6.5. The Cunningsburgh phrase ("Myrk in e Liora")

[Hnolt]

Norn:

Myrk in e Liora, Luce in e Liunga, Tim in e Guest in e geungna

Variant from Yell:
Mə'rka lōra, lestra liŋga, tämra gεstra gɔŋgəra

Old Norse:

Myrkt er í ljóra, ljóst er í lyngi, tími er at gestr(inn) gengr.

English:

It's dark in the Chimney, but it's light thro' the Heaven, it's still time for the stranger to be gone.

http://nornlanguage.x10.mx/index.php?shettxt/65cunn_phrase

[Kråka]

Hmmmm... Well, I tried to understand the sentence with my knowledge of Norwegian, and I guess the literal English translation would be something like : Dark in is Chimney, Light in is Heaven, Time in is Guest in is gone...

Well, I need some help to understand the reason why the "in is" structure is repeated so often (I guess it's some kind of leitmotif, correct me if I'm wrong) and what is the meaning of this structure? I think I understand the frist two parts, but the last one about the Guest.... wow...

[Hnolt]

I think you don't have to rely on English here too much. The part "in" is most likely the Old Norse article '-inn', as in gestrinn < gestr 'guest'.

[Kråka]

I relied on English because it is easier to understand a structure if it is explained in a language you understand. So, may you please help me understand the structure of the second part of the sentence? And what led you to translate it as you did?

[Hrafn]

is it common in the spelling to seperate the article from the word?

[Kråka]

Oh... so basically, the literal translation of the first part would be "Darkness is in Chimney, Light is in Heaven" right? The prepositions are not necessary in Norn?

[Hnolt]

This is not my translation, it was presented by Jakob Jakobsen based on the Old Norse adage. I just quoted it as it is. What spelling rules are you talking about whereas Norn was a nonliterate language and was only written down by people who didn't speak it?

[Àdhamh]

luaidhear /ɫuijər/: chimney (liora)
(luaidhean : ashes)

-the common Gaelic word before the English word 'chimney' was Gaelicised into simileir

[Hnolt]

[Àdhamh]

Yes, it certainly is. I'm finding more and more Norse that seems to have seeped into the Argyll hinterland....