Chapter XXII: Appendix: (See page 184.)

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(_From Alban Butler’s Lives of the Saints._)

ST. CANUTUS, KING OF DENMARK, M.[180]

From his life, faithfully written by Ælnoth, a monk of Canterbury, who
had lived twenty-four years in Denmark, and wrote in 1105. It was
printed at Copenhagen, in 1602. See also Saxo Grammaticus, the most
elegant and judicious of the Danish historians.

A. D. 1086.

ST. CANUTUS, or KNUT, the fourth of that name, king of Denmark, was natural son of Swein III. whose great uncle Canutus had reigned in England. Swein, having no lawful issue, took care of the education of Canutus, who being endowed with excellent qualities both of mind and body, answered perfectly well the care of his preceptors and governors. It is hard to say whether he excelled more in courage, or in conduct and skill in war; but his singular piety perfectly eclipsed all his other endowments. He scoured the seas of pirates, and subdued several neighbouring provinces which infested Denmark with their incursions. The kingdom of Denmark was elective till the year 1660; wherefore, when Swein died, many pitched upon our saint, whose eminent virtues best qualified him for the throne; but the majority, fearing his martial spirit, preferred his eldest natural brother Harald, the seventh king of that name, who, for his stupidity and vices, was commonly called the Slothful. Canutus retired into Sweden to king Halstan, who received him with the greatest marks of kindness and esteem; but the king could never induce him to undertake any expedition against Denmark; on the contrary, the Christian hero employed all his power and interest in the service of his country. Harald dying after two years’ reign, Canutus was called to succeed him.

Denmark had received the Christian faith long before, some say in 826, but wanted a zealous hand at the helm, to put the finishing stroke to that good work. St. Canutus seems to have been pitched upon by Providence for this purpose. He began his reign by a successful war against the troublesome barbarous enemies of the state, and by planting the faith in the conquered provinces of Courland, Samogitia, and Livonia. Amidst the glory of his victories, he humbly prostrated himself at the foot of the crucifix, laying there his diadem, and offering himself and his kingdom to the King of kings. After having provided for its peace and safety, and enlarged its territories, he married Eltha, or Alice, daughter of Robert earl of Flanders, by whom he had a pious son, St. Charles, surnamed the Good, afterward also earl of Flanders. His next concern was to reform abuses at home. For this purpose, he enacted severe, but necessary laws, for the strict administration of justice, and repressed the violence and tyranny of the great, without respect of persons. He countenanced and honoured holy men, granted many privileges and immunities to the clergy, to enhance the people’s esteem of them; and omitted nothing to convince them of their obligation to provide for their subsistence by the payment of tithes. His charity and tenderness towards his subjects made him study by all possible ways to ease them of their burdens, and make them a happy people. He showed a royal magnificence in building and adorning churches, and gave the crown which he wore, of exceeding great value, to the church of Roschild, in Zealand, his capital city, and the place of his residence, where the kings of Denmark are yet buried. He chastised his body with fasting, discipline, and hair-cloths. Prayer was his assiduous exercise. When William the Conqueror had made himself master of England, Canutus sent forces to assist the vanquished: but these troops finding no one willing to join them, were easily defeated in the year 1069. Some time after, being invited by the conquered English, he raised an army to invade this island, and expel the Normans; but through the treacherous practices of his brother Olas, or Olaus, was obliged to wait so long on the coast that his troops deserted him. The pious king, having always in view the service of God, and judging this a proper occasion to induce the people to pay tithes to their pastors, he proposed to them either to pay a heavy fine, by way of punishment for their desertion, or submit to the law of tithes for the pastors of the church. Their aversion to the latter made them choose the tax, to the great mortification of the king, who, hoping they would change their resolution, ordered it to be levied with rigour. But they, being incensed at the severity of the collectors, rebelled. St. Canutus retired for safety into the isle of Fionia, and was hindered from joining his loyal troops, by the treachery of one Blanco, an officer, who, to deceive him, assured his majesty that the rebels were returned to their duty. The king went to the church of St. Alban, the martyr, to perform his devotions, and return God thanks for that happy event. This the rebels being informed of by Blanco, they surrounded the church with him at their head. In the mean time the holy king, perceiving the danger that threatened his life, confessed his sins at the foot of the altar, with great tranquillity and resignation, and received the holy communion. His guards defended the church doors, and Blanco was slain by them. The rebels threw in bricks and stones, through the windows, by which they beat down the shrines of certain relics of St. Alban and St. Oswald, which St. Canutus had brought over from England. The saint, stretching out his arms before the altar, fervently recommended his soul into the hands of the Creator; in which posture he was wounded with a javelin darted through the window, and fell a victim to Christ. His brother Benedict, and seventeen others, were slain with him, on the 10th of July, 1086, as Ælnoth, a contemporary author, testifies, who has specified the date of all the events with the utmost exactness. His wicked brother Olas succeeded him in the kingdom. God punished the people during eight years and three months of his reign with a dreadful famine, and other calamities; and attested the sanctity of the martyr, by many miraculous cures of the sick at his tomb. For which reason his relics were taken up out of their obscure sepulchre, and honourably entombed towards the end of the reign of Olas. His successor, Eric III., a most religious prince, restored piety and religion, with equal courage and success, and sent ambassadors to Rome, with proofs of the miracles performed, and obtained from the pope a declaration, authorising the veneration of St. Canutus, the proto-martyr of Denmark. Upon this occasion a most solemn translation of his relics, which were put in a most costly shrine, was performed, at which Ælnoth, our historian, was present. He adds, that the first preachers of the faith in Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, were English priests; that the Danes then zealously embraced the Christian religion, but that the Swedes still continued more obstinate, among whom Eschill, an Englishman, received the crown of martyrdom, whilst he was preaching Christ to certain savage tribes.

END OF THE SECOND VOLUME.

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FOOTNOTES.

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Footnote 1:

Vol. I. p. 175.

Footnote 2:

See Vol. I. p. 178.

Footnote 3:

Ibid. 176, 178, 179.

Footnote 4:

Vol. I. p. 187.

Footnote 5:

Ibid. p. 188.

Footnote 6:

See Vol. I. p. 216.

Footnote 7:

Ibid. p. 320.

Footnote 8:

See “The Fatal Sisters.”

Footnote 9:

The materials for the preceding section are derived from the
Orkneyinga Saga; Snorro, Heimskringla; Johnstone, Antiquitates
Celto-Scindicæ.

Footnote 10:

The preceding section is derived from, 1. Torfœus, Islandia Antiqua;
2. Ditto, Historia Rerum Norvegicarum; 3. Snorro, Heimskringla; 4. The
Landnamabok, seu Origines Islandorum; 5. Schlegel, Comment. de Codice
Gragas.; 6. Wharton, History of the Northmen.

Footnote 11:

Snorro, Saga af Olafi Tryggva-Syni; Heimskringla (multis locis);
Torfœus, Vinlandia Antiqua; Adamas Bremensis, De Situ Daniæ; Malte
Brun, Géographie; Pontoppidan, Gesta et Ventigia Danorum extra Daniam.

Footnote 12:

Karamzin, tom. i.

Footnote 13:

Karamzin, Histoire de Russia; Levesque, Histoire; Pontoppidan, Gesta
et Vestigia.

Footnote 14:

Pontoppidan, Gesta et Vestigia Danorum extra Daniam. The best account
of the piratical exploits of the Northmen in France is in the Roman de
Rou of Wace, and, the Chronique of Benoit de St. Maur. Their exploits
in Spain are mentioned both by the Mohammedan and Christian writers.
Their exploits in Scotland, Iceland, Ireland, and the coast of
Britain, are contained in the Sagas; but these abound so much in wild
fiction that it is difficult to separate the true from the false.

Footnote 15:

The authorities for the present chapter are,—1. Edda Sæmundar hins
Froda; Edda Rythmica seu Antiquior vulgo Sæmundina dicta: pars i.
1787, pars ii. 1818, pars iii. 1828. Havniæ.—2. Edda Snorronis à
Rask. Coben. 1818.—3. Mallet, Introduction à l’Histoire de
Dannemarc, tom. i. and ii.—4. Percy, Notes to the Northern
Antiquities.—5. Wheaton, History of the Northmen.—6. Pigott, Manual
of Scandinavian Mythology.—7. Foreign Quarterly Review, Nos. 3 and
7.—8. Notes of Stephanius to his edition of Saxo Grammaticus.

Footnote 16:

Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. ii., appendix.

Footnote 17:

See Vol. I. p. 51.

Footnote 18:

Mr. Wheaton.

Footnote 19:

See before, page 31.

Footnote 20:

See before, page 14.

Footnote 21:

See before, page 34.

Footnote 22:

Geijr, Svea Bikes Häfder, tom. i. p. 339.

Footnote 23:

See Vol. I. p. 91–99.

Footnote 24:

See before, page 35.

Footnote 25:

Pigott’s translation, p. 95.

Footnote 26:

See Vol. I. p. 54.

Footnote 27:

See Vol. I. p. 46.

Footnote 28:

Thorlacius Noget om Thor og hans Hammer, in the Skandinavisk Museum
for 1803.

Footnote 29:

Thorlacius ut supra, says the thundering Thor was regarded as
particularly inimical to the Skovtrolds, against whom he continually
employed his mighty weapon. He thinks the _Bidental_ of the Romans,
and the rites connected with it, seem to suppose a similar
superstition, and that in the well-known passage of Horace,

Tu parum castis inimica mittes
Fulmina lucis,

the words _parum castis lucis_ may mean groves or parts of woods, the
haunt of unclean spirits or Skovtrolds, _satyri lascivi et salaces_.

Footnote 30:

The analogy of Deev, and other words of like import, might lead to the
supposition of Spirit being the primary meaning of Alf.

Footnote 31:

It is probably derived from an obsolete verb νύβω, the Latin _nubo_
signifying to _veil_ or cover; hence _nubes_, clouds. In Homer (II.
iii. 130.), Iris says to Helen,

_Δεῦρ’ ἵθι, νύμφα φίλη_.

The preceding and following notes are also from Mr. Keightley.

Footnote 32:

Keightley’s Fairy Mythology, vol. i.

Footnote 33:

Keightley’s Fairy Mythology, vol. i.

Footnote 34:

Keightley, vol. i.

Footnote 35:

See Vol. I. p. 32.

Footnote 36:

Keightley, vol. i.

Footnote 37:

See Vol. I. p. 49.

Footnote 38:

Foreign Quarterly Review, No. 3.

Footnote 39:

See Vol. I. p. 48.

Footnote 40:

See Vol. I. p. 31.

Footnote 41:

See Vol. I. p. 35.

Footnote 42:

Cæsar, de Bello Gallico, lib. i.

Footnote 43:

See before, p. 78.

Footnote 44:

See Vol. I. p. 229.

Footnote 45:

See Vol. I. p. 176.

Footnote 46:

See Vol. I. p. 180.

Footnote 47:

See Vol. I. p. 181.

Footnote 48:

Schefferi Historia Lapponica, cap. ix.

Footnote 49:

See Vol. I. p. 30–42.

Footnote 50:

Heimskringla, tom. i.

Footnote 51:

Wheaton, p. 117.

Footnote 52:

See Vol. I. p. 54.

Footnote 53:

See before, p. 61.

Footnote 54:

See Vol. I. p. 86.

Footnote 55:

See before, p. 55.

Footnote 56:

Schefferi Historia Lapponica.

Footnote 57:

Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. ii. Appendix.

Footnote 58:

See before, p. 56.

Footnote 59:

See Vol. I. p. 91–99.

Footnote 60:

The great, the mysterious Ash Yggrasid, under which Odin and the
twelve Aser were accustomed to administer justice.

Footnote 61:

Pigott’s translation.

Footnote 62:

See before, p. 87.

Footnote 63:

Great Ormshead in Denbighshire; _orm_ being the Danish, and, indeed,
the old English, for a worm. Another, entering the Bristol Channel, is
called “The Worm’s Head.”

Footnote 64:

Mr. Pigott, p. 82.

Footnote 65:

See before, p. 47.

Footnote 66:

See Vol. I. p. 98.

Footnote 67:

Page 91.

Footnote 68:

See Vol. I. p. 95.

Footnote 69:

Idem, p. 98.

Footnote 70:

Heimdal, the wonder of the gods, whose station was at the summit of
Bifrost.

Footnote 71:

Alluding evidently to the seven colours of the rainbow, which was no
other than Bifrost.

Footnote 72:

Ohlenschlager, Pigott’s translation.

Footnote 73:

Why does Mr. Pigott, in his excellent manual of Scandinavian
mythology, follow Ohlenschlager so much, instead of the prose Edda?
This latter work is but a modernised amplification, a paraphrastic
explanation, of the poetic Edda. To follow a still more paraphrastic
moderniser, the Danish poet, is to destroy the very spirit of the
mythos.

Footnote 74:

The meaning of this word is doubtful: it is another name for Thor.

Footnote 75:

Vol. 1. p. 182.

Footnote 76:

We must again express our regret that Mr. Pigott, in his otherwise
excellent work, should have paid so little attention to the elder
Edda, and so much to Ohlenschlager.

Footnote 77:

The Dovre-fieldt is one of the loftiest parts of the great
Scandinavian chain of mountains, and Sneehattan its highest peak.

Footnote 78:

Wadmel is a kind of coarse cloth made in Iceland, and worn universally
by the peasants in Norway and Denmark.

Footnote 79:

The name of the great Ash.

Footnote 80:

Pigott’s Manual of Scandinavian Mythology.

Footnote 81:

See before, p. 105.

Footnote 82:

This expression, we suppose, is for the sake of the metre.

Footnote 83:

The keys hung from the girdle of a housewife. They were wanted, we
suppose, in Giant-land, as well as on earth. However, they were a
symbol of marriage; and none could be effected without them.

Footnote 84:

Frost giants.

Footnote 85:

The Scandinavians reckoned by _nights_ instead of days, and by
_winters_ instead of years.

Footnote 86:

This poem has been thus versified by the Hon. and Rev. W. Herbert, in
his “Select Icelandic Poetry”:—

Wroth waxed Thor, when his sleep was flown, And he found his
trusty hammer gone; He smote his brow, his beard he shook,
The son of earth ’gan round him look; And this, the first
word that he spoke; “Now listen what I tell thee, Loke;
Which neither on earth below is known, Nor in Heaven
above—my hammer’s gone.” Their way to Freyia’s bower they
took, And this, the first word that he spoke; “Thou, Freyia,
must lend a winged robe, To seek my hammer round the globe.”

FREYIA (_sung_).—“That shouldst thou have, though ’twere of gold, And
that, though ’twere of silver, hold.”[87] Away flew Loke;
the wing’d robe sounds, Ere he has left the Asgard grounds,
And ere he has reach’d the Jotunheim bounds. High on a mound
in haughty state Thrym the king of the Thursi sate; For his
dogs he was twisting collars of gold, And trimming the manes
of his coursers bold.

THRYM (_sung_).—“How fare the Asi? the Alfi how? Why com’st thou alone
to Jotunheim now?”

LOKE (_sung_).—“Ill fare the Asi; the Alfi mourn; Thor’s hammer from
him thou hast torn.”

THRYM (_sung_).—“I have the Thunderer’s hammer bound, Fathoms eight
beneath the ground; With it shall no one homeward tread,
Till he bring me Freyia to share my bed.” Away flew Loke;
the wing’d robe sounds, Ere he has left the Jotunheim
bounds, And ere he has reach’d the Asgard grounds. At
Midgard Thor met crafty Loke, And this the first word that
he spoke; “Have you your errand and labour done? Tell from
aloft the course you run. For setting oft the story fails,
And lying oft the lie prevails.”

LOKE (_sung_).—“My labour is past, mine errand I bring; Thrym has
thine hammer, the giant king; With it shall no one homeward
tread, Till he bear him Freyia to share his bed.” Their way
to lovely Freyia they took, And this the first word that he
spoke; “Now Freyia, busk as a blooming bride, Together, we
must to Jotunheim ride.” Wroth waxed Freyia with ireful
look; All Asgard’s hall with wonder shook; Her great bright
necklace started wide. “Well may ye call me a wanton bride,
If I with ye to Jotunheim ride.” The Asi did all to council
crowd, The Asiniæ all talk’d fast and loud: This they
debated, and this they sought, How the hammer of Thor should
home be brought. Up then and spoke Heimdallar free, Like the
Vani, wise was he; “Now busk[88] we Thor, as a bride so
fair; Let him that great bright necklace wear; Round him let
ring the spousal keys; And a maiden kirtle[89] hang to his
knees, And on his bosom jewels rare; And high and quaintly
braid his hair.” Wroth waxed Thor with godlike pride; “Well
may the Asi me deride, If I let me dight[90], as a blooming
bride.” Then up spoke Loke, Laufeyia’s son; “Now hush thee,
Thor; this must be done: The giants will strait in Asgard
reign, If thou thine hammer dost not regain.” Then busk’d
they Thor, as a bride so fair, And the great bright necklace
gave him to wear; Round him let ring the spousal keys, And a
maiden kirtle hang to his knees, And on his bosom jewels
rare; And high and quaintly braided his hair. Up then arose
the crafty Loke, Laufeyia’s son, and thus he spoke; “A
servant I thy steps will tend, Together we must to Jotunheim
wend.” Now home the goats together hie; Yoked to the axle
they swiftly fly. The mountains shook, the earth burn’d red,
As Odin’s sons to Jotunheim sped. Then Thrym the king of the
Thursi said; “Giants, stand up; let the seats be spread:
Bring Freyia Niorder’s daughter down To share my bed from
Noatun. With horns all gilt each coal-black beast Is led to
deck the giant’s feast; Large wealth and jewels have I
stored; I lack but Freyia to grace my board.” Betimes at
evening they approach’d, And the mantling ale the giants
broach’d. The spouse of Sifia ate alone Eight salmons, and
an ox full-grown. And all the cates, on which women feed;
And drank three firkins of sparkling mead. Then Thrym the
king of the Thursi said; “Where have ye beheld such a hungry
maid? Ne’er saw I a bride so keenly feed, Nor drink so deep
of the sparkling mead.” Then forward leant the crafty Loke,
And thus the giant he bespoke; “Nought has she eat for eight
long nights, So did she long for the nuptial rites.” He
stoop’d beneath her veil to kiss, But he started the length
of the hall, I wiss. “Why are the looks of Freyia so dire?
It seems as her eyeballs glistened with fire.” Then forward
leant the crafty Loke, And thus the giant he bespoke;
“Nought has she slept for eight long nights, So did she long
for the nuptial rites.” Then in the giant’s sister came, Who
dared a bridal gift to claim; “Those rings of gold from thee
I crave, If thou wilt all my fondness have, All my love and
fondness have.” Then Thrym the king of the Thursi said;
“Bear in the hammer to plight the maid; Upon her lap the
bruizer lay, And firmly plight our hands and fay.”[91] The
Thunderer’s soul smiled in his breast, When the hammer hard
on his lap was placed; Thrym first the king of the Thursi he
slew, And slaughter’d all the giant crew. He slew that
giant’s sister old, Who pray’d for bridal gifts so bold.
Instead of money and rings, I wot, The hammer’s bruises were
her lot. Thus Odin’s son his hammer got.

Footnote 87:

Transcriber’s note: There was no footnote text for this marker.

Footnote 88:

_Busk_, dress.

Footnote 89:

_Kirtle_, a woman’s garment.

Footnote 90:

_Dight_, dressed, adorned.

Footnote 91:

_Fay_, faith.

Footnote 92:

See before, p. 56.

Footnote 93:

See Vol. I. p. 3.

Footnote 94:

Pigott’s translation.

Footnote 95:

See before, p. 57.

Footnote 96:

Ibid. p. 61.

Footnote 97:

Ibid. p. 107.

Footnote 98:

See before, p. 86.

Footnote 99:

How then could Jotunheim be so dark? The reason is afterwards given.
Her supernatural beauty illumined the whole country.

Footnote 100:

See before, p. 99.

Footnote 101:

Mr. Herbert has thus versified the expedition of Skirnir:—

“Skirnir, arise! and swiftly run,
Where lonely sits our pensive son!
Bid him to parley, and enquire,
’Gainst whom he teems with sullen ire.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Ill words, I fear, my lot will prove,
If I thy son attempt to move;
If I bid parley, and enquire,
Why teems his soul with savage ire.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Prince of the gods, and first in fight,
Speak, honoured Freyr, and tell me right!
Why spends my lord the tedious day
In his lone hall to grief a prey?”

FREYR (_sung_).—“O how shall I, fond youth, disclose
To thee my bosom’s heavy woes?
The ruddy god shines every day,
But dull to me his cheerful ray.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Thy sorrows deem not I so great,
That thou the tale shouldst not relate.
Together sported we in youth,
And well may trust each other’s truth.”

FREYR (_sung_).—“In Gymer’s court I saw her move,
The maid, who fires my breast with love.
Her snow-white arms and bosom fair
Shone lovely, kindling sea and air.
Dear is she to my wishes more,
Than ere was maid to youth before:
But gods and elfs[102], I wot it well,
Forbid that we together dwell.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Give me that horse of wonderous breed
To cross the nightly flame[103] with speed;
And that self-brandish’d sword to smite
The giant race with strange affright.”

FREYR (_sung_).—“To thee I give this wond’rous steed,
To pass the watchful fire with speed;
And this, which borne by valiant wight,
Self-brandished will his foemen smite.”

SKIRNIR (_addressed to his horse_).—“Dark night is spread; ’tis time,
I trow,
To climb the mountains hoar with snow.
Both shall return, or both remain
In durance by the giant ta’en.”

Skirnir rode into Jotunheim to the court of Gymer; furious dogs were
tied there before the door of the wooden enclosure, which surrounded
Gerda’s bower. He rode towards a shepherd, who was sitting on a mound,
and addressed him:

“Shepherd, who sittest on the mound,
And turn’st thy watchful eyes around,
How may I lull these bloodhounds, say!
How speak unharm’d with Gymer’s may!”[104]

THE SHEPHERD (_sung_).—“Whence, and what art thou? doomed to die,
Or dead revisitest the sky?
For ride by night, or ride by day,
Thou ne’er shalt come to Gymer’s may.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“I grieve not, I; a better part
Fits him, who boasts a ready heart.
At hour of birth our lives were shaped;
The doom of fate can ne’er be ’scaped.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“What sounds unknown mine ears invade,
Frighting this mansion’s peaceful shade?
The earth’s foundation rocks withal,
And trembling shakes all Gymer’s hall.”

THE ATTENDANT (_sung_).—“Dismounted stands a warrior sheen;
His courser crops the herbage green.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“Haste, bid him to my bower with speed,
To quaff unmix’d the pleasant mead:
And good betide us![105] for I fear
My brother’s murderer is near.—
What art thou? Elf, or Asian son?
Or from the wiser Vanians sung?
Alone to visit our abode
O’er bickering flames why hast thou rode?”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Nor Elf am I, nor Asian son;
Nor from the wiser Vanians sprung:
Yet o’er the bickering flames I rode
Alone to visit your abode.
Eleven apples here I hold,
Gerda, for thee, of purest gold;
Let this fair gift thy bosom move
To grant young Freyr thy precious love.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“Eleven apples take not I
From man, as price of chastity!
While life remains, no tongue shall tell,
That Freyr and I together dwell.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Gerda, for thee this wonderous ring
Burnt on young Balder’s pile I bring;
On each ninth night shall other eight
Drop from it, all of equal weight.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“I take not, I, that wonderous ring,
Though it from Balder’s pile you bring.
Gold lack not I in Gymer’s bower;
Enough for me my father’s dower.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Behold this bright and slender brand
Unsheath’d and glittering in my hand;
Deny not, maiden! lest thine head
Be sever’d by the trenchant blade.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“Gerda will ne’er by force be led
To grace a conqueror’s hateful bed:
But this, I trow, with main and might
Gymer shall meet thy boast in fight.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Behold this bright and slender brand
Unsheath’d, and glittering in my hand!
Slain by its edge thy sire shall lie;
That giant old is doom’d to die.
E’en as I list, the magic wand
Shall tame thee! Lo, with charmed hand
I touch thee, Maid! There shalt thou go,
Where never man shall learn thy woe.
On some high pointed rock forlorn
Like eagle[106] shalt thou sit at morn;
Turn from the world’s all-cheering light,
And seek the deep abyss of night:
Food shall to thee more loathly show,
Than slimy serpent[107] creeping slow.
When forth thou com’st, a hideous sight,
Each wondering eye shall stare with fright.
By all observ’d, yet sad and lone;
’Mongst shivering[108] Thursians wider known,
Than him, who sits unmoved on high,
The Guard of heaven with sleepless eye.
’Mid charms, and chains, and restless woe,
Thy tears with double grief shall flow.
Now seat thee, Maid, while I declare
Thy tide of sorrow and despair.
Thy bower shall be some Giant’s cell,
Where phantoms pale shall with thee dwell.
Each day to the cold Thursian’s hall
Comfortless, wretched, shalt thou crawl;
Instead of joy and pleasure gay,
Sorrow and tears and sad dismay;
With some three-headed Thursian wed,
Or pine upon a lonely bed.
From morn till morn love’s secret fire
Shall gnaw thine heart With vain desire;
Like barren root of thistle pent,
In some high ruin’d battlement.
O’er shady hill, through greenwood round,
I sought this wand; the wand I found.
Odin is wroth, and mighty Thor;
E’en Freyr shall now thy name abhor.
But ere o’er thine ill-fated head
The last dread curse of heaven be spread,
Giants and Thursians far and near,
Suttungur’s[109] sons, and Asians, hear,
How I forbid with fatal ban
This maid the joys, the fruit of man!
Cold Grimmer is that giant hight
Who thee shall hold in realms of night;
Where slaves in cups of twisted roots
Shall bring foul beverage from the goats:
Nor sweeter draught, nor blither fare,
Shalt thou, sad virgin, ever share.
’Tis done! I wind the mystic charm;
Thus, thus, I trace the giant form;
And three fell characters below,
Fury, and Lust, and restless Woe.
E’en as I wound, I straight unwind
This fatal spell, if thou art kind.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“Now hail, now hail, thou warrior bold!
Take, take this cup of crystal cold,
And quaff the pure metheglin old!
Yet deem’d I ne’er, that love could bind
To Vanian youth my hostile mind.”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“I turn not home to bower or hall,
Till I have learnt mine errand all;
Where thou wilt yield the night of joy
To brave Niorder’s gallant boy.”

GERDA (_sung_).—“Barri is hight the seat of love;
Nine nights elapsed, in that known grove,
Shall brave Niorder’s gallant boy
From Gerda take the kiss of joy.”

Then rode Skirnir home. Freyr stood forth and hailed him, and asked
what tidings.

“Speak; Skirnir, speak, and tell with speed!
Take not the harness from thy steed,
Nor stir thy foot, till thou hast said,
How fares my love with Gymer’s maid!”

SKIRNIR (_sung_).—“Barri is hight the seat of love;
Nine nights elapsed, in that known grove,
To brave Niorder’s gallant boy
Will Gerda yield the kiss of joy.”

FREYR (_sung_).—“Long is one night, and longer twain;
But how for three endure my pain!
A month of rapture sooner flies,
Than half one night of wishful sighs.”

Footnote 102:

Asi and Alfi.

Footnote 103:

The bower of Gerda was surrounded with fire.

Footnote 104:

_May_, maid.

Footnote 105:

The duties of hospitality were held so sacred amongst the northern
nations, that Gerda would not refuse admittance to Skirnir, though she
imagined him to be her greatest enemy.

Footnote 106:

Eagles are said to sit without moving for a long time upon some high
eminence in the morning.

Footnote 107:

Perhaps alluding to the serpent of Midgard in the Icelandic Mythology.

Footnote 108:

_Hrim-thursar._ _Hrim_ (_Anglicè rime_) was spoken with a guttural
aspiration; and probably _Crim-Tartary_, the former seat of the Asi,
was so called from its cold.

Footnote 109:

Suttungur, the son of Gilling, was a giant, and possessed the liquor
of poetry, which he had gained from the dwarfs. It is related in the
Edda, that the Asi and Vani, having been long at war, made peace, and
spit into a vase. From this the gods formed Kuaser, a person of
exceeding learning; and the dwarfs mixed his blood with honey, and so
made the liquor of poetry. The Vani were a Grecian colony, and this
fable seems to imply that both the learning and the poetry of the
North was partly of Greek origin. Odin, under the feigned name of
Bolverk, entered into the service of Bauge, brother of Suttungur, and
drank up the liquor. A small quantity of it, which he spilt, was
scattered amongst men. It is observable, that the name of _Suttungur_,
from whom Odin gained this liquor, may denote that he derived his
poetry from the _Southern tongues_.

Footnote 110:

O, it came o’er mine ear like the sweet south,
That breathes upon a bank of violets.

_Twelfth Night_, Act i., Sc. 2.

Footnote 111:

Freya’s daughters were Hnos and Gersime. Siofna was only one of her
followers.

Footnote 112:

Ohlenschlager, Pigott’s translation.

Footnote 113:

Ohlenschlager, Pigott’s translation.

Footnote 114:

See before, p. 116.

Footnote 115:

Alluding not to any degree of consanguinity, but to a sworn covenant
of brotherhood.

Footnote 116:

See Vol. I. p. 98.

Footnote 117:

Vol I. p. 42.

Footnote 118:

See Vol. I. p. 51.

Footnote 119:

See before, p. 101.

Footnote 120:

Transcriber’s Note: The text for this footnote marker is missing.

Footnote 121:

The first was the death of Balder.

Footnote 122:

In another place a ravenous wolf tormented the souls of the damned.

Footnote 123:

The great serpent.

Footnote 124:

Runes.

Footnote 125:

Pigott’s translation.

Footnote 126:

The authorities for this section are:—Vita S. Anscharié; Vita S.
Remberti (both in Bollandus, Acta SS., and in Langebek, Scriptores
Rerum Danicarum); Ornjolm, Historia Ecclesiastica Sueciæ.

Footnote 127:

Who was he? Loccenius and most Swedish writers (who are followed by
our Universal History), tell us that he was Olaf Trætelia. Yet that
prince had been dead two centuries. Neither could it be Olaf
Skotkonung, who did not reign until two centuries afterwards—always
supposing that any dependence is to be placed on the chronology of the
Scandinavians. Yet an Olaf did reign at this period; and this only
illustrates what we observed in the first volume as to the confusion
so evident in all the regal lists.

Footnote 128:

Europe during the Middle Ages (Cab. Cyc.), vol. ii.

Footnote 129:

See Vol. I. p. 108.

Footnote 130:

The chief authorities for this chapter are:—Saxonis Grammatici
Historia Dancia, lib. x. ad fin.; Suenonis Aggonis, cap. 4., &c.;
Knytlinga Saga; many of the treatises in Langebek’s Scriptores Rerum
Danicarum; Mallet, Histoire de Dannemarc, tom. iii. and iv.; Meursius,
Historia Danica; Torfœus, Series Dynastarum et Regum Daniæ; Suhm,
Historie af Dannemarc; Adamus Bremensis, Historia Ecclesiastica; with
the historians of Germany.

Footnote 131:

See Vol. I. p. 237.

Footnote 132:

Vol. I. p. 267.

Footnote 133:

Vol. I. p. 270.

Footnote 134:

Europe during the Middle Ages (Cab. Cyc.), vol. iii.

Footnote 135:

Canute, king of all Denmark, England, and Norway, and of part of
Sweden, to Egelnoth the metropolitan, to archbishop Alfric, to all the
bishops and chiefs, and to all the nation of the English, both nobles
and commoners, greeting. I write to inform you that I have lately been
at Rome, _to pray for the remission of my sins_, and for the safety of
my kingdoms, and of the nations that are subject to my sceptre. It is
long since I bound myself by vow to make this pilgrimage; but I had
been hitherto prevented by affairs of state and other impediments.
Now, however, I return humble thanks to the Almighty God, that he has
allowed me to visit the tombs of the blessed apostles Peter and Paul,
and every holy place within and without the city of Rome, and to
honour and venerate them in person. And this I have done, because I
had learned from my teachers that the apostle St. Peter received from
the Lord the great power of binding and loosing, with the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. _On this account, I thought it highly useful to
solicit his patronage with God._ Be it moreover known to you, that
there was, at the festival of Easter, a great assemblage of noble
personages, with the lord the pope John, and the emperor Conrad,
namely, all the chiefs of the nations from Mount Gargano to the
nearest sea, who all received me honourably, and made me valuable
presents; but particularly the emperor, who gave me many gold and
silver vases, with rich mantles and garments. I therefore took the
opportunity to treat with the pope, the emperor, and the princes, on
the grievances of my people, both English and Danes; that they might
enjoy more equal law, and more secure safeguard in their way to Rome,
nor be detained at so many barriers, nor harassed by unjust exactions.
My demands were granted both by the emperor and by king Rodulf, who
rules most of the passages; and it was enacted by all the princes,
that my _men_, whether pilgrims or merchants, should, for the future,
go to Rome and return in full security, without detention at the
barriers, or the payment of unlawful tolls. I next complained to the
pope, and expressed my displeasure, that such immense sums should be
extorted from my archbishops, when according to custom they visited
the apostolic see to obtain the pallium. A decree was made that this
grievance should cease. Whatever I demanded for the benefit of my
people, either of the pope, or the emperor, or the princes, through
whose dominions lies the road to Rome, was granted willingly, and
confirmed by their oaths, in the presence of four archbishops, twenty
bishops, and a multitude of dukes and nobles. Wherefore I return
sincere thanks to God that I have successfully performed whatever I
had intended, and have fully satisfied all my wishes. Now, therefore,
be it known to you all, that I have dedicated my life to the service
of God, to govern my kingdoms with equity, and to observe justice in
all things. _If by the impetuosity or negligence of youth, I have
violated justice heretofore, it is my intention, by the help of God,
to make full compensation._ Therefore I beg and command those to whom
I have confided the rule, as they wish to preserve my friendship or
save their own souls, to do no injustice either to rich or poor. Let
all persons, whether noble or ignoble, obtain their rights according
to law, from which no deviation shall be allowed, either from fear of
me, or through favour to the powerful, or for the purpose of supplying
my treasury. I have no need of money raised by injustice. I am now on
my road to Denmark, for the purpose of concluding peace with those
nations, who, had it been in their power, would have deprived us both
of our crown and our life. But God has destroyed their means: and
will, I trust, of his goodness preserve us, and humble all our
enemies. When I shall have concluded peace with the neighbouring
nations, and settled the concerns of my eastern dominions, it is my
intention to return to England as soon as the fine weather will permit
me to sail. But I have sent you this letter beforehand, that all the
people of my kingdom may rejoice at my prosperity. For you all know
that I never spared, nor will spare myself, or my labour, when my
object is the welfare of my subjects. Lastly, I entreat all my bishops
and all my sheriffs, by the fidelity which they owe to me and to God,
that the church-dues, according to the ancient laws, may be paid
before my return; namely, the plough alms, the tithes of cattle of the
present year, the Peter-pence, the tithes of fruit in the middle of
August, and the kirk-shot at the feast of St. Martin, to the parish
church. Should this be omitted, at my return I will punish the
offender, by exacting the whole fine imposed by law. Fare ye well.

Footnote 136:

See Europe during the Middle Ages, vol. iii. chap. i.; and, History of
the Germanic Empire, vol. i.

Footnote 137:

See Vol. I. p. 273.

Footnote 138:

Vol. I. p. 267.

Footnote 139:

Mr. Herbert says it was _successful_, and that the virgin was plighted
to him. Certainly _his_ translation agrees better with the tenor of
that piece than that of Dr. Bowring in Wheaton.

Footnote 140:

Harald is said to have been a poet, and to have sung his own exploits.
The piece (Harald’s song) has been thus translated by Bowring:—

1.
“Our ships[141] along Sicilia plied,
In those our days of strength and pride,
And Venger’s Stag[142] the warriors carried
Still on and on—nor ever tarried.
No craven coward, well I wis,
E’er track’d a dangerous path like this.
Yet Gardar’s Gerda—gold-ring’d maid![143]
Flings scorn upon the hero’s head.

2.
* * * * * * * * *

3.
“We baled the ship—we, six and ten,
As broke the mighty seas again—
As rushed the billows at our feet,
While toiling on the rowers’ seat
No craven coward, well I wis,
E’er track’d a dangerous way like this.
Yet Gardar’s Gerda—gold-ring’d maid!
Flings scorn upon the hero’s head.

4.
“Eight[144] virtues have I—I can pour
Out Odin’s drink—and forge the ore—
Upon the active horse can ride:
And I can breast the ocean-tide,
And I can glide on skates of snow,
And I can shoot, and I can row.
Yet Gardar’s Gerda—gold-ring’d maid!
Flings scorn upon the hero’s head.

5.
“Can widow, or can maid gainsay,
That we have clash’d our swords in fray,
That we have sought the Southern land,
And forced the city with our band?
At break of day our foes were slain—
And still the vestiges remain.
Yet Gardar’s Gerda—gold-ring’d maid!
Flings scorn upon the hero’s head.

6.
“And I was born in mountains where
The highland heroes wield the spear.
My war-ships, fear’d by men of flocks,
I guide across the ocean-rocks,
And long o’er ocean’s waves have bounded,
And many an ocean-isle surrounded.
Yet Gardar’s Gerda—gold-ring’d maid!
Flings scorn upon the hero’s head.”

It had before been translated by several writers, especially by Mr.
Herbert, in a very different manner: that gentleman, however, had not
seen the original Knytlinga Saga.

Footnote 141:

In the original—the planks—the keel.

Footnote 142:

Venger—a Vikingr of old times—the Stag, his battle-ship.

Footnote 143:

The alliteration of the original line, and its peculiar poetic
beauty, which consists in an allusion to one of the fables of the
Northern mythology, is happily preserved in this translation.
Gardar-rike—Russia, the Russian land. Gerda, a mythic poetic name
for Harald’s mistress Elizabeth. Gerda was the beloved of Freyr, the
god of the sun, whose love was so long resisted by Gerda. Freyr had
also offered to Gerda a golden ring—hence the allusion.—_F.
Magnussen_, Lex. Myt. Bor. 116. 439.

Footnote 144:

Yet only seven are enumerated. Professor F. Magnussen supposes the
original second line may have been

Oð fet ek lið, at smiða.

Which may be rendered—I make verses—I arrange the battle—I forge (or
smith) the ore.

(These notes are from Wheaton, p. 343.)

Footnote 145:

We merely _allude_ to English occurrences, the detail of which must be
sought in our own history.

Footnote 146:

Harald, Canute, Olaf, Eric, Nicholas or Niels.

Footnote 147:

Mallet, tom. iii.

Footnote 148:

But was she not his step-daughter? Had he married the _mother_
Gunhilda some years before, and lost her by death? We are not very
clear as to the degree of affinity.

Footnote 149:

See Vol. I. p. 268.

Footnote 150:

For the way in which history is sometimes perverted to suit party
purposes, we gave a good illustration in the Appendix to Vol. I. That
of St. Canute (see the Appendix to the present volume) is scarcely
better. It contains nearly as many inaccuracies as there are
sentences.

Footnote 151:

The Vandals were certainly of Slavonic stock. The name, however,
though constantly used by the Danish historians, is not the best that
might be used.

Footnote 152:

See before, p. 185.

Footnote 153:

See the chapter on that kingdom.

Footnote 154:

See before, p. 201.

Footnote 155:

For the exploits of this prince, see History of Russia, Vol. I. (_Cab.
Cyc._), one of the most judicious historical compendiums we have ever
seen.

Footnote 156:

So called from his frequent use of the word _mœn_—_certainly_.

Footnote 157:

Known as the _Congesta Menvedi_.

Footnote 158:

Authorities for the present chapter:—Snorronis Sturlonidis
Heims-Kringla (in the Sagas of each reign). Torfœus, Historia Rerum
Norvegicarum. Saxonis Grammatici Historia Danica. The Chronicles in
Langebek, Scriptores Rerum Danicarum. Mallet, Histoire de Daunemarc.

Footnote 159:

According to the chronology of Thorlak, and even Snorro himself,
Magnus was invited to Norway _before_ the death of Canute, though in
the same year (1035). This is too improbable to be received. Certainly
the father of Norwegian history must have confounded dates.

Footnote 160:

See Vol. I. p. 273.

Footnote 161:

See Vol. I. p. 273.

Footnote 162:

See Vol. I. p. 254.

Footnote 163:

For these events, see the commencement of the last chapter.

Footnote 164:

“Suecia enim,” says Snorro, “tunc temporis passim vel ethnica vel male
Christiana: reges quinetiam quosdam habuit, qui, abjectâ Christi fide,
sacrificia instaurabant.”

Footnote 165:

See the reign of Magnus III.

Footnote 166:

See his reign.

Footnote 167:

See his reign.

Footnote 168:

See before, reign of Hako.

Footnote 169:

Authorities for the present chapter:—Torfœus, Historia Norvegica.
Loccenius, Historia Suevica. Olaus Roskildensis, Chronicon. Johannes
Magnus, Historia Gothorum. Pontanus, Historia.

Footnote 170:

Vol I. p. 234.

Footnote 171:

Vol I. p. 237.

Footnote 172:

Ibid. p. 249–252.

Footnote 173:

Ibid. p. 254.

Footnote 174:

Ibid. p. 266–272.

Footnote 175:

See the corresponding period in the history of Denmark.

Footnote 176:

See the reigns of Eric VIII. and Christopher II. in the history of
Denmark.

Footnote 177:

See the reign of Valdemar III. king of Denmark.

Footnote 178:

For these events, we refer to the corresponding period in Danish
history.

Footnote 179:

See the corresponding period in Danish history.

Footnote 180:

For the numerous inaccuracies (to give them the mildest term) in this
article, the reader has only to consult the text.

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Transcriber’s note:

○ On page 128 there is a reference to footnote [86], which contains
the line “And that, though ’twere silver, hold.” which ends with
footnote marker [87], but there was no footnote text.

○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.

○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.

○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.