u/TheLightUnseen

A dark-age Stoic classic composed in the late 9th or early 10th century AD, the elegiac Anglo-Saxon poem The Wanderer presents the voice of an exiled retainer mourning the loss of his lord and former noble life.

Preserved in the Exeter Book, the poem recounts a solitary figure’s reflections on loyalty, fate (Wyrd), and the ephemeral transience of earthly gains and pleasures. As expressed in its solemn verse, the speaker endures both physical hardship and profound spiritual sorrow, recalling the vanished hall-life and the bonds of kinship now broken in his frost-bitten domain. Through meditation on the ruin of once-great men and brother-bonding Kingdoms, the poem turns towards a distinctly Christian moral conclusion, thus urging wisdom and indomitable faith in divine stability over worldly sensuality and impermanence.

This narration adopts a deliberately restrained approach, avoiding the more animated (and oddly jaunty) recitations apparently favoured in modern readings -- in order to, I believe, aptly reflect the poem’s gloomy and deeply pensive character. One supposes that it's all a matter of aesthetic taste. Regardless, I hope you enjoy my rendition.

This text is taken from the Exeter Book manuscript tradition, in translation by Siân Echard of the University of British Columbia.

Music Track 1: https://icelationworks.bandcamp.com/track/polaris-6

Music Track 2: https://icelationworks.bandcamp.com/track/blue-dawn-10

In this video I recite the opening passage from Nietzsche's classic work, The Birth of Tragedy. This recording was originally made for my website journal as a means of showcasing the foundational ideas behind my journalism, and even my own personal philosophy, of which Nietzsche's oeuvre is a major influence. I thought I'd upload it to my YouTube channel too, as others might appreciate an introduction to Nietzsche's philosophy in a bitesize fragment. I'm not so much asking a question, rather positing a concise reflection on the impact of his ideas on my current frame of mind, so hopefully this in itself qualifies as a discussion.

I narrate other great passages of N on the channel too, in addition to several other classic works of poetry, philosophy, and mythology, with more to come.

You're welcome to check it out. The full, transcribed excerpt is supplied in the comments section.

Apollo & Dionysus: Greek Myth and the Birth of Tragedy

Hwaet! This is an updated re-telling of the Old English stoic classic The Seafarer, extracted from The Exeter Book. I also intend on narrating a much-improved reading of The Wanderer, as the last one I did in one take! it hadn't occured to me at the time that YouTubers actually edit their videos, lol.

If you like this, please feel free to subscribe, comment, and leave a like. Much thanks, fellow Angelcynn. ⚔️

10 fresh Bandcamp codes for anyone interested in purely guitar-driven ambient noise rock to fall asleep to. Influences include MBV (of course), Slowdive, and Verve.

Feel free to DM if you want more. 🎛️🎸

Redeem here: https://icelationworks.bandcamp.com/yum

Codes:

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A new, much improved reading of the classic Battle of Brunanburh, perhaps my favourite poem of the entire Old English corpus. I am local to the area in which the clash took place (Wirral), so perhaps my accent lends the video a bit of clout haha. Feel free to like, share, comment and subscribe if you approve.

Much thanks, fellow Angelcynn. ⚔️

A short video reading of Nietzsche's Genealogy of Morality, First Essay, Section 5 is now available on my YouTube channel. My own interpretation is in the video description.

Feel free to take a listen and leave your interpretation and thoughts in the comments. ⚔️