This past weekend I saw a video from the Church of England about the first English translation of the Nicene Creed. It was in Old English, having been translated in 992 AD by the monk Aelfric. He thought that people would be more likely to connect personally to their faith if they understood the words in which it was explained and remembered. This was later to become a central tenet of the Reformation, and a constant point of debate.
I loved hearing the sweet swaying rhythm of those ancient words, speaking an even more ancient declaration of the Christian faith. It's astonishing to think that this almost-incomprehensible language is the basis of my own, and inspires my imagination to trace the centuries of development since. How did 'heofenan and eordan' become 'heaven and earth'? Was it a gradual change, or did someone decide to change it, possibly to make it easier to write or read?
It was also fascinating to see what words haven't changed. 'God', 'Father', 'Son': these words were in constant use during medieval times due to the importance of religion, so I'm not surprised they haven't changed much. 'And' and 'he' haven't changed either, possibly because they work just the way they are.
My favourite part is how the Creed ended. I've always heard it end with 'Amen', an ancient Hebrew expression of agreement that literally translates to 'it is so' or 'so it be'. In this version they used the Old English version of 'so it be': sy hit swa (pronounced see-hit-swah). That struck me as the most beautiful phrase, so I am sure it will come up in my writing again. Hopefully Aelfric will be proud.
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