Ӧ

O DE S,

AND OTHER

ANCIENT POEM S.

I

THOUGHT proper to fubjoin to the EDDA the following pieces, felected out of that vaft multitude of verfes, which we find preferved in the ancient Chronicles.

These are fuch as appeared to me most expreffive of the genius and manners of the ancient inhabitants of the north, and most proper to confirm what I had advanced in the preceding Volume; as alfo to shew that the Mythology contained in the EDDA, hath been that of all the northern Poets, and the religion of many nations drest out with fictions and allegories.

I fhall first of all present the ODE which Regner Lodbrog compofed in the torments preceding his death. This Ode was dictated by the Fanaticifm of Glory, VOL. II.

e

ani

animated by that of Religion. Regner, who was a celebrated Warrior, Poet and Pirate, reigned in Denmark about the beginning of the ninth century: after a long feries of maritime expeditions into the most distant countries, his fortune at length failed him in England. Taken prifoner in battle by his adverfary Ella, who was king of a part of that ifland, he perifhed by the bite of ferpents, with which they had filled the dungeon he was confined in. He left behind him several fons, who revenged this horrible death, as Regner himself had foretold in the following verfes. There is Tome reafon, however, to conjecture that this prince did not compose more than one or two ftanzas of this Poem, and that the reft were added, after his death, by the Bard, whofe function it was, according to the cuftom of those times, to add to the fu neral fplendor, by finging verfes to the praife of the deceafed. Be that as it may, this Cde is found in feveral Icelandic Chronicles, and its verfification, language and ftile, leave us no room to doubt of its antiquity. Wormius has given us the text in Runic Characters, accompanied with a Latin Version, and large notes in his Lituratura Runica. Vid. p. 197. It is alfo met with in M. Eiorners's collection. Out of the twenty-nine ftrophes, of which it

'con

confifts, I have only chofen the following, as being what I thought the generality of my readers would perufe with most pleafure. I have not even always tranflated entire ftanzas, but have fometimes reduced two stanzas into one, in order to spare the Reader fuch paffages as appeared to me uninteresting and obfcure *

* Our elegant Author having taken great liberties in his Tranflation of this and the following ODES, in order to accommodate them to the tafte of French Readers; it was once intended here, inftead of copying the French, to have given

extracts from the more

literal Version of all thefe Poems formerly publifhed, which hath been fo often quoted in the Notes to this work: viz. The FIVE PIECES OF RUNIC POETRY, TRANSLATED FROM THE ICELANDIC LANGUAGE. 1763. 8vo.

But an ingenious Friend having translated from the French this part of M. Mallet's Book, I have got leave to infert his Verfion, and fhall take the liberty to refer the more curious Reader to the pamphlet above-mentioned; which the Tranflator profeffes he occafionally confulted in the following pages. There the ODES here abridged may be seen at large, confronted with the Icelandic Originals, and accompanied with two other ancient Pieces of Northern Poetry. T.

EXTRACTS

FROM THE ODE OF

KING REGNER LODBROG.

*.

W

E fought with fwords †, when, in my early youth, I went towards the eaft to prepare a bloody prey "for the ravenous wolves: ample food for the yellow-footed eagle.' The whole

ཏི

"ocean feemed as one wound: the ravens "waded in the blood of the flain.

"We fought with fwords, in the day "of that great fight, wherein I fent the "inhabitants of Helfing to the Hall of "Odin. Thence our fhips carried us to "Ifa*: there our fteel-pointed launces, "reeking with gore, divided the armour "with a terrible clang: there our fwords " cleft the fhields afunder.

"We fought with fwords, that day "wherein I faw ten thousand of my foes rolling in the duft near a promontory of England. A dew of blood diftilled from "our fwords. The arrows which flew in "search of the helmets, bellowed through "the air. The pleasure of that day was equal to that of clasping a fair virgin in ་་ my arms †,

*Or the Viftula, + I cannot help thinking, that the Reader will cenfure our ingenious Author, as not having here

"We

exerted his ufual good tafte in selecting, when he finds he has omitted fuch ftanzas as the following, particularly the two laft.

"We fought with fwords, in the Northumbrian land. A furious ftorm defcended on the shields: