As It Is or As It Was: Translating “The Ruin” Poem

How do we represent textually and perform orally the missing pieces from damaged medieval manuscripts? In this episode, Ghislaine Comeau, Concordia PhD student studying early medieval literature, brings us along on her quest to translate the “The Ruin” – a famously ruined Old English poem from the 10th century manuscript known as the Exeter Book. In conversation with medievalists Dr. Stephen Yeager and Dr. Stephen Powell, she discusses sounds in Old English texts, exploring how these may have been read and/or performed and how they may now be translated, represented, and performed. Quest fulfilled; the episode ends with Ghislaine’s reading of her translation of “The Ruin.”