Viking Tones #7 I Dreamt me a Dream on Falster-Fife

Traditional Danish - I Dreamt me a Dream
Musical Instrument - Falster-fife

From Wikipedia:
"Drømte mig en drøm i nat" is the oldest known secular song in the Nordic countries. It is written in Old Danish and is included in Codex Runicus, a transcript of Scanian Law, as a final note written in runes, like the law itself, and an old type of musical notes. Drømde mik en drøm i nat um silki ok ærlik pæl

The meaning of the words silki and ærlik pæl is obscure. Common interpretations in the literature are variants of "last night I had a dream about silk and a good fur coat" and "last night I had a dream about silk and expensive cloth". However, since the song appears to be written down by the same hand that must have spent days of scribbling the runes of the law on the parchment, it would be more natural if the lyrics of the song had something to do with the content of the document. One would expect something about law and order, rather than a luxurious life. Interpretations that fit better with this expectation is "tonight I had a dream about justice and fair play" or "today I had a dream about equality and honest measure".

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Viking
• Tones
• Folk
• Falster
• Fife
• Dreamt
• me
• Dream
• Drømte
• mig
• en
• Drøm
• nat
• Traditional
• Danish
• Instrumental
• Codex
• Runicus
• Scanian
• Law