Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen (46 page)
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Authors: Henrik Ibsen
LADY KIRSTEN. You see, Lord Arne! that I —
ARNE. Well, my daughter shall not be forced upon any one.
Alfhild was fated to marry a knight; the same may happen to
Ingeborg.
ARNE.
[With dignity.]
Noble lords and honorable men, hear me! It has come to my ear that many of you hold me to be little skilled in courtly manners and customs. I will show you now you are completely mistaken. In the old chronicles it is frequently told that when a noble king loses his daughter he promises her hand and half his kingdom to him who may find her; he who finds Ingeborg shall receive her hand in marriage and in addition half of all that I own and possess. Are you with me on that?
THE YOUNG MEN. Yes, yes!
[The Preceding. INGEBORG comes hurriedly out of the hut and pulls HEMMING behind her.]
INGEBORG. Here I am! Hemming has found me!
ALL.
[ASTONISHED]
Ingeborg and Hemming! Up here!
ARNE.
[Irritated.]
Ah, then shall —
INGEBORG.
[Throws herself about his neck.]
O father, father!
It will not avail you; you have given your word!
ARNE. But that did not apply to him! Now I see it all right; he has taken you away himself.
INGEBORG. No, to the contrary, father! It was I who took him away!
ARNE.
[Frightened.]
Will you be silent with such words! Are you out of your head?
INGEBORG.
[Softly.]
Then say “yes” right here on the spot!
Otherwise I shall proclaim to all people that it was I who —
ARNE. Hush, hush! I am saying “yes”!
[Steps between them and looks sternly at HEMMING.]
ARNE. It was you then who stole my dapple-gray horse with saddle and bridle?
HEMMING. Alas, Lord Arne! —
ARNE. O Hemming! Hemming! You are a —
[Stops to consider.]
ARNE. Well, you are my daughter’s betrothed; let it all be forgotten.
HEMMING AND INGEBORG. O, thanks, thanks!
[The Preceding. THORGJERD with a harp in his hand has during the foregoing mingled with the people.]
THORGJERD. Aye, see, see! A multitude of people in the valley today!
THE PEASANTS. Thorgjerd, the fiddler!
ALFHILD.
[Throws herself in his arms.]
My father!
ALL. Her father!
OLAF. Yes, yes, old man! There are people and merriment in here today, and hereafter it shall always be thus. It is your daughter’s wedding we are celebrating; for love has she chosen her betrothed, of love have you sung for her, — you will not stand in our way!
THORGJERD. May all good spirits guard you well!
ALFHILD. And you will remain with us!
THORGJERD. No, no, Alfhild!
A minstrel has never a place to rest,
His soul fares afar, he forever must roam!
For he who has music deep down in his breast,
Is never in mountains or lowlands at home;
In the meadows green, in the sheltering bower,
He must touch the strings and sing every hour,
He must watch for the life that lives in the shower,
Beneath the wild fjord, in the rushing stream,
Must watch for the life that beats in the soul,
And clothe in music what people but dream,
And give voice to its sorrow and dole!
OLAF. But sometime you will surely visit us here!
Now shall ‘mid the birches a hall be erected;
Here, my Alfhild! shall you be protected.
I and my love will always be near,
No more shall your eye be dimmed with a tear!
ALFHILD. Yes, now I see, — life is precious and kind!
Rich as the fairest dream of the mind!
So dreary and black is never our sorrow, —
‘Tis followed sometime by a bright sunny morrow!
ALFHILD.
[Kneels.]
O angels of God! you have led me aright,
Again you have granted me solace and bliss!
You guided my wandering past the abyss,
You steadied my foot that was weak and slight!
O, if with my mind I cannot understand, —
With my heart I’ll believe to the last!
Yes, heavenly powers! You still watch o’er the land!
Clear is the sun when the dark storm is passed; —
From death and destruction my love did you save:
So now then let happen what may!
For now I am cheerful, now am I brave,
Ready for life and its motley affray!
ALFHILD.
[With a glance at OLAF.]
And when we at length —
[She pauses and stretches her arms above her head.]
ALFHILD. by the angels of love
Are borne to our home in the heavens above!
[The rest have formed a group around her; the curtain falls.]
Translated by William Archer
In the middle of July 1857, Ibsen went to Christiania to explore a possible offer of a post as “artistic Director” at Kristiania Norske Theater. On July 23rd he sent a letter to the management of Det norske Theater in Bergen, in which he confirmed that he had received the offer, asking to be released from his contract with the theatre. This was agreed to, and on September 3rd 1857, Ibsen took up his new position at Kristiania Norske Theater.
However, Ibsen handed in his seventh play to the nearby Christiania Norske Theater, instead of his own, as he believed it was too demanding for the staff of Kristiania Norske Theater. Ibsen was then informed by the management of the Christiania that the financial situation of the theatre did not allow for fees to be paid for original work, and therefore the play could not be staged at the time. Ibsen was angered by this, believing it was an excuse for shelving the production and in
Aftenbladet
of March 10th 1858 he published an article with the title “Et Træk af Christiania danske Theaters Bestyrelse” (A Feature of Christiania Danish Theatre’s Management). He accused the theatre of failing to promote the interests of Norwegian dramatic literature, giving rise to a heated debate in the press.
The Vikings at
Helgeland
was first performed in Oslo on 24 November
The plot takes place in the time of Erik Blood-axe (c. 930–934) in the north of Norway, in the historic Helgeland region. At this time Norwegian society was adjusting from the tradition of Old Norse Sagas to the new era of Christianity. The play concerns the arrival of Ornulf, who with his seven sons is seeking his daughter, Dagny, and foster-daughter, Hjordis, who were abducted and married by Sigurd and Gunnar. Interestingly, the plot is reminiscent of the Germanic myth of Sigmund and Brynhilde.
Helgeland is the most southerly district in Northern Norway and refers to the part of Nordland county that is located south of the Arctic Circle, famed for its Norse mythology and Viking tales.
Örnulf of the Fiords, an Icelandic Chieftain.
Sigurd the Strong, a Sea–King.
Gunnar Headman,
1
a rich yeoman of Helgeland.
Dagny, Örnulf’s daughter.
Hiördis, his foster-daughter.
Kåre the Peasant, a Helgeland-man.
Egil, Gunnar’s son, four years old.
Örnulf’s six older sons.
Örnulf’s and Sigurd’s men.
Guests, house-carls, serving-maids, outlaws, etc.
The action takes place in the time of Erik Blood-axe (about A.D. 933) at, and in the neighbourhood of, Gunnar’s house on the island of Helgeland, in the north of Norway.
1
Failing to find a better equivalent for the Norwegian “Herse,” I have used the word “Headman” wherever it seemed necessary to give Gunnar a title or designation. He is generally spoken of as “Gunnar Herse” in the Norwegian text; but where it could be done without inconvenience, the designation has here been omitted.
Pronunciation of Names:
Helgeland = Helgheland;
Örnulf = Ornoolf;
Sigurd = Sigoord;
Gunnar = Goonar;
Thorolf = Toorolf;
Hiördis = Yordeess;
Kåre = Koarë;
Egil = Ayghil.
The letter ö as in German.
[A rocky coast, running precipitously down to the sea at the back. To the left, a boat-house; to the right, rocks and pine-woods. The masts of two war-ships can be seen down in the cove. Far out to the right, the ocean, dotted with reefs and rocky islands; the sea is running high; it is a stormy snow-grey winter day.]
[Sigurd comes up from the ships; he is clad in a white tunic with a silver belt, a blue cloak, cross-gartered hose, untanned shoes, and a steel cap; at his side hangs a short sword. Örnulf comes in sight immediately afterwards, up among the rocks, clad in a dark lamb-skin tunic with a breastplate and greaves, woollen stockings, and untanned shoes; over his shoulders he has a cloak of brown frieze, with the hood drawn over his steel cap, so that his face is partly hidden. He is very tall, and massively built, with a long white beard, but somewhat bowed by age; his weapons are a round shield, sword, and spear.
Sigurd
[enters first, looks around, sees the boat-shed, goes quickly up to it, and tries to burst open the door.]
Örnulf
[appears among the rocks, starts on seeing Sigurd, seems to recognise him, descends and cries:]
Give place, Viking!
Sigurd
[turns, lays his hand on his sword, and answers:]
‘Twere the first time if I did!
Örnulf. Thou shalt and must! I have need of the shelter for my stiff-frozen men.
Sigurd. Then must outlaws be highly prized in Helgeland!
Örnulf. Dearly shalt thou aby that word!
Sigurd. Now will it go ill with thee, old man!
[Örnulf rushes upon him; Sigurd defends himself.]
[Dagny and some of Sigurd’s men come up from the strand; Örnulf’s six sons appear on the rocks to the right.]
Dagny
[who is a little in front, clad in a red kirtle, blue cloak, and fur hood, calls down to the ships:]
Up, all Sigurd’s men! My husband is fighting with a stranger!
Örnulf’s Sons. Help for Örnulf!
[They descend.]
Sigurd
[to his men]
. Hold! I can master him alone!
Örnulf
[to his sons]
. Let me fight in peace!
[Rushes in upon Sigurd.]
I will see thy blood!
Sigurd. First see thine own!
[Wounds him in the arm so that his spear falls.]
Örnulf. A stout stroke, Viking!
Swift the sword thou swingest,
keen thy blows and biting;
Sigurd’s self, the Stalwart,
stood before thee shame-struck.
Sigurd
[smiling]
. Then were his shame his glory!
Örnulf’s Sons
[with a cry of wonder]
. Sigurd himself! Sigurd the Strong!
Örnulf. But sharper was thy stroke that night thou didst bear away Dagny, my daughter.
[Casts his hood back.]
Sigurd and his men. Örnulf of the Fiords!
Dagny
[glad, yet uneasy]
. My father and my brothers!
Sigurd. Stand thou behind me.
Örnulf. Nay, no need.
[Approaching Sigurd.]
I knew thy face as soon as I was ware of thee, and therefore I stirred the strife; I was fain to prove the fame that tells of thee as the stoutest man of his hands in Norway. Henceforth let peace be between us.
Sigurd. Best if so it could be.
Örnulf. Here is my hand. Thou art a warrior indeed; stouter strokes than these has old Örnulf never given or taken.
Sigurd
[seizes his outstretched hand]
. Let them be the last strokes given and taken between us two; and do thou thyself adjudge the matter between us. Art thou willing?
Örnulf. That am I, and straightway shall the quarrel be healed.
[To the others.]
Be the matter, then, known to all. Five winters ago came Sigurd and Gunnar Headman as vikings to Iceland; they lay in harbour close under my homestead. Then Gunnar, by force and craft, carried away my foster-daughter, Hiördis; but thou, Sigurd, didst take Dagny, my own child, and sailed with her over the sea. For that thou art now doomed to pay three hundred pieces of silver, and thereby shall thy misdeed be atoned.
Sigurd. Fair is thy judgment, Örnulf; the three hundred pieces will I pay, and add thereto a silken cloak fringed with gold. It is a gift from King Æthelstan of England, and better has no Icelander yet borne.
Dagny. So be it, my brave husband; and my father, I thank thee. Now at last is my mind at ease.
[She presses her father’s and brothers’ hands, and talks low to them.]
Örnulf. Then thus stands the treaty between us; and from this day shall Dagny be to the full as honourably regarded as though she had been lawfully betrothed to thee, with the good will of her kin.
Sigurd. And in me canst thou trust, as in one of thine own blood.
Örnulf. That doubt I not; and see! I will forthwith prove thy friendship.
Sigurd. Ready shalt thou find me; say, what dost thou crave?
Örnulf. Thy help in rede and deed. I have sailed hither to Helgeland to seek out Gunnar Headman and draw him to reckoning for the carrying away of Hiördis.
Sigurd
[surprised]
. Gunnar!
Dagny
[in the same tone]
. And Hiördis — where are they?
Örnulf. In Gunnar’s homestead, I ween.
Sigurd. And it is —— ?
Örnulf. Not many bow-shots hence; did ye not know?
Sigurd
[with suppressed emotion]
. No, truly. Small tidings have I had of Gunnar since we sailed from Iceland together. I have wandered far and wide and served many outland kings, while Gunnar sat at home. Hither we drive at day-dawn before the storm; I knew, indeed, that Gunnar’s homestead lay here in the north, but ——
Dagny
[to Örnulf]
. So
that
errand has brought thee hither?
Örnulf. That and no other.
[To Sigurd.]
Our meeting is the work of the Mighty Ones above; they willed it so. Had I wished to find thee, little knew I where to seek.
Sigurd
[thoughtfully]
. True, true! — But concerning Gunnar — tell me, Örnulf, art thou minded to go sharply to work, with all thy might, be it for good or ill?
Örnulf. That must I. Listen, Sigurd, for thus it stands: Last summer I rode to the Council where many honourable men were met. When the Council-days were over, I sat in the hall and drank with the men of my hundred, and the talk fell upon the carrying-away of the women; scornful words they gave me, because I had let that wrong rest unavenged. Then, in my wrath, I swore to sail to Norway, seek out Gunnar, and crave reckoning or revenge, and never again to set foot in Iceland till my claim was made good.
Sigurd. Ay, ay, since so it stands, I see well that if need be the matter must be pressed home.
Örnulf. It must; but I shall not crave over much, and Gunnar has the fame of an honourable man. Glad am I, too, that I set about this quest; the time lay heavy on me in Iceland; out upon the blue waters had I grown old and grey, and I longed to fare forth once again before I —— ; well well — Bergthora, my good wife, was dead these many years; my eldest sons sailed on viking-ventures summer by summer; and since Thorolf was growing up ——
Dagny
[gladly]
. Thorolf is with thee? Where is he?
Örnulf. On board the ship.
[Points towards the background, to the right.]
Scarce shalt thou know the boy again, so stout and strong and fair has he grown. He will be a mighty warrior, Sigurd; one day he will equal thee.
Dagny
[smiling]
. I see it is now as ever; Thorolf stands nearest thy heart.
Örnulf. He is the youngest, and like his mother; therefore it is.
Sigurd. But tell me — thy errand to Gunnar — thinkest thou today —— ?
Örnulf. Rather today than tomorrow. Fair amends will content me; if Gunnar says me nay, then must he take what comes.
[Kåre the Peasant enters hastily from the right; he is clad in a grey frieze cloak and low-brimmed felt hat; he carries in his hand a broken fence-rail.]
Kåre. Well met, Vikings!
Örnulf. Vikings are seldom well met.
Kåre. If ye be honourable men, ye will grant me refuge among you; Gunnar Headman’s house-carls are hunting me to slay me.
Örnulf. Gunnar’s?
Sigurd. Then has thou done him some wrong!
Kåre. I have done myself right. Our cattle fed together upon an island, hard by the coast; Gunnar’s men carried off my best oxen, and one of them flouted me for a thrall. Then bare I arms against him and slew him.
Örnulf. That was a lawful deed.
Kåre. But this morning his men came in wrath against me. By good hap I heard of their coming, and fled; but my foemen are on my tracks, and short shrift can I look for at their hands.
Sigurd. Ill can I believe thee, peasant! In bygone days I knew Gunnar as I know myself, and this I wot, that never did he wrong a peaceful man.
Kåre. Gunnar has no part in this wrong-doing; he is in the south-land; nay, it is Hiördis his wife ——
Dagny. Hiördis!
Örnulf
[to himself]
. Ay, ay, ‘tis like her!
Kåre. I offered Gunnar amends for the thrall, and he was willing; but then came Hiördis, and egged her husband on with scornful words, and hindered the peace. Since then has Gunnar gone to the south, and today ——
Sigurd
[looking out to the left]
. Here come wayfarers northward. Is it not —— ?
Kåre. It is Gunnar himself!
Örnulf. Be of good heart; methinks I can make peace between you.
[Gunnar Headman, with several men, enters from the left. He is in a brown tunic, cross-gartered hose, a blue mantle, and a broad hat; he has no weapon but a small axe.]
Gunnar
[stops in surprise and uncertainty on seeing the knot of men]
. Örnulf of the Fiords! Yes, it is —— !
Örnulf. Thou seest aright.
Gunnar
[approaching]
. Then peace and welcome to thee in my land, if thou come in peace.
Örnulf. If thy will be as mine, there shall be no strife between us.
Sigurd
[standing forward]
. Well met, Gunnar!
Gunnar
[gladly]
. Sigurd — foster-brother!
[Shakes his hand.]
Now truly, since thou art here, I know that Örnulf comes in peace.
[To Örnulf.]
Give me thy hand, greybeard! Thy errand here in the north is lightly guessed: it has to do with Hiördis, thy foster-daughter.
Örnulf. As thou sayest; great wrong was done me when thou didst bear her away from Iceland without my will.
Gunnar. Thy claim is just; what youth has marred, the man must mend. Long have I looked for thee, Örnulf, for this cause; and if amends content thee, we shall soon be at one.
Sigurd. So deem I too. Örnulf will not press thee hard.
Gunnar
[warmly]
. Nay, Örnulf, didst thou crave her full worth, all my goods would not suffice.
Örnulf. I shall go by law and usage, be sure of that. But now another matter.
[Pointing to Kåre.]
Seest thou yonder man?
Gunnar. Kåre!
[To Örnulf.]
Thou knowest, then, that there is a strife between us?
Örnulf. Thy men have stolen his cattle, and theft must be atoned.
Gunnar. Murder no less; he has slain my thrall.
Kåre. Because he flouted me.
Gunnar. I have offered thee terms of peace.
Kåre. But that had Hiördis no mind to, and this morning, whilst thou wert gone, she fell upon me and hunts me now to my death.