The Musician's Tale - The Saga Of King Olaf - The Wayside Inn - Part First Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: A B BCBDEB FGBHIJ IJKLJM MINMMI BOMBBP QMIMRM MNMMLH A S BBMOOM MMBMMB TTUOOU VVMIIM WWHBBH IINBBN XXIIII IIBLLB YYMOOM MMZIIZ IINMMN MMBMMB A2A2BMMB B2B2BMMB A Z HHC2C2NN HHZZNN BBZZNN BBD2D2BN HHZZZN OOOOBN MMYYON OOIIBN Y M MMMI MM E2E2 ZF2 MM MM G2G2 ZZ MM MM G2G2 F2F2 MM H2H2 MM BB YY OO MM II I2I2 MM YY MM J2J2MI M I IIBIIB BBMBBM MMMYYM IIIIII MMMOOM K2K2OMMO MMOZZO IIMBBM IIBOOB G2G2BMMB MMMMMM G2G2BIIB L2L2M2MMM2 G2G2OBBO BBMG2G2M K2K2MIIM Y G2 N2N2O2O2O2 G2G2MMO2 ZZMMO2 MMMMO2 BBMMO2 MMG2G2O2 IIG2G2O2 MMBBO2 IIP2P2O2 MMMMO2 Q2Q2O2O2O2 MMIIO2 MMR2R2O2 Y M G2G2M BBM BBY BBY III BBI MMI III MMM MMM MMG2 O2O2G2 MMI BBI MMO2 G2G2O2 MMM MMM MMO2 G2G2O2 O2O2B MMB MMO2 G2G2O2 Y G2 MMII BBG2G2 MMG2G2 IIBB IIR2R2 IIII MMMM BBBB IIBB G2G2MM I M MMMMMMM MMMMO2O2M MZMZBBM MBMBF2F2M IMIMMMM MG2MG2BBM MMMMG2G2M IG2IG2MMM MZMZO2O2M MG2MG2MMM S2G2S2G2MMM I O2 MMIIMIY MMMMMT2M MMIIMYT2 MMO2O2MO2T2 MMIIMIY BBMMBBT2 MMMMMMY M M O2O2G2M IIG2M MMIM IIIM G2G2MI MMMI MMMM MMMM MMG2I IIG2I O2O2F2G2 MMF2G2 O2O2BB MMBB O2O2ZM BBZM MMBM BBBM G2G2O2M G2G2O2M MMMG2 MMMG2 I I O2O2ZZZZ IIMO2O2M G2G2IBBI IIO2MMO2 G2G2MMMM MMBO2O2B O2O2MMMM MMO2MMO2 G2G2IMMI MMIIII IIMMMM IIMMMM MMMZZM I M BIBO2I MO2MG2O2 O2IO2YI MIMO2I BBBO2B IBIG2B MIMO2I O2BO2G2B O2MO2MM O2O2O2F2O2 O2MO2IM BO2BBO2 O2O2O2O2O2 O2BO2G2B MZMIZ IIIF2I MBMO2B Y M F2F2ZBBBB MMMMMMM IIZMMMZ O2O2MMMMM BBMBBBM O2O2BMMMB IIMG2G2G2M MMZMMMZ IIBMMMB Y B BBG2MMG2O2B MMIMMIO2B MMMMMMO2B G2G2MG2G2MO2B ZZMO2O2MO2B Y I MIMG2 BIBG2 IG2BY MMBY MO2BI MMII MBYM BBMM MIMG2 BMMG2 IG2BI MMBI BMBY O2BIY YO2MG2 YO2MG2 BMMB MMZB MIYM MIYM IMU2Y O2BMY O2G2IB MIBB Y B MMMMMMMM R2R2R2MMMMM IIIMBBBM O2O2O2MMMMM MMMZG2G2G2Z O2O2O2O2MMMO2 MMMG2MMMG2 MMMIMMMI IIIG2O2O2O2G2 Y M IIMI ZZIZ MMMM MMIM MMBM MMIM MMYM MMIM MMYM IIMI I I MMMIIM O2MO2O2O2M O2MO2MMM MMMMMM O2O2O2MMO2 MIMBBI O2MO2YYM IIIMMI O2MO2IIM MMMMMM ZO2ZIIO2 I B BMBMO2MO2M BMBMO2ZO2Z G2MG2MG2MG2M O2O2O2O2O2O2O2O2 BMBMO2YO2Y BIBMBO2BO2 MV2MV2O2MO2M I O2 MMMZ MMMZ MMMY G2G2G2Y O2O2O2I IIII O2O2O2Z MMMZ G2G2G2M IIIM BBBV2 BBBV2 IIIO2 MMMO2 ZZZG2 MMMG2 I I MBIO2O2B IO2IMBI BMMO2YW2 G2ZMIII MIZMIM MMBZII BIIIO2I O2O2MMIO2 ZMIIBI MMZIIM MIZMIZ M ZZMM MMMMMMIIIII X2G2G2X2X2G2MBBM MIIMMIIII IMMMM G2G2MMBG2G2B G2G2IIMG2G2M MMMMMMYY ZZMG2G2G2MI | A |
- | |
THE CHALLENGE OF THOR | B |
- | |
I am the God Thor | B |
I am the War God | C |
I am the Thunderer | B |
Here in my Northland | D |
My fastness and fortress | E |
Reign I forever | B |
- | |
Here amid icebergs | F |
Rule I the nations | G |
This is my hammer | B |
Miolner the mighty | H |
Giants and sorcerers | I |
Cannot withstand it | J |
- | |
These are the gauntlets | I |
Wherewith I wield it | J |
And hurl it afar off | K |
This is my girdle | L |
Whenever I brace it | J |
Strength is redoubled | M |
- | |
The light thou beholdest | M |
Stream through the heavens | I |
In flashes of crimson | N |
Is but my red beard | M |
Blown by the night wind | M |
Affrighting the nations | I |
- | |
Jove is my brother | B |
Mine eyes are the lightning | O |
The wheels of my chariot | M |
Roll in the thunder | B |
The blows of my hammer | B |
Ring in the earthquake | P |
- | |
Force rules the world still | Q |
Has ruled it shall rule it | M |
Meekness is weakness | I |
Strength is triumphant | M |
Over the whole earth | R |
Still is it Thor's Day | M |
- | |
Thou art a God too | M |
O Galilean | N |
And thus single handed | M |
Unto the combat | M |
Gauntlet or Gospel | L |
Here I defy thee | H |
- | |
- | |
- | |
II | A |
- | |
KING OLAF'S RETURN | S |
- | |
And King Olaf heard the cry | B |
Saw the red light in the sky | B |
Laid his hand upon his sword | M |
As he leaned upon the railing | O |
And his ships went sailing sailing | O |
Northward into Drontheim fiord | M |
- | |
There he stood as one who dreamed | M |
And the red light glanced and gleamed | M |
On the armor that he wore | B |
And he shouted as the rifled | M |
Streamers o'er him shook and shifted | M |
I accept thy challenge Thor | B |
- | |
To avenge his father slain | T |
And reconquer realm and reign | T |
Came the youthful Olaf home | U |
Through the midnight sailing sailing | O |
Listening to the wild wind's wailing | O |
And the dashing of the foam | U |
- | |
To his thoughts the sacred name | V |
Of his mother Astrid came | V |
And the tale she oft had told | M |
Of her flight by secret passes | I |
Through the mountains and morasses | I |
To the home of Hakon old | M |
- | |
Then strange memories crowded back | W |
Of Queen Gunhild's wrath and wrack | W |
And a hurried flight by sea | H |
Of grim Vikings and the rapture | B |
Of the sea fight and the capture | B |
And the life of slavery | H |
- | |
How a stranger watched his face | I |
In the Esthonian market place | I |
Scanned his features one by one | N |
Saying We should know each other | B |
I am Sigurd Astrid's brother | B |
Thou art Olaf Astrid's son | N |
- | |
Then as Queen Allogia's page | X |
Old in honors young in age | X |
Chief of all her men at arms | I |
Till vague whispers and mysterious | I |
Reached King Valdemar the imperious | I |
Filling him with strange alarms | I |
- | |
Then his cruisings o'er the seas | I |
Westward to the Hebrides | I |
And to Scilly's rocky shore | B |
And the hermit's cavern dismal | L |
Christ's great name and rites baptismal | L |
in the ocean's rush and roar | B |
- | |
All these thoughts of love and strife | Y |
Glimmered through his lurid life | Y |
As the stars' intenser light | M |
Through the red flames o'er him trailing | O |
As his ships went sailing sailing | O |
Northward in the summer night | M |
- | |
Trained for either camp or court | M |
Skilful in each manly sport | M |
Young and beautiful and tall | Z |
Art of warfare craft of chases | I |
Swimming skating snow shoe races | I |
Excellent alike in all | Z |
- | |
When at sea with all his rowers | I |
He along the bending oars | I |
Outside of his ship could run | N |
He the Smalsor Horn ascended | M |
And his shining shield suspended | M |
On its summit like a sun | N |
- | |
On the ship rails he could stand | M |
Wield his sword with either hand | M |
And at once two javelins throw | B |
At all feasts where ale was strongest | M |
Sat the merry monarch longest | M |
First to come and last to go | B |
- | |
Norway never yet had seen | A2 |
One so beautiful of mien | A2 |
One so royal in attire | B |
When in arms completely furnished | M |
Harness gold inlaid and burnished | M |
Mantle like a flame of fire | B |
- | |
Thus came Olaf to his own | B2 |
When upon the night wind blown | B2 |
Passed that cry along the shore | B |
And he answered while the rifted | M |
Streamers o'er him shook and shifted | M |
I accept thy challenge Thor | B |
- | |
- | |
- | |
III | A |
- | |
THORA OF RIMOL | Z |
- | |
Thora of Rimol hide me hide me | H |
Danger and shame and death betide me | H |
For Olaf the King is hunting me down | C2 |
Through field and forest through thorp and town | C2 |
Thus cried Jarl Hakon | N |
To Thora the fairest of women | N |
- | |
Hakon Jarl for the love I bear thee | H |
Neither shall shame nor death come near thee | H |
But the hiding place wherein thou must lie | Z |
Is the cave underneath the swine in the sty | Z |
Thus to Jarl Hakon | N |
Said Thora the fairest of women | N |
- | |
So Hakon Jarl and his base thrall Karker | B |
Crouched in the cave than a dungeon darker | B |
As Olaf came riding with men in mail | Z |
Through the forest roads into Orkadale | Z |
Demanding Jarl Hakon | N |
Of Thorn the fairest of women | N |
- | |
Rich and honored shall be whoever | B |
The head of Hakon Jarl shall dissever | B |
Hakon heard him and Karker the slave | D2 |
Through the breathing holes of the darksome cave | D2 |
Alone in her chamber | B |
Wept Thora the fairest of women | N |
- | |
Said Karker the crafty I will not slay thee | H |
For all the king's gold I will never betray thee | H |
Then why dost thou turn so pale O churl | Z |
And then again black as the earth said the Earl | Z |
More pale and more faithful | Z |
Was Thora the fairest of women | N |
- | |
From a dream in the night the thrall started saying | O |
Round my neck a gold ring King Olaf was laying | O |
And Hakon answered Beware of the king | O |
He will lay round thy neck a blood red ring | O |
At the ring on her finger | B |
Gazed Thorn the fairest of women | N |
- | |
At daybreak slept Hakon with sorrows encumbered | M |
But screamed and drew up his feet as he slumbered | M |
The thrall in the darkness plunged with his knife | Y |
And the Earl awakened no more in this life | Y |
But wakeful and weeping | O |
Sat Thorn the fairest of women | N |
- | |
At Nidarholm the priests are all singing | O |
Two ghastly heads on the gibbet are swinging | O |
One is Jarl Hakon's and one is his thrall's | I |
And the people are shouting from windows and walls | I |
While alone in her chamber | B |
Swoons Thorn the fairest of women | N |
- | |
- | |
- | |
IV | Y |
- | |
QUEEN SIGRID THE HAUGHTY | M |
- | |
Queen Sigrid the Haughty sat proud and aloft | M |
In her chamber that looked over meadow and croft | M |
Heart's dearest | M |
Why dost thou sorrow so | I |
- | |
The floor with tassels of fir was besprent | M |
Filling the room with their fragrant scent | M |
- | |
She heard the birds sing she saw the sun shine | E2 |
The air of summer was sweeter than wine | E2 |
- | |
Like a sword without scabbard the bright river lay | Z |
Between her own kingdom and Norroway | F2 |
- | |
But Olaf the King had sued for her hand | M |
The sword would be sheathed the river be spanned | M |
- | |
Her maidens were seated around her knee | M |
Working bright figures in tapestry | M |
- | |
And one was singing the ancient rune | G2 |
Of Brynhilda's love and the wrath of Gudrun | G2 |
- | |
And through it and round it and over it all | Z |
Sounded incessant the waterfall | Z |
- | |
The Queen in her hand held a ring of gold | M |
From the door of Lade's Temple old | M |
- | |
King Olaf had sent her this wedding gift | M |
But her thoughts as arrows were keen and swift | M |
- | |
She had given the ring to her goldsmiths twain | G2 |
Who smiled as they handed it back again | G2 |
- | |
And Sigrid the Queen in her haughty way | F2 |
Said Why do you smile my goldsmiths say | F2 |
- | |
And they answered O Queen if the truth must be told | M |
The ring is of copper and not of gold | M |
- | |
The lightning flashed o'er her forehead and cheek | H2 |
She only murmured she did not speak | H2 |
- | |
If in his gifts he can faithless be | M |
There will be no gold in his love to me | M |
- | |
A footstep was heard on the outer stair | B |
And in strode King Olaf with royal air | B |
- | |
He kissed the Queen's hand and he whispered of love | Y |
And swore to be true as the stars are above | Y |
- | |
But she smiled with contempt as she answered O King | O |
Will you swear it as Odin once swore on the ring | O |
- | |
And the King O speak not of Odin to me | M |
The wife of King Olaf a Christian must be | M |
- | |
Looking straight at the King with her level brows | I |
She said I keep true to my faith and my vows | I |
- | |
Then the face of King Olaf was darkened with gloom | I2 |
He rose in his anger and strode through the room | I2 |
- | |
Why then should I care to have thee he said | M |
A faded old woman a heathenish jade | M |
- | |
His zeal was stronger than fear or love | Y |
And he struck the Queen in the face with his glove | Y |
- | |
Then forth from the chamber in anger he fled | M |
And the wooden stairway shook with his tread | M |
- | |
Queen Sigrid the Haughty said under her breath | J2 |
This insult King Olaf shall be thy death | J2 |
Heart's dearest | M |
Why dost thou sorrow so | I |
- | |
- | |
- | |
V | M |
- | |
THE SKERRY OF SHRIEKS | I |
- | |
Now from all King Olaf's farms | I |
His men at arms | I |
Gathered on the Eve of Easter | B |
To his house at Angvalds ness | I |
Fast they press | I |
Drinking with the royal feaster | B |
- | |
Loudly through the wide flung door | B |
Came the roar | B |
Of the sea upon the Skerry | M |
And its thunder loud and near | B |
Reached the ear | B |
Mingling with their voices merry | M |
- | |
Hark said Olaf to his Scald | M |
Halfred the Bald | M |
Listen to that song and learn it | M |
Half my kingdom would I give | Y |
As I live | Y |
If by such songs you would earn it | M |
- | |
For of all the runes and rhymes | I |
Of all times | I |
Best I like the ocean's dirges | I |
When the old harper heaves and rocks | I |
His hoary locks | I |
Flowing and flashing in the surges | I |
- | |
Halfred answered I am called | M |
The Unappalled | M |
Nothing hinders me or daunts me | M |
Hearken to me then O King | O |
While I sing | O |
The great Ocean Song that haunts me | M |
- | |
I will hear your song sublime | K2 |
Some other time | K2 |
Says the drowsy monarch yawning | O |
And retires each laughing guest | M |
Applauds the jest | M |
Then they sleep till day is dawning | O |
- | |
Facing up and down the yard | M |
King Olaf's guard | M |
Saw the sea mist slowly creeping | O |
O'er the sands and up the hill | Z |
Gathering still | Z |
Round the house where they were sleeping | O |
- | |
It was not the fog he saw | I |
Nor misty flaw | I |
That above the landscape brooded | M |
It was Eyvind Kallda's crew | B |
Of warlocks blue | B |
With their caps of darkness hooded | M |
- | |
Round and round the house they go | I |
Weaving slow | I |
Magic circles to encumber | B |
And imprison in their ring | O |
Olaf the King | O |
As he helpless lies in slumber | B |
- | |
Then athwart the vapors dun | G2 |
The Easter sun | G2 |
Streamed with one broad track of splendor | B |
in their real forms appeared | M |
The warlocks weird | M |
Awful as the Witch of Endor | B |
- | |
Blinded by the light that glared | M |
They groped and stared | M |
Round about with steps unsteady | M |
From his window Olaf gazed | M |
And amazed | M |
Who are these strange people said he | M |
- | |
Eyvind Kallda and his men | G2 |
Answered then | G2 |
From the yard a sturdy farmer | B |
While the men at arms apace | I |
Filled the place | I |
Busily buckling on their armor | B |
- | |
From the gates they sallied forth | L2 |
South and north | L2 |
Scoured the island coast around them | M2 |
Seizing all the warlock band | M |
Foot and hand | M |
On the Skerry's rocks they bound them | M2 |
- | |
And at eve the king again | G2 |
Called his train | G2 |
And with all the candles burning | O |
Silent sat and heard once more | B |
The sullen roar | B |
Of the ocean tides returning | O |
- | |
Shrieks and cries of wild despair | B |
Filled the air | B |
Growing fainter as they listened | M |
Then the bursting surge alone | G2 |
Sounded on | G2 |
Thus the sorcerers were christened | M |
- | |
Sing O Scald your song sublime | K2 |
Your ocean rhyme | K2 |
Cried King Olaf it will cheer me | M |
Said the Scald with pallid cheeks | I |
The Skerry of Shrieks | I |
Sings too loud for you to hear me | M |
- | |
- | |
- | |
VI | Y |
- | |
THE WRAITH OF ODIN | G2 |
- | |
The guests were loud the ale was strong | N2 |
King Olaf feasted late and long | N2 |
The hoary Scalds together sang | O2 |
O'erhead the smoky rafters rang | O2 |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
The door swung wide with creak and din | G2 |
A blast of cold night air came in | G2 |
And on the threshold shivering stood | M |
A one eyed guest with cloak and hood | M |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
The King exclaimed O graybeard pale | Z |
Come warm thee with this cup of ale | Z |
The foaming draught the old man quaffed | M |
The noisy guests looked on and laughed | M |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
Then spake the King Be not afraid | M |
Sit here by me The guest obeyed | M |
And seated at the table told | M |
Tales of the sea and Sagas old | M |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
And ever when the tale was o'er | B |
The King demanded yet one more | B |
Till Sigurd the Bishop smiling said | M |
'T is late O King and time for bed | M |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
The King retired the stranger guest | M |
Followed and entered with the rest | M |
The lights were out the pages gone | G2 |
But still the garrulous guest spake on | G2 |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
As one who from a volume reads | I |
He spake of heroes and their deeds | I |
Of lands and cities he had seen | G2 |
And stormy gulfs that tossed between | G2 |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
Then from his lips in music rolled | M |
The Havamal of Odin old | M |
With sounds mysterious as the roar | B |
Of billows on a distant shore | B |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
Do we not learn from runes and rhymes | I |
Made by the gods in elder times | I |
And do not still the great Scalds teach | P2 |
That silence better is than speech | P2 |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
Smiling at this the King replied | M |
Thy lore is by thy tongue belied | M |
For never was I so enthralled | M |
Either by Saga man or Scald | M |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
The Bishop said Late hours we keep | Q2 |
Night wanes O King 't is time for sleep | Q2 |
Then slept the King and when he woke | O2 |
The guest was gone the morning broke | O2 |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
They found the doors securely barred | M |
They found the watch dog in the yard | M |
There was no footprint in the grass | I |
And none had seen the stranger pass | I |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
King Olaf crossed himself and said | M |
I know that Odin the Great is dead | M |
Sure is the triumph of our Faith | R2 |
The one eyed stranger was his wraith | R2 |
Dead rides Sir Morten of Fogelsang | O2 |
- | |
- | |
- | |
VII | Y |
- | |
IRON BEARD | M |
- | |
Olaf the King one summer morn | G2 |
Blew a blast on his bugle horn | G2 |
Sending his signal through the land of Drontheim | M |
- | |
And to the Hus Ting held at Mere | B |
Gathered the farmers far and near | B |
With their war weapons ready to confront him | M |
- | |
Ploughing under the morning star | B |
Old Iron Beard in Yriar | B |
Heard the summons chuckling with a low laugh | Y |
- | |
He wiped the sweat drops from his brow | B |
Unharnessed his horses from the plough | B |
And clattering came on horseback to King Olaf | Y |
- | |
He was the churliest of the churls | I |
Little he cared for king or earls | I |
Bitter as home brewed ale were his foaming passions | I |
- | |
Hodden gray was the garb he wore | B |
And by the Hammer of Thor he swore | B |
He hated the narrow town and all its fashions | I |
- | |
But he loved the freedom of his farm | M |
His ale at night by the fireside warm | M |
Gudrun his daughter with her flaxen tresses | I |
- | |
He loved his horses and his herds | I |
The smell of the earth and the song of birds | I |
His well filled barns his brook with its water cresses | I |
- | |
Huge and cumbersome was his frame | M |
His beard from which he took his name | M |
Frosty and fierce like that of Hymer the Giant | M |
- | |
So at the Hus Ting he appeared | M |
The farmer of Yriar Iron Beard | M |
On horseback in an attitude defiant | M |
- | |
And to King Olaf he cried aloud | M |
Out of the middle of the crowd | M |
That tossed about him like a stormy ocean | G2 |
- | |
Such sacrifices shalt thou bring | O2 |
To Odin and to Thor O King | O2 |
As other kings have done in their devotion | G2 |
- | |
King Olaf answered I command | M |
This land to be a Christian land | M |
Here is my Bishop who the folk baptizes | I |
- | |
But if you ask me to restore | B |
Your sacrifices stained with gore | B |
Then will I offer human sacrifices | I |
- | |
Not slaves and peasants shall they be | M |
But men of note and high degree | M |
Such men as Orm of Lyra and Kar of Gryting | O2 |
- | |
Then to their Temple strode he in | G2 |
And loud behind him heard the din | G2 |
Of his men at arms and the peasants fiercely fighting | O2 |
- | |
There in the Temple carved in wood | M |
The image of great Odin stood | M |
And other gods with Thor supreme among them | M |
- | |
King Olaf smote them with the blade | M |
Of his huge war axe gold inlaid | M |
And downward shattered to the pavement flung them | M |
- | |
At the same moment rose without | M |
From the contending crowd a shout | M |
A mingled sound of triumph and of wailing | O2 |
- | |
And there upon the trampled plain | G2 |
The farmer iron Beard lay slain | G2 |
Midway between the assailed and the assailing | O2 |
- | |
King Olaf from the doorway spoke | O2 |
Choose ye between two things my folk | O2 |
To be baptized or given up to slaughter | B |
- | |
And seeing their leader stark and dead | M |
The people with a murmur said | M |
O King baptize us with thy holy water | B |
- | |
So all the Drontheim land became | M |
A Christian land in name and fame | M |
In the old gods no more believing and trusting | O2 |
- | |
And as a blood atonement soon | G2 |
King Olaf wed the fair Gudrun | G2 |
And thus in peace ended the Drontheim Hus Ting | O2 |
- | |
- | |
- | |
VIII | Y |
- | |
GUDRUN | G2 |
- | |
On King Olaf's bridal night | M |
Shines the moon with tender light | M |
And across the chamber streams | I |
Its tide of dreams | I |
- | |
At the fatal midnight hour | B |
When all evil things have power | B |
In the glimmer of the moon | G2 |
Stands Gudrun | G2 |
- | |
Close against her heaving breast | M |
Something in her hand is pressed | M |
Like an icicle its sheen | G2 |
Is cold and keen | G2 |
- | |
On the cairn are fixed her eyes | I |
Where her murdered father lies | I |
And a voice remote and drear | B |
She seems to hear | B |
- | |
What a bridal night is this | I |
Cold will be the dagger's kiss | I |
Laden with the chill of death | R2 |
Is its breath | R2 |
- | |
Like the drifting snow she sweeps | I |
To the couch where Olaf sleeps | I |
Suddenly he wakes and stirs | I |
His eyes meet hers | I |
- | |
What is that King Olaf said | M |
Gleams so bright above thy head | M |
Wherefore standest thou so white | M |
In pale moonlight | M |
- | |
'T is the bodkin that I wear | B |
When at night I bind my hair | B |
It woke me falling on the floor | B |
'T is nothing more | B |
- | |
Forests have ears and fields have eyes | I |
Often treachery lurking lies | I |
Underneath the fairest hair | B |
Gudrun beware | B |
- | |
Ere the earliest peep of morn | G2 |
Blew King Olaf's bugle horn | G2 |
And forever sundered ride | M |
Bridegroom and bride | M |
- | |
- | |
- | |
IX | I |
- | |
THANGBRAND THE PRIEST | M |
- | |
Short of stature large of limb | M |
Burly face and russet beard | M |
All the women stared at him | M |
When in Iceland he appeared | M |
Look they said | M |
With nodding head | M |
There goes Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
All the prayers he knew by rote | M |
He could preach like Chrysostome | M |
From the Fathers he could quote | M |
He had even been at Rome | M |
A learned clerk | O2 |
A man of mark | O2 |
Was this Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
He was quarrelsome and loud | M |
And impatient of control | Z |
Boisterous in the market crowd | M |
Boisterous at the wassail bowl | Z |
Everywhere | B |
Would drink and swear | B |
Swaggering Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
In his house this malcontent | M |
Could the King no longer bear | B |
So to Iceland he was sent | M |
To convert the heathen there | B |
And away | F2 |
One summer day | F2 |
Sailed this Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
There in Iceland o'er their books | I |
Pored the people day and night | M |
But he did not like their looks | I |
Nor the songs they used to write | M |
All this rhyme | M |
Is waste of time | M |
Grumbled Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
To the alehouse where he sat | M |
Came the Scalds and Saga men | G2 |
Is it to be wondered at | M |
That they quarrelled now and then | G2 |
When o'er his beer | B |
Began to leer | B |
Drunken Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
All the folk in Altafiord | M |
Boasted of their island grand | M |
Saying in a single word | M |
Iceland is the finest land | M |
That the sun | G2 |
Doth shine upon | G2 |
Loud laughed Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
And he answered What's the use | I |
Of this bragging up and down | G2 |
When three women and one goose | I |
Make a market in your town | G2 |
Every Scald | M |
Satires scrawled | M |
On poor Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
Something worse they did than that | M |
And what vexed him most of all | Z |
Was a figure in shovel hat | M |
Drawn in charcoal on the wall | Z |
With words that go | O2 |
Sprawling below | O2 |
This is Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
Hardly knowing what he did | M |
Then he smote them might and main | G2 |
Thorvald Veile and Veterlid | M |
Lay there in the alehouse slain | G2 |
To day we are gold | M |
To morrow mould | M |
Muttered Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
Much in fear of axe and rope | S2 |
Back to Norway sailed he then | G2 |
O King Olaf little hope | S2 |
Is there of these Iceland men | G2 |
Meekly said | M |
With bending head | M |
Pious Thangbrand Olaf's Priest | M |
- | |
- | |
X | I |
- | |
RAUD THE STRONG | O2 |
- | |
All the old gods are dead | M |
All the wild warlocks fled | M |
But the White Christ lives and reigns | I |
And throughout my wide domains | I |
His Gospel shall be spread | M |
On the Evangelists | I |
Thus swore King Olaf | Y |
- | |
But still in dreams of the night | M |
Beheld he the crimson light | M |
And heard the voice that defied | M |
Him who was crucified | M |
And challenged him to the fight | M |
To Sigurd the Bishop | T2 |
King Olaf confessed it | M |
- | |
And Sigurd the Bishop said | M |
The old gods are not dead | M |
For the great Thor still reigns | I |
And among the Jarls and Thanes | I |
The old witchcraft still is spread | M |
Thus to King Olaf | Y |
Said Sigurd the Bishop | T2 |
- | |
Far north in the Salten Fiord | M |
By rapine fire and sword | M |
Lives the Viking Raud the Strong | O2 |
All the Godoe Isles belong | O2 |
To him and his heathen horde | M |
Thus went on speaking | O2 |
Sigurd the Bishop | T2 |
- | |
A warlock a wizard is he | M |
And lord of the wind and the sea | M |
And whichever way he sails | I |
He has ever favoring gales | I |
By his craft in sorcery | M |
Here the sign of the cross | I |
Made devoutly King Olaf | Y |
- | |
With rites that we both abhor | B |
He worships Odin and Thor | B |
So it cannot yet be said | M |
That all the old gods are dead | M |
And the warlocks are no more | B |
Flushing with anger | B |
Said Sigurd the Bishop | T2 |
- | |
Then King Olaf cried aloud | M |
I will talk with this mighty Raud | M |
And along the Salten Fiord | M |
Preach the Gospel with my sword | M |
Or be brought back in my shroud | M |
So northward from Drontheim | M |
Sailed King Olaf | Y |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XI | M |
- | |
BISHOP SIGURD AT SALTEN FIORD | M |
- | |
Loud the angry wind was wailing | O2 |
As King Olaf's ships came sailing | O2 |
Northward out of Drontheim haven | G2 |
To the mouth of Salten Fiord | M |
- | |
Though the flying sea spray drenches | I |
Fore and aft the rowers' benches | I |
Not a single heart is craven | G2 |
Of the champions there on board | M |
- | |
All without the Fiord was quiet | M |
But within it storm and riot | M |
Such as on his Viking cruises | I |
Raud the Strong was wont to ride | M |
- | |
And the sea through all its tide ways | I |
Swept the reeling vessels sideways | I |
As the leaves are swept through sluices | I |
When the flood gates open wide | M |
- | |
'T is the warlock 't is the demon | G2 |
Raud cried Sigurd to the seamen | G2 |
But the Lord is not affrighted | M |
By the witchcraft of his foes | I |
- | |
To the ship's bow he ascended | M |
By his choristers attended | M |
Round him were the tapers lighted | M |
And the sacred incense rose | I |
- | |
On the bow stood Bishop Sigurd | M |
In his robes as one transfigured | M |
And the Crucifix he planted | M |
High amid the rain and mist | M |
- | |
Then with holy water sprinkled | M |
All the ship the mass bells tinkled | M |
Loud the monks around him chanted | M |
Loud he read the Evangelist | M |
- | |
As into the Fiord they darted | M |
On each side the water parted | M |
Down a path like silver molten | G2 |
Steadily rowed King Olaf's ships | I |
- | |
Steadily burned all night the tapers | I |
And the White Christ through the vapors | I |
Gleamed across the Fiord of Salten | G2 |
As through John's Apocalypse | I |
- | |
Till at last they reached Raud's dwelling | O2 |
On the little isle of Gelling | O2 |
Not a guard was at the doorway | F2 |
Not a glimmer of light was seen | G2 |
- | |
But at anchor carved and gilded | M |
Lay the dragon ship he builded | M |
'T was the grandest ship in Norway | F2 |
With its crest and scales of green | G2 |
- | |
Up the stairway softly creeping | O2 |
To the loft where Raud was sleeping | O2 |
With their fists they burst asunder | B |
Bolt and bar that held the door | B |
- | |
Drunken with sleep and ale they found him | M |
Dragged him from his bed and bound him | M |
While he stared with stupid wonder | B |
At the look and garb they wore | B |
- | |
Then King Olaf said O Sea King | O2 |
Little time have we for speaking | O2 |
Choose between the good and evil | Z |
Be baptized or thou shalt die | M |
- | |
But in scorn the heathen scoffer | B |
Answered I disdain thine offer | B |
Neither fear I God nor Devil | Z |
Thee and thy Gospel I defy | M |
- | |
Then between his jaws distended | M |
When his frantic struggles ended | M |
Through King Olaf's horn an adder | B |
Touched by fire they forced to glide | M |
- | |
Sharp his tooth was as an arrow | B |
As he gnawed through bone and marrow | B |
But without a groan or shudder | B |
Raud the Strong blaspheming died | M |
- | |
Then baptized they all that region | G2 |
Swarthy Lap and fair Norwegian | G2 |
Far as swims the salmon leaping | O2 |
Up the streams of Salten Fiord | M |
- | |
In their temples Thor and Odin | G2 |
Lay in dust and ashes trodden | G2 |
As King Olaf onward sweeping | O2 |
Preached the Gospel with his sword | M |
- | |
Then he took the carved and gilded | M |
Dragon ship that Raud had builded | M |
And the tiller single handed | M |
Grasping steered into the main | G2 |
- | |
Southward sailed the sea gulls o'er him | M |
Southward sailed the ship that bore him | M |
Till at Drontheim haven landed | M |
Olaf and his crew again | G2 |
- | |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XII | I |
- | |
KING OLAF'S CHRISTMAS | I |
- | |
At Drontheim Olaf the King | O2 |
Heard the bells of Yule tide ring | O2 |
As he sat in his banquet hall | Z |
Drinking the nut brown ale | Z |
With his bearded Berserks hale | Z |
And tall | Z |
- | |
Three days his Yule tide feasts | I |
He held with Bishops and Priests | I |
And his horn filled up to the brim | M |
But the ale was never too strong | O2 |
Nor the Saga man's tale too long | O2 |
For him | M |
- | |
O'er his drinking horn the sign | G2 |
He made of the cross divine | G2 |
As he drank and muttered his prayers | I |
But the Berserks evermore | B |
Made the sign of the Hammer of Thor | B |
Over theirs | I |
- | |
The gleams of the fire light dance | I |
Upon helmet and hauberk and lance | I |
And laugh in the eyes of the King | O2 |
And he cries to Halfred the Scald | M |
Gray bearded wrinkled and bald | M |
Sing | O2 |
- | |
Sing me a song divine | G2 |
With a sword in every line | G2 |
And this shall be thy reward | M |
And he loosened the belt at his waist | M |
And in front of the singer placed | M |
His sword | M |
- | |
Quern biter of Hakon the Good | M |
Wherewith at a stroke he hewed | M |
The millstone through and through | B |
And Foot breadth of Thoralf the Strong | O2 |
Were neither so broad nor so long | O2 |
Nor so true | B |
- | |
Then the Scald took his harp and sang | O2 |
And loud though the music rang | O2 |
The sound of that shining word | M |
And the harp strings a clangor made | M |
As if they were struck with the blade | M |
Of a sword | M |
- | |
And the Berserks round about | M |
Broke forth into a shout | M |
That made the rafters ring | O2 |
They smote with their fists on the board | M |
And shouted Long live the Sword | M |
And the King | O2 |
- | |
But the King said O my son | G2 |
I miss the bright word in one | G2 |
Of thy measures and thy rhymes | I |
And Halfred the Scald replied | M |
In another 't was multiplied | M |
Three times | I |
- | |
Then King Olaf raised the hilt | M |
Of iron cross shaped and gilt | M |
And said Do not refuse | I |
Count well the gain and the loss | I |
Thor's hammer or Christ's cross | I |
Choose | I |
- | |
And Halfred the Scald said This | I |
In the name of the Lord I kiss | I |
Who on it was crucified | M |
And a shout went round the board | M |
In the name of Christ the Lord | M |
Who died | M |
- | |
Then over the waste of snows | I |
The noonday sun uprose | I |
Through the driving mists revealed | M |
Like the lifting of the Host | M |
By incense clouds almost | M |
Concealed | M |
- | |
On the shining wall a vast | M |
And shadowy cross was cast | M |
From the hilt of the lifted sword | M |
And in foaming cups of ale | Z |
The Berserks drank Was hael | Z |
To the Lord | M |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XIII | I |
- | |
THE BUILDING OF THE LONG SERPENT | M |
- | |
Thorberg Skafting master builder | B |
In his ship yard by the sea | I |
Whistling said It would bewilder | B |
Any man but Thorberg Skafting | O2 |
Any man but me | I |
- | |
Near him lay the Dragon stranded | M |
Built of old by Raud the Strong | O2 |
And King Olaf had commanded | M |
He should build another Dragon | G2 |
Twice as large and long | O2 |
- | |
Therefore whistled Thorberg Skafting | O2 |
As he sat with half closed eyes | I |
And his head turned sideways drafting | O2 |
That new vessel for King Olaf | Y |
Twice the Dragon's size | I |
- | |
Round him busily hewed and hammered | M |
Mallet huge and heavy axe | I |
Workmen laughed and sang and clamored | M |
Whirred the wheels that into rigging | O2 |
Spun the shining flax | I |
- | |
All this tumult heard the master | B |
It was music to his ear | B |
Fancy whispered all the faster | B |
Men shall hear of Thorberg Skafting | O2 |
For a hundred year | B |
- | |
Workmen sweating at the forges | I |
Fashioned iron bolt and bar | B |
Like a warlock's midnight orgies | I |
Smoked and bubbled the black caldron | G2 |
With the boiling tar | B |
- | |
Did the warlocks mingle in it | M |
Thorberg Skafting any curse | I |
Could you not be gone a minute | M |
But some mischief must be doing | O2 |
Turning bad to worse | I |
- | |
'T was an ill wind that came wafting | O2 |
From his homestead words of woe | B |
To his farm went Thorberg Skafting | O2 |
Oft repeating to his workmen | G2 |
Build ye thus and so | B |
- | |
After long delays returning | O2 |
Came the master back by night | M |
To his ship yard longing yearning | O2 |
Hurried he and did not leave it | M |
Till the morning's light | M |
- | |
Come and see my ship my darling | O2 |
On the morrow said the King | O2 |
Finished now from keel to carling | O2 |
Never yet was seen in Norway | F2 |
Such a wondrous thing | O2 |
- | |
In the ship yard idly talking | O2 |
At the ship the workmen stared | M |
Some one all their labor balking | O2 |
Down her sides had cut deep gashes | I |
Not a plank was spared | M |
- | |
Death be to the evil doer | B |
With an oath King Olaf spoke | O2 |
But rewards to his pursuer | B |
And with wrath his face grew redder | B |
Than his scarlet cloak | O2 |
- | |
Straight the master builder smiling | O2 |
Answered thus the angry King | O2 |
Cease blaspheming and reviling | O2 |
Olaf it was Thorberg Skafting | O2 |
Who has done this thing | O2 |
- | |
Then he chipped and smoothed the planking | O2 |
Till the King delighted swore | B |
With much lauding and much thanking | O2 |
Handsomer is now my Dragon | G2 |
Than she was before | B |
- | |
Seventy ells and four extended | M |
On the grass the vessel's keel | Z |
High above it gilt and splendid | M |
Rose the figure head ferocious | I |
With its crest of steel | Z |
- | |
Then they launched her from the tressels | I |
In the ship yard by the sea | I |
She was the grandest of all vessels | I |
Never ship was built in Norway | F2 |
Half so fine as she | I |
- | |
The Long Serpent was she christened | M |
'Mid the roar of cheer on cheer | B |
They who to the Saga listened | M |
Heard the name of Thorberg Skafting | O2 |
For a hundred year | B |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XIV | Y |
- | |
THE CREW OF THE LONG SERPENT | M |
- | |
Safe at anchor in Drontheim bay | F2 |
King Olaf's fleet assembled lay | F2 |
And striped with white and blue | Z |
Downward fluttered sail and banner | B |
As alights the screaming lanner | B |
Lustily cheered in their wild manner | B |
The Long Serpent's crew | B |
- | |
Her forecastle man was Ulf the Red | M |
Like a wolf's was his shaggy head | M |
His teeth as large and white | M |
His beard of gray and russet blended | M |
Round as a swallow's nest descended | M |
As standard bearer he defended | M |
Olaf's flag in the fight | M |
- | |
Near him Kolbiorn had his place | I |
Like the King in garb and face | I |
So gallant and so hale | Z |
Every cabin boy and varlet | M |
Wondered at his cloak of scarlet | M |
Like a river frozen and star lit | M |
Gleamed his coat of mail | Z |
- | |
By the bulkhead tall and dark | O2 |
Stood Thrand Rame of Thelemark | O2 |
A figure gaunt and grand | M |
On his hairy arm imprinted | M |
Was an anchor azure tinted | M |
Like Thor's hammer huge and dinted | M |
Was his brawny hand | M |
- | |
Einar Tamberskelver bare | B |
To the winds his golden hair | B |
By the mainmast stood | M |
Graceful was his form and slender | B |
And his eyes were deep and tender | B |
As a woman's in the splendor | B |
Of her maidenhood | M |
- | |
In the fore hold Biorn and Bork | O2 |
Watched the sailors at their work | O2 |
Heavens how they swore | B |
Thirty men they each commanded | M |
Iron sinewed horny handed | M |
Shoulders broad and chests expanded | M |
Tugging at the oar | B |
- | |
These and many more like these | I |
With King Olaf sailed the seas | I |
Till the waters vast | M |
Filled them with a vague devotion | G2 |
With the freedom and the motion | G2 |
With the roll and roar of ocean | G2 |
And the sounding blast | M |
- | |
When they landed from the fleet | M |
How they roared through Drontheim's street | M |
Boisterous as the gale | Z |
How they laughed and stamped and pounded | M |
Till the tavern roof resounded | M |
And the host looked on astounded | M |
As they drank the ale | Z |
- | |
Never saw the wild North Sea | I |
Such a gallant company | I |
Sail its billows blue | B |
Never while they cruised and quarrelled | M |
Old King Gorm or Blue Tooth Harald | M |
Owned a ship so well apparelled | M |
Boasted such a crew | B |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XV | Y |
- | |
A LITTLE BIRD IN THE AIR | B |
- | |
A little bird in the air | B |
Is singing of Thyri the fair | B |
The sister of Svend the Dane | G2 |
And the song of the garrulous bird | M |
In the streets of the town is heard | M |
And repeated again and again | G2 |
Hoist up your sails of silk | O2 |
And flee away from each other | B |
- | |
To King Burislaf it is said | M |
Was the beautiful Thyri wed | M |
And a sorrowful bride went she | I |
And after a week and a day | M |
She has fled away and away | M |
From his town by the stormy sea | I |
Hoist up your sails of silk | O2 |
And flee away from each other | B |
- | |
They say that through heat and through cold | M |
Through weald they say and through wold | M |
By day and by night they say | M |
She has fled and the gossips report | M |
She has come to King Olaf's court | M |
And the town is all in dismay | M |
Hoist up your sails of silk | O2 |
And flee away from each other | B |
- | |
It is whispered King Olaf has seen | G2 |
Has talked with the beautiful Queen | G2 |
And they wonder how it will end | M |
For surely if here she remain | G2 |
It is war with King Svend the Dane | G2 |
And King Burislaf the Vend | M |
Hoist up your sails of silk | O2 |
And flee away from each other | B |
- | |
O greatest wonder of all | Z |
It is published in hamlet and hall | Z |
It roars like a flame that is fanned | M |
The King yes Olaf the King | O2 |
Has wedded her with his ring | O2 |
And Thyri is Queen in the land | M |
Hoist up your sails of silk | O2 |
And flee away from each other | B |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XVI | Y |
- | |
QUEEN THYRI AND THE ANGELICA STALKS | I |
- | |
Northward over Drontheim | M |
Flew the clamorous sea gulls | I |
Sang the lark and linnet | M |
From the meadows green | G2 |
- | |
Weeping in her chamber | B |
Lonely and unhappy | I |
Sat the Drottning Thyri | B |
Sat King Olaf's Queen | G2 |
- | |
In at all the windows | I |
Streamed the pleasant sunshine | G2 |
On the roof above her | B |
Softly cooed the dove | Y |
- | |
But the sound she heard not | M |
Nor the sunshine heeded | M |
For the thoughts of Thyri | B |
Were not thoughts of love | Y |
- | |
Then King Olaf entered | M |
Beautiful as morning | O2 |
Like the sun at Easter | B |
Shone his happy face | I |
- | |
In his hand he carried | M |
Angelicas uprooted | M |
With delicious fragrance | I |
Filling all the place | I |
- | |
Like a rainy midnight | M |
Sat the Drottning Thyri | B |
Even the smile of Olaf | Y |
Could not cheer her gloom | M |
- | |
Nor the stalks he gave her | B |
With a gracious gesture | B |
And with words as pleasant | M |
As their own perfume | M |
- | |
In her hands he placed them | M |
And her jewelled fingers | I |
Through the green leaves glistened | M |
Like the dews of morn | G2 |
- | |
But she cast them from her | B |
Haughty and indignant | M |
On the floor she threw them | M |
With a look of scorn | G2 |
- | |
Richer presents said she | I |
Gave King Harald Gormson | G2 |
To the Queen my mother | B |
Than such worthless weeds | I |
- | |
When he ravaged Norway | M |
Laying waste the kingdom | M |
Seizing scatt and treasure | B |
For her royal needs | I |
- | |
But thou darest not venture | B |
Through the Sound to Vendland | M |
My domains to rescue | B |
From King Burislaf | Y |
- | |
Lest King Svend of Denmark | O2 |
Forked Beard my brother | B |
Scatter all thy vessels | I |
As the wind the chaff | Y |
- | |
Then up sprang King Olaf | Y |
Like a reindeer bounding | O2 |
With an oath he answered | M |
Thus the luckless Queen | G2 |
- | |
Never yet did Olaf | Y |
Fear King Svend of Denmark | O2 |
This right hand shall hale him | M |
By his forked chin | G2 |
- | |
Then he left the chamber | B |
Thundering through the doorway | M |
Loud his steps resounded | M |
Down the outer stair | B |
- | |
Smarting with the insult | M |
Through the streets of Drontheim | M |
Strode he red and wrathful | Z |
With his stately air | B |
- | |
All his ships he gathered | M |
Summoned all his forces | I |
Making his war levy | Y |
In the region round | M |
- | |
Down the coast of Norway | M |
Like a flock of sea gulls | I |
Sailed the fleet of Olaf | Y |
Through the Danish Sound | M |
- | |
With his own hand fearless | I |
Steered he the Long Serpent | M |
Strained the creaking cordage | U2 |
Bent each boom and gaff | Y |
- | |
Till in Venland landing | O2 |
The domains of Thyri | B |
He redeemed and rescued | M |
From King Burislaf | Y |
- | |
Then said Olaf laughing | O2 |
Not ten yoke of oxen | G2 |
Have the power to draw us | I |
Like a woman's hair | B |
- | |
Now will I confess it | M |
Better things are jewels | I |
Than angelica stalks are | B |
For a Queen to wear | B |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XVII | Y |
- | |
KING SVEND OF THE FORKED BEAR | B |
- | |
Loudly the sailors cheered | M |
Svend of the Forked Beard | M |
As with his fleet he steered | M |
Southward to Vendland | M |
Where with their courses hauled | M |
All were together called | M |
Under the Isle of Svald | M |
Near to the mainland | M |
- | |
After Queen Gunhild's death | R2 |
So the old Saga saith | R2 |
Plighted King Svend his faith | R2 |
To Sigrid the Haughty | M |
And to avenge his bride | M |
Soothing her wounded pride | M |
Over the waters wide | M |
King Olaf sought he | M |
- | |
Still on her scornful face | I |
Blushing with deep disgrace | I |
Bore she the crimson trace | I |
Of Olaf's gauntlet | M |
Like a malignant star | B |
Blazing in heaven afar | B |
Red shone the angry scar | B |
Under her frontlet | M |
- | |
Oft to King Svend she spake | O2 |
For thine own honor's sake | O2 |
Shalt thou swift vengeance take | O2 |
On the vile coward | M |
Until the King at last | M |
Gusty and overcast | M |
Like a tempestuous blast | M |
Threatened and lowered | M |
- | |
Soon as the Spring appeared | M |
Svend of the Forked Beard | M |
High his red standard reared | M |
Eager for battle | Z |
While every warlike Dane | G2 |
Seizing his arms again | G2 |
Left all unsown the grain | G2 |
Unhoused the cattle | Z |
- | |
Likewise the Swedish King | O2 |
Summoned in haste a Thing | O2 |
Weapons and men to bring | O2 |
In aid of Denmark | O2 |
Erie the Norseman too | M |
As the war tidings flew | M |
Sailed with a chosen crew | M |
From Lapland and Finmark | O2 |
- | |
So upon Easter day | M |
Sailed the three kings away | M |
Out of the sheltered bay | M |
In the bright season | G2 |
With them Earl Sigvald came | M |
Eager for spoil and fame | M |
Pity that such a name | M |
Stooped to such treason | G2 |
- | |
Safe under Svald at last | M |
Now were their anchors cast | M |
Safe from the sea and blast | M |
Plotted the three kings | I |
While with a base intent | M |
Southward Earl Sigvald went | M |
On a foul errand bent | M |
Unto the Sea kings | I |
- | |
Thence to hold on his course | I |
Unto King Olaf's force | I |
Lying within the hoarse | I |
Mouths of Stet haven | G2 |
Him to ensnare and bring | O2 |
Unto the Danish king | O2 |
Who his dead corse would fling | O2 |
Forth to the raven | G2 |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XVIII | Y |
- | |
KING OLAF AND EARL SIGVALD | M |
- | |
On the gray sea sands | I |
King Olaf stands | I |
Northward and seaward | M |
He points with his hands | I |
- | |
With eddy and whirl | Z |
The sea tides curl | Z |
Washing the sandals | I |
Of Sigvald the Earl | Z |
- | |
The mariners shout | M |
The ships swing about | M |
The yards are all hoisted | M |
The sails flutter out | M |
- | |
The war horns are played | M |
The anchors are weighed | M |
Like moths in the distance | I |
The sails flit and fade | M |
- | |
The sea is like lead | M |
The harbor lies dead | M |
As a corse on the sea shore | B |
Whose spirit has fled | M |
- | |
On that fatal day | M |
The histories say | M |
Seventy vessels | I |
Sailed out of the bay | M |
- | |
But soon scattered wide | M |
O'er the billows they ride | M |
While Sigvald and Olaf | Y |
Sail side by side | M |
- | |
Cried the Earl Follow me | M |
I your pilot will be | M |
For I know all the channels | I |
Where flows the deep sea | M |
- | |
So into the strait | M |
Where his foes lie in wait | M |
Gallant King Olaf | Y |
Sails to his fate | M |
- | |
Then the sea fog veils | I |
The ships and their sails | I |
Queen Sigrid the Haughty | M |
Thy vengeance prevails | I |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XIX | I |
- | |
KING OLAF'S WAR HORNS | I |
- | |
Strike the sails King Olaf said | M |
Never shall men of mine take flight | M |
Never away from battle I fled | M |
Never away from my foes | I |
Let God dispose | I |
Of my life in the fight | M |
- | |
Sound the horns said Olaf the King | O2 |
And suddenly through the drifting brume | M |
The blare of the horns began to ring | O2 |
Like the terrible trumpet shock | O2 |
Of Regnarock | O2 |
On the Day of Doom | M |
- | |
Louder and louder the war horns sang | O2 |
Over the level floor of the flood | M |
All the sails came down with a clang | O2 |
And there in the mist overhead | M |
The sun hung red | M |
As a drop of blood | M |
- | |
Drifting down on the Danish fleet | M |
Three together the ships were lashed | M |
So that neither should turn and retreat | M |
In the midst but in front of the rest | M |
The burnished crest | M |
Of the Serpent flashed | M |
- | |
King Olaf stood on the quarter deck | O2 |
With bow of ash and arrows of oak | O2 |
His gilded shield was without a fleck | O2 |
His helmet inlaid with gold | M |
And in many a fold | M |
Hung his crimson cloak | O2 |
- | |
On the forecastle Ulf the Red | M |
Watched the lashing of the ships | I |
If the Serpent lie so far ahead | M |
We shall have hard work of it here | B |
Said he with a sneer | B |
On his bearded lips | I |
- | |
King Olaf laid an arrow on string | O2 |
Have I a coward on board said he | M |
Shoot it another way O King | O2 |
Sullenly answered Ulf | Y |
The old sea wolf | Y |
You have need of me | M |
- | |
In front came Svend the King of the Danes | I |
Sweeping down with his fifty rowers | I |
To the right the Swedish king with his thanes | I |
And on board of the Iron Beard | M |
Earl Eric steered | M |
To the left with his oars | I |
- | |
These soft Danes and Swedes said the King | O2 |
At home with their wives had better stay | M |
Than come within reach of my Serpent's sting | O2 |
But where Eric the Norseman leads | I |
Heroic deeds | I |
Will be done to day | M |
- | |
Then as together the vessels crashed | M |
Eric severed the cables of hide | M |
With which King Olaf's ships were lashed | M |
And left them to drive and drift | M |
With the currents swift | M |
Of the outward tide | M |
- | |
Louder the war horns growl and snarl | Z |
Sharper the dragons bite and sting | O2 |
Eric the son of Hakon Jarl | Z |
A death drink salt as the sea | I |
Pledges to thee | I |
Olaf the King | O2 |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XX | I |
- | |
EINAR TAMBERSKELVER | B |
- | |
It was Einar Tamberskelver | B |
Stood beside the mast | M |
From his yew bow tipped with silver | B |
Flew the arrows fast | M |
Aimed at Eric unavailing | O2 |
As he sat concealed | M |
Half behind the quarter railing | O2 |
Half behind his shield | M |
- | |
First an arrow struck the tiller | B |
Just above his head | M |
Sing O Eyvind Skaldaspiller | B |
Then Earl Eric said | M |
Sing the song of Hakon dying | O2 |
Sing his funeral wail | Z |
And another arrow flying | O2 |
Grazed his coat of mail | Z |
- | |
Turning to a Lapland yeoman | G2 |
As the arrow passed | M |
Said Earl Eric Shoot that bowman | G2 |
Standing by the mast | M |
Sooner than the word was spoken | G2 |
Flew the yeoman's shaft | M |
Einar's bow in twain was broken | G2 |
Einar only laughed | M |
- | |
What was that said Olaf standing | O2 |
On the quarter deck | O2 |
Something heard I like the stranding | O2 |
Of a shattered wreck | O2 |
Einar then the arrow taking | O2 |
From the loosened string | O2 |
Answered That was Norway breaking | O2 |
From thy hand O King | O2 |
- | |
Thou art but a poor diviner | B |
Straightway Olaf said | M |
Take my bow and swifter Einar | B |
Let thy shafts be sped | M |
Of his bows the fairest choosing | O2 |
Reached he from above | Y |
Einar saw the blood drops oozing | O2 |
Through his iron glove | Y |
- | |
But the bow was thin and narrow | B |
At the first assay | I |
O'er its head he drew the arrow | B |
Flung the bow away | M |
Said with hot and angry temper | B |
Flushing in his cheek | O2 |
Olaf for so great a Kamper | B |
Are thy bows too weak | O2 |
- | |
Then with smile of joy defiant | M |
On his beardless lip | V2 |
Scaled he light and self reliant | M |
Eric's dragon ship | V2 |
Loose his golden locks were flowing | O2 |
Bright his armor gleamed | M |
Like Saint Michael overthrowing | O2 |
Lucifer he seemed | M |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XXI | I |
- | |
KING OLAF'S DEATH DRINK | O2 |
- | |
All day has the battle raged | M |
All day have the ships engaged | M |
But not yet is assuaged | M |
The vengeance of Eric the Earl | Z |
- | |
The decks with blood are red | M |
The arrows of death are sped | M |
The ships are filled with the dead | M |
And the spears the champions hurl | Z |
- | |
They drift as wrecks on the tide | M |
The grappling irons are plied | M |
The boarders climb up the side | M |
The shouts are feeble and few | Y |
- | |
Ah never shall Norway again | G2 |
See her sailors come back o'er the main | G2 |
They all lie wounded or slain | G2 |
Or asleep in the billows blue | Y |
- | |
On the deck stands Olaf the King | O2 |
Around him whistle and sing | O2 |
The spears that the foemen fling | O2 |
And the stones they hurl with their hands | I |
- | |
In the midst of the stones and the spears | I |
Kolbiorn the marshal appears | I |
His shield in the air he uprears | I |
By the side of King Olaf he stands | I |
- | |
Over the slippery wreck | O2 |
Of the Long Serpent's deck | O2 |
Sweeps Eric with hardly a check | O2 |
His lips with anger are pale | Z |
- | |
He hews with his axe at the mast | M |
Till it falls with the sails overcast | M |
Like a snow covered pine in the vast | M |
Dim forests of Orkadale | Z |
- | |
Seeking King Olaf then | G2 |
He rushes aft with his men | G2 |
As a hunter into the den | G2 |
Of the bear when he stands at bay | M |
- | |
Remember Jarl Hakon he cries | I |
When lo on his wondering eyes | I |
Two kingly figures arise | I |
Two Olaf's in warlike array | M |
- | |
Then Kolbiorn speaks in the ear | B |
Of King Olaf a word of cheer | B |
In a whisper that none may hear | B |
With a smile on his tremulous lip | V2 |
- | |
Two shields raised high in the air | B |
Two flashes of golden hair | B |
Two scarlet meteors' glare | B |
And both have leaped from the ship | V2 |
- | |
Earl Eric's men in the boats | I |
Seize Kolbiorn's shield as it floats | I |
And cry from their hairy throats | I |
See it is Olaf the King | O2 |
- | |
While far on the opposite side | M |
Floats another shield on the tide | M |
Like a jewel set in the wide | M |
Sea current's eddying ring | O2 |
- | |
There is told a wonderful tale | Z |
How the King stripped off his mail | Z |
Like leaves of the brown sea kale | Z |
As he swam beneath the main | G2 |
- | |
But the young grew old and gray | M |
And never by night or by day | M |
In his kingdom of Norroway | M |
Was King Olaf seen again | G2 |
- | |
- | |
- | |
XXII | I |
- | |
THE NUN OF NIDAROS | I |
- | |
In the convent of Drontheim | M |
Alone in her chamber | B |
Knelt Astrid the Abbess | I |
At midnight adoring | O2 |
Beseeching entreating | O2 |
The Virgin and Mother | B |
- | |
She heard in the silence | I |
The voice of one speaking | O2 |
Without in the darkness | I |
In gusts of the night wind | M |
Now louder now nearer | B |
Now lost in the distance | I |
- | |
The voice of a stranger | B |
It seemed as she listened | M |
Of some one who answered | M |
Beseeching imploring | O2 |
A cry from afar off | Y |
She could not distinguish | W2 |
- | |
The voice of Saint John | G2 |
The beloved disciple | Z |
Who wandered and waited | M |
The Master's appearance | I |
Alone in the darkness | I |
Unsheltered and friendless | I |
- | |
It is accepted | M |
The angry defiance | I |
The challenge of battle | Z |
It is accepted | M |
But not with the weapons | I |
Of war that thou wieldest | M |
- | |
Cross against corselet | M |
Love against hatred | M |
Peace cry for war cry | B |
Patience is powerful | Z |
He that o'ercometh | I |
Hath power o'er the nations | I |
- | |
As torrents in summer | B |
Half dried in their channels | I |
Suddenly rise though the | I |
Sky is still cloudless | I |
For rain has been falling | O2 |
Far off at their fountains | I |
- | |
So hearts that are fainting | O2 |
Grow full to o'erflowing | O2 |
And they that behold it | M |
Marvel and know not | M |
That God at their fountains | I |
Far off has been raining | O2 |
- | |
Stronger than steel | Z |
Is the sword of the Spirit | M |
Swifter than arrows | I |
The light of the truth is | I |
Greater than anger | B |
Is love and subdueth | I |
- | |
Thou art a phantom | M |
A shape of the sea mist | M |
A shape of the brumal | Z |
Rain and the darkness | I |
Fearful and formless | I |
Day dawns and thou art not | M |
- | |
The dawn is not distant | M |
Nor is the night starless | I |
Love is eternal | Z |
God is still God and | M |
His faith shall not fail us | I |
Christ is eternal | Z |
- | |
- | |
- | |
- | |
INTERLUDE | M |
- | |
A strain of music closed the tale | Z |
A low monotonous funeral wail | Z |
That with its cadence wild and sweet | M |
Made the long Saga more complete | M |
- | |
Thank God the Theologian said | M |
The reign of violence is dead | M |
Or dying surely from the world | M |
While Love triumphant reigns instead | M |
And in a brighter sky o'erhead | M |
His blessed banners are unfurled | M |
And most of all thank God for this | I |
The war and waste of clashing creeds | I |
Now end in words and not in deeds | I |
And no one suffers loss or bleeds | I |
For thoughts that men call heresies | I |
- | |
I stand without here in the porch | X2 |
I hear the bell's melodious din | G2 |
I hear the organ peal within | G2 |
I hear the prayer with words that scorch | X2 |
Like sparks from an inverted torch | X2 |
I hear the sermon upon sin | G2 |
With threatenings of the last account | M |
And all translated in the air | B |
Reach me but as our dear Lord's Prayer | B |
And as the Sermon on the Mount | M |
- | |
Must it be Calvin and not Christ | M |
Must it be Athanasian creeds | I |
Or holy water books and beads | I |
Must struggling souls remain content | M |
With councils and decrees of Trend | M |
And can it be enough for these | I |
The Christian Church the year embalms | I |
With evergreens and boughs of palms | I |
And fills the air with litanies | I |
- | |
I know that yonder Pharisee | I |
Thanks God that he is not like me | M |
In my humiliation dressed | M |
I only stand and beat my breast | M |
And pray for human charity | M |
- | |
Not to one church alone but seven | G2 |
The voice prophetic spake from heaven | G2 |
And unto each the promise came | M |
Diversified but still the same | M |
For him that overcometh are | B |
The new name written on the stone | G2 |
The raiment white the crown the throne | G2 |
And I will give him the Morning Star | B |
- | |
Ah to how many Faith has been | G2 |
No evidence of things unseen | G2 |
But a dim shadow that recasts | I |
The creed of the Phantasiasts | I |
For whom no Man of Sorrows died | M |
For whom the Tragedy Divine | G2 |
Was but a symbol and a sign | G2 |
And Christ a phantom crucified | M |
- | |
For others a diviner creed | M |
Is living in the life they lead | M |
The passing of their beautiful feet | M |
Blesses the pavement of the street | M |
And all their looks and words repeat | M |
Old Fuller's saying wise and sweet | M |
Not as a vulture but a dove | Y |
The Holy Ghost came from above | Y |
- | |
And this brings back to me a tale | Z |
So sad the hearer well may quail | Z |
And question if such things can be | M |
Yet in the chronicles of Spain | G2 |
Down the dark pages runs this stain | G2 |
And naught can wash them white again | G2 |
So fearful is the tragedy | M |
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
(1)
Poem topics: , Print This Poem , Rhyme Scheme
Submit Spanish Translation
Submit German Translation
Submit French Translation
<< A Psalm Of Life. What The Heart Of The Young Man Said To The Psalmist. Poem
Drinking Song - Inscription For An Antique Pitcher Poem>>
Write your comment about The Musician's Tale - The Saga Of King Olaf - The Wayside Inn - Part First poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Best Poems of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow