The Lament of Deor

“Weland, the strong man, had experience of persecution; he suffered a lot. Sorrow and longing were his companions, along with exile in the cold winter; he experienced misfortunes after Nithad laid constraints upon him, supple bonds of sinew on a better man.

That went away, this also may.

In Beadchild’s mind her brothers’ death was not as grieving as her own situation, when she realized she was pregnant; she couldn’t fathom the outcome.

That went away, this also may.

Many of us have heard of the geat’s love for Maethild passed all bounds, that his love robbed him of his sleep.

That went away, this also may.

For thirty years, Theodric ruled the stronghold of the Maerings; which has become common knowledge.

That went away, this also may.

We have learned of Eormanic’s ferocious disposition; a cruel man, he held dominion in the kingdom of the Goths. Many men sat, full of sorrow, anticipating trouble and constantly praying for the fall of his country.

That went away, this also may.

If a man sits in despair, deprived of joy, with gloomy thoughts in his heart; it seems to him that there is no end to his suffering. Then he should remember that the wise Lord follows different courses throughout the earth; to many he grants glory, certainty, yet, misery to some. I will say this about myself, once I was a minstrel of the Heodeningas, my Lord’s favorite. My name was Deor. For many years I had an excellent office and a gracious Lord, until now Heorrenda, a skillful man, has inherited the land once given to me by the protector of warriors.

That went away, this also may.”

-The Lament of Deor, the Exeter Book

There’s one thing my mum says that lasts forever, it’s the phrase “…this too shall pass.” I read the story of the 25 year old Bollywood actress who killed herself because her boyfriend, a 21 year old man, dumped her…the last straw in a series of heart-wounding acts. I was truly saddened not because I felt her life was wasted over something that doesn’t seem so major, I just felt quite sad because I can’t imagine what it feels like to feel so trapped in depression, to sink so deeply into sadness and to feel so utterly and completely alone that you feel that you have no choice but to give up.

In Nigeria we say, “No condition is permanent.” Nothing lasts forever, and that’s what this poem refers to. We feel so unique and separate in oursuffering but you are never, ever alone. And if you can just hang in there, there is every chance that you will make it out on the other side a much better version of yourself. That is the purpose of pain.

“Deor” (or “The Lament of Deor”) is an Old English poem found in the late 10th century collection[1] the Exeter Book. The poem consists of the lament of the scop Deor, who lends his name to the poem, which was given no formal title; modern scholars do not actually believe Deor to be the author of this poem.

In the poem, Deor’s lord has replaced him. Deor mentions various figures from Germanic mythology and reconciles his own troubles with the troubles these figures faced, ending each section with the refrain “that passed away, so may this.”

The poem Deor is a lament by its namesake about his exile from his life of luxury, respect, and popularity. He compares his current predicament to the predicaments of figures from Anglo-Saxon folklore. Among the miseries and dismal fates that Deor runs through are those of Theodoric the Great, Ermanaric of the Goths, the mythological smith Wayland, and Wayland’s victim Beadohilde (the daughter of Wayland’s captor; he raped her and she finds herself with child). Each suffered an undeserved fate, and in each case “that passed away with respect to it, and so may this.” But this refrain can point at two very different statements: first, that remedy came about, one way or another, in each situation, or, alternatively, that the continuous flow of time (a favourite Anglo-Saxon topic) erases all pain (though not necessarily healing all wounds).

Background facts culled from Wikipedia.com