Stein von Wyrgende
Die Geschichte des Steins von Wyrgende dreht sich um König Fengel und den Fluch, den er über seine Sippschaft gebracht hat.
König Fengel, der Großvater von König Théoden, war sehr jung als er den Thron bestieg. Er regierte fast 50 Jahre über die Lande Rohans, allerdings zeichnete sich seine Herrschaft nicht durch Glanz und Glorie aus und stand unter keinem guten Stern. Er war empfänglich für Habgier und machte sich viele Feinde im Laufe seines Lebens.
Im letzten Winter seiner Regentschaft begab sich König Fengel auf die Jagd im Norden des Flusses Entwasser. An einem kalten Nachmittag stolperte eine ältere Frau in sein Lager und bat um etwas zu essen und einen Platz am Feuer zum Aufwärmen, da sie sich verirrt hatte. Der König lehnte ihre Bitte mit harschen Worten ab und bezeichnete es als Frechheit, dass eine einfache und alte Frau Hilfe bei ihrem König erbittet. Er empfahl ihr sich doch irgendeinen Grobian zu suchen, wenn sie ein warmes Bett und etwas zu essen will oder selber auf die Jagd zu gehen. Dazu warf er seinen Dolch vor ihre Füße und schickte sie fort in die Dunkelheit. Die Männer des Königs waren schockiert und begaben sich auf die Suche nach der Frau. Doch sie fanden sie erst in den frühen Morgenstunden, erfroren am Fuße eines großen Felsbrocken.
"King Fengel came to the throne when he was very young, and he ruled for fifty years."
"Though long, his rule was ill-starred: he was prone to greed and made many enemies."
"In the last winter of his reign, he was hunting north of the Entwade on a cold afternoon."
"An elderly woman stumbled into his camp. She was lost and hungry."
Wyrgende says, A scrap of bread, if you please, my mighty lord. I am lost, and cold, and hungry."
King Fengel says, Who are you, crone, to beg from the crown?"
King Fengel says, If you seek warm food in your belly, find some churl whose bed lies unwarmed."
King Fengel says, Or find some game and kill it yourself!"
"King Fengel threw his own dagger at her feet and sent her away into the dark night."
"The King's men were horrified, and they searched for the woman."
"They found her at dawn, frozen to death at the foot of a tall boulder, the King's dagger still in her hand."
"She had carved a curse into the face of the stone, along with her name: WYRGENDE."
"This is what she carved into the stone:
'Feckless Fengel, fool I name thee,
Grief shall be the get of thy greed.
No lord of your line shall long live,
upon thy seat no son shall settle.
Kin and kingdom your craving hath killed,
Until the might of the Mark is mended.
Wyrgende.'
"King Fengel was furious, and he ordered Wyrgende's body burned and the stone destroyed, but no man of his company could more her, and every hammer and mattock they set to the stone shattered on contact."
"King Fengel himself assailed the stone with his sword until the blade shattered, and a shard pierced his thigh."
"The wound festered, and King Fengel died of poisoned blood on the first day of Spring."
"Many in Rohan thought the curse was ended, but now that Prince Théodred is gone..."
"Well, that is the end of the tale, for now."
The Epic continues with a visit to the stone in: Chapter 4: The Stone of Wyrgende (Volume III, Book 9 Chapter 4)
Horn explains why Éomer wishes to visit the Stone :
'Éomer wishes to visit the Stone, and you must understand why: with the Prince dead, he as Théoden's nephew is now next in line for the throne. He is of King Fengel's line, and the Curse must now be ever in his thoughts. Speak to him, but gently! Who can know what it must be like to live under such a curse?'
Near the Stone there is a learned scholar, Drewett, whom one can question about the Stone.
From this scholar, we also learn what the runes upon the rock are supposed to say:
Runic Transcription of the Stone of Wyrgende
"Hydig Fengel, wanhoga ic ðe hate
gnornung sceæl bið seedleænung þin grædignysse.
Nan reccend þin ryhtfæderencynnes longe gebideð sceal
Nan sunu sceal on þin stole setteð.
Cynn and cyningdom þin crafiende acwellede hæfð
oð þæt mihte Mearces edniwigende is.
Wyrgende"
To the right is how the 'Old English' should look like, in the runes used elsewhere in Rohan (Anglo-Saxon fuþorc), line for line.
Drewett also gives us an in-game translation, same as Horn had earlier recited:
"Feckless Fengel, fool I name thee, Grief shall be the get of thy greed. No lord of your line shall long live, Upon thy seat no son shall settle. Kin and kingdom your craving hath killed, Until the might of the Mark is mended."
The stone certainly has runes upon it. It's fitting they're a bit hard to read, but still, one can make out enough...
Here's how the runes translate (top to bottom). The letters in parentheses are missing, or really hard to make out.:
(F)eckless (F)engel, fool I name thee. Grief shall be the get of thy greed ngo lord of your line shall long live (u)pon thy seat no so(n) shall settle kin ænd kingdom your craving hath killed (un)til the might of the (m)ærk is mended (W)yrgende
