The Wayland-Dietrich Saga
BOOK I. ---NORNAGUEST AND SIGURD.
CANTO I.
How Nornaguest came to Olaf Tryggvason, the King of Norway.
In those old times now long since passed away, (1)
Forgotten by most folk as though a dream,
King Olaf Tryggvason at Drontheim dwelt.
Once at the close of day there came a man
Unto the Royal Court and entrance gained.
Tall, lean, and old, wrapped in a rough frieze cloak;
His white beard flowing to his girdle streamed,
His rugged face, with many a wrinkle seamed,
Shrewed bright blue eyes that clearly, fiercely, shone,
Nor fell his keen hawk's gaze 'fore any man.
His hands were steady, shoulders still unbowed,
The weight of years he bore right sturdily.
He had no staff to stay him, at his side
A sword hung girded, and on his broad back
A gilded harp was slung. So he drew nigh
The King's seat on the Dais in the Hall
And stood before King Olaf Tryggvason,
with deference asking hospitality.
The King gave courteous greeting, asked his name:
"Guest is my name, O King......Yet Nornaguest
Sometimes I have been called, and to some folk
Am known as Widsith, the far Wanderer."
Quoth then the wondering King, "Whate'er thy name,
Guest shalt thou be of mine........Whose son art thou?"
Said Guest, "My father's name was Thord, a Dane,
Well known in Thing and Marketplace was he
At Grœning Town which lies in Denmark's realm.
Men called him Thord the Argumentative."
"Thou seemst a well set-up and sturdy man,
Bold in thy speech and bigger than most men,
Though of a truth thou art no longer young...
Speak we of this tomorrow.....Now, we dine."
They spake no further; far spend was the day.....
A day of winter when the night is long.....
The King to vespers went, then supped in Hall,
And so to bed went he.
Now that same night
The King lay wakeful in his bed and prayed,
As was his custom when he could not sleep;
Yet all who lay in Hall with him slept sound.
Then Olaf saw that in the Hall had come
An elf or spirit, lighter than the air,
Who by some secret way had passed the doors,
That were as usual bolted fast and barred.
This elf made his swift way adown the Hall,
Passing the forms of the sound sleeping men,
First one and then another, till he came
To one who lay right at the farthest end.
There stayed he, and his voice came low yet clear,
Like the faint shrilling of some gnat or fly,
Unto King Olaf's ear. It said with scorn,
"An empty house......Yet mighty strong the bolt
Upon the door thereof.....Folk say, forsooth,
This King is a wise man; were he in truth
Clever in these things, sure ne'er would he now
Lie down and sleep so soundly, while there lay
An unbaptized soul within his gates......
What though he signed himself with Holy Cross
Last night at supper......Yet for all his show,
This man is but a pagan in his heart.......
Let then King Olaf look unto himself."
And having said these things the sneering elf
Vanished straightway through the fast bolted door.
Early next morning the King sent his page
To find out who in that bed lay o'er night.
He brought back word it was the stranger carle.
Then sent King Olaf for the man and asked
More straitly of his business, who replied
With open honest speech, making request
Of Olaf's grace that he might stay awhile;
In the King's retinue he wished to serve.
Whereat the King, "Say then, art Christian man?"
Said he, "Prime-signed (2) am I, but not as yet
Baptized." Quoth Olaf somewhat doubtfully,
For Tryggvason the heathen favoured not,
"Not long stay any with me unbaptized;
But thou art welcome, friend, to rest thee here.....
Say now, what canst thou do? Canst play or sing?"
Quoth he, "The harp a little can I play,
And stories tell that have pleased sundry folk,
For many towns I've seen and courts of Kings."
Quoth then King Olaf, almost angrily,
"King Sweyn is much to blame; no right has he
To let these heathen leave his realm, to roam
Like thee at their free will from land to land."
Said Guest unmoved, "Sire, blame not the Dane-King,"
Long since it is that I left Denmark's coasts......
Aye! Long ere Kaiser Otho came that way
And burnt the Dane-work, forcing heathen men
Abjure their idols......Hakon Earl, and eke
King Harald Gormson he made come to font.".....
So spake the King with Guest for some long while,
With questions probing him on many points;
And finding him a clever well-bred man,
He let him bide within his Royal Court,
Sitting amongst the strangers in his Hall......
At the far end of the guests' seats his place......
It was about the third year of his reign
That Nornaguest, Thord's son, to Drontheim came.
Much was he liked withal by Olaf's men,
For that he well knew how to harp and sing,
And keep them merry the long winter nights.
That Yule came Wulf the Red home with his men,
Who all the summer had toiled for the King,
Guarding the coasts against the Danish raids.
Now, as his custom from which he ne'er failed,
Midwinter he would spend with Tryggvason,
And many treasures brought he Norway's King,
Amongst thema gold ring......'Twas Hnituth called,
Of seven pieces welded of fine gold........
King Halfdan Ilfing once as tribute paid
This ring to good King Half, who sent it on
To Lothmund, a rich landowner, who prayed
Wulf the Red Rover to accept this ring,
And for it guard his house with Olaf's leave;
This Wulf had promised, and fulfilled his pledge.
King Olaf kept his Court in splendid style
That Yule at Drontheim, and on the eighth day
Wulf gave him this same ring, so won his praise.
From hand to hand King Olaf sent the ring
Round the great Hall. From bench to bench it passed,
And all the Kingsmen much admired the gaud,
Swearing they ne'er before had seen its like
For colour, sheen, and quality of gold.
So came it to the strangers' seats at last......
Guest took the ring, scarce looking; in his palm
Laid carelessly he gave it back, all wet
From hand that just had grasped his drinking-horn,
Nor praised he it, but went on with his talk,
Jesting with his companions.......Said a swain,
Who served the rest with drink, "Like ye the ring?"
Said one of them, "Aye truly, nor have we
E'er seen its fellow. But this stranger here
Sees nothing in it. Sure, unused is he
To jewels or rich gems." They asked him then,
"Hast ever seen its like?" Quoth he, "My friends,
Ye seem to think it strange I make not much
Of this, but truth to say, far better gold
I've seen and handled too than that same ring."
Full heartily the Kingsmen laughed..... "Good sport!
Prove now to us that thou hast ever seen
Gold fine as this. We'll stake four silver marks
Against thy knife and belt. Who's in the right
King Olaf shall decide." Said Guest, "Agreed;
I have no mind to be your laughing-stock......
I'll take your wager and accept the stakes;
The King shall judge between us.....Done, my friends!"
They said no more as then. Guest took his harp,
And played far on into the night, and all
That listening sat there joyed to hear the man.
Thrilled every breast when he first played and sang
"King Gunther's Harping".......that was the deathsong.....
And last of all sang he the ancient lay,
"The Wiles of Gudrun"........None had heard these songs....
Then all to sleep betook them. The next morn
The King heard early mass, then breakfasted.
Now to the High Seat flocked up the Kingsmen
And with them Guest, who silent stood aside....
"A wager, Sire! Wilt thou be judge thereof?"
They told the King what had chanced over night.
"Your wager likes me little," quoth the King;
"Did ye not hear what I said at the board,
That this newcomer knows more than ye think?
Methinks the wine was in, wit out, last night.
'Twere best give up this bet if Guest agrees."
"Nay," quoth old Guest, "I will that it shall stand."
Said then the King, "Methinks my men were rash,
Their hasty tongues in trouble them will bring.....
Soon shall we see......First take your morning draughts,
My men......Which when they had, and tables drawn,
Quoth then King Olaf, "Now is the time come
To put this to the test. Produce the gold,
Sir Stranger, now, if thou hast any here,
So that I may your wager swift decide"---
"Sire, as thou wilt," quoth Guest, and in his pouch
Felt he and searched; at last drew thence a bag
Cunningly knotted, out of which he took
Something that shone, this handed to the King;
Part of a saddle-buckle, Olaf thought,
Appeared the fragment, and of the finest gold.
He with the ring compared it, saying then,
"No doubt at all have I that this fine gold
Of Guest's far surpasses Red Wulf's ring......
Any of ye who look will say so too".....
And all those present owned the King was right.
Quoth then King Olaf, "Thine the wager, Guest."
The Kingsmen and the other guests thought then
That they had played the fool, shame-faced they came
To pay their wager. But, said Nornaguest,
With a grim smile, and shaking his grey head,
"Nay, take your money, friends.....Keep it yourselves,
I need it not.......Yet hearken to my rede;
Make ye no wagers more with stranger folk,
For truly ye can never know but what
Ye may by chance meet someone who has seen
More than ye have, aye, and knows more to boot!
So, Sirs, be ye content e'en as am I......
For thy decision I do thank thee, Sire."
Now at that time no more was said or done
Concerning Guest's gold buckle or the bet.
That night when they had supped and boards were drawn,
King Olaf's men sat round the open fire
Of brightly burning pine-logs, at their ease,
And warmed themselves, drinking good ale and mead.
Said then the King, "Now Guest, shalt thou tell me
Where gatst thou that fine gold that thou dost bear
About thy person?" To him Guest replied,
"I'm loath to tell thee, Sire, for of a truth
None will believe the tale I have to tell"----
"Yet let us hear it," said the smiling King,
"For thou didst promise, Sir, aforetime, thou
Wouldst tell thy story to us.......Therefore, speak!"
Then answered Guest, and looked 'neath wrinkled brows,
"If I now tell ye of this piece of gold,
It is most like that ye will want to hear
The rest of my life's story with that tale."
Quoth then the King, "And by my troth, my man,
I do expect that's just what will befall......
But to thy tale, friend.....We will hear it all,
Then I myself can judge as to its truth."
Said Guest, "Then hearken all, and I will tell
Strange things of mighty men, and ye shall hear
Of the old Gods who once ruled this our earth......
For they methinks did have a hand in this
For evil or for good......The knowledge came
In dreams to me.....I tell it as I saw.....
I know not, I, whether it be the truth,
Or but some brain-sick woven fantasy.......
Choose for yourselves what ye will now believe.....
I do but tell it as it came to me.....
Yet think not, friends, that wittingly I lie."
Then men drew closer to him, as the light
Fell flickering on his face from the great fire
Of pine-logs packed well round with glowing peat,
And listened to his tale with wondering ears.....
Not all told he that night, for many days
Passed ere his tale was done, but every eve
Men gathered round the hearth to hear his song.
So have I heard from mine old grandsire's lips,
What he in turn did from his grandsire learn,
Who in those far off days was but a child,
Red Wulf's young son, a boy of ten years old,
Hasting his name, later a Viking famed,
Who in his later years became a monk,
Even as I, and peace in cloister found.
He wrote these things down ere he came to die,
And from that written record of his words,
I in my turn have told, and now write down,
With much I've gathered in from many a source......
This lad in Olaf's Hall with his own eyes
Saw Nornaguest, and heard with his own ears,
Not doubting, all enthralled, his wondrous tale.
Notes:
1. Cf. Nornagest Thattr.
2. Partly baptized. [Back]
© 2004-2007 Northvegr.
Most of the material on this site is in the public domain. However, many people have worked very hard to bring these texts to you so if you do use the work, we would appreciate it if you could give credit to both the Northvegr site and to the individuals who worked to bring you these texts. A small number of texts are copyrighted and cannot be used without the author's permission. Any text that is copyrighted will have a clear notation of such on the main index page for that text. Inquiries can be sent to info@northvegr.org. Northvegr™ and the Northvegr symbol are trademarks and service marks of the Northvegr Foundation.
|