Then King Olaf said: “O Sea-King!
Little time have we for speaking,
Choose between the good and evil;
Be baptized! or thou shalt die!” 60
But in scorn the heathen scoffer
Answered: “I disdain thine offer;
Neither fear I God nor Devil;
Thee and thy Gospel I defy!”
Then between his jaws distended, 65
When his frantic struggles ended,
Through King Olaf’s horn an adder,
Touched by fire, they forced to glide.
Sharp his tooth was as an arrow,
As he gnawed through bone and marrow; 70
But without a groan or shudder,
Raud the Strong blaspheming died.
Then baptized they all that region,
Swarthy Lap and fair Norwegian,
Far as swims the salmon, leaping, 75
Up the streams of Salten Fiord.
In their temples Thor and Odin
Lay in dust and ashes trodden,
As King Olaf, onward sweeping,
Preached the Gospel with his sword. 80
Then he took the carved and gilded
Dragon-ship that Raud had builded,
And the tiller single-handed
Grasping, steered into the main.
Southward sailed the sea-gulls o’er him, 85
Southward sailed the ship that bore him,
Till at Drontheim haven landed
Olaf and his crew again.
XII.
King Olaf’s Christmas
AT Drontheim, Olaf the King
Heard the bells of Yule-tide ring,
As he sat in his banquet-hall,
Drinking the nut-brown ale,
With his bearded Berserks hale 5
And tall.
Three days his Yule-tide feasts
He held with Bishops and Priests,
And his horn filled up to the brim;
But the ale was never too strong, 10
Nor the Saga-man’s tale too long,
For him.
O’er his drinking-horn, the sign
He made of the cross divine,
As he drank, and muttered his prayers; 15
But the Berserks evermore
Made the sign of the Hammer of Thor
Over theirs.
The gleams of the fire-light dance
Upon helmet and hauberk and lance, 20
And laugh in the eyes of the King;
And he cries to Halfred the Scald,
Gray-bearded, wrinkled, and bald,
“Sing!”
“Sing me a song divine, 25
With a sword in every line,
And this shall be thy reward.”
And he loosened the belt at his waist,
And in front of the singer placed
His sword. 30
“Quern-biter of Hakon of Good,
Wherewith at a stroke he hewed
The millstone through and through,
And Foot-breadth of Thoralf the Strong,
Were neither so broad nor so long, 35
Nor so true.”
Then the Scald took his harp and sang,
And loud through the music rang
The sound of that shining word;
And the harp-strings a clangor made, 40
As if they were struck with the blade
Of a sword.
And the Berserks round about
Broke forth into a shout
That made the rafters ring: 45
They smote with their fists on the board,
And shouted, “Long live the Sword,
And the King!”
But the King said, “O my son,
I miss the bright word in one 50
Of thy measures and they rhymes.”
And Halfred the Scald replied,
“In another ‘t was multiplied
Three times.”
Then King Olaf raised the hilt 55
Of iron, cross-shaped and gilt,
And said, “Do not refuse;
Count well the gain and the loss,
Thor’s hammer or Christ’s cross:
Choose!” 60
And Halfred the Scald said, “This
In the name of the Lord I kiss,
Who on it was crucified!”
And a shout went round the board,
“In the name of Christ the Lord, 65
Who died!”
Then over the waste of snows
The noonday sun uprose,
Through the driving mists revealed,
Like the lifting of the Host, 70
By incense-clouds almost
Concealed.
On the shining wall a vast
And shadowy cross was cast
From the hilt of the lifted sword, 75
And in foaming cups of ale
The Berserks drank “Was-hael!
To the Lord!”
XIII.
The Building of the Long Serpent
THORBERG SKAFTING, master-builder,
In his ship-yard by the sea,
Whistling, said, “It would bewilder
Any man but Thorberg Skafting,
Any man but me!” 5
Near him lay the Dragon stranded,
Built of old by Raud the Strong,
And King Olaf had commanded
He should build another Dragon,
Twice as large and long. 10
Therefore whistled Thorberg Skafting,
As he sat with half-closed eyes,
And his head turned sideways, drafting
That new vessel for King Olaf
Twice the Dragon’s size. 15
Round him busily hewed and hammered
Mallet huge and heavy axe;
Workmen laughed and sang and clamored;
Whirred the wheels, that into rigging
Spun the shining flax! 20
All this tumult heard the master, —
It was music to his ear;
Fancy whispered all the faster,
“Men shall hear of Thorberg Skafting
For a hundred year!” 25
Workmen sweating at the forges
Fashioned iron bolt and bar,
Like a warlock’s midnight orgies
Smoked and bubbled the black caldron
With the boiling tar. 30
Did the warlocks mingle in it,
Thorberg Skafting, any curse?
Could you not be gone a minute
But some mischief must be doing,
Turning bad to worse? 35
‘T was an ill wind that came wafting
From his homestead words of woe;
To his farm went Thorberg Skafting,
Oft repeating to his workmen,
Build ye thus and so. 40
After long delays returning
Came the master back by night;
To his ship-yard longing, yearning,
Hurried he, and did not leave it
Till the morning’s light. 45
“Come and see my ship, my darling!”
On the morrow said the King;
“Finished now from keel to carling;
Never yet was seen in Norway
Such a wondrous thing!” 50
In the ship-yard, idly talking,
At the ship the workmen stared:
Some one, all their labor balking,
Down her sides had cut deep gashes,
Not a plank was spared! 55
“Death be to the evil-doer!”
With an oath King Olaf spoke;
“But rewards to his pursuer!”
And with wrath his face grew redder
Than his scarlet cloak. 60
Straight the master-builder, smiling,
Answered thus the angry King:
“Cease blaspheming and reviling,
Olaf, it was Thorberg Skafting
Who has done this thing!” 65
Then he chipped and smoothed the planking,
Till the King, delighted, swore,
With much lauding and much thanking,
“Handsomer is now my Dragon
Than she was before!” 70
Seventy ells and four extended
On the grass the vessel’s keel;
High above it, gilt and splendid,
Rose the figure-head ferocious
With its crest of steel. 75
Then they launched her from the tressels,
In the ship-yard by the sea;
She was the grandest of all vessels,
Never ship was built in Norway
Half so fine as she! 80
The Long Serpent was she christened,
‘Mid the roar of cheer on cheer!
They who to the Saga listened
Heard the name of Thorberg Skafting
For a hundred year! 85
XIV.
The Crew of the Long Serpent
SAFE at anchor in Drontheim bay
King Olaf’s fleet assembled lay,
And, striped with white and blue,
Downward fluttered sail and banner,
As alights the screaming lanner; 5
Lustily cheered, in their wild manner,
The Long Serpent’s crew.
Her forecastle man was Ulf the Red;
Like a wolf’s was his shaggy head,
His teeth as large and white; 10
His beard, of gray and russet blended,
Round as a swallow’s nest descended;
As standard-bearer he defended
Olaf’s flag in the fight.
Near him Kolbiorn had his place, 15
Like the King in garb and face,
So gallant and so hale;
Every cabin-boy and varlet
Wondered at his cloak of scarlet;
Like a river, frozen and star-lit, 20
Gleamed his coat of mail.
By the bulkhead, tall and dark,
Stood Thrand Rame of Thelemark,
A figure gaunt and grand;
On his hairy arm imprinted 25
Was an anchor, azure-tinted;
Like Thor’s hammer, huge and dinted
Was his brawny hand.
Einar Tamberskelver, bare
To the winds his golden hair, 30
By the mainmast stood;
Graceful was his form, and slender,
And his eyes were deep and tender
As a woman’s, in the splendor
Of her maidenhood. 35
In the fore-hold Biorn and Bork
Watched the sailors at their work:
Heavens! how they swore!
Thirty men they each commanded,
Iron-sinewed, horny-handed, 40
Shoulders broad, and chests expanded,
Tugging at the oar.
These, and many more like these,
With King Olaf sailed the seas,
Till the waters vast 45
Filled them with a vague devotion,
With the freedom and the motion,
With the roll and roar of ocean
And the sounding blast.
When they landed from the fleet, 50
How they roared through Drontheim’s street,
Boisterous as the gale!
How they laughed and stamped and pounded,
Till the tavern roof resounded
And the host looked on astounded 55
As they drank the ale!
Never saw the wild North Sea
Such a gallant company
Sail its billows blue!
Never, while they cruised and quarrelled, 60
Old King Gorm, or Blue-Tooth Harald,
Owned a ship so well apparelled,
Boasted such a crew!
XV.
A Little Bird in the Air
A LITTLE bird in the air
Is singing of Thyri the fair,
The sister of Svend the Dane;
And the song of the garrulous bird
In the streets of the town is heard, 5
And repeated again and again.
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
To King Burislaf, it is said,
Was the beautiful Thyri wed, 10
And a sorrowful bride went she;
And after a week and a day
She has fled away and away
From his town by the stormy sea.
Hoist up your sails of silk, 15
And flee away from each other.
They say, that through heat and through cold,
Through weald, they say, and through wold,
By day and by night, they say,
She has fled; and the gossips report 20
She has come to King Olaf’s court,
And the town is all in dismay.
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
It is whispered King Olaf has seen, 25
Has talked with the beautiful Queen;
And they wonder how it will end;
For surely, if here she remain,
It is war with King Svend the Dane,
And King Burislaf the Vend! 30
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other.
Oh, greatest wonder of all!
It is published in hamlet and hall,
It roars like a flame that is fanned! 35
The King — yes, Olaf the King —
Has wedded her with his ring,
And Thyri is Queen in the land!
Hoist up your sails of silk,
And flee away from each other. 40
XVI.
Queen Thyri and the Angelica Stalks
NORTHWARD over Drontheim,
Flew the clamorous sea-gulls,
Sang the lark and linnet
From the meadows green;
Weeping in her chamber, 5
Lonely and unhappy,
Sat the Drottning Thyri,
Sat King Olaf’s Queen.
In at all the windows
Streamed the pleasant sunshine, 10
On the roof above her
Softly cooed the dove;
But the sound she heard not,
Nor the sunshine heeded,
For the thoughts of Thyri 15
Were not thoughts of love.
Then King Olaf entered,
Beautiful as morning,
Like the sun at Easter
Shone his happy face; 20
In his hand he carried
Angelicas uprooted,
With delicious fragrance
Filling all the place.
Like a rainy midnight 25
Sat the Drottning Thyri,
Even the smile of Olaf
Could not cheer her gloom;
Nor the stalks he gave her
With a gracious gesture, 30
And with words as pleasant
As their own perfume.
In her hands he placed them,
And her jewelled fingers
Through the green leaves glistened 35
Like the dews of morn;
But she cast them from her,
Haughty and indignant,
On the floor she threw them
With a look of scorn. 40
“Richer presents,” said she,
“Gave King Harald Gormson
To the Queen, my mother,
Than such worthless weeds;
“When he ravaged Norway, 45
Laying waste the kingdom,
Seizing scatt and treasure
For her royal needs.
“But thou darest not venture
Through the Sound to Vendland, 50
My domains to rescue
From King Burislaf;
“Lest King Svend of Denmark,
Forked Beard, my brother,
Scatter all thy vessels 55
As the wind
the chaff.”
Then up sprang King Olaf,
Like a reindeer bounding,
With an oath he answered
Thus the luckless Queen: 60
“Never yet did Olaf
Fear King Svend of Denmark;
This right hand shall hale him
By his forked chin!”
Then he left the chamber, 65
Thundering through the doorway,
Loud his steps resounded
Down the outer stair.
Smarting with the insult,
Through the streets of Drontheim 70
Strode he red and wrathful,
With his stately air.
All his ships he gathered,
Summoned all his forces,
Making his war levy 75
In the region round.
Down the coast of Norway,
Like a flock of sea-gulls,
Sailed the fleet of Olaf
Through the Danish Sound. 80
With his own hand fearless
Steered he the Long Serpent,
Strained the creaking cordage,
Bent each boom and gaff;
Till in Vendland landing, 85
The domains of Thyri
He redeemed and rescued
From King Burislaf.
Then said Olaf, laughing,
“Not ten yoke of oxen 90
Have the power to draw us
Like a woman’s hair!
“Now will I confess it,
Better things are jewels
Than angelica stalks are 95
For a queen to wear.”
XVII.
King Svend of the Forked Beard
LOUDLY the sailors cheered
Svend of the Forked Beard,
As with his fleet he steered
Southward to Vendland;
Where with their courses hauled 5
Delphi Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (Delphi Poets Series Book 13) Page 58
