I got permission from the artist @SkaldBard to use this video and song. He wrote and performed this song himself, and I thought it would be a wonderful addition to my channel due to its topic, and especially because of its language. I am very gratef…
I got permission from the artist @SkaldBard to use this video and song. He wrote and performed this song himself, and I thought it would be a wonderful addition to my channel due to its topic, and especially because of its language. I am very grateful that he allowed me to use the song, and I highly suggest you check out Skaldic Bard's other videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgFfaY9k1D0
Skaldic Bard wrote this song in Old Frankish, the language of the Franks, a Germanic tribe who would play a vital role for the genesis of Germany ... and France!
Frankish was about to merge into Old High German at the time. The specific dialect used here is an Austrasian one, named after a historical region.
Karl Martell/ Karl der Hammer, or Charles Martel in English, was a Frankish nobleman who lived from ~688 to 741. "Martel(l)" is not his family name, it is a term for a hammer. He earned that monicker in the event that is covered in this song: the 732 Battle of Poitiers/Tours, in which Karl Martell defeated an army of the Umayyad Caliphate. Later generations, especially after the Middle Ages, considered him a savior of the western, Christian world and Europe as we know it because of this feat, although more recent studies have contested the weight of his achievement.
In any case, Karl Martell was a very important historical figure. He was not king (which is why I translated "kuning", normally "König" in German and "king" in English) as ruler instead. You could also call him "leader" or "Princeps" or something. In any case, the term "kuning" covers more than just "king", although it would have been fair to call Karl a "de facto" king: the ruling dynasty, the Merovingians, had gradually lost their power over the course of generations, and the men holding the title "Mayor of the Palace" had become the actual most powerful people in the realm. They were in control of the royal treasury, dispensed patronage, and granted land and privileges in the name of the figurehead king...
