Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1873-02-05
AFanous Myth.
The True History Of shs william
Tell story

The True History Of shs william
Tell story
William Tell is very hard to kill.
German writer's in the last ccntury
dcmolish him, over again, but to no
purpose. He remained the Swiss
hero, and what ia far worse, those
hideous statutes at Alt6rf continue
to assert theft tindying ugliness, and
pretend to prove by their presence
there, tho truth Of the story. The
giant has recently been slain once
more as ah itripostor: Once more? !?
Half dozen times aid each slayer
takes himself for tho original chain
pion. Swiss professors even have
been at tho W ork ofdcnoli,ion. Three
or four years ago Mr.. Baring-Gould,
in his "Curious Myths of tho Middle
Ages" set up dozen Of those my tbs,
and bowled them all down at one
bowl; lie proved, as others had done,
that the legend of William Tell was
"as fabulous as any other historical
event" Mr.. Baring-Gould, how
ever, does more than some others
have done. He traces the'history as
far back as it can be traced. This 10
the order of the tradition.
/. In the tenth century tippling,
boasting Danish soldier, named Toki,
sworc he could drive an arrow
through al apple placed on the point
Of n stick at q great distance. King
Harold Bluctooth told the boastcr
that the apple should be placed on
his sons licadj and if Toki did not
send all arrow through it at tho first
attempt, his own head should pay the
penalty. Toki performed the feat
with great success; but Harold per-
cciv,ng that he had brought other ar
rows, demanded the reason thereof,
and Toki replied that if he had in
ljured his son he would hare driven
those other arrows into the Kings
body. The story was first related
by Saxo Grammaticus in the twelfth
century.
1. But in the eleventh century the
above prototype of Tell had success
sors or imitators. King Olaf, the
Saint of Norway, challenged Elm.
dridi, among other things, TO shoot
with an arrow ut q writing tab!c ON
the head of Eindriti's son. Each
was 10 have one slot. Olaf grazed
the boys head, whcreupon the boy,
mother ;ntcrfcrcd, and Einslr:di wa:
Withdrawn from the contest. Ola
remarked that his competitor had &
second arrow, which Eindridi con
fcs.cd he intended for his Majesty i
: any ything very unpleasant had hap
pcncd to the boy.
8. A year or two later in thil
eleventh century, another Morse
archer, Hemingr, had match will
: King Harold. Harold set spea'
shaft for mark in the ground. III
/ then fired in the air, the arrow turn
: cd in its decent and pierced the spea
!. shaft. ncmingr followed snit ali,
split the Kings arrow, which wa
perpendicularly fixed in the spca
shaft. Then the King stuck a knif
! in al, oak. His arrow went into I'll
Q haft. Remingr shot, and his arrow
Il cleft the haft aud went into the socke
i of the blade. The onraged Kin:
Il next fired at twig, which his arro1
pierced, but Hemingr's split haze
: nut growing upon it. "You shaI
Il put the nut on your brother Bjorn'
- head" suid Harold, land if you d
u not pierce it with your spear at tn
l. first attempt, your life shall be fol
II felt" OF course, the thing wa
J. done. Hemineris supposed to hav
}. had his revenge by sending an AFRO,
It through Harold's trachea at the bal
d tie OF Stamford Bridge, where Ii
If fought OH tho English side.
Ii 4. In the Farce Isles, the abov
'r Harold is said to have had a swim
it ming match with u certain Geyt
% who not only beat him, but gave hil
'e dncking. Harold condemned hil
Il to shoot hazel nut of his brother
III head with the usual penalty, All
p. with the same result.
l. 5. The same story is told oc o,
IL Punclier (suggestive nsme) with tn
difference. that the subject aimed
was II coin.
6. In Finland. it is son wi
'a shoots an apple OF his fathers hes
III for whici feat some robbers who h,
Oh captured his sire gave Kim up to Il
T. son.
-, Z. In Persian poem of tho twclf
century, King in sport shoots .
~. arrow Mt his favorIte page, VIII
" though not hurt, died Of fright.
w 8. The story, with a difference,
y. w. told of Egil, i'll the age Of Thidirk,
~ no particular date.
y. II is 1a!nlii;sr 10 us In the Eli
N lish ballad of William of Cloudsle
~ chronologic date Of event uncertai
- 10. Enter William Tell in the fl
~ decade of the fourteenth centur
~ We need not tell his well-known II
again. it is only necessary to l
mark, by way of comment, that I
Tell end Geslcr legend was MOI s
ey up until many years afterwards, a
~, that IN no contemporary record
re- any mention made of either Tc
:y- tfesler, or the apple incident.
oss yogt named Gcslcr ever cxercis
lis authority for the Emperor i'll Swi
as erland f; no family bearing the mai
nd of Tell can be traced in any part