Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Danish term or phrase:
rundet af folkedybet
English translation:
shaped by poverty
Added to glossary by
Sven Petersson
Jan 6, 2006 17:52
18 yrs ago
Danish term
United States
Reliable quality, attention to detail
Native in: English
Works in: Swedish to English, Danish to English, Norwegian to English
rundet af folkedybet
Danish to English
Art/Literary
Poetry & Literature
In a historical novel set in the 1500s. The man is making his way through a crowd of people hoping to schmooz with the King of England:
"Han styrede målrettet mod Hertugen af Norfolk, aristokraten, der kun med besvær skjulte sit had til den Cromwell, der, skønt rundet af folkedybet, ejede større indflydelse på Kongen end han selv."
"Han styrede målrettet mod Hertugen af Norfolk, aristokraten, der kun med besvær skjulte sit had til den Cromwell, der, skønt rundet af folkedybet, ejede større indflydelse på Kongen end han selv."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 | shaped by poverty |
Sven Petersson
|
| 4 +1 | tainted by the unwashed masses |
Mads Grøftehauge
|
| 4 | favored by the general populace |
Christian Schoenberg
|
Proposed translations
1 hr
Sven Petersson
Sweden
Sweden
Native in English
Sweden
Medical Translator
Native in: Swedish 
, English
Works in: English to Swedish, Danish to Swedish, German to Swedish, and 13 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
shaped by poverty
Cromwell grew up in genteel poverty; not quite a member of the nobility, yet not a commoner either.
There is a measure of sarcasm in the Danish expression, which I fail to translate. "Skønt rundet af" would normally be followed by something positive, like in the following cut from a CV:
"... Harvard Law Review and "skønt rundet af" by clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist."
There is a measure of sarcasm in the Danish expression, which I fail to translate. "Skønt rundet af" would normally be followed by something positive, like in the following cut from a CV:
"... Harvard Law Review and "skønt rundet af" by clerking for Chief Justice William Rehnquist."
Note from asker:
| Thanks, Sven. Helpful as ever! |
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
54 mins
Christian Schoenberg
United States
United States
Native in Danish
&
English
United States
Nordic Legal Language Solutions
Native in: Danish , English
Works in: Danish to English, Swedish to English, Norwegian to English, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
favored by the general populace
Another interesting question, Tara! Keep them coming.
It struck me as I wrote my 'peer comment' and I may be misreading the text: wasn't Cromwell quite well-liked by the greater populace (not counting the Irish, of course)? If so, 'rundet' would surely be a favorable attribute.
So, my (humble) suggestion is:
"Han styrede målrettet mod Hertugen af Norfolk, aristokraten, der kun med besvær skjulte sit had til den Cromwell, der, skønt rundet af folkedybet, ejede større indflydelse på Kongen end han selv."
"He laid out a course for the Duke of Norfolk. The aristocrat habored an ill-disguised hatred of Cromwell who — in spite of being favored by the general populace - had greater influence with the King than he."
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Note added at 58 mins (2006-01-06 18:51:13 GMT)
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Oh, by the bye, my explanation isn't necessarily at odds with Mads's explanation. But I believe 'tainted' implies a value judgment that is not in the text you provided, but may be in the general context.
Over and out.
It struck me as I wrote my 'peer comment' and I may be misreading the text: wasn't Cromwell quite well-liked by the greater populace (not counting the Irish, of course)? If so, 'rundet' would surely be a favorable attribute.
So, my (humble) suggestion is:
"Han styrede målrettet mod Hertugen af Norfolk, aristokraten, der kun med besvær skjulte sit had til den Cromwell, der, skønt rundet af folkedybet, ejede større indflydelse på Kongen end han selv."
"He laid out a course for the Duke of Norfolk. The aristocrat habored an ill-disguised hatred of Cromwell who — in spite of being favored by the general populace - had greater influence with the King than he."
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 58 mins (2006-01-06 18:51:13 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------
Oh, by the bye, my explanation isn't necessarily at odds with Mads's explanation. But I believe 'tainted' implies a value judgment that is not in the text you provided, but may be in the general context.
Over and out.
+1
20 mins
Mads Grøftehauge
Native in Danish
Works in field
Get creative!
Native in: Danish
Works in: English to Danish, Danish to English, Danish, and 1 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
4
tainted by the unwashed masses
'Rundet af' is an odd term to use here. It means 'rounded off; well-balanced'.
'Folkedybet' means 'the people' taken as a single entity, with more than a hint of commonness.
In your text, Cromwell is less of an aristocrat due to his associacion with common folk, but still he holds more sway with the king than the pompous Duke of Norfolk.
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Note added at 1 day 1 hr 52 mins (2006-01-07 19:44:42 GMT)
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Agrred, my "translation" is too crass, but I was just trying to get the point across.
'Rundet af folkedyber' must mean that Cromwell is a borderline commoner, as opposed to an aristocrat. I don't believe that the sentence says anything about whether the man on the 16th Century street liked the guy or not.
'Folkedybet' means 'the people' taken as a single entity, with more than a hint of commonness.
In your text, Cromwell is less of an aristocrat due to his associacion with common folk, but still he holds more sway with the king than the pompous Duke of Norfolk.
--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 1 hr 52 mins (2006-01-07 19:44:42 GMT)
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Agrred, my "translation" is too crass, but I was just trying to get the point across.
'Rundet af folkedyber' must mean that Cromwell is a borderline commoner, as opposed to an aristocrat. I don't believe that the sentence says anything about whether the man on the 16th Century street liked the guy or not.
Peer comment(s):
| neutral |
Christian Schoenberg
: I would probably be disinclined to use 'unwashed masses' - it strikes me as a tad too anachronistic - 'unwashed masses' is a term more at home with Malthus/early-Industrial Revolution than the 1500s.
17 mins
|
| agree |
Charlesp
1 day 7 hrs
|
Discussion
"Cromwell also developed a novel, and very unpopular, idea - in the past, taxes were created to support warfare; in 1534, he developed a new tax. Its basis? The king's maintenance of peace. These measures did not help his reputation but, by 1547, had brought nearly 2,000,000 pds to Henry's treasury. Of course, Henry would use the entire windfall to finance his increasingly complicated foreign policy. At the time of Henry's death, all the wealth Cromwell had accumulated was gone and Edward VI was left with debased currency and massive debts."
I'm no expert on British history, so I'm just not sure. In the plot of the novel people kind of scoff at Cromwell's base origins (his father was a brewer), but they also respect how much power he wields and to some extent how skilled a statesman he is. So, I'm left confused. From the context of the story I can't tell whether people are thinking of him in a positive or negative light...
My draft translation was: "He steered purposefully toward the aristocratic Duke of Norfolk, who only with difficulty was able to conceal his hatred for Cromwell, who, although unpopular with the masses, had more influence with the King than he did."
And that sounded like it needed a little more work, hence I have appealed to you for help!