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by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

Raud the Strong
Language: English 
"All the old gods are dead,
All the wild warlocks fled;
But the White Christ lives and reigns,
And throughout my wide domains
His Gospel shall be spread!"
    On the Evangelists
    Thus swore King Olaf. 

But still in dreams of the night
Beheld he the crimson light,
And heard the voice that defied
Him who was crucified,
And challenged him to the fight.
    To Sigurd the Bishop
    King Olaf confessed it. 

And Sigurd the Bishop said,
"The old gods are not dead,
For the great Thor still reigns,
And among the Jarls and Thanes
The old witchcraft still is spread."
    Thus to King Olaf
    Said Sigurd the Bishop. 

"Far north in the Salten Fiord,
By rapine, fire, and sword,
Lives the Viking, Raud the Strong;
All the Godoe Isles belong
To him and his heathen horde."
   Thus went on speaking
   Sigurd the Bishop. 

"A warlock, a wizard is he,
And lord of the wind and the sea;
And whichever way he sails,
He has ever favoring gales,
By his craft in sorcery."
    Here the sign of the cross
    Made devoutly King Olaf. 

"With rites that we both abhor,
He worships Odin and Thor;
So it cannot yet be said,
That all the old gods are dead,
And the warlocks are no more,"
    Flushing with anger
    Said Sigurd the Bishop. 

Then King Olaf cried aloud:
"I will talk with this mighty Raud,
And along the Salten Fiord
Preach the Gospel with my sword,
Or be brought back in my shroud!"
    So northward from Drontheim
    Sailed King Olaf! 

Text Authorship:

  • by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Raud the Strong", appears in Tales of a Wayside Inn, in The Musician's Tale; The Saga of King Olaf, no. 10, first published 1863 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-10-02
Line count: 49
Word count: 256

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