DROTTKVAETT

DROTTKVAETT.
FORMAT &
IDENTIFIERS
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The composer tried to organize syllables to have an alliteration or a rhyme in every six syllables.

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The composer could choose to have seven syllables in a line, if necessary, to complete a thought.

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To decipher the original sounds they have to be divided into lines. Then the alliterations and rhymes have been identified by

the scheme below.

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"-" = alliteration.

'-' = rhyme

'"-"' = both

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DROTTKVAETT SCORE

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During deciphering attempts we used a "Drottkvaett score" to indicate how many syllables for alliterations and rhymes exist in the stanza compared to the expected number the composer should have used.

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The "Drottkvaett score" is a ratio of alliterations and rhymes

divided by 4X lines.  [There should be four syllables in every line that are either an alliteration or a rhyme.]
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KEY SYLLABLE

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The even lines MUST have an alliteration in the first syllable that matches an alliteration of the odd line before it. We call this syllable the KEY.

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The KEY may have been used to connect two lines to make one complete thought.  We give the KEY a Drottkvaett value of two, because the one alliteration syllable MUST be in a definite location.
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PARAPHRASING

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Paraphrasing was used to get syllables necessary to make the alliterations and rhymes.  I.e. "cone" might be a paraphrase for "tepee."
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WORD POSITION

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The composer also had the freedom to move words to any location in the stanza to make the alliterations or the rhymes.  Thus previous attempts by modern translators to decipher the Maalan Aarum were defeated because the translators had expected a reliable linear pattern of sentence construction.
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RECORDING SOUNDS

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[In 1820, the Moravian priests did not understand that they were hearing Drottkvaett stanzas. They also did not know the Lenape language well enough to understand paraphrasing.  I.e. "in the light" meant a "priest."  The Moravian priests recorded "in the light" and missed the religious connection.]

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.Sometimes the composer added more alliterations or rhymes than he needed.  Then the Drottkvaett score will be over 100%.  

The additional alliterations or rhymes may have been the composer's method to ensure that listeners of a future generation would recognize that the stanza was a Drottkvaett stanza.  In fact, something like that did occur.

The alliterations and rhymes within the stanzas seemed to have a poetic pattern, but they were not modern English poems.  When we asked Valdimar, in Iceland, if there might be an explanation, he sent the Drottkvaett format.

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A Drottkvaett score of less than 100% is an indication that one or more syllables may not be correct.  Scores lower than 100% indicate that the deciphering is not yet completely correct, but scores over 85% indicate that the deciphering may be close enough to accept for now.

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From here, forward through the stanza's, only one person will be dividing the original sounds and marking the alliterations and rhymes.  One person, working alone, makes mistakes.

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You can help us find and correct the mistakes.  You do not need to be a linguist to check the syllables to determine if the one person did his homework correctly.

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If you see something that might be an error, please use the comment provision to alert us to the errors.

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