on the stage in Copenhagen, with management of which
she had official connection from 1867 to 1874.
“New Year” ringing o’er
the Northland. Shortly before Christmas,
1816, Heiberg published his polemical romantic comedy
Yule Jests and New Year’s Jokes, a brilliant
revelation of his superiority as a wit and a satirist.
Attacking the excessive sentimentality of Danish
literature and taste at that time, it made a sensation
and led to the improvement of both.
Note 8. THE OCEAN. Arnljot Gelline, a man
of prowess, from Tiundaland, the Region about Upsala.
When Olaf the Saint went from Sweden to Norway in
1030, Arnljot Gelline was present in his army at Stiklestad,
and after baptism was assigned to a place nearest
in front of the royal standard. He fought stoutly,
but fell early in the battle.
Vikar, a brother of Arnljot Gelline, who
sailed with Olaf
Trygvason on the Long Serpent, and died fighting in
his post of honor on the prow.
(See notes below.)
Note 9. ALONE AND REPENTANT. This poem
was first printed in 1865, but was probably written
in 1861 or 1862 in Germany or Italy. The friend
was Ivar Bye, whom Björnson had saved from distress
and social ostracism in Christiania before 1857, when
Bye went as an actor with Björnson to the theater
in Bergen. He was no great actor but an unusual
man, for whom Björnson had deep respect and warm sympathy.
Björnson described his character and life-experience
in the study “Ivar Bye,” first published
in 1894, in which he said: “Our literature
possesses a memorial of his way of receiving what was
confided to him. It lies in the poem: ‘A
friend I possess.’ I wrote it far away
from him,—not that he might have it, his
name is not mentioned, and he never had it, but because
at that time things were hard for me.”
Note 10. OLAF TRYGVASON. Grandson of Harald
Fairhair, and King from 995 to 1000. On one
of his viking expeditions to England he was converted
to Christianity. Returning to Norway to win back
his ancestral inheritance from Haakon Jarl (see Note
14), he had fortune with him; for as he steered into
the Trondhjem Fjord, he received the tidings of the
successful uprising of the peasants against Haakon.
He founded Nidaros, the present city of Trondhjem,
established Christianity in a large part of the country,
and soon became dearer to the people than any other
Norwegian King. But he had powerful enemies outside
of the land: the Danish King, Svein Forkbeard,
the Swedish King, Olaf, and Erik, son of Haakon Jarl.
By a large sea-force under these he was attacked off
the island Svolder (near the island of Ringen), and
there lost his life. Erling Skjalgsson, a great
chieftain, holding large fiefs from Olaf and married
to his sister, lived at Sole in southwestern Norway.
With a large number of the smaller ships of Olaf Trygvason
he had been allowed to sail away in advance and did
not know of the battle at Svolder.
Long Serpent was the name of the large
fighting ship that Olaf had
built for this expedition. It held six hundred
men.
