A lot of the stories of northern Europe, which taken together can now be thought of as an ancestor of current fantasy writing, lived, and were kept alive for centuries, through an oral storytelling tradition. But as well as the stories that were told, there were stories that were sung. These were the story-telling ballads that were composed, sung, and passed on, and that evolved, and were eventually written down.
Hundreds of ballads survive in various states of repair and completeness. Many of them were once widely known, and closely related versions of some of the ballads were sung all over Scandinavia.
Being interested in folklore and traditional music, and having learned Swedish during the several years I lived and worked there, I have translated some of these centuries-old ballads into English verse, mostly from the Swedish. And in my second published collection, Warrior Lore, many of the ballads included are related to the stories in the Poetic Edda.
The story of the retrieval of Thor’s stolen hammer from the troll Thrym is told here in what is believed to be one of the oldest of the surviving ballads. He turns to cross-dressing, pretending to be his sister Freya to infiltrate the troll stronghold. Two ballads about Diderick of Bern, Widrick, the son of Wayland the Smith, and Sivar (Sigurd) concern characters that appear to a greater or lesser extent in the Edda, although the stories are different. More troll-fighting is followed by a procession of heroes and a jousting duel, all in verse. Two more ballads dealing with the almost inevitable consequences of a royal daughter’s falling in love with her servant also echo Eddic themes.
But there’s more. Readers familiar with the books (or films) of Arn the Templar may recognise the story of the raid of Vreta Abbey with Sune and Helena from the days of early royal Sweden. But the version told in the folk-ballad makes for rather more grim reading.
I hope these translations into an accessible English version will let some lesser known folk stories, or folk songs, or forgotten heroes, live further.
Here are the links:
Kindle: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00
Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/
Blurb:
To be honest, I think my blurb just repeats some of the stuff I already wrote above. Maybe this is enough?
All the ballads included are:
Widrick Waylandsson’s Fight with Long-Ben Reyser; Twelve Strong Fighters; Hilla-Lill; Sir Hjalmar; The Hammer Hunt; The Stablemates; Sven Swan-White; The Cloister Raid; Heming and the Mountain Troll; Heming and King Harald.