all."
12. Then up and spake Young Angelfyr
As he stood and pondered there:
"We both will take us forth to the courtyard,
And fight for the maiden fair."
13. It was the King of Upsala,
And answered he forthright:
"O the swords they be keen, and the lads they be bold,
And may measure them well in a fight."
14. Then up and rose Young Angelfyr
Where he his sword out drew;
And up rose Young Helmer the Warrior,
Whom he to the earth did hew.
15. Offue he stands in Uthiss-kier
And far and wide looks he:
"O somewhere is Helmer suffering pain,
For I feel such woe in the heart of me."
16. Offue he stands in Uthiss-kier
And looks o'er the wide, wide heath:
"O what can be harming my two sons today,
And why are they both so wroth?"
17. It was Offue in Uthiss-kier;
He sprang on his red-roan steed.
And so came he to the King's courtyard,
Ere Helmer was dead indeed.
18. "O hearken, hearken, Young Helmer,
Beloved son of mine:
Thy noble sword from out thy hands
Why didst thou list to tine?"
19. "Eight are the mortal wounds I bear,
They are both deep and sore;
And had I only one of them
I could not live an hour."
20. O it was Offue in Uthiss-kier,
And he his sword out drew;--
And O it was Young Angelfyr
Whom down to the earth he slew.
21. "Lie thou there, Young Angelfyr
And bleed till thou art dead;
So woeful was I in my heart
When I saw how Helmer bled.
22. "Lie thou there, Young Angelfyr,
And lose thy life-blood all.
So woeful was I in my heart
When I saw Young Helmer fall."
Refrain: _But the tempest from the North
Lashes dark and troubled billows
On the gleaming waste of sand._
[Footnote 1: The translation of the refrain is somewhat free;
but cf. Olrik, _D. F. i U._, p. 78. Extreme condensation is a
feature of all Faroese and Danish ballad refrains which makes
a literal translation into English practically impossible.]
In MS. _B_ of the _Ballad of Angelfyr_ etc., _vv._ 1-11 correspond
pretty closely to MS. _A_; but _vv._ 12-18 are different:
12. Alff he stood in Odderskier,
And listened over the field;
Then could he hear so far away
Where his sons their swords
|