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nd the rhyming paraphrases of the splendid prose of Iceland are an outcome of the same movement. The _Griplur_, some twenty stanzas of which are given below, represent this stage in the development of Icelandic literature. It may be observed that, like other _Rimur_, they are the work of educated people--a fact which makes the wretched quality of much of the verse all the more striking, especially when they are contrasted with the ballads, which are, at least in most cases, the work of the unlettered. Unattractive however as they appear to the modern mind, it has been thought advisable to include a short extract from them here because it seems possible that in some cases the Faroese ballads may have derived their material from Iceland through the intermediate stage of the _Rimur_ rather than from the Saga direct. Reference is made to the exploits of Hromund in other _Rimur_ besides the _Griplur_, notably in the _Malshattakvaeethi_, the _Skietha-Rima_[5] (which is interesting as being based, in all probability, on an earlier poem than the _Griplur_) and in the _Klerka-Rima_[6]. And he and Thrain the Berserk still live in the popular songs of the North. He is the _Ungen Ranild_[7] of the Danish ballad; and in the Norwegian ballad _Ramund den Unge_[8], Ramund (Hromund) and Hoelgi (Helgi) appear as rivals for the hand of Svanhvit (who, however, is not mentioned by name). Like some of the Faroese ballads on the _Hervarar Saga_, these later versions are far removed from the story as we know it from early Icelandic sources[9]. They are of interest only to those who care for folk song and ballad for their freshness and their naive simplicity[10]. [Footnote 1: Cf. Finnur Jonsson, _Oldnorske og Oldislandske Litteraturs Historie_, Vol. III, p. 35.] [Footnote 2: Cf. F. Jonsson, _op. cit._, Vol. III, p. 36; also Eugen Mogk, _Geschichte der Norwegisch-Islaendischen Literatur_ (Strasburg, 1904), p. 722.] [Footnote 3: _Op. cit._, III, p. 26 ff.] [Footnote 4: _Op. cit._, p. 722 ff.] [Footnote 5: Ed. by K. Maurer, Munich, 1869; F. Jonsson, _Carmina Scaldica_ (Copenhagen, 1913).] [Footnote 6: Codex A.M. 604 H.] [Footnote 7: S. Grundtvig, _Danmarks Gamle Folkeviser_, Vol. I, p. 367 ff.] [Footnote 8: M. B. Landstad, _Norske Folkeviser_ (Christiania, 1853), p. 189 ff.] [Footnote 9: Cf. Koelbing, _Beitraege zur Vergleichenden Geschichte der Romantischen
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