Ormulum Translations

On this page, you’ll be able to find the editions of my Ormulum Twitter translations. I’ve changed some words, punctuation, etc., based on rereading my tweets outside of the Twitter 140-characters context, so these translations are a little different, perhaps even a bit expanded. The idea is to make available complete translations of the separate parts of the Ormulum after I’ve tweeted them–the Twitter project makes sure that I stay on top of actually translating. This is a sort of repository that will allow anyone who wants to do a quick read of, say Homily 1, the ability to do so.

Once I’ve figured out how, I’m going to code the translations and link to GitHub to make data mining and other super awesome digital things possible. I’m still new to the world and possibilities of the digital humanities, but I’m a firm believer in the idea that we go into academia to make knowledge and share our knowledge with others. That means making our information, even if it’s not technically “knowledge” yet, available as quickly as possible. Sure, I’d like to eventually make a facing-page edition and translation of the Ormulum, but this is the first step towards that end. Plus, I can fix any mistakes you wonderful people might find, and I’m happy to take suggestions and comments as this continues to grow!

A note on my translation policy: I’m rendering Orm’s verse homilies into basic prose in order to get a readily available Modern English translation out as quickly as possible. At some point, it may be fun, not to mention worthwhile, to try to replicate his verse in Modern English. His stringent use of the 15-syllable septenary, which he makes work by adding many an “and” and “that” (as well as unnecessary but quirky suffixes), will inevitably be a challenge for modern verse. But it’s a challenge I’m willing to meet in due time! For now, please enjoy the prose translations.

To find the translations, just choose the one you want from the drop box in the menu bar!

#OrmLOVE forever.