THE STORY OF FRITHIOF.
[Sidenote: Northern sagas.] Norse, Danish, and Swedish writers have
frequently called public attention to the vast literary treasures which are
contained in the old sagas or tales of their forefathers. The work of
northern scalds whose names in most cases are unknown to us, these stories
relate the lives and adventures of the gods and heroes of the North. Many
of these old sagas have been translated into various other European
languages; but Tegnér, a Swedish writer of this century, has done most to
revive a taste for them by making one of them the basis of a poem which is
generally considered a masterpiece.
Tegnér's "Frithiof Saga" has been translated once at least into every
European tongue, and more than eighteen times into English and German.
Goethe spoke of the work with the greatest enthusiasm, and the tale, which
gives a matchless picture of the life of our heathen ancestors in the
North, has been the source of inspiration for important works of art.
Although Tegnér has chosen for his theme the Frithiof saga only, we find
that that tale is the sequel to the older but less interesting Thorsten
saga, of which we give here a very brief outline, merely to enable the
reader to understand clearly every allusion in the more modern poem.
As is so frequently the case with these ancient tales, the story begins
with Haloge (Loki), who came north with Odin, and began to reign over north
Norway, which from him was called Halogaland. According to northern
mythology, this god had two lovely daughters. They were carried off by bold
suitors, who, banished from the mainland by Haloge's curses and magic
spells, took refuge with their newly won wives upon neighboring islands.
[Sidenote: Birth of Viking.] Thus it happened that Haloge's grandson,
Viking, was born upon the island of Bornholm, in the Balitic Sea, where he
dwelt until he was fifteen, and where he became the largest and strongest
man of his time. Rumors of his valor finally reached Hunvor, a Swedish
princess; and, as she was oppressed by the attentions of a gigantic suitor
whom none dared drive away, she quickly sent for Viking to deliver her.
Thus summoned, the youth departed, after having received from his father a
magic sword named Angurvadel, whose blows would prove fatal even to the
giant suitor of Hunvor. A "holmgang," the northern name for a duel,
ensued, and Viking, having slain his antagonist, could have married the
princess had it not been considered disgraceful for a Northman to marry
before he was twenty.
To beguile the time of waiting, Viking set out in a well-manned dragon
ship; and, cruising about the northern and southern seas, he met with
countless adventures. During this time he was particularly persecuted by
the slain giant's kin, who were adepts in magic, and caused him to
encounter innumerable perils by land and by sea.
Aided and abetted by his bosom friend, Halfdan, Viking escaped every
danger, slew many of his foes, and, after recovering his promised bride,
Hunvor, whom the enemy had carried off to India, he settled down in Sweden.
His friend, faithful in peace as well as in war, settled near him, and
married also, choosing for his wife Ingeborg, Hunvor's attendant.
The saga now describes the long, peaceful winters, when the warriors
feasted and listened to the tales of the scalds, rousing themselves to
energetic efforts only when returning spring again permitted them to launch
their dragon ships and set out once more upon their favorite piratical
expeditions. In the olden story the bards relate with great gusto every
phase of attack and defense during cruise and raid, describe every blow
given and received, and spare us none of carnage, or lurid flames which
envelop both enemies and ships in common ruin. A fierce fight is often an
earnest of future friendship, however, for we are told that Halfdan and
Viking, having failed to conquer Njorfe, even after a most obstinate
struggle, sheathed their swords and accepted him as a third in their close
bond of friendship.
On returning home after one of these customary raids, Viking lost his
beloved wife; and, after intrusting her child, Ring, to the care of a
foster father, and undergoing a short period of mourning, the brave warrior
married again. This time his marital bliss was more lasting, for the saga
reports that his second wife bore him nine stalwart sons.
Njorfe, King of Uplands, in Norway, had, in the mean while, followed
Viking's example, and he too rejoiced in a large family, numbering also
nine brave sons. Now, although their fathers were united in bonds of the
closest friendship, having sworn blood brotherhood according to the true
northern rites, the young men were jealous of one another, and greatly
inclined to quarrel.
[Sidenote: Early ball games.] Notwithstanding this smoldering animosity,
these youths often met; and the saga relates that they used to play ball
together, and gives a description of the earliest ball game on record in
the northern annals. Viking's sons, as tall and strong as he, were inclined
to be rather reckless of their opponents' welfare, and, judging from the
following account, translated from the old saga, the players were often
left in as sorry a condition as after a modern game.
"The next morning the brothers went to the games, and generally had the
ball during the day; they pushed men and let them fall roughly, and beat
others. At night three men had their arms broken, and many were bruised or
maimed."
The game between Njorfe's and Viking's sons culminated in a disagreement,
and one of the former nine struck one of the latter a dangerous and
treacherous blow. Prevented from taking his revenge then and there by the
interference of the spectators, the injured man made a trivial excuse to
return to the ball ground alone; and, meeting his assailant there, he
killed him.
When Viking heard that one of his sons had slain one of his friend's
children, he was very indignant, and, mindful of his oath to avenge all
Njorfe's wrongs, he banished the young murderer. The other brothers, on
hearing this sentence, all vowed that they would accompany the exile, and
so Viking sorrowfully bade them farewell, giving his sword Angurvadel to
Thorsten, the eldest, and cautioning him to remain quietly on an island in
Lake Wener until all danger of retaliation on the part of Njorfe's
remaining sons was over.
The young men obeyed; but Njorfe's sons, who had no boats to take them
across the lake, soon made use of a conjuror's art to bring about a great
frost, and, accompanied by many armed men, stole noiselessly over the ice
to attack Thorsten and his brothers. A terrible carnage ensued, and only
two of the attacking party managed to escape, leaving, as they fancied, all
their foes among the dead.
But when Viking came to bury his sons, he found that two of them, Thorsten
and Thorer, were still alive, and he secretly conveyed them to a cellar
beneath his dwelling, where they recovered from their wounds.
By magic arts Njorfe's two sons discovered that their opponents were not
dead, and soon made a second desperate but vain attempt to kill them.
Viking saw that the quarrel would be incessantly renewed if his sons
remained at home; so he now sent them to Halfdan, whose court they reached
after a series of adventures which in many points resemble those of Theseus
on his way to Athens.
When spring came Thorsten embarked on a piratical excursion, and
encountered Jokul, Njorfe's eldest son, who, in the mean while, had taken
forcible possession of the kingdom of Sogn, after killing the king,
banishing his heir, Belé, and changing his beautiful daughter, Ingeborg,
into the form of an old witch.
Throughout the story Jokul is represented as somewhat of a coward, for he
resorted by preference to magic when he wished to injure Viking's sons.
Thus he stirred up great tempests, and Thorsten, after twice suffering
shipwreck, was saved from the waves by the witch Ingeborg, whom he promised
to marry in gratitude for her good services.
Thorsten, advised by her, went in search of Belé, replaced him on his
hereditary throne, swore eternal friendship with him, and, the baleful
spell being removed, married the beautiful Ingeborg, who dwelt with him at
Framnäs.
[Sidenote: Thorsten and Belé.] Every spring Thorsten and Belé now set out
together in their ships; and, joining forces with Angantyr, a foe whose
mettle they had duly tested, they proceeded to recover possession of a
priceless treasure, a magic dragon ship named Ellida, which Aegir, god of
the sea, had once given to Viking in reward for hospitable treatment, and
which had been stolen from him.
"A royal gift to behold, for the swelling planks of its framework
Were not fastened with nails, as is wont, but _grown_ in together.
Its shape was that of a dragon when swimming, but forward
Its head rose proudly on high, the throat with yellow gold flaming;
Its belly was spotted with red and yellow, but back by the rudder
Coiled out its mighty tail in circles, all scaly with silver;
Black wings with edges of red; when all were expanded
Ellida raced with the whistling storm, but outstript the eagle.
When filled to the edge with warriors, it sailed o'er the waters,
You'd deem it a floating fortress, or warlike abode of a monarch.
The ship was famed far and wide, and of ships was first in the North."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
The next season, Thorsten, Belé, and Angantyr conquered the Orkney Islands,
which were given as kingdom to the latter, he voluntarily pledging himself
to pay a yearly tribute to Belé. Next Thorsten and Belé went in quest of a
magic ring, or armlet, once forged by Völund, the smith, and stolen by
Soté, a famous pirate.
This bold robber was so afraid lest some one should gain possession of the
magic ring, that he had buried himself alive with it in a mound in
Bretland. Here his ghost was said to keep constant watch over it, and when
Thorsten entered his tomb, Belé heard the frightful blows given and
received, and saw lurid gleams of supernatural fire.
When Thorsten finally staggered out of the mound, pale and bloody, but
triumphant, he refused to speak of the horrors he had encountered to win
the coveted treasure, nor would he ever vouchsafe further information than
this:
"'Dearly bought is the prize,' said he often,
'For I trembled but once in my life, and 'twas when I seized it!'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
[Sidenote: Birth of Frithiof and Ingeborg.] Thus owner of the three
greatest treasures in the North, Thorsten returned home to Framnäs, where
Ingeborg bore him a fine boy, Frithiof, the playmate of Halfdan and Helgé,
Belé's sons. The three youths were already well grown when Ingeborg, Belé's
little daughter, was born, and as she was intrusted to the care of Hilding,
Frithiof's foster father, the children grew up in perfect amity.
"Jocund they grew, in guileless glee;
Young Frithiof was the sapling tree;
In budding beauty by his side,
Sweet Ingeborg, the garden's pride."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
Frithiof soon became hardy and fearless under his foster father's training,
and Ingeborg rapidly developed all the sweetest traits of female
loveliness. Both, however, were happiest when together; and as they grew
older their childish affection daily became deeper and more intense, until
Hilding, perceiving this state of affairs, bade the youth remember that he
was only a subject, and therefore no mate for the king's only daughter.
"But Hilding said, 'O foster son,
Set not thy heart her love upon,
For Destiny thy wish gainsaid;
King Belé's daughter is the maid!
"'From Odin's self, in starry sky,
Descends her ancestry so high;
But thou art Thorsten's son, so yield,
And leave to mightier names the field.'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.)
[Sidenote: Frithiof's love for Ingeborg.] These wise admonitions came too
late, however, and Frithiof vehemently declared that he would win the fair
Ingeborg for his bride in spite of all obstacles and his comparatively
humble origin.
Shortly after this Belé and Thorsten met for the last time, near the
magnificent shrine of Balder, where the king, feeling that his end was
near, had convened a solemn assembly, or Thing, of all his principal
subjects, in order to present his sons Helgé and Halfdan to the people as
his chosen successors. The young heirs were very coldly received on this
occasion, for Helgé was of a somber and taciturn disposition, and inclined
to the life of a priest, and Halfdan was of a weak, effeminate nature, and
noted for his cowardice. Frithiof, who was present, and stood beside them,
cast them both in the shade, and won many admiring glances from the throng.
"But after them came Frithiof, in mantle blue--
He by a head was taller than th' other two.
He stood between the brethren, as day should light
Between the rosy morning and darksome night."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.)
After giving his last instructions to his sons, and speaking kindly to
Frithiof, who was his favorite, the old king turned to his lifelong
companion, Thorsten, to take leave of him, but the old warrior declared
that they would not long be parted. Belé then spoke again to his sons, and
bade them erect his howe, or funeral mound, within sight of that of
Thorsten, that their spirits might commune, and not be sundered even in
death.
"'But lay us gently, children, where the blue wave,
Beating harmonious cadence, the shore doth lave;
Its murmuring song is pleasant unto the soul,
And like a lamentation its ceaseless roll.
"'And when the moon's pale luster around us streams,
And midnight dim grows radiant with silver beams,
There will we sit, O Thorsten, upon our graves,
And talk of bygone battles by the dark waves.
"'And now, farewell, my children! Come here no more;
Our road lies to Allfather's far-distant shore,
E'en as the troubled river sweeps to the sea:
By Frey and Thor and Odin blessed may ye be.'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
[Sidenote: Helgé and Halfdan.] These instructions were all piously obeyed
when the aged companions had breathed their last. Then the brothers, Helgé
and Halfdan, began to rule their kingdom, while Frithiof, their former
playmate, withdrew to his own place at Framnäs, a very fertile homestead,
lying in a snug valley closed in by the towering mountains and the
ever-changing ocean.
"Three miles extended around the fields of the homestead; on
three sides
Valleys and mountains and hills, but on the fourth side was the
ocean.
Birch-woods crowned the summits, but over the down-sloping
hillsides
Flourished the golden corn, and man-high was waving the rye-
field."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
But although surrounded by faithful retainers, and blessed with much wealth
and the possession of the famous sword Angurvadel, the Völund ring, and the
matchless dragon ship Ellida, Frithiof was unhappy, because he could no
longer see the fair Ingeborg daily. With the returning spring, however, all
his former spirits returned, for both kings came to visit him, accompanied
by their fair sister, with whom he lived over the happy childish years, and
spent long hours in cheerful companionship. As they were thus constantly
thrown together, Frithiof soon made known to Ingeborg his deep affection,
and received in return an avowal of her love.
"He sat by her side, and he pressed her soft hand,
And he felt a soft pressure responsive and bland;
Whilst his love-beaming gaze
Was returned as the sun's in the moon's placid rays."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
[Sidenote: Frithiof's suit.] When the visit was over and the guests had
departed, Frithiof informed his confidant and chief companion, Björn, of
his determination to follow them and openly ask for Ingeborg's hand. His
ship was prepared, and after a swift sail touched the shore near Balder's
shrine. Discerning the royal brothers seated in state on Belé's tomb to
listen to the petitions of their subjects, Frithiof immediately presented
himself before them, and manfully made his request, adding that the old
king had always loved him and would surely have granted his prayer.
"They were seated on Belè's tomb, and o'er
The common folk administered law.
But Frithiof speaks,
And his voice re-echoes round valleys and peaks.
"'Ye kings, my love is Ingborg fair;
To ask her in marriage I here repair;
And what I require
I here maintain was King Belè's desire.
"'He let us grow in Hilding's care,
Like two young saplings, year by year;
And therefore, kings,
Unite the full-grown trees with golden rings.'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
But although he promised lifelong fealty and the service of his strong
right arm in exchange for the boon he craved, Helgé contemptuously
dismissed him. Enraged at the insult thus publicly received, Frithiof
raised his invincible sword; but, remembering that he stood on a
consecrated spot, he spared the king, only cutting the royal shield in two
to show the strength of his blade, and striding back to his ship, he
embarked and sailed away in sullen silence.
"And lo! cloven in twain at a stroke
Fell King Helgé's gold shield from its pillar of oak:
At the clang of the blow,
The live started above, the dead started below."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
[Sidenote: Sigurd Ring a suitor.] Just after his departure came messengers
from Sigurd Ring, the aged King of Ringric, in Norway, who, having lost his
wife, sent to Helgé and Halfdan to ask Ingeborg's hand in marriage. Before
answering this royal suitor, Helgé consulted the Vala, or prophetess, and
the priests, and as they all declared that the omens were not in favor of
this marriage, he gave an insolent refusal to the messengers. This
impolitic conduct so offended the would-be suitor that he immediately
collected an army and prepared to march against the Kings of Sogn to avenge
the insult with his sword. When the rumor of his approach reached the
cowardly brothers they were terrified, and fearing to encounter the foe
alone, they sent Hilding to Frithiof to implore his aid.
Hilding gladly undertook the mission, although he had not much hope of its
success. He found Frithiof playing chess with a friend, Björn, and
immediately made known his errand.
"'From Belé's high heirs
I come with courteous words and prayers:
Disastrous tidings rouse the brave;
On thee a nation's hope relies.
* * * * *
In Balder's fane, grief's loveliest prey,
Sweet Ing'borg weeps the livelong day:
Say, can her tears unheeded fall,
Nor call her champion to her side?'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
But Frithiof was so deeply offended that even this appeal in the name of
his beloved could not move him. Quietly he continued his game of chess,
and, when it was ended, told Hilding that he had no answer to give. Rightly
concluding that Frithiof would lend the kings no aid, Hilding returned to
Helgé and Halfdan, who, forced to fight without their bravest leader,
preferred to make a treaty with Sigurd Ring, promising to give him not only
their sister Ingeborg, but also a yearly tribute.
[Sidenote: At Balder's shrine.] While they were thus engaged at Sogn Sound,
Frithiof hastened to Balder's temple, where, as Hilding had declared, he
found Ingeborg a prey to grief. Now although it was considered a sacrilege
for man and woman to exchange a word in the sacred building, Frithiof could
not see his beloved in tears without attempting to console her; and,
forgetting all else, he spoke to her and comforted her. He repeated how
dearly he loved her, quieted all her apprehensions of the gods' anger by
assuring her that Balder, the good, must view their innocent passion with
approving eyes, said that love as pure as theirs could defile no sanctuary,
and plighted his troth to her before the shrine.
[Illustration: THE LOVERS AT BALDER'S SHRINE.--Kepler.]
"'What whisper you of Balder's ire?
The pious god--he is not wrath.
He loves himself, and doth inspire
Our love--the purest he calls forth.
The god with true and steadfast heart,
The sun upon his glittering form,
Is not his love for Nanna part
Of his own nature, pure and warm?
"'There is his image; he is near.
How mild he looks on me--how kind!
A sacrifice to him I'll bear,
The offer of a loving mind.
Kneel down with me; no better gift,
No fairer sure for Balder is,
Than two young hearts, whose love doth lift
Above the world almost like his.'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
Reassured by this reasoning, Ingeborg no longer refused to see and converse
with Frithiof; and during the kings' absence the young lovers met every
day, and plighted their troth with Volund's ring, which Ingeborg solemnly
promised to send back to her lover should she break her promise to live for
him alone. Frithiof lingered there until the kings' return, when, for love
of Ingeborg the fair, he again appeared before them, and pledged himself to
free them from their thraldom to Sigurd Ring if they would only reconsider
their decision and promise him their sister's hand.
"'War is abroad,
And strikes his echoing shield within our borders;
Thy crown and land, King Helgé, are in danger;
Give me thy sister's hand, and I will use
Henceforth my warlike force in thy defense.
Let then the wrath between us be forgotten,
Unwillingly I strive 'gainst Ingborg's brother.
Secure, O king, by one fraternal act
Thy golden crown and save thy sister's heart.
Here is my hand. By Thor, I ne'er again
Present it here for reconciliation.'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
[Sidenote: Frithiof in disgrace.] But although this offer was hailed with
rapture by the assembled warriors, it was again scornfully rejected by
Helgé, who declared that he would have granted it had not Frithiof proved
himself unworthy of all confidence by defiling the temple of the gods.
Frithiof tried to defend himself; but as he had to plead guilty to the
accusation of having conversed with Ingeborg at Balder's shrine, he was
convicted of having broken the law, and, in punishment therefor, condemned
to sail off to the Orkney Islands to claim tribute from the king, Angantyr.
Before he sailed, however, he once more sought Ingeborg, and vainly tried
to induce her to elope with him by promising her a home in the sunny south,
where her happiness should be his law, and where she should rule over his
subjects as his honored wife. Ingeborg sorrowfully refused to accompany
him, saying that, since her father was no more, she was in duty bound to
obey her brothers implicitly, and could not marry without their consent.
"'But Helgé is my father,
Stands in my father's place; on his consent
Depends my hand, and Belé's daughter steals not
Her earthly happiness, how near it be.'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
After a heartrending parting scene, Frithiof embarked upon Ellida, and
sorrowfully sailed out of the harbor, while Ingeborg wept at his departure.
When the vessel was barely out of sight, Helgé sent for two witches named
Heid and Ham, bidding them begin their incantations, and stir up such a
tempest at sea that it would be impossible for even the god-given vessel
Ellida to withstand its fury, and all on board would perish. The witches
immediately complied; and with Helgé's aid they soon stirred up a storm
unparalleled in history.
"Helgé on the strand
Chants his wizard-spell,
Potent to command
Fiends of earth or hell.
Gathering darkness shrouds the sky;
Hark, the thunder's distant roll!
Lurid lightnings, as they fly,
Streak with blood the sable pole.
Ocean, boiling to its base,
Scatters wide its wave of foam;
Screaming, as in fleetest chase,
Sea-birds seek their island home."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
[Sidenote: The tempest.] In spite of tossing waves and whistling blasts,
Frithiof sang a cheery song to reassure his frightened crew; but when the
peril grew so great that his exhausted men gave themselves up for lost, he
bade Björn hold the rudder, and himself climbed up to the mast top to view
the horizon. While perched up there he descried a whale, upon which the two
witches were riding at ease. Speaking to his good ship, which was gifted
with the power of understanding and obeying his words, he now ran down both
witches and whale, and the sea was reddened with their blood. No sooner had
they sunk than the wind fell, the waves ceased to heave and toss as before,
and soon fair weather again smiled over the seas.
"Now the storm has flown,
The sea is calm awhile;
A gentle swell is blown
Against the neighboring isle.
"Then at once the sun arose,
Like a king who mounts his throne,
Vivifies the world and throws
His light on billow, field, and stone.
His new-born beams adorn awhile
A dark green grove on rocky top,
All recognize a sea-girt isle,
Amongst the distant Orkney's group."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
Exhausted by their previous superhuman efforts and by the bailing of their
water-logged vessel, the men were too weak to land when they at last
reached the Orkney Islands, and had to be carried ashore by Björn and
Frithiof, who gently laid them down on the sand, bidding them rest and
refresh themselves after all the hardships they had endured.
"Tired indeed are all on board,
All the crew of Frithiofs men,
Scarce supported by a sword,
Can they raise themselves again.
Björn takes four of them ashore,
On his mighty shoulders wide,
Frithiof singly takes twice four,
Places them the fire beside.
'Blush not, ye pale ones,
The sea's a valiant viking;
'Tis hard indeed to fight
Against the rough sea waves.
Lo! there comes the mead horn
On golden feet descending,
To warm our frozen limbs.
Hail to Ingeborg!'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
The arrival of Frithiof and his men had been seen by the watchman of
Angantyr's castle, who immediately informed his master of all he had seen.
The jarl exclaimed that the ship which had weathered such a gale could be
none but Ellida, and that its captain was doubtless Frithiof, Thorsten's
gallant son. At these words one of his Berserkers, Atlé, caught up his
weapons and strode out of the hall, vowing that he would challenge
Frithiof, and thus satisfy himself concerning the veracity of the tales he
had heard of the young hero's courage.
[Sidenote: Atlé's challenge.] Although still greatly exhausted, Frithiof
immediately accepted Atlé's challenge, and, after a sharp encounter, threw
his antagonist, whom he would have slain then and there had his sword been
within reach. Atlé saw his intention, and bade him go in search of a
weapon, promising to remain motionless during his absence. Frithiof,
knowing that such a warrior's promise was inviolable, immediately obeyed;
but when he returned with his sword, and found his antagonist calmly
awaiting death, he relented, and bade Atlé rise and live.
"With patience long not gifted,
Frithiof the foe would kill,
And Angurvadel lifted,
But Atlé yet lay still.
This touched the hero's soul;
He stayed the sweeping brand
Before it reached its goal,
And took the fall'n one's hand."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_(Spalding's tr.).
Together these doughty warriors then wended their way to Angantyr's halls,
where they found a festal board awaiting them, and there they ate and
drank, sang songs, and recounted stories of thrilling adventure by land and
by sea.
At last, however, Frithiof made known his errand. Angantyr said that he
owed no tribute to Helgé, and would pay him none; but that he would give
the required sum as a free gift to his old friend Thorsten's son, leaving
him at liberty to dispose of it as he pleased. Then, since the season was
unpropitious, and storms continually swept over the sea, the king invited
Frithiof to tarry with him; and it was only when the gentle spring breezes
were blowing once more that he at last allowed him to depart.
After sailing over summer seas, wafted along by favorable winds for six
days, Frithiof came in sight of his home, Framnäs, which had been reduced
to a shapeless heap of ashes by Helgé's orders. Sadly steering past the
ruins, he arrived at Baldershage, where Hilding met him and informed him
that Ingeborg was now the wife of Sigurd Ring. When Frithiof heard these
tidings he flew into a Berserker rage, and bade his men destroy all the
vessels in the harbor, while he strode up to the temple alone in search of
Helgé. He found him there before the god's image, roughly flung Angantyr's
heavy purse of gold in his face, and when, as he was about to leave the
temple, he saw the ring he had given Ingeborg on the arm of Helgé's wife,
he snatched it away from her. In trying to recover it she dropped the god's
image, which she had just been anointing, into the fire, where it was
rapidly consumed, and the rising flames soon set the temple roof in a
blaze.
Frithiof, horror-stricken at the sacrilege which he had involuntarily
occasioned, after vainly trying to extinguish the flames and save the
costly sanctuary, escaped to his ship and waiting companions, to begin the
weary life of an outcast and exile.
"The temple soon in ashes lay,
Ashes the temple's bower;
Wofully Frithiof goes his way,
Weeps in the morning hour."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
[Sidenote: Frithiof an exile.] Helgé's men started in pursuit, hoping to
overtake and punish him; but when they reached the harbor they could not
find a single seaworthy craft, and were forced to stand on the shore in
helpless inactivity while Ellida's great sails slowly sank beneath the
horizon. It was thus that Frithiof sadly saw his native land vanish from
sight; and as it disappeared he breathed a tender farewell to the beloved
country which he never expected to see again.
"'World-circle's brow,
Thou mighty North!
I may not go
Upon thine earth;
But in no other
I love to dwell;
Now, hero-mother,
Farewell, farewell!
"'Farewell, thou high
And heavenly one,
Night's sleeping eye,
Midsummer sun.
Thou clear blue sky,
Like hero's soul,
Ye stars on high,
Farewell, farewell!
"'Farewell, ye mounts
Where Honour thrives,
And Thor recounts
Good warriors' lives.
Ye azure lakes,
I know so well,
Ye woods and brakes,
Farewell, farewell!
"'Farewell, ye tombs,
By billows blue,
The lime tree blooms
Its snow on you.
The Saga sets
In judgment-veil
What earth forgets;
Farewell, farewell!
"'Farewell the heath,
The forest hoar
I played beneath,
By streamlet's roar.
To childhood's friends
Who loved me well,
Remembrance sends
A fond farewell!
"'My love is foiled,
My rooftree rent,
Mine honour soiled,
In exile sent!
We turn from earth,
On ocean dwell,
But, joy and mirth,
Farewell, farewell!'"
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
After thus parting from his native land, Frithiof took up the life of a
pirate, rover, or viking, whose code was never to settle anywhere, to sleep
on his shield, to fight and neither give nor take quarter, to protect the
ships which paid him tribute and sack the others, and to distribute all the
booty to his men, reserving for himself nothing but the glory of the
enterprise. Sailing and fighting thus, Frithiof visited many lands, and
came to the sunny isles of Greece, whither he would fain have carried
Ingeborg as his bride; but wherever he went and whatever he did, he was
always haunted by the recollection of his beloved and of his native land.
[Sidenote: At the court of Sigurd Ring.] Overcome at last by homesickness,
Frithiof returned northward, determined to visit Sigurd Ring's court and
ascertain whether Ingeborg was really well and happy. Steering his vessel
up the Vik (the main part of the Christiania-Fiord), he intrusted it to
Björn's care, and alone, on foot, and enveloped in a tattered mantle, which
he used as disguise, he went to the court of Sigurd Ring, arriving there
just as the Yuletide festivities were being held. As if in reality nothing
more than the aged beggar he appeared, Frithiof sat down upon the bench
near the door, where he became the butt of the courtiers' rough jokes; but
when one of his tormentors approached too closely he caught him in his
powerful grasp and swung him high above his head.
Terrified by this proof of great strength, the courtiers silently withdrew,
while Sigurd Ring invited the old man to remove his mantle, take a seat
beside him, and share his good cheer. Frithiof accepted the invitation thus
cordially given, and when he had laid aside his squalid outward apparel all
started with surprise to see a handsome warrior, richly clad, and adorned
with a beautiful ring.
"Now from the old man's stooping head is loosed the sable hood,
When lo! a young man smiling stands, where erst the old one stood.
See! From his lofty forehead, round shoulders broad and strong,
The golden locks flow glistening, like sunlight waves along.
"He stood before them glorious in velvet mantle blue,
His baldrics broad, with silver worked, the artist's skill did shew;
For round about the hero's breast and round about his waist,
The beasts and birds of forest wild, embossed, each other chased.
"The armlet's yellow luster shone rich upon his arm;
His war sword by his side--in strife a thunderbolt alarm.
Serene the hero cast his glance around the men of war;
Bright stood he there as Balder, as tall as Asa Thor."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
[Illustration: FRITHIOF AT THE COURT OF KING RING.--Kepler.]
But although his appearance was so unusual, none of the people present
recognized him save Ingeborg only; and when the king asked him who he was
he evasively replied that he was Thiolf (a thief), that he came from Ulf's
(the wolf's), and had been brought up in Anger (sorrow or grief).
Notwithstanding this unenticing account of himself, Sigurd Ring invited him
to remain; and Frithiof, accepting the proffered hospitality, became the
constant companion of the king and queen, whom he accompanied wherever they
went.
One day, when the royal couple were seated in a sleigh and skimming along a
frozen stream, Frithiof sped on his skates before them, performing graceful
evolutions, and cutting Ingeborg's name deep in the ice. All at once the
ice broke and the sleigh disappeared; but Frithiof, springing forward,
caught the horse by the bridle, and by main force dragged them all out of
their perilous position.
When spring came, Sigurd Ring invited Frithiof to accompany him on a
hunting expedition. The king became separated from all the rest of his
suite, and saying that he was too weary to continue the chase, he lay down
to rest upon the cloak which Frithiof spread out for him, resting his head
upon his young guest's knee.
"Then threw Frithiof down his mantle, and upon the greensward
spread,
And the ancient king so trustful laid on Frithiof's knee his head;
Slept, as calmly as the hero sleepeth after war's alarms
On his shield, calm as an infant sleepeth in its mother's arms."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Longfellow's tr.).
[Sidenote: Frithiof's loyalty.]While the aged king was thus reposing, the
birds and beasts of the forest softly drew near, bidding Frithiof take
advantage of his host's unconsciousness to slay him and recover the bride
of whom he had been unfairly deprived. But although Frithiof understood
the language of birds and beasts, and his hot young heart clamored for his
beloved, he utterly refused to listen to them; and, fearing lest he should
involuntarily harm his trusting host, he impulsively flung his sword far
from him into a neighboring thicket.
A few moments later Sigurd Ring awoke from his feigned sleep, and after
telling Frithiof that he had recognized him from the first, had tested him
in many ways, and had always found his honor fully equal to his vaunted
courage, he bade him be patient a little longer, for his end was very near,
and said that he would die happy if he could leave Ingeborg, his infant
heir, and his kingdom in such good hands. Then, taking the astonished
Frithiof's arm, Sigurd Ring returned home, where, feeling death draw near,
he dedicated himself anew to Odin by carving the Geirs-odd, or sacrificial
runes, deeply in his aged chest.
"Bravely he slashes
Odin's red letters,
Blood-runes of heroes, on arm and on breast.
Brightly the splashes
Of life's flowing fetters
Drip from the silver of hair-covered chest."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
When this ceremony was finished, Sigurd Ring laid Ingeborg's hand in
Frithiof's, and, once more commending her to the young hero's loving care,
closed his eyes and breathed his last.
[Sidenote: Betrothal of Frithiof and Ingeborg.] All the nation assembled to
raise a mound for Sigurd Ring; and by his own request the funeral feast was
closed by a banquet to celebrate the betrothal of Ingeborg and Frithiof.
The latter had won the people's enthusiastic admiration; but when they
would fain have elected him king, Frithiof raised Sigurd Ring's little son
up on his shield and presented him to the assembled nobles as their future
king, publicly swearing to uphold him until he was of age to defend
himself. The child, weary of his cramped position on the shield, boldly
sprang to the ground as soon as Frithiof's speech was ended, and alighted
upon his feet. This act of daring in so small a child was enough to win the
affection and admiration of all his rude subjects.
According to some accounts, Frithiof now made war against Ingeborg's
brothers, and after conquering them, allowed them to retain their kingdom
only upon condition of their paying him a yearly tribute. Then he and
Ingeborg remained in Ringric until the young king was able to assume the
government, when they repaired to Hordaland, a kingdom Frithiof had
obtained by conquest, and which he left to his sons Gungthiof and Hunthiof.
[Sidenote: Frithiofs vision.] But according to Tegnér's poem, Frithiof,
soon after his second betrothal to Ingeborg, made a pious pilgrimage to his
father's resting place, and while seated on the latter's funeral mound,
plunged in melancholy and remorse at the sight of the desolation about him,
he was favored by a vision of a new temple, more beautiful than the first,
within whose portals he beheld the three Norns.
"And lo! reclining on their runic shields
The mighty Nornas now the portal fill;
Three rosebuds fair which the same garden yields,
With aspect serious, but charming still.
Whilst Urda points upon the blackened fields,
The fairy temple Skulda doth reveal.
When Frithiof first his dazzled senses cleared,
Rejoiced, admired, the vision disappeared."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
The hero immediately understood that the gods had thus pointed out to him a
means of atonement, and spared neither wealth nor pains to restore Balder's
temple and grove, which soon rose out of the ashes in more than their
former splendor.
When the temple was all finished, and duly consecrated to Balder's service,
Frithiof received Ingeborg at the altar from her brothers' hands, and ever
after lived on amicable terms with them.
"Now stepped Halfdan in
Over the brazen threshold, and with wistful look
Stood silent, at a distance from the dreaded one.
Then Frithiof loosed the Harness-hater from his thigh,
Against the altar placed the golden buckler round,
And forward came unarmed to meet his enemy:
'In such a strife,' thus he commenced, with friendly voice,
'The noblest he who first extends the hand of peace.'
Then blushed King Halfdan deep, and drew his gauntlet off,
And long-divided hands now firmly clasped each other,
A mighty pressure, steadfast as the mountain's base.
The old man then absolved him from the curse which lay
Upon the Varg i Veum,[1] on the outlawed man.
And as he spake the words, fair Ingeborg came in,
Arrayed in bridal dress, and followed by fair maids,
E'en as the stars escort the moon in heaven's vault.
Whilst tears suffused her soft and lovely eyes, she fell
Into her brother's arms, but deeply moved he led
His cherished sister unto Frithiof's faithful breast,
And o'er the altar of the god she gave her hand
Unto her childhood's friend, the darling of her heart."
TEGNÉR, _Frithiof Saga_ (Spalding's tr.).
[Footnote 1: Wolf in the sanctuaries.]