Codex Runicus / Drømde mik en drøm i nat

The only known complete manuscript written in runes is also the source of the earliest known (non-religious) song from Scandinavia, which remains popular today.
Dr. Jackson Crawford is Instructor of Nordic Studies and Nordic Program Coordinator at the University of Colorado Boulder (formerly UC Berkeley and UCLA). He is a historical linguist and an experienced teacher of Old Norse, Modern Icelandic, and Norwegian. FAQs: • Video
Jackson Crawford’s translation of The Poetic Edda is available now: www.amazon.com... and his translation of The Saga of the Volsungs with The Saga of Ragnar Lothbrok is forthcoming in August 2017: www.amazon.com...
Jackson Crawford's Patreon page: / norsebysw

[@JacksonCrawford]

This is the video that's been going around from that class I taught at UCLA 4 years ago: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rZTRZWtoirqnZ80 But this is a better recording of the same performance: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2icnHx9ocmBjsU

[@DJTheMetalheadMercenary]

This is all awesome sir, I look forward to more videos!

[@theinternet5310]

Bojan Djordjic is teaching Old Norse at the university... Didn't see that one coming.

[@jimmisrensen8331]

I must say - you really master speaking norwegian/danish - I´m danish and of course I notice your english/american accent but you nail it so darn well! And thank you for your interest in this subject!!!! It means a lot that it doesn´t disappear into oblivion!

[@diegobenavente5433]

"I once had a soul." Oh god...I love you

[@MissKellyBean]

Haha yeah that made me giggle too :-D

[@thorunns.craftstudio]

me as well!

[@katsmediocrelife9694]

"I once had a soul" I laughed so loudly I scared the cat. Thoroughly enjoy your work and appreciate your humor.

[@beejaybertelsen]

In the 50s when I was a child, this tune was used as a pause signal on the danish radio. I live in Skåne but grew up in both Denmark and Sweden. My danish grandmother had her own lyrics to the song, it went like this: "Kom og sæt dig ned hos mig og tag en god cigar", Com and sit down with me and have a good cigar".

[@TheCimbrianBull]

Mr. Crawford, I came by your channel merely by coincidence. As a Dane with a long interest in history your channel is a treasure to behold. Keep up the good work! :-)

[@losthor1zon]

"You Tube is a place that's designed for trolls." LOL! But you have to admit... dealing with trolls is an age old Scandinavian tradition. :)

[@ladyalfhildrforestofvioletmist]

"I think the last time anyone gave someone the benefit of the doubt on the internet, the rivers flowed uphill for a day and the mirror had no bitter truths to tell for 24 hours" Sounds like a folk tale to me alright! Haha :)

[@lakrids-pibe]

Jötunn conspiracy confirmed! Surt stå i det.

[@Skjalden]

You are great at pronouncing Danish, many have problems with Æ,Ø,Å :)

[@shardanr.4627]

Dr. Crawford, in a few concise remarks you are able to sum up the histrionics that is the Internet, makes me chuckle every time

[@jonko82]

You rock, Dr. Crawford!

[@Finkeldinken]

Hey, your pronunciation of the modern Danish 'r' is very good! I think you're only the second American I've heard do it that well and the other one has been living here for forty years.

[@22RH544]

ENG: I dreamt myself a dream this night, NL: Ik droomde mij een droom vannacht, NO: Jeg drømte meg en drøm i natt, AFR: Ek het gedroom my 'n droom gisteraand......all so similar even across all this distance and time.

[@Wuldrian]

Thank you for covering this Dr. Crawford, this is very informative yet succinct.

[@michaelantipin5095]

"I once had a soul" is enormously funny with that deadpan expression of yours at the moment of saying it. :)

[@Neph23]

Being someone who shared that video specifically for the song, this update is quite appreciated. Thank you.

[@notnavonnam]

You even have Scandinavian humor

[@lizarrd1]

I've seen most of his videos, but this is the first time I've seen his comedy come out, this was awesome!

[@daveh3997]

The hair, beard, and "Meet me in Valhalla" t-shirt. Three or four lifetimes ago, indeed! Well, Old Hoss, you're back in the Rockies again--the closest thing North America has to Jotunheimen. Look over your shoulder. You might just see your soul catching up with you.

[@MissKellyBean]

I liked the lyrics of the linked song, as well as the performance - I will repeat here what I commented there: A lovely performance! The ladies did a beautiful job, and might I add, the lyrics are so...well, the best I can put it is, "at peace with the melancholy of entropy?" Not freedom from the storm, but peace within it? I don't know how to express it well, but I really like it. Thanks for sharing, I enjoyed this.

[@gid3on]

Tak for denne video! Det var virkelig interessant at høre en anden fortolkning af sangen. I Danmark har den nedskrevne melodi været brugt i mange år som pause signal i radioen. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gambeYOahL-Lmdk Efter freden i 1945 blev den meget populær, og der blev komponeret / skrevet en udvidelse som bliver brugt endnu: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j2GtaWaBdrRlgrM De bedste hilsner fra Danmark

[@Vikingjack1]

Big fan of yours and happy to give you the benefit for your day of fun. I enjoyed your expansion on the lyrics as well LOL :)

[@HoodedCrow100]

This is how I discovered your KZbin channel, the music video came up on Facebook history page I follow and I've been hooked ever since! Keep up the amazing teaching.

[@Yngve-Freyr-Njordsson]

Bravo, Dr. Crawford!

[@mrslothman03]

Thanks for the clarification!

[@marks.3198]

I hope you take this in the best possible way, Dr. Crawford, but you look so much like a younger Kevin Spacey with better hair. That "I once had a soul", with the delivery, reminded me so much of him.

[@thefnaffan2]

Awesome, thank you for sharing

[@geirlinnerud3973]

Benefit of doubt when one can tear down a renowned specialist, making one look like somewhat of a specialist oneself? I think not! Thanks for the run down of the use of alphabets and the manuscript.

[@hdhhdfm]

Hi I'm a bit late with this comment I guess but I think the reason the song/video got more attention last summer was because Aarhus (Denmark) was the European capital of culture and they used the song as a theme song throughout the year. :)

[@G7892]

Hi found your channel recently and I do enjoy it. I am a dilettante in many things. I would appreciate if you have the time during your move if you would give me your thoughts on the 13th warrior and also the so called Viking Prayer. “Lo, there do I see my father. Lo, there do I see my mother, and my sisters, and my brothers. Lo, there do I see the line of my people, Back to the beginning! Lo, they do call to me. They bid me take my place among them, In the halls of Valhalla! Where the brave may live forever!” if it would be appropriate I would also like your old norse translation. I will continue to follow even if this request is frivolous :)

[@saatvikam]

Old Norse translation: The Viking Funeral Ibn Fadlan Saw kzbin.info/www/bejne/al6aZaGQj9B0l7s

[@jaysears7585]

You mean internet trolls don't know more than university professors?!? 😉

[@TehMastere]

Nevermind the haters! Excellent danish by the way!

[@TacticalSquirrel]

My advice, if you feel that those who criticize you on social media are no one but trolls, then don't waste to much energy in addressing them. If you talk about them on your videos, you give them validation and they'll continue to troll you.

[@thomasivarsson1291]

You cover a lot. I was not expecting "Codex Runicus" to be mentoned here. Excellent pronunciation of "Skåne"!

[@fipeke]

as a resident from skåne, this song and script somehow brings a lot of pride to me

[@Pandaemoni]

It sounds like you have since recovered some of your soul, which is nice.

[@daithimcbuan5235]

It isn't the first reimagining of the song, and likely won't be the last either. There's nothing wrong with creating ones own variant. The variant on Wikipedia (Norwegian version) is vaguely reminiscent of Herr Mannelig.

[@nukaemillange6371]

Is it "drømte mig en drøm i nat" in the title? As a Greenlandic person who speaks fluent Danish and have a really high interest in old norse, it's awesome

[@sunshinesilverarrow5292]

Thank you. 🌞

[@cmlewan]

A bit of nitpicking, but Skåne didn't 'belong' to Denmark during the Middle Ages. It WAS Denmark, one part of it. For practical purposes, Lund was the capital of Denmark. The second time, you got it right, "part of" is fine. Like eg. Jylland. Making the song into Old Norse is a funny twist. But if had been into Old Swedish, I wouldn't have been so amused. :-)

[@krystlesnook9424]

I wouldn't even worry or think twice about the trolls or the ones who misinterpret things. I'm trolled almost on a daily basis for being fat and ugly (??? I'm not fat...I don't think hehehe) but I nevermind anyone. Those sad trolls are only horrid to people because there's something wrong with themselves. I love your videos and from a völva I think you're awfully wyrd and should never cease to gift us with your treasures of your mind, experience and knowledge!

[@newworldlubbock]

OMG!!! I just watched that video! It was great, and your hair was so long!!!

[@RickMitchellProvenanceAndRoots]

I like the song! Don't give the haters any time. But, one thing about that video - the hair! Must have been your hippie phase? LOL

[@rubbedibubb5017]

Could you make a video about quirky subject like ”dreymdi mik” with oblique subject?

[@andersmansfeldt3110]

Hello! In the lyrics (in Codex Runicus) the p in pæl is written with something that reminds more of an latin K or R instead of the dotted B that I would use to represent P. Is/was this a common way to write P?

[@Saint_nobody]

_I once had a soul_ lol. you're not Ginger now good sir, so don't be so down on yourself. cheers.

[@vp4744]

"I once had a soul..." could be the start of a nice song.

[@נדב_חומסקי]

Very interesting!

[@lakrids-pibe]

"Drømte mig en drøm i nat" was used as a jingle by the danish radio (DR) for most of the 20th century. They had a mechanical xylophone with a very beautiful sound. You can se and hear it in this clip: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqTSlYaXepuSpqM (Pausesignal, Danmarks Radio 1981)

[@LearnItLiveItLoveItTheHavamal]

Mr Crawford. I’m having hard time finding the Codex Runicus English translation.

[@0000000Lara]

I have a lot to catch up- At least your videos are not too long which makes it easier to stay focused.

[@billybilodeau1991]

Trolls!! They do exist!

[@ashtarbalynestjar8000]

2:26 Scandinavia and the World

[@thewildchiro]

Do you have any videos about trolls in Norse culture?

[@cosmasindico]

I once had a soul. Gotta be the tenure process.

[@ostrichking6]

LINK TO THE VIDEO PLEASE

[@Tina06019]

Oh people just like flaming......yuck....I suppose there are more trolls on the internet than under the bridges of old Northern Europe.

[@siggesaltens2663]

The codex runicus does NOT come from SKÅNE.. It comes from DENMARK, and it is a collection of laws, DEALING with SKÅNE SKÅNE was DANISH from the beginning of time registered, untill 1658, when the swedes gained the upper hand

[@robpetoletti826]

I once had a soul. 😁😁😁

[@mjackstewart]

That looks like black notation.

[@vp4744]

Interesting to note how Old Norse lyrics quickly turn to morbid themes. Even modern Icelandic singers of pop and rock revert to such themes even for upbeat songs. Just a random observation unsupported by any real analysis.

[@omega1231]

Mostly because alot of songs were meant to tell an actual story of something that happend, or a cautionary tale, we had this "tradition" in Denmark up until the early sixties, childrens songs about small girls getting lured with peaches only to get stabbed to death and put in a sack, which was an actual news story aswell. Though i don't know about old norse lyricism being morbid, more like violent in a valiant way, though later Scandinavian folk songs were definently morbid like "de to søstre" about a jealous sister who kicks her younger sister into a lake, where her corpse is found by two travelling musicians that use her body parts to craft a harp, only to get invited to play at the jealous sisters wedding where the harp tells the story of the younger sisters death, now that's morbid.

[@PalleRasmussen]

Filming a teacher teaching, without their consent, is illegal. Also; Skåne is Danish and we shall take it back ;-)

[@jankalukacova3360]

I don't if it's just me, but I don't like your videos for one reason and it's that they are too monotonous, you are speaking whole video with the same "voice", if I can call it like that. If was at class and you were the lecturer here, I am sure that I would fall asleep. Maybe it's just a mental stuck that I wanna lie in bed while I wanna watch video that will do it's job to get into my head easily and I don't wanna fully concentrate on it. I am sure that you know A LOT about Norse mythology and stuff aroud it, but I think that here on youtube should be vidoes more exciting and interesting.

[@NickCybert]

I get what you're saying. However, Dr. Crawford is making videos about such niche subjects, I'm thankful he's willing to make them at all.