Teribus ye teri odin
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Teribus ye teri odin was the war cry of the men of Hawick at the Battle of Flodden Field, and still preserved in the traditions of the town. The full chorus was often sung at festive gatherings, not only in the gallant old border town itself, but in the remotest districts of Canada, the United States and Australia, wherever Hawick men, and natives of the Scottish Border congregated to keep up the remembrance of their native land, and haunts of their boyhood.
- "Teribus ye teri odin
- Sons of heroes slain at Flodden
- Imitating Border bowmen
- Aye defend your right and common"
Attempts have been made to connect this Border ballad with the names of the Scandinavian and Norse gods, Thor and Odin. The ballad, of which these mysterious words form the burden, is one of patriotic "defence and defiance" against foreign invaders. Charles MacKay has also suggested that the phrase is a corruption, or phonetic rendering, of the Scottish Gaelic "Tìr a buaidh, 's tìr a dìon" meaning "Land of victory & land of defence".
[edit] References
- MacKay, Charles – A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch (1888)
- A Hawick Wordbook - Douglas Scott
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