Oldalképek
PDF
ePub

ON THE SONGS OF THE PEOPLE OF GOTHIC OR TEUTONIC RACE.

ALL the low German tribes were early distinguished for maritime enterprize, but the Danes and Scandinavians, who all passed by the name of Northmen, or Normen, were by far the most remarkable for bold adventure in the middle ages. Numberless are the names of the sea kings and heroes, whose deeds are related in the histories and sagas of the north. It is impossible not to be astonished at the wide extent of the space traversed by them. To the eastward, Rorik, (Roderick) with his brothers, founded a kingdom in Novogorod, and thereby laid the foundation of the state of Russia. Oskold and Dir founded a state in Kiew, which united with that of Novogorod. Ragnwald, who settled at Polotzk, on the Dwina, was the ancestor of the grand Dukes of Lithuania. Northwards, Naddod was thrown in a storm on Iceland, which became the asylum of the noblest races of Norway. Westwards the Feroe, Orkney, Shetland, and Western Islands were often visited, and partly peopled by the Normen; and on several of them Northern Jarls (pronounce Yarls) long ruled, so that the harassed Gaels were not secure, even in their remotest corners, from German nations. In Ireland they settled as early as the times of Charlemain, when Dublin fell to Olof, Waterford to Sitirk, and Limerick to Y war. In England, they made themselves dreaded under the name of Danes; they not only possessed Northumberland in common with Saxon earls, partly independently, and partly in fiefs, but all England was subject to them under Canute, Harold, and Hardicanute. From the sixth century, they disturbed the coasts of France; and the fear of Charlemain, that much danger impended over his country from them, was but too amply justified soon after his death. The devastations which they committed, not merely along the coasts, but far up the rivers, and in the middle of both France and Germany, are hardly to be credited. Rolf, in baptism called Robert, the first Duke of Normandy, became the founder of several dynasties. From him descended Wil

liam the Conqueror, who gave England a new constitution. The Normen, who with almost incredible fortune and courage wrested from the Arabs, Apulia, Calabria, Sicily, and for a time, Jerusalem and Antioch, were adventurers from the Duchy founded by Rolf; and Tancred, whose descendants at last wore the crown of Sicily and Apulia, descended from him. If we were to relate all the bold deeds which in pilgrimages, in the service of Constantinople, and in expeditions in almost every land and sea, even to Greenland and America, were achieved by the Normen, the relation would seem a romance.

A country, for the most part sterile and mountainous, with a stern climate, possessing on one side an extent of coast from the Elbe to Lapland, of not less than 1,400 miles in length, could hardly fail to be a nursery of maritime adventurers. It was ruled by a number of petty kings, whose authority depended on their success in their expeditions. Besides the territorial chiefs, there were sovereigns, who possessed neither country nor regular subjects; the sea kings, as they were called, who, with no wealth but their ships, no force but their crews, and no hope but from their swords, swarmed in every ocean, and plundered every coast, and whose boast it was, that they never slept under a smoky roof, and never quaffed the social cup over a hearth. The youth roved about in search of booty for the bride he left at home; the father, for his wife and children. The Normen were true to one another, and virtuous men in their own eyes; for in human nature there is generally a wonderful spirit of accommodation in our principles to our convenience. The plundering Normen held murder, in the acquisition of their booty, no crime; though they piqued themselves on their esteem for women, and were the chief founders of chivalry; just as the Roman murderers and robbers of the present day pique themselves on their orthodoxy, and the fervour of their attachment to their church. We doubt if Christianity made the Normen more scrupulous, with regard to the property

of others, than it did our Scotch and English borderers, who received absolution one day, and stole cattle the

next.

The Normen settled the matter with their conscience, on the terms of the following low German adage:

Ruten, roven dat en is ghein Schande Dat doynt die besten van dem Lande, which means that robbing and devastating were no shame, as they were practised by the best in the land.

But these times are gone; the seas are now covered by a very different sort of vessels from the Snekkes which issued from the friths and bays of Norway and Denmark; and we have, in our time, seen Denmark in turn plundered by the descendants of those who were among the greatest sufferers from her devastations. The old Normen might exclaim with Palnatoke, in Ŏehlenschlager:

On our power at sea Our real strength is founded; for the Dane Is truly like a sea-fowl; Aegir is His kind divinity, and Ocean's daughters On foam-clad billows sweetly sing his praise On every strand. This is the destiny Which God allotted him, and as imperish

able

[blocks in formation]
[blocks in formation]

That Rolf has founded Normandy; that
Biörn

Constantinople's suburbs fired? What is 't
That in Italia, Luna was unconquer'd,
And that the proudest Spanish cities oft
By us were plundered? that Orvarodd
With Danish warriors founded Russia's
might?

That even in distant Africa the negro
Has blenched with fear, when swords of
Northmen clang'd?

From the adventurous character so long possessed by the Northmen, we might naturally expect to find copious recollections of their deeds among their descendants. From the unmixed character too of the population, which is the most purely Teutonic of any in Europe, we are if any where, the genuine songs, muwarranted in expecting to find here, sic, and superstitions peculiar to the that Denmark and Scandinavia are Teutonic race. Accordingly, we find not only richer than any of the other Germanic countries, in ballads of adventure of all descriptions, from the vague traditions of a dark antiquity, to the achievements of the chivalrous ages, and even to those of the the Twelfth; but that the supernacomparatively recent age of Charles tural beings of our forefathers, by whom every sea, every stream, every fountain, hill, and forest, were peopled, exist only here in all the purity and definitiveness of their attributes, occupying a place in song proportioned to their importance; and that the genuine music of the race, which has been almost expelled from Scotland by the more animated and heart-rending strains of the Celts, and of which traces only exist in England, in a few old ballad airs, fortunately preserved from oblivion, yet lives in all its freshness among the peasantry of Scandinavia.--These circumstances will, we hope, justify us in entering at some length into an account of

* Aegir, in the northern mythology, the husband of Ran, one of the names for the

ocean.

the ballads of Denmark and Scandinavia.

The first class, to which the title formerly given to the earliest publication of Danish ballads, namely, Kiæmpe-Viser (ballads of giants and warriors), ought properly to be confined, comprehends ballads relating to the ancient mythical times. Of this class, the Danes have several, the Swedes have only one, the ballad of Grimborg. The subjects of them are the combats and adventures of giants or heroes of extraordinary strength and courage. Most of these heroes either belonged to the court of the celebrated Dideric or Theodoric, King of the Ostrogoths, or were in some manner connected with it. His residence is called Bern, (supposed Verona). The splendour of this court, in the representations of the northern bards, hardly yields to that of Charlemain and his twelve peers, or of King Arthur and his round table. This class has all the marks of a very remote age. The style is not merely simple, it may be called rude. There is a great confusion throughout with respect to places and times; and a number of famous heroes, who lived in very different ages, are often brought together without much ceremony.

All traces of the traditions respecting these characters are nearly lost in England. One of the most important of them, however, is said in the new novel of Kenilworth, on the authority of Gough, still to live in the traditions of Berkshire, namely Weyland, the smith, to whom the great novelist has assigned so prominent a part. The same Weyland occurs in "Horn Child, and Maiden Rimenild," in Ritson's Ancient Romances, iii. 295.

Then sche let forth bring
A swerd hongand bi a ring
To Horn sche it bitaught:
It is make of Miming
(Of all swerdes it is King,
And Weland it wrought).

In the minstrelsy of the Scotch border, and Mr. Ellis's specimens of early English Romances, may also be found some account of him; and the latter has a curious Latin quotation on the subject, from Geoffrey's Vita Merlini.

The first Danish ballad of this

class, called the Tournament, brings together most of the personages who figure in the series, and describes the bearings on their shields, an important matter in former times, to which reference is often afterwards made. The following extract from the commencement of this ballad, which is of great length, may serve to give some idea of its nature: There were seven and seven times twenty, Who from the hall outwent, And when they came to Brattingsborg There pitched they their tent. It thunders 'neath their horses as the Danish warriors ride.

King Nilus stands on his castle wall,

Whence he sees both far and wide"Why hold these warriors their lives so cheap,

That they long my strength to bide ?"
It thunders 'neath their horses &c.
Hear thou Sivard Snarenswend

Thou hast roved far and wide,
Thou shalt see these warriors' bearings,
To the tent go quickly ride.
It was Sivard Snarenswend

To the tent he hied amain;
You are welcome here, my noble Sirs,
Ye King of Danes's men.

I

pray you take it not amiss,

Nor angry be with me-
But if with you the combat we try,

Your bearings I first must see.
Upon the first shield doth appear

A lion large and strong-
With a crown also of yellow gold,

To King Diderick it doth belong.

Upon the second shield appears

A hammer large and tongs,
It is borne by Vidrick Verlandson,
Who quarter giveth none.
Upon the third shield doth appear
A vulture red as gold-
It is borne by the Hero Hogen

Who is a warrior bold.
Upon the fourth shield doth appear
An eagle, and it is red,

It is borne by Olger, the Dane,

Who leaves aye his foemen dead.

Amidst all the rudeness of this class of ballads, they often display much energy and greatness of conception. Take as an instance a passage in the Danish ballad of Berner the giant, and Orm Ungerswend, where a youth goes to his father's grave, to wake him from the dead, in order to obtain his sword from him to combat the giant; who, in the outset, is thus described:

It was Berner the great giant,

He rose over walls the most high;
He was so mad and furious

No man durst come him nigh.
But the wood it standeth all in flower.
He was so mad and furious

No man durst to him go,
Had he been long in Denmark

He would have worked much woe.
But the wood &c.

Orm Ungerswend, stimulated by
the promise of the daughter of the
King of Denmark, challenged this
monster,

Berner, the high giant,

Who looked over his shoulder to see: "Whence cometh then this little mouse, Who dare speak such words to me?"

Orm Ungerswend proceeds without delay to the hill, in which he "his father dwells with all." says

It was late in the evening,
The sun it goeth low,
Then longeth Orm Ungerswend
To his father to go.

It was late in the evening tide,
When swains to water horses take,
Then longeth Orm Ungerswend
His father from sleep to wake.

It was Orm Ungerswend,

He struck so hard on the hill, It was, indeed, great wonder

That falling it did not him kill.

It was Orm Ungerswend,

He struck the hill with such art,
That it opened with the walls and marble

stones,

Which were in its lowest part.

Orm Ungerswend's father then came forth
In the hill there where he lay,
"Who calls me from my dark abode
Unto the light of day?

"Who waketh me so early

And makes me so to moan,

Why can I not remain in peace
All under the hard stone?

"Who dareth thus my hill to break,

Who dares to face mine eye?

Truly I must tell to him,

He shall by Birting die."

"I am Orm Ungerswend,
Thy youngest son, father dear!
I come to thee now in my need,
Full well thou knowest my prayer."

"If thou beest Orm Ungerswend,
A warrior keen and brave,
I gave thee silver and gold before
As much as thou would'st have."

415

"Thou silver and gold did'st give to me,
I esteem it of no worth,
But I will have Birting,

It is so good a sword."

"Thou shalt not get from me Birting, To win so fair a maid, Till thou hast been in Ireland To revenge thy father's death." "Come, quickly give me Birting up, "T will be full well with me, Or else in a thousand pieces I break

The hill which is over thee."
"Then reach thou down thy right hand
here,

Take Birting from my side;
But break'st thou the hill which is over me,
Grief and sorrow shall thee betide."

It was common in the north, that the things which in life were held by a man in the highest estimation, should accompany him to the tomb. The sort of visit which Orm Ungerswend here pays is a frequent occurrence in the sagas; and every reader must remember the similar dialogue between Hervor and Angantyr, derived by Mr. Gray from the Norse poetry.

The recommendation of the following ballad, called "The Death of Sivard Snarenswend," is its brevity, which allows us, without, we hope, drawing too much on the patience of our readers, to give it entire: Sivard, he slew his step-father

All for his mother's sake,

And now he longs to court to ride,

To try his fortune to make.

So cunningly runs Greyman under Sivard.

It was Sivard Snarenswend,

He went to his mother to know
Whether he should ride from her,
Or whether on foot he should go.
So cunningly, &c.

"Thou shalt not go on foot from me,
If the horse only bear thee can,
I shall to thee give the good horse,
The courtiers call Greyman."

So cunningly runs, &c.

They led Greyman from the stable out,
All gilt his bridle shone ;

His eyes they gleam'd like sparkling stars,
And the fire flew from his mane.
Sivard then his gloves threw off,
His hands they were so white,
Himself he girded his good horse,
His Squire he durst not trust.
It was Sivard's dear mother,
She was clad in Kirtle red;
"Sivard! it is my strongest fear
That the horse will be thy dede.".

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors]

The horse he ran through the wide Downs, Where the people were met in Ting,* The people in Ting astounded stood,

To see a horse so spring.

For fifteen days and fifteen nights,
Over hill and dale he ran,
Till he came before a lofty house,

The doors were lock'd each one.
King Dan he stood on the highest tower,
Where he sees both far and wide,
"Here see I a drunken courtier,
Who well his horse can ride.

"It is either a drunken courtier
Who well can ride I ween;
Or it is Sivard, my sister's son,
And in combat he has been."
Greyman, he took the bits in his teeth,
O'er the outer wall he flew ;
The ladies and maidens were sore dismayed
Who happened this leap to view.
The ladies and beautiful maidens look'd.
pale,

All under their scarlet so fine:
King Dan he goes so gladly

To welcome his sister's son in.
And it was the King of the Danes,
And straightway then he said,
"Go tell from me the archers good
The gate to open wide."
It was Sivard Snarenswend,

He rode in with all his might;
And thirteen of the waiting maids,
They fainted at the sight.
The King, he said unto his men,
"Treat Sivard I pray with care,
For I must frankly tell to you
No jesting will he bear."

It was Sivard Snarenswend,

[ocr errors]

He allowed his horse to spring
Full fifteen ells o'er the highest wall,

And so he came to his end.

Sivard was cut by the saddle bow,

And Greyman's back in twain; And all in the palace, who saw him, cried, And none were glad or fain, a So sorrowfully ran Greyman under Sivard.

The ballads of this class are sometimes varied in a whimsical enough manner, by the propounding and answering of riddles, an exercise of ingenuity in which our forefathers took great delight, and which has also found its way into their songs. In a large volume of ballads, in black letter, of the latter part of Charles the Second's reign, preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford, there is one called "the Noble Rid

dle wisely expounded, or the Maid's Answer to the Knights their Questions," beginning,

There was a lady of the north country,
Lay the bent to the bonny broom;
And she had lovely daughters three,
Fa la la la, fa la la la, ra re.

One of the daughters, after some endearments had passed between her and a young knight, asks him to marry her

The brave young Knight to her replied, &c. "Thy suit, fair maid, shall not be denied,

&c.

[ocr errors]

If thou can'st answer me questions three,
This very day will I marry thee."
"Kind Sir, in love, O then quoth she,
Tell me what your questions be?"
"O what is longer than the way?
Or what is deeper than the sea?
Or what is louder than the horn?
Or what is sharper than a thorn ?
Or what is greener than the grass?
Or what is worse than a woman was?"
"O love is longer than the way,
And hell is deeper than the sea;
And thunder is louder than the horn,
And hunger is sharper than a thorn; ...
And poison is greener than the grass,
And the devil is worse than woman was.'
When she these questions answered had,
The Knight became exceeding glad.

[ocr errors]

The following passage from the Danish ballad of Child Bonved, is quite in the style of the above, though less polished:

Child Bonved binds his sword by his side, Still longing farther on to ride,

And he rode till he came to a mountain

high,

Where a shepherd with his sheep came by. "Now hear thee shepherd, tell to me, Whose are the sheep thou hast with thee? What is than a wheel more round? And where is the best yool-drink to be found?

*Ting, a court or assembly, as Stor-Ting (great court), the name of the parliament of Norway.

« ElőzőTovább »