Vårkväde: Spring Song.

A Heathen song celebrating spring.  

An attempt at translation from Swedish: 

“Vanirs lord and king of Elves,Sap is rising in the tree trunk, Frey stands proud and spring time young, Hail thou warm time, Lust and life from Sunnas light,Sap is rising in the tree trunk, Gifts of Gods to mankinds homes, Hail thou warm time, Song of birds and mankinds choirs, Sap is rising in the tree trunk, Born is that which never dies, Hail thou warm time, Hail to Aering Hail to Frith, Sap is rising in the tree trunk, Hail to this our custom is, Hail thou warm time, “

Needs some tweeking to fit better with the melody, but..

Music From The Time Of the Crusades (2 of 2)

This is a genuine 800 year old Troubadour song, arranged here for solo lyre, & written by Walther Von Der Vogelweide called “Palästinalied”. Here are some interesting details about the song from Wikipedia:

“Palästinalied was written in connection with the Fifth Crusade (1217-1221). Although it is a political-religious propaganda song describing a crusade into the Holy Land, it is atypical for a song of this kind in that it also recognizes the claim of all Abrahamic religions to the Holy Land, although finally asserting that the Christian cause is the “right one” in the last strophe:

Kristen juden und die heiden 
jehent daz dis ir erbe sî 
got müesse ez ze rehte scheiden 
dur die sîne namen drî 
al diu werlt diu strîtet her 
wir sîn an der rehten ger. 
reht ist daz er uns gewer 

This strophe can be translated as follows: Christians, Jews and Heathens claim this to be their heritage. God has to assign it in the right way, for His three names. The whole world is coming battling here - our cause is right. It is right that He is granting it to us.”

Despite all the pointless religious intolerance (as the words to this song certainly testify!), and the sheer bloody brutality of the Crusades, at least they resulted some amazing, utterly timeless melodies, like this! 

Music From The Time of the Crusades (1 of 2)