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Exordium
Might it not become us, brothers,
to begin in the diction of yore
the stern tale
of the compaign of Igor
Igor son of Svyatoslav?
Let us, however,
begin this song
in keeping with the happenings
of these times
and no! with the contriving of Boyan.
For he, vatic Boyan,
if he want to make a laud for one,
ranged in thought
[like the nightingale] over the tree;
like the gray wolf
across land;
like the smoky eagle
up to the clouds.
For as he recalled, said he,
the feuds of initial times,
"He set ten falcons
upon a flock of swans,
and the one first overtaken,
sang a song first" —
to Yaroslav of yore,
and to brave Mstislav
who stew Rededya
before the Kasog troops,
and to fair Roman
son of Svyatoslav.
To be sure, brothers,
Boyan did not [really]
set ten falcons
upon a flock of swans:
his own vatic fingers
he laid on the live strings,
which then twanged out by themselves
a paean to princes
Exordium (concluded)
So let us begin, brothers,
this tale —
from Vladimir of yore
to nowadays Igor,
who girded his mind
with fortitude,
and sharpened his heart
with manliness;
[thus] imbued with the spirit of arms,
he led his brave troops
against the Kuman land
in the name of the Russian land. |