Teutoburg Forest - Song in Proto-Germanic and Latin | The Skaldic Bard

By popular demand, here’s a song I’ve been working on for a good while, this time about the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (otherwise known as the Varian Disaster) in Proto-Germanic to represent the Germanic tribes on one side, and Classical Latin to represent the Romans on the other. Music, lyrics and performance by The Skaldic Bard and the glorious Lady Skald.

The battle is well known as one of the worst military disasters in Roman history. The man at the heart of it all was a Germanic warrior, Arminius (I’ve rendered this as “Hermann” as per tradition, but he may have had a different name in Germanic), who had been captured early in his life by the Romans and had grown up in the Roman system with citizenship and equestrian rank. This meant that he was familiar with Roman tactics and, crucially, weaknesses. Clearly his heart was still with his tribesfolk, as he would exploit these weaknesses and his trusted position to inflict a massacre against the Romans.

In September, 9 AD, Arminius convinced the Roman general Varus that a local uprising needed attention. Varus marched three legions and auxiliaries into heavily forested, marshy country in northwestern Germany. With the Romans unable to form into their usual robust battle lines and on unfamiliar, unforgiving terrain, the Germans sprang their trap and unleashed terror upon the legions. Most of the army was annihilated. Realising that defeat and a grim fate awaited, Varus fell upon his own sword.

I’ve written the Proto-Germanic sections in alliterative verse as per Germanic style. Please bear in mind that the language used here is entirely reconstructed and so takes an extremely large pinch of salt, particularly with regards to collocations and idiom. However, I’ve done my honest best to ensure that it is reasonably authentic based on my knowledge of Gothic, Old English, Old Norse, and other old Germanic languages. The alphabet used here to represent the Germanic is the Elder Futhark, as this is the oldest known Germanic alphabet (though as I say, Proto Germanic is not attested).

Most of the Latin is taken directly from the texts of Tacitus and Velleius Paterculus describing this disaster, with some adaptations and some original by myself.

I’ve tried to create a dark atmosphere in this one to reflect the brutality of the event from the Roman perspective. I performed the deep chanting in Germanic to evoke the terror of the gloomy forest coming to life and what the cacophony of Germanic warhorns and warcries could have felt like to the vulnerable Romans. The music is entirely modern, just played on some old instruments.

I do not use AI in any of my music or songwriting. I apologise in advance for any mistakes, should there be any.

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Lyrics
(Proto Germanic)
ᚹᚨᛚᚦᚢᛉ × ᚹᚱᛟᛏᛁᛉ × ᚱᛁᚾᛞᛟ
Walþuz, Wrōtiz, Rindō

ᛗᛁᚺᛊᛏᚨᛉ × ᛊᚲᚨᛞᚹᛟᛉ × ᚠᚢᚱᚺᛏᛁ
Mihstaz, Skadwōz, Furhtį̄

ᚺᚨᛁᛚᚨᛉ × ᚺᚨᚱᛃᚨᛗᚨᚾ
Hailaz Harjamann

ᛚᚨᛁᛞᛁ × ᚦᛖᚢᛞᛟ × ᚦᛁᚾᛟ
Laidī þeudǭ þīnǭ

ᛖᚲᚨ × ᚲᛁᚾᚦᚨ × ᚲᛁᚾᛞᛁᚾᚨᚲᚢᚾᛞᚨ ×
Eka, kinþą kindinakundą,
ᚹᚨᚱᚦ × ᚢᛉ × ᚺᛁᚢᚱᛁᛃᚨᛗᛗᚨᛁ × ᚺᚨᛁᛗᚨᛁ ×
warþ uz hiurijammai haimai
ᚺᚨᚱᛞᛁᛃᚨᛁᛗᛁᛉ × ᚺᚨᚾᛞᚢᛗᛁᛉ × ᚺᚨᛒᚨᚾᚨᛉ ×
hardijaimiz handumiz habanaz.
ᛁᚾ × ᚺᚢᚷᛁᚺᚨᛚᛟᛗᚨᛉ × ᚦᚨᛁᛉᛟ × ᚦᚱᚨᚹᛟᛞᛟ × ᚦᛖᚢᛞᛟ
In hugihallōmaz þaizǫ̂ þrawōdǭ þeudǭ.

ᚱᚢᛗᛟᚾᛁᛉ × ᚱᛁᛞᚨᚾᛞᛁ
Rūmōnīz rīdandi
ᚦᛖᚢᛞᛟᛉ × ᚦᛖᚢᛏᚨᚾᛞᛁ
Þeudôz þeutandi
ᚹᚨᛚᚦᚢᛉ × ᚹᚨᚲᚾᛟᚦᛁ
Walþuz waknōþi
ᚹᛁᛒᛟ × ᚹᚨᛁᚾᛟᚾᚦᛁ
Wībō wainōnþi

(Latin)
Spes incesserat dissidere hostem
in Arminium ac Segestem.
Segnitia ducis in occasionem
sceleris usus est.
Iam​ fata consiliis praevalebant
omnemque animi Vari aciem praestrinxerant.
Varus mediam Germaniam ingressus
velut inter viros pacis securus.

In saltu Teutoburgiensi,
Romanis silvis paludibusque inclusis,
arbores susurrare ac gemere coeperunt.

(Proto Germanic)
ᛏᛁᚹᚨᛉ × ᚺᛁᛚᛞᛁ × ᛒᚨᚾᛟ
Tīwaz, Hildiz, Banô

ᚠᚢᛚᚲᚨ × ᚠᚨᚺᛏ × ᚠᚢᚾᛖ × ᚨᚾᚨ × ᚠᚨᚾᛃᚨᛗᚨᛉ ×
ᚠᚢᚱᚺᛏᛁ × ᚠᛁᛃᚨᚾᛞ × ᚠᚢᛚᛚᛁᛞᛖ × ᚠᚢᚱᚺᛁᚦᚨ
Fulką faht funē ana fanjamaz.
Furhtį̄ fijandǫ̂ fullidē furhiþą.

ᚹᚨᛁᚾᚨᚷᚨᚾᛁᛉ × ᚹᚨᛚᚺᛟᛉ × ᚹᚢᚱᛞᚢᚾ × ᚹᚨᛁᚦᛁᛞᚨᛁ ×
ᚹᛁᚲᚹᚢᚾ × ᛁᚾ × ᚹᚨᛚᚦᚢ × ᚹᛁᚷᚨᚾᛟ
Wainaganiz walhōz wurdun waiþidai.
Wikwun in walþų wiganǫ̂.

ᛊᚢᛗᚨᛁ × ᛊᛚᛟᚷᚢᚾ × ᛊᛖᚲ × ᛊᛖᛚᛒᚨᚾᛉ × ᛊᚹᛖᚱᛞᚨᛗᛁᛉ ×
ᛊᚹᛁᚠᛏᚨᚾᛟ × ᛊᚹᚢᛚᛏᛁ × ᛊᛟᚲᛁᛃᚨᚾᛞᛁᛉ
Sumai slōgun sek selbanz swerdamiz,
swiftanǭ swultį sōkijandiz.

ᚺᚨᚱᛃᚨᛗᚨᚾᛟ × ᚺᚱᛟᚦᛁᚷᛟ × ᚺᛖᚺᚱᛟᛈ ×
ᚺᚨᛚᚢᚺ × ᚺᚨᚦᚢᚺᚢᚱᚾᚨᛗᛁᛉ × ᚺᚨᛁᛚᛟ × ᚺᚢᛚᛏᚨ
Harjamannô hrōþīgô hehrōp
halluh haþuhurnamiz hultą hailô.

(Latin)
Vari corpus semiustum
hostilis​ laceraverat feritas.
Romani ab eo hoste trucidati sunt,
quem semper more pecudum trucidaverant.

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