"The Saga of King Olaf" is a poetic sequence by American poet

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely tran ...

, published in 1863 as part of his book ''

Tales of a Wayside Inn ''Tales of a Wayside Inn'' is a collection of poems by American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The book, published in 1863, depicts a group of people at the Wayside Inn in Sudbury, Massachusetts as each tells a story in the form of a poem. Th ...

''.

Overview

"The Saga of King Olaf" is written in twenty-two parts and follows the adventures of King Olaf of Norway, spurred to avenge his slain father and reclaim his kingdom by the Norse god

Thor Thor (; from non, Þórr ) is a prominent god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred groves and trees, strength, the protection of humankind, hallowing, an ...

. It is the longest section of Longfellow's 1863 book ''Tales of a Wayside Inn'', where it is presented as "The Musician's Tale". The Musician, in turn, is Longfellow's tribute to Norwegian violinist Ole Bull.Irmscher, Christoph. Longfellow Redux. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2006: 191. . It is also the oldest part of the book; Longfellow began writing it as early as 1856.Calhoun, Charles C. ''Longfellow: A Rediscovered Life''. Boston: Beacon Press, 2004: 233. . Before 1850, Longfellow had also written a poem in imitation of Icelandic poetic form called "The Challenge of Thor", which was repurposed as an introductory to the sequence. Longfellow scholar Christoph Irmscher notes it as "one of Longfellow's most accomplished tales". The diversity of meters in the 22-part sequence also displays Longfellow's virtuosity as a poet. The content of the poems draws heavily from the ''

Heimskringla ''Heimskringla'' () is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorre Sturlason (1178/79–1241) 1230. The name ''Heimskringla'' was first used in the 17th century, derive ...

'' and ultimately implies little difference between the symbols of Thor's hammer and Christ's cross. Longfellow relied on a translation by Samuel Laing published in 1844 and which Longfellow read in 1849, though he was aware of the original version in Swedish ten years earlier.Gale, Robert L. ''A Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Companion''. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2003: 249. Ultimately, he cut down the 123 saga chapters to only 22 and focused mostly on the confrontation between paganism and Christianity in Norway.

Response

Longfellow's friend and fellow writer

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...

was particularly pleased by "The Saga of King Olaf". He wrote to him specifically of the segment of "The Building of the Long Serpent": "By some inscrutable magic you contrive to suggest a parallel picture of a modern frigate." The work was the favorite poem of

American President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

. He compared the inspirational nature of the poem to "

The Battle Hymn of the Republic The "Battle Hymn of the Republic", also known as "Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory" or "Glory, Glory Hallelujah" outside of the United States, is a popular American patriotic song written by the abolitionist writer Julia Ward Howe. Howe wrote her l ...

" by

Julia Ward Howe Julia Ward Howe (; May 27, 1819 – October 17, 1910) was an American author and poet, known for writing the " Battle Hymn of the Republic" and the original 1870 pacifist Mother's Day Proclamation. She was also an advocate for abolitionism ...

. As he wrote to literary critic Martha Baker Dunn, "if a boy or girl likes he ''Saga''well enough to learn most of it by heart and feel the spirit of it, just as they ought to like Julia Ward Howe's battle hymn, they will always have in them something to which an appeal for brave action can be made."

Musical adaptations

Composer Dudley Buck created two musical adaptations of portions of the poem, the cantatas ''The Nun of Nidaros'' in 1879 and ''King Olaf's Christmas'' in 1891. Longfellow unsuccessfully sought the assistance of

John Sullivan Dwight John Sullivan Dwight (May 13, 1813 – September 5, 1893) was a transcendentalist, America's first influential classical music critic, and a school director. Biography Dwight was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of John Dwight, M.D. ...

in getting the former performed. British composer Edward Elgar set an adaptation of the text which was first performed in 1896.

References

External links

Text of poem
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saga of King Olaf American poems Narrative poems Poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1863 poems Epic poems in English Works based on sagas