but it's an abstract noun, so "gallantry" or "prowess"
で、- a particle that indicates either location or "by means of which" (ablative of means or instrument?)
馬上 - horseback riding
槍試合 - I have no idea how to pronounce or translate this. The first character means "spear" or "javelin," the second means "attempt," and the third, which usually means "harmony" (as in 合気道 "aikido"), is here, unbelievably, maybe, the counter for battles (!)
に - for (like a dative)
も - in this case, "both... and"
激しい - violent, vehement, intense, furious
合戦 - battle, engagement (I guess "meeting" can mean either harmony or war!)
に - for
も - see above
ふさわしい - I think this means "appropriate" but I'm not sure why it's in kana
人らしく- an adverbial form of a -rashii adjective, meaning "humane" or "honorable"
颯爽 - another "gallant" or "dashing" using 爽, which may take the prize for ugliest kanji ever
と - and
馬 - horse!
に - indirect object or other "dative" usage usually, but here it looks like a direct object... the main verb may take に since it's sort of locative/instrumental
跨っていた。- what a pain this one was... usually written 跨ぐ or 跨がる, naturally this text uses the least common 跨る form, which is here rendered in the past progressive: "was straddling"

Spenser's overuse of parallelism is probably what's driving the translators to make such liberal use of synonyms. Well, it's vocabulary-building if anything!

Finally... onward to the alexandrine!

I'm collecting holiday donations to finance the purchase of a Casio EX-word XD-SP6700 electronic dictionary. With this amazing device, the sort of which seems to be standard issue for every Japanese citizen, I can look up kanji simply by writing them onto a little pad with a stylus. Amazing! Until I get the cell phone that can identify them on sight, this will make my translating worlds easier. My current process is to go through the text figuring out the readings for each kanji and then to work out the grammar. It takes forever. Please Paypal your donations to my email address. Payment in yen not only accepted but preferred. No pounds, euros, or Icelandic kronas, please.

猛り立つ馬は、止め轡のままに動くのが
大いに不満なのか、馬銜に苛立ち、泡を吹いていた。

His angry steede did chide his foming bitt,
As much disdayning to the curbe to yield:

Lots of interesting words today. Here we go.

The first line exhibits, I think, a Japanese relative clause: "The horse (馬 uma) which was standing and angry." The verb, 猛り立つ (takeritatsu), looks like a compound of some kind. The online dictionary is unaware of it, so I presume it to be the product of poetic license. But it's "to rage" or "be fierce" plus "to stand" so... I'm not sure what to do with it. In the original, it's just "angry," but the translator here seems to want to stress the fact that the horse is chomping at the bit, as it were. OK.

Next: 止め轡 (yamekutsuwa?)

止める (yameru) usually means "to stop" and appears everywhere on Japanese street signs. Here, it seems to form another compound with the ridiculously obscure character 轡, which means "bit" (for a horse's bridle). The dictionary lists two readings, "kutsuwa" and "kutsubami," the latter of which is "obsolete" so perhaps the preferred reading here. I think 止め is being used in the sense of something "fixed" so the whole thing is just a complex noun meaning "fixed bit." Most likely, this is the Japanese translation of "curbe," an archaic English word that, according to the OED, means "A chain or strap passing under the lower jaw of a horse, and fastened to the upper ends of the branches of the bit; used chiefly for checking an unruly horse." Fine.

ままに means "do as one's told," which I infer from the dictionary entry, which indicates that it's usually written in kana (there are kanji).

動くの looks like a verb, 動く (ugoku) "to move," converted into a noun with the "no" particle. The が (ga) at the end is probably a "but" conjunction but could also be an intensive topic particle or a regular subject particle. You are seeing my work here, so we shall see.

大いに不満なのか (ooi ni fuman na no ka): This is more or less something about someone (i.e. the horse) being very much discontented. Maybe this is the word being used for "angry" in Spenser's version and the weird word 止め轡 is something like "yielding to the bit." Everything is always backwards when translating from Japanese to English, right? Hmm. What is the "no ka" doing here? It might indicate an "as much as" comparison with the preceding "ga," but I'm sure sure. Let's move on.

馬銜に苛立ち (hami ni iradachi): "Hami" or "hame" means bit, also, or horse's mouthpiece. I'm going with "hami" because it rhymes with the obsolete "kutsubami" above, and I am going to presume both an etymological relationship and that, linguistically, words tend to get less complicated over time. What the hell. So, "iradachi" meaning "irritation," we have here something about the bit causing irritation to the horse. "Iradachi" could also be a verb in Base-2 form... This is difficult.

泡を吹いていた (awa o fuiteita): This is an easy one. "Awa" is "bubble, foam, or froth" and "fuku," here in its て-form and in past progressive tense, means "was blowing or spitting."

Let me try to translate the whole phrase:

As for his ramping roan--as much (from) obeying the motion of the bridle
(Being) so much disgruntled, irritated by his bit--he spouted foam.

I know I'm pushing it with "ramping roan," but at least it's archaic and rhymes and parallels "spouted foam." I'll try to be more poetic/less literal:

His ramping roan, as much bristling to obey the bridle
So much disgruntled by his irritating bit, spouted foam.

The Japanese switches the lines, so I do, too. In principle, I might not, but this is still more a literal-translation experiment than anyything else. Besides, the original poem is already English. Don't forget that what I'm doing is ludicrous. That's 月気が変 in Japanese ("moon crazy" -- I just made it up). Next time, the actual alexandrine for sure, maybe.

Still working on it

End of semester duties have kept me uncommonly busy, but I have not forsaken the Redcrosse Knight. Stay tuned, fans of Japanese editions of 16th century English epic poetry!