The Sun.
London, England, 1835-05-29 00:00:00

LITERATURE.

FRITHIOP S SAGA;
OR THE LEGEND OF PRITHIOP.

BY ESAIAS TEO:VER.—TRANSLATED FROM THE STYBDISH.
London : Bailey and Co., Cornhill.
This is a great and, to some extent, an original Poem:
In the uniqueness of its mythology, and the C
purity of its similes and contrasts, it is equal to Ma'
pherson's Ossian, and Southey's Thalaba;- but in the
number and truth of its moral precepts, and in its defines;
tion of human character, it is far superior to both these
celebrated productions. It may appear strange that
we mention the Thalaba of Southey, and the Ten°s
of Ossian, to convey our impression of the excellent
of any poem, as no two works of imagination et'r
differed more widely from each other, in all that eee.
stitutes their respective merits, except, indeed, in their
power of local description. But we meant only to
refer refer to the unity of the mythological system-A.5
total absence of all metaphors, similes, and contraetd
derived from the traditionary legends, the animal all
vegetable productions, the climate, the soil, the ertse'
the discoveries, and the speech of foreign nati°e:,
which constitute the peculiar and uniform chefsl
teristic of these poems, when considered as integrs
portions of the modern literature of Europe. I,he
difficulty of producing a perfect work of this deserib;
tion can only be appreciated by a very small nu° ;
of persons. By dint of labour and close attentioar.,
writer might steer clear of the history and rny'thel°s
of other nations ; but it is hardly possible to scerh
using words, and adopting modes of expression whist
betray an acquaintance with times and customs
variance with all the knowledge attainable by the Ptt,
oe
sumed heroes and heroines. This defect—obser%
in almost every page of Moore's Lalla Rookh'ef
have no where perceived in the metrical romanceair
Frithiof's Saga, the production of Sweden's most
tinguished living poet.
ean'
The " Legend of Frithjof " is a Swedish or -
dinavian Metrical Romance, founded on a tradition'te
tale of the eighth century. The main ineidento
differ in few respects from those to be met With in
re,
Metrical Romances of Scott—love, ardent and
all the
quited, valour generous and enthusiastic, with .0,
feudal fidelity and unbounded hospitality for whiej.
the Northern Nations have been so justly celehrat
ec,
As our readers may feel desirous of being made sof
quainted with a legend which has lived for sel°.oo
centuries in the traditionary songs of the Scandia9l
scalds, or bards, we give the outline :
se Bele, King of Sogn, has three children, tw° 0%.
and a daughter. For some cause, which is n°,,,t is
plained, the daughter, whose name is Ingeh°r6'oo
delivered by the King, her father, while she is Yre.ith.
infant, to be brought up by Hilding, an old and
ful retainer. This Hilding has himself an rgsl the
of the same age as the young Princess, and
100111
th
children are brought up together, they nal t.
enough fall-in love, as soon as they have learned
bhp
they are not of the same lineage. The youth,
es,
is named Frithiof, is the hero of these ree'o,
Hilding is not slow in discovering the growiagod,
tachment between his son and his royal ward' cery
in common with all prudent parents, takes ex,4
occasion to ply him with good advice, remina7o
him of his own nothingness compared with the e°2ees
of his passion, and giving him frequent assurafl'his
that it was madness in him to aspire to the hand ° p,
Sovereign's daughter. The effect of these sage c°,,,a
sels on a youth of ardent temperament, over heauits
ears in love, may be easily imagined. Frithjof lee's
his hand upon his sword, and meets all his fatb
objections with—
. " A potent pleader is the glaive 1"
Meanwhile, King Bele dies, having Prevj her
committed the guardianship of his daughter w
royal brothers, the eldest of whom success himo
King of Sogn. By them the Princess is eternaleenv
Court, but not before the lovers have avowed
Oelge'
constancy. Frithiof now appears before sing sed,
and demands his sister in marriage, and is refthill
f
which gives rise to a mortal feud between the Y° self
iiero and his Sovereign. The King revenges 'el
ntir'
by sending Frithiof to collect tribute from Mg a 01
the reigning Jarl or Count of the Orkney Islands ; re-
to make sure of his destruction, swears that if leelift;
turn without tribute from the rebellious Jarl,
Ph 105,41
stands forfeited. Frithjof succeeds, although °P 001
by the most potent spells and enchantments ;
after a variety of the most surprising adventures' t,bo
the King, obtains the hand of his royal mistress, inn
in his absence had been betrothed to one of the
of Norway. O*
" Frithjof's Saga" is divided into twenty-four . the
all of different kinds of verse. This variety fie for
metrical composition has the finest effect possib et
the reader is never wearied with the monotony °f4lo
recurring numbers. As a whole, it is wild, irreporeep
and enthusiastic ; giving the passions full spell
without an atom of grossness or profanitY• apd
are several, passages full of the deepest patil'sati'
some unrivalled in tenderness and delicacy 0% col'
ment. It is, moreover, a Pantheon in which sad
lected the whole of the Scandinavian Divinities'
polegi
although the translators have thought some 9'
fret' necessary for the super-human agency so Jr"' ether
employed, we cannot say that it would alt.:4 The
please us to see the quantity materially lessen'''• logic
enchanted ship—the sword of Viking---411e .d the
bracelet—and the appearance of Harn and liej 'thao
fiends of storm and snow—are beauties rather of
tions
defects, inasmuch as they embody the superst.. 0 was
the Northern Nations before the Christian religle
preached to them.
It of the
It would be difficult to quote speeirae- s 0elo•
different kinds of beauty to be found in three Prather
Some, however, we must give, although we ft; in th,e
puzzled which to prefer. The lovers Mee" of the
rice -
Temple of Balder ; to the virgin remonstra fnlloW
probable anger of the God, the hero returns the
ing answer alike tender and impassioned
" What whispers't thou of Balder's ire ?
He does not—no !—he cannot blame
Our bosoms' pure and holy fire.
And say ! why should a mortal flame
Offend the God on whose clear brow
The sun's bright rays for ever shine ?
Balder must surely love allow ; •
Nanna was his—as thou art mine.
" Nay, look upon his image fair!
That eye so mild, so gentle see !
I'll offer to his godhead there,
A heart that beats alone for thee.
Come, kneel with me ! there can be nought
That Balder must so much approve.
As two fond hearts, whose constant thought
Is never ending faith and love.
" My proffered heart then do not spurn
is :
Mine not a mere earthly love ;
From Heaven it sprung ; my wishes burn
Its origin divine to prove.
Oh ! if kind fate would but allow
That I with thee, my love should die,
How proudly to the gods I'd show
Thy soft, pale cheek, and azure eye." f -80IA'
The closing idea is beautiful in the mouth 91.0-01$11
dinavian hero ; nor would it be easy to find iu,,loridge
literature a description of love so exalted. .I.'`'..ok for
would furnish one, but we know not where to
ow„ creel
another; and yet his Ruin by moonliht isnot.arion to
as the Temple of Balder, and the lover's inv God•
his mistress to kneel before the shrine of thelislog
Her exclamation when he leaves her, after
to return with the Spring, is touching :--
" Ob, may the Asas guide thee still, say 10" -
Nought shall thy bracelet from my
The weary months I'll count upon WWII,.
That thou must pass this mission to fulfil •
f tOil ;
the note with • ,
_..theft LC; Latrs2 so‘
I:titltiof Will Come lc) claim hi. tirk9o •
He'll find her sleeping by King Bele's side !
.0
The two—four—six" is rowFkably sl,lOl -1!4
artaretno,