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Title: The Heroes Of Dovrefeld
Author: George Borrow [
More Titles by Borrow]
(From The Old Danish)
On Dovrefeld, {f:1} in Norway,
Were once together seen
The twelve heroic brothers
Of Ingeborg, the queen:
And they were all magicians,
Possest of mighty art,
Who freely read the Runic,
And knew the rhyme by heart. {f:2}
The first could turn the lightning,
And quench its ruddy gleam:
The second, with a whisper,
Could still the running stream:
The third beneath the water
Could dive like any fish:
The fourth could get provision
By striking on his dish:
The fifth upon the gold harp
So pleasantly could play,
That all the men who heard him
Began to dance away:
The sixth, he had a bugle,
And when he blew a blast,
The stoutest of his foemen
Would fly before him fast:
The seventh, unimpeded,
Through solid hills could roam:
The eighth could walk the ocean,
When billows were in foam:
The ninth could draw, by magic,
The fishes from the deep:
The tenth was never weary,
Nor overcome by sleep:
The eleventh bound the dragon
Which crept among the grass;
And all he wish'd to happen
Was sure to come to pass:
The twelfth, who was reputed
The wisest of the band,
Knew what was going forward
In every foreign land.
And now, forsooth, I tell ye,
Who listen to my strain,
That such a set of brothers
Will ne'er be seen again.
NOTES:
{f:1} Dovrefeld is the highest mountain in Norway, and in Europe.
{f:2} Some of the many powers attributed to "Runic verses" will be found
described in the song so intituled, in the latter part of this volume.
[The end]
George Borrow's poem: Heroes Of Dovrefeld
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