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Then, across the Russian land,
seldom did plowmen shout [hup-hup
to their horses]
but often did ravens croak
as they divided among themselves the
cadavers,
while jackdaws announced in their
own jargon
thai they were about to fly to the feed.
Thus it was in those combats
and in those campaigns,
but such a battle
had never been heard of.
Termination of battle
From early morn to eve,
and from eve to dawn,
tempered arrows fly,
sabers resound against helmets,
steel lances crack.
In the field unknown, midst the
Kuman land,
the black sod under hooves
was sown with bones
and irrigated with gore.
As grief they came up
throughout the Russian land.
What dins unto me,
what rings unto me?
Early today, before the effulgences,
Igor turns back his troops:
he is anxious about his dear brother
Vsevolod. They fought one day;
they fought another;
on the third, toward noon,
Igor's banners fell.
Defeat and Lamentations
Here the brothers parted
on the bank of the swift Kayala.
Here was a want of blood-wine;
here the brave sons of Rus
finished the feast —
got their in-laws drunk,
and themselves lay down
in defense of the Russian land.
The grass droops with condolements
and the tree with sorrow
bends to the ground.
For now, brothers, a cheerless tide has
set in;
now the wild has covered the strong;
Wrong has risen among the forces
of Dazhbog's grandson;
in the guise of a maiden
[Wrong] has stepped into Troyan's
land;
she clapped her swan wings
on the blue sea by the Don,
[and] clapping, decreased rich times. |