Ancient Germanic or European Languages...?

Question

I have been researching and looking for an ancient text/language to get a tattoo in. I am of German descent. I want a quote in fancy script, but I don't want to use a language that means nothing. Using a Germanic language would be a good way to tie heritage into my tattoo.

Do you know of any ancient languages (NOT runes...)

Answer 1

The oldest texts in Old High German ("Althochdeutsch", 6th century AD - 1050 AD) :

"Das Hildebrandslied", 9th century, a mixture of Old Bavarian and Old Saxon, epic poetry : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hildebrands...

"Muspilli" , 9th century, Old High German, epic poetry : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muspilli

"die Merseburger Zaubersprüche", Old High German, magic spells : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merseburg_I...

("Ubilo tuo, bezzeres ne wane." is a 9th century proverb, meaning 'If you act bad, don't expect anything good.')

Answer 2

ubilo tûo bezzeres ne wâne

Old High German but I don't know what it means, possibly a proverb

Answer 3

The Weingartner Reisesegen (Blessing for Travelers from Weingarten Monastery) was written in the tenth century.

One line is:

Offin si dir diz sigidor

[May the gates of success stand open for you]

If you search out the full text you may find other expressions that would work for you.

Answer 4

Gothic would be nice for a tat