German to English

Seems like a language of "Das Nibelungen Lied" or the like, very old German.
Sorry I cannot translate it..

That is a passage from Umberto Eco's 'In the name of the rose'.


It's "Middle High German", of Walther von der Vogelheide

Ich saz ûf eine Steine
Und dahte Bein mit Beine.
Daruf satzt ich den ellenbogen,
Ich hete in mine hand gesmogen
Daz kinne und ein min wange. :wink:

JoeFX's quoted passage is similar, but more of a kind of 'theology content':
(since I can't remember the context in Eco's book, I may be totally wrong!)
it's about "the miracle of the miracles", christmas, Jesus' nativity.

That's exactly right, I started reading "The name of the rose" yesterday and I passed across this passage and wondered what it might say.

Adso says the first part, and the librarian the second when they're seeing Adelmo's (the first guy who is found dead) illustrations of an upside down world.