Specifics of the book and shipping costs

Codex Oera Linda ~ English edition will have a hard cover with linen back, 96 pages color (original manuscript) + 256 pages black/white (translation, transliteration, introduction, index etc.) = 352 pages and three reading ribbons.

Size: 17,5 x 24,5 x 3,1 cm; Weight: 1,1 kg

Price per copy is € 36, -

Shipping cost per destination group

1. Netherlands

incl. VAT (btw)	track & trace, post office delivery	track & trace, home address delivery	registered and insured
1 - 8 copies (max. 10 kg)	€6,25	€6,75	€8,70
9 - 19 copies (max. 23 kg)	€12,50	€13,-	€15,-

2. USA: [as from Sept. 10: see 5.] thanks to our main sponsor, mail costs are only € 10, - per book (the share in shipping boxes to US). However, as from August, parcels are only mailed on the first day of each month. Parcels with under 10 copies are sent with USPS and have a tracking code.

— listed below are only the destinations from which orders have been received so far —

Note: For registered & insured mail to EUR1, EUR2 and Other, please add € 2,50.

3. EUR1: Belgium, France, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Italy, etc.

incl. VAT	basic, no track & trace	track & trace
1 copy	€9,30	€13,-
2 - 4 copies (2 - 5 kg)	x	€19,50
5 - 8 copies (5 - 10 kg)	x	€25,-
9 - 16 copies (10 - 20 kg)	x	€34,-
17 - 19 copies (20 - 23 kg)	x	€45,-

4. EUR2: United Kingdom, Switzerland, Finland, Norway, Iceland, Slovenia, Portugal, Romania, Poland, Jersey, Andorra, etc.

incl. VAT	basic, no track & trace	track & trace
1 copy	€12,-	€18,50
2 - 4 copies (2 - 5 kg)	x	€25,-
5 - 8 copies (5 - 10 kg)	x	€31,-
9 - 16 copies (10 - 20 kg)	x	€40,-
17 - 19 copies (20 - 23 kg)	x	€55,-

5. Other: USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Czech Republic, Japan, Russian Federation, South Africa, etc.

incl. VAT	basic, no track & trace	track & trace
1 copy	€23,-	€29,30
2 - 4 copies (2 - 5 kg)	x	€46,80
5 - 8 copies (5 - 10 kg)	x	€83,30
9 - 16 copies (10 - 20 kg)	x	€145,30

Note: For registered & insured mail, please add € 2,50.

> WÀRF, WÀRV - wharf, yard

wharf or shipyard by Jan Luyken (1697)

Old spellings (some):
hvarf - Old-norse
hwerf - Old-saxon
werf, werve - Old-dutch
hwaerf - Old-english

New spellings (some):
werf - Dutch
wharf - English
Werft - German
varv - Swedish
værft - Danish

current common meaning: shipyard/ dockyard;
more original meanings (also): (artificial) inhabited hill/mound, property around a house/ yard, quay/shore or dam/dyke

Oera Linda fragments:

[019/15] SA JÉFT MÀN HJAM HUS ÀND WÀRV [...]
[/20] SA MOT MÀN HIM THÉR EN HUS EN WÀRF JÉWA [...]
[/25] ALLERA MANNALIK MOT MÀN EN ÀFTER DÉL AS WÀRF BY SINA HUS JÉVA
he is given a house and yard [...]
they must give him a house and yard there [...]
Everyone must be given an arable back yard behind his house

[090/01] NÉI MÀM HIRA DÁD HETH MÀN ADEL.BROST MIN BROTHER VRSLÉJEN FONDEN VPPA WÀRF
after my mother died, my brother Adelbrost was found dead on the wharf

-LÁWA and -LOV- words

General Note: From now on, when referring to a fragment in the original text, I will no longer use the exact line in which the fragment starts, but the block: line 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30, as used in my new edition and already online here.

personified Belief by Jb. Matham, after Goltzius (1593)

A reader commented:

There is a somewhat incongruent line I found in most English editions of the OLB I read, and I am wondering how you will deal with it in your new translation. We know the Fryas believed in the occult, as Minnos was a seer*, and Kalta a witch, so it is confirmed they had a belief in sorcery/ witchcraft. We also know from a line later in the book (I forgot where exactly) they believed that wicked souls would 'haunt the earth' after death, so they also believed in 'evil spirits'**. Despite all of this, in Frethorik's writings we hear him denounce the (Scandinavians?), he states "They believe in bad spirits, sorcerers, witches, dwarves, and elves as if they descended from the Fins".*** I think a better word for 'believe' would be worship, because we know the Fryas would have also believed in sorcery and bad spirits, however they didn't worship sorcerers and spirits, like the Fins would've. Changing 'belief' to worship makes a lot more sense to the reader, and makes more sense of the general religious worldview of the Fryas, however I am wondering if changing it would maintain the translation's integrity.

* [029/10] MINNO WAS [...] SIANER - Minno was [...] seer; this does not have to be interpreted as 'occult' as it can simply mean he had a clear vision (was 'clairvoyant').
** [127/15] '... if you defile your soul, you will never reach Walhalla. Your soul will then wander over the earth without being able to see the light. Like bats and owls you will hide in your hole by day, and come out at night, crying and howling upon our graves, while Frya must turn her head away from you.'; this was Friso speaking, who may well have been influenced by foreign beliefs. I agree however, that there are enough fragments suggesting a belief in what we might call the 'supernatural'.
*** see fragment [133/10] below.

This inspired me to do a quick study, the conclusion of which is that (BI)LÁWA does mean 'believe' as is clear from the contexts in which it is used. However there are some other interesting conclusions to be drawn from the study below. For now, I will have to leave these to the discretion of the student.

1. Oera Linda words and their modern cognates/ varieties

A. (BI)LÁWA (verb)
believe - English (noun: belief)
geloven - Dutch (noun: geloof)
glauben - German (noun: Glaube)
leauwe - Frisian

B. LÁWA (noun) [unclear if this word is related to the previous, but since its spelling is identical I have included it here]
lion - English
leeuw - Dutch
Löwe - German
liuw - Frisian
løve - Norse, Danish
lejon - Swedish
ljón - Icelandic
[Note: Through Latin leō (...) ‘lion’ derived from Greek léōn. The -w- in Old Dutch is an intervocal transition sound. The Greek word is derived from an unknown language. The Semitic words for ‘lion’ (Hebrew lāvīʾ, Assyric labbu, Akkadic lābu) deviate too much.] Dutch source (my underlinings): etymologiebank

C. VRLOVA (verb)
(promise - English)
beloven - Dutch (noun: belofte)
geloben (archaic) - German (noun:  Gelöbnis)
love - Danish (noun: (løfte)
lova - Swedish (noun: (löfte)
love - Norse (noun: love)
lofa - Icelandic (noun: (lofa)

D. ORLOVI (noun) used as meaning 'permission'
furlough, leave - English
verlof - Dutch
Urlaub - German
ferlof - Frisian
orlof, leyfi - Icelandic
orlov - Danish
løyve - Norse
lov - Swedish

E. LOV (noun)
(praise - English; cognate love)
lof - Dutch (verb: loven)
Lob - German (verb: loben)

2. Oera Linda fragments and translation

A. (BI)LÁWA - believe

[037/05]
WI WILLATH BILÁWA THÀT THIN RÉD GOD SY
We want to believe your counsel is good

[132/05]
ANG THRVCH OVERBILÁWICHHÉD
anxious from superstition

[132/20]
SÁ LÁWATH HJA THÀT THENE GÁST THES VRSTURVENE THÉR INNE FÁRATH
they believe that the spirit of the departed resides in it

[133/10]
ÔLON LÁWATH HJA AN BOSA GÁSTA. HEXNA. KOLLA.
ULDERMANKES. ÀND ELFUN AS JEF HJA FON THA FINNA WEI KÉMEN
They persistently believe in evil spirits, witches, sorcerers,
little forest men and elves as if they stemmed from the Finns

[139/10]
ALLE THÉR AN HIM ÀND AN SINA LÉRA LÁWA WILDE
all who would believe in him and his teachings

[210/25]
THRVCHDAM.ET FOLK NAVT LÁWA NAVT NILDE
THAT WODIN HJAM HELPA KVSTE
because the folk would not believe
Wodin could help them

B. LÁWA - lion

[009/25]
THRVCH THENE KRÀFT HJRAR BLIKKAR STRÉK THENE LÁWA TOFARA HJARA FYT DÀL
The force of her glance made the lion lie down at her feet

[109/20]
THÉR SEND WOLVA BARA ÀND SWÁRTE GRISLIKA LÁWA
There are wolves, bears and terrible black lions

C. VRLOVA - promise (Dutch: beloven)

[003/01]
VRLOVANDE.RA KY MITH GOLDEN HORNA
promised them mountains of gold (lit. 'cows with golden horns')

[003/10]
VRLOVADON HJA FON SINANT WÉGUM JETA.N ÀFTER.DÉL BY
were promised a back yard on behalf of the magus

D. ORLOVI - permission

[093/01]
HÉDE MIN BURCH.FÁM ORLOVI VMBIM BUTA THA LAND.PÁLA TO HELPANE
my burg maiden was per­mitted  [lit. 'had permission'] to merely banish him

[113/15]
HETH HJU ORLOVI FRÉJAD VMBE NÉI HJRA HUS TO GÁNE
she asked leave to go home

E. LOV(E) - praise (LOV.SPRÉKA/-E: 'ode' lit. 'praise-speak', LOVLIK: 'admirable' or 'laudable' lit. 'praise-like')

[095/20]
THÉRE BURCHFÁM.S LOV
Ode to the burg maiden

[091/05]
LOV.SPRÉKA OVIR MIN MÀM
an ode to my mother

[091/01]
HWANA KVMTET WÉI THÀTSTER SOKKE HÁGE LOVE TO SWIKTH
why do you praise her so much?

[092/15]
THÀT IS LOVLIK
That is admirable indeed

[097/20]
IN THA LOV.SPRÉKE
in the ode

[154/05]
THA JONGA FÁMNA KÉTHON SINA LOVE
the young maidens praised him

Comparing translation with original in various editions

Until recently I have been uncertain as to how best present the new translation in print.

Initially, I wanted facsimile, transliteration* and translation all together, page by page. The first and only time this was done before, was in Jensma's edition (2006). However, I do not like his layout with 'landscape' (horizontal) pages and much empty space on most pages, which is only sometimes used for notes. A book in this shape will have a smaller back, will not fit well on many bookshelves nor in the hand, and will damage more easily. The facsimile was printed in grey-scales, with the frayed paper edges cut off. Transliteration follows the manuscript line-by-line, which makes it easy to compare the two. However, comparing translation with original language is more difficult. Not all pages contain as much text, as sometimes the letters were bigger or had more space between them. Therefore, some of the printed pages are significantly less filled than others (see sample).

* transliteration - representing letters or words in the characters of another alphabet or script; the term transcription is usually used for a typed representation of handwritten text (same alphabet or script).

sample of Jensma (2006) Het Oera Linda-boek

Most well known to English language readers will be Sandbach's edition (1876). Using Ottema's transliteration and lay-out, he presented the translation on the uneven pages (right side), with the original text on the left. As Ottema, he did not include page numbers of the manuscript, and because there were few paragraphs or blank lines, comparing translation with original is awkward.

sample of Sandbach (1876) The Oera Linda Book

A unique edition — the first one I bought and read — is De Heer (2008) Het Oera Linda boek. De Heer designed a Jol-based font which he used for a transcription of the original text. Lines in Jol-script alternate with their Dutch translations, making it very easy to compare the two. A downside is that there are no paragraphs or blank lines, making it less attractive to read translation only. Also, one has to get used to the unfamiliar script and discussing original fragments or words (for example on a forum) is hard, as they cannot easily be reproduced without transliterating them first.

sample of De Heer (2008) Het Oera Linda boek

With respect for the late mr. Menkens, I must mention his German edition (2013) as being least attractive, in my opinion. Instead of presenting a full transliteration of the original text, he added selected original words in brackets throughout the translation and often gave several possible translations for certain words, one of which most resembling the original, the other a more customary interpretation. This is very distracting and makes it almost impossible to read, concentrating on the content. I do hope that the planned new edition will be improved in this regard.

sample of Menkens (2013) Die Oera-Linda-Handschriften

Alternating pages of transliteration with pages of translation (as in Sandbach's edition) is a designers nightmare. After considering printing the whole translation first and then the whole transliteration (and reading ribbons to switch between the two), I now have decided to rather do it as in the sample below, because making it easier to study the original language has always been my main goal. Manuscript-page numbers (in translation and transliteration) and line numbers 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 (in transliteration only) will make it easy to also compare with the full color manuscript pages (provided with line numbers) in the back of the book. Browsing through these original pages may be a mesmerizing experience.

draft sample of Ott (to be released 2021) Codex Oera Linda ~ English edition

"doing my own research and making great discoveries"

[Note: This was written in April. About 80% of the books has been sold and shipped by now, early September.]

Since almost 150 people have now pre-ordered my new English Oera Linda translation (approaching 250 copies), and many of them have trusted me enough to make a deposit, I think it is fair to — for a change — talk a bit about myself, insofar as this is relevant to the work I have been doing on this blog. The following was mostly taken from an interview I recently gave.

 

Born and raised Westfrisian, I am the father of four children below the age of seven. My wife is Prussian. We live in a village in the rural north-eastern Netherlands, less than a mile from the Frisian border, with woods on walking distance.

When fifteen years old, I was given an old family tree. After a few weeks of going to the archives myself, I was able to add an older (early 18th century) generation to it. By visiting distant relatives I also collected stories and very old photos. This was in the mid-eighties, long before the internet. These experiences of doing my own research and making great discoveries possibly taught me more than high school.

Twenty years later, I got interested in religion, mythology and our ancient ancestors, as well as the origin of our language. Searching for sources about the goddess Freya, I stumbled upon the Oera Linda-book. Its original language resonated strongly, provided many ‘aha’-moments, and I decided to try and understand every word of it. The most regular sources about the book felt suspicious, based on fallacies and bad reasoning. I recognized its significance, as the texts provided me so much inspiration and clarity of mind. To specialize in it and make it more easily available to a larger audience felt like a calling. I knew this could become a life's work, but since I became a father several years later, that obviously became a competing priority.

One of the many interesting and relevant conclusions we can draw from these texts, I think, is that our pre-Christian ancestors did not inevitably all believe in several gods and their tales, or worship various idols, but that at least a significant group may have had a much more advanced philosophy and culture. A general philosophy that actually still makes sense to us and that may indeed provide much needed guidance and inspiration to regain our strength and direction.

note: not the final design

For now and the coming months, my main priority (after being a father) is to get the new translation out. This will be the first English translation from the original language. The existing one from 1876 by Sandbach was based on the first Dutch translation and begged for improvement. It is already possible to order “Codex Oera Linda” and I will also open a fundraiser to support the Oera Linda Foundation which I have set up to publish and distribute the book, as well as possible future projects. When I have more time, I intend to record a reading of all texts in the original language, that is, my approximation of how it may have sounded, with subtitles and showing the original script. A German and Dutch edition of the Codex are contemplated.