Hey! (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*.✧ As some of you might've seen in the PTOTKT studio, I'm currently working on researching the Zonai and the ancient past for a HUGE project on them. TOTK's ancient stone monuments reveal a lot about the past, almost more than the memories do. Though they don't have a huge story, they explain a lot and develop the characters' personalities. Unfortunately, the original Hylian text is...hard to read. Like, did the Zonai even have spell check?? Wortsworth (the weird pink-haired dude) can explain them, but I decided to translate them word-for-word. A lot of it is just Middle English variations, misspelled words, and "i"s replaced with "y"s. So as a part of this project, I'm going to translate the monuments! I'm not posting Wortsworth's take or my take, because that's going to be on my research document, and eventually in the final project, but I will translate everything. So yeah! Let's get into it! NOTE on Translations: A lot of these words are Middle English or derived from that, and many have multiple meanings. I chose the ones that fit best in order to make sense of the text. I also reordered words to make sense, such as "semes she", which can be translated and reordered to "she seems". ______________________________________________ ⇸ Tablet 1: "Account of a Celebration" ⇸ Original Text: "So swete the song of kyng Rauru, ond so grete the beaute of his susteres daunce, that wer min eies ond eres captif. Ond so hende quen Sonias gasen on us alle, so felt y min herte als captif fallen. Servates lyf, tho moche laboursum, han moche jolitee as well. Longe be the lyf of the roial familie thaere y love so." ⇸ My Translation: "So sweet the song of King Rauru, and so great the beauty of his sister's dance, that my eyes and ears were captive. And so when Queen Sonia gazed upon us all, I felt my heart also fall captive. [The] servant's life, though much laborious, has much happiness as well. Long be the life of the royal family that I love so." ______________________________________________ ⇸ Tablet 2: "The Strong Queen and the Receptive King" ⇸ Original Text: "Sonia, quen to Hyrules kyng, bi birthe Hylian preesterrese, hirself yborn of land, nat of skie aboven. Speken she with open herte, eornest to all, euen even to the Zonais kyng. This kyng ythinke it gode aventure so to lerne of the landes folke. To sen his hed ybent to listenen is swich plesaunce." ⇸ My Translation: "Sonia, queen to Hyrule's king, by birth Hylian priestess, she was born of land, not of sky above. She speaks with an open heart, earnest to all, even to the Zonais' king. This king thinks it is a good venture (aventure is Middle English for venture) to learn of the land folk. To see his head bent to listen in is such pleasure." ______________________________________________ ⇸ Tablet 3: "The Harmonious Couple" ⇸ Original Text: "Oft wys Rauru, kyng of kene blade, weyve his werk real in faver of the hunte. Ond oft queynte Sonia, quene of kene insight, seke out him and repaire this kyng to kyngly besynesse. In her sapience semes she divin, that she cunne him ever finde and for hes folly semes him the mor humain. Ond the kyng? O, he laughe. Nat him hir equal for her wit, he kunne. Ond the quen, she laughe to, als even she scolden." ⇸ My Translation: (NOTE: A lot of people have been translating "queynte" as "Queen" or "quite". Since "queen" is always spelled "quen" elsewhere, that's not its meaning, especially as it's used in Tablet to refer to Mineru. In Middle English, "queynte" means clever or wise and therefore that applies to Mineru and Sonia in the context given.) "Often Rauru, king of keen blade, would leave his real work in favor of the hunt. And often wise Sonia, queen of keen insight, would seek him out and return this king to kingly business. In her sapience she seems divine, that she can always find him, and for his folly he seems the more human. And the king? Oh, he laughs. Not him her equal for her wit, he can. And the queen, she laughs too, even as she scolds [him]." ______________________________________________ ⇸ Tablet 4: "A Pilgrimage of Light" ⇸ Original Text: "The kyng was late y-come this aven, so maked the quene to sharen tales of hir lond, of shirines al grene yglouen. Of erli daes sinnes Hyrules funding have diverse monstres hir reaume biseged and assayllede. Unscesing in striffe, thei broute to despeir folkes lyfen. Kyng and quen ysete themselve to bringen scurge to ende, with might of light and pauere, driven aback ybeen, ond the roial couple made these shrirines to selen hem awai. Thes holi selen ben yclept Shirines of Light. Gret kyng, grete quen, y thank ye. Ye foughte whan y wer maiden-child, that y kude pes toknouen." ⇸ My Translation: "The king was late to come this evening, so made the queen to share tales of her land, of shrines all green and glowing. Of early days since Hyrule's founding have diverse monsters besieged and assailed her kingdom/realm.
(cont.d from "A Pilgrimage of Light") Unceasing in strife, they brought folks' lives to despair. The king and queen set themselves to bring the scourge to an end. With might of light and power, they were driven back, and the royal couple made these shrines to seal them away. These holy seals have been called Shrines of Light. Great king, great queen, I thank you. You fought when I was a maiden-child (young woman/child), so that tomorrow could pass. ______________________________________________ ⇸ Tablet 5: "The Researcher Mineru" ⇸ Original Text: "Queynte Mineru, the kynges elder suster, falles so dep in hir bokes swich that she oft foryetes to eten. In min wieried way don y what much y con, but y fer haven that it ben litel avail. Of late treteth she of 'constructes', thinges did she make with hir hondes as vessel for spirit when bodi-lich failen. So, seyde she, micht she liven longe, in spirit yhused within this 'construct'. Though Mineru ne semes to holden ani deceyte...Bi my feith, y kan nat als trouthe these wordes bileven. ⇸ My Translation: "Wise Mineru, the king's elder sister, falls so deep in her books that she often forgets to eat. In my worried way I have done what much I can, but I fear that it has been to little avail. Of late she tells of 'constructs', things she made with her hands as a vessel for her spirit when her body fails. So, she said, she might live long, her spirit housed within this 'construct'. Though Mineru does not seem to hold any deceit...By my faith, I can not believe truth in these words. That about wraps up this bit! I can't add any more monument translations since I'm running out of space. I also don't have their words copied down into my theory notebook, so I don't know what they say. In addition, I still have 4 left to find in-game. If you enjoyed, leave a heart and star, and look out for my next project (it'll be Halloween-themed)!
