Chapter 21

King Skule.

Where is your child, Margrete?

Margrete.

He sleeps, in the sacristy.

King Skule.

Then is our whole house gathered at Elgesæter to-night.

Sigrid.

Ay, gathered after straying long and far.

King Skule.

Håkon Håkonsson alone is wanting.

Margrete and Lady Ragnhild.

[Cling about him, in an outburst of sorrow.] My father!—My husband!

King Skule.

[Looking at them, much moved.] Have you loved me so deeply, you two? I sought after happiness abroad, and heeded not the home wherein I might have found it. I pursued after love through sin and guilt, little dreaming that ’twas mine already, in right of God’s law and man’s.—And you, Ragnhild, my wife, you, against whom I have sinned so deeply, you take me to your warm, soft heart in the hour of my sorest need; you can tremble and be afraid for the life of the man who has never cast a ray of sunshine upon your path.

Lady Ragnhild.

Have you sinned? Oh, Skule, speak not so; think you I should ever dare accuse you! From the first I was too mean a mate for you, my noble husband; there can rest no guilt on any deed of yours.

King Skule.

Have you believed in me so surely, Ragnhild?

Lady Ragnhild.

From the first day I saw you.

King Skule.

[With animation.] When Håkon comes, I will beg grace of him! You gentle, loving women,—oh, but it is fair to live!

Sigrid.

[With an expression of terror.] Skule, my brother! Woe to you if you stray from the path this night.

[A loud noise without; immediately afterwards, a knocking at the gate.

Margrete.

Hark, hark! Who comes in such haste?

Lady Ragnhild.

Who knocks at the gate?

Voices.

[Without.] Townsfolk from Nidaros! Open! We know that Skule Bårdsson is within!

King Skule.

Ay, he is within; what would ye with him?

Noisy Voices.

[Without.] Come out, come out! Death to the evil man!

Margrete.

You townsfolk dare to threaten that?

A Single Voice.

King Håkon doomed him at Oslo.

Another.

’Tis every man’s duty to slay him.

Margrete.

I am the Queen; I command you to depart!

A Voice.

’Tis Skule Bårdsson’s daughter, and not the Queen, that speaks thus.

Another.

You have no power over life and death; the King has doomed him!

Lady Ragnhild.

Into the church, Skule! For God’s mercy’s sake, let not the bloodthirsty caitiffs approach you!

King Skule.

Ay, into the church; I would not fall at the hands of such as these. My wife, my daughter; meseems I have found peace and light; oh, I cannot lose them again so soon!

[Moves towards the chapel.

Peter.

[Without, on the right.] My father, my king. Now will you soon have the victory!

King Skule.

[With a shriek.] He! He!

[Sinks down upon the church steps.

Lady Ragnhild.

Who is it?

A Townsman.

[Without.] See, see! the church-robber climbs over the convent roof!

Others.

Stone him! Stone him!

Peter.

[Appears on a roof to the right, and jumps down into the yard.] Well met again, my father!

King Skule.

[Looks at him aghast.] You—I had forgotten you——! Whence come you?

Peter.

[Wildly.] Where is the King-child?

Margrete.

The King-child!

King Skule.

[Starts up.] Whence come you, I ask?

Peter.

From Hladehammer; I have given Bård Bratte and the Vargbælgs to know that the King-child lies at Elgesæter to-night.

Margrete.

O God!

King Skule.

You have done that! And now——?

Peter.

He is gathering together his men, and they arehasting up to the convent.—Where is the King-child, woman?

Margrete.

[Who has placed herself before the church door.] He sleeps in the sacristy!

Peter.

’Twere the same if he slept on the altar! I have dragged out St. Olaf’s shrine—I fear not to drag out the King-child as well.

Lady Ragnhild.

[Calls toSkule.] And he it is you have loved so deeply!

Margrete.

Father, father! How could you forget us all for his sake?

King Skule.

He was pure as a lamb of God when the penitent woman gave him to me;—’tis his faith in me has made him what he now is.

Peter.

[Without heeding him.] The child must out! Slay it, slay it in the Queen’s arms,—that was King Skule’s word in Oslo!

Margrete.

Oh shame, oh shame!

Peter.

A saint might do it unsinning, at my father’s command! My father is King; for the great king’s-thought is his!

Townsmen.

[Knocking at the gate.] Open! Come out, you and the church-robber, else will we burn the convent down!

King Skule.

[As if seized by a strong resolution.] The great king’s-thought! ’Tisthathas poisoned your young loving soul! Pure and blameless I was to give you back; ’tis faith in me that drives you thus wildly from crime to crime, from deadly sin to deadly sin! Oh, but I can save you yet: I can save us all! [Calls toward the background.] Wait, wait, ye townsmen without there: I come!

Margrete.

[Seizing his hand in terror.] My father! what would you do?

Lady Ragnhild.

[Clinging to him with a shriek.] Skule!

Sigrid.

[Tears them away from him, and calls with wild, radiant joy.] Loose him, loose him, women;—now his thought puts forth wings!

King Skule.

[Firmly and forcibly, toPeter.] You saw in me the heaven-chosen one,—him who should do the great king’s-work in the land. Look at me better, misguided boy! The rags of kingship I have decked myself withal, they were borrowed and stolen—now I put them off me, one by one.

Peter.

[In dread.] My great, my noble father, speak not thus!

King Skule.

The king’s-thought is Håkon’s, not mine; to him alone has the Lord granted the power that can act it out. You have believed in a lie; turn from me, and save your soul.

Peter.

[In a broken voice.] The king’s-thought is Håkon’s!

King Skule.

I yearned to be the greatest in the land. My God! my God! behold, I abase myself before thee, and stand as the least of all men.

Peter.

Take me from the earth, O Lord! Punish me for all my sin; but take me from the earth; for here am I homeless now!

[Sinks down upon the church steps.

King Skule.

I had a friend who bled for me at Oslo. He said: A man can die for another’s life-work; but if he is to go on living, he must live for his own.—I have no life-work to live for, neither can I live for Håkon’s,—but I can die for it.

Margrete.

Nay, nay, that shall you never do!

King Skule.

[Takes her hand, and looks at her tenderly.] Do you love your husband, Margrete?

Margrete.

Better than the whole world.

King Skule.

You could endure that he should doom me; but could you also endure that he should let the doom be fulfilled?

Margrete.

Lord of heaven, give me strength!

King Skule.

Could you, Margrete?

Margrete.

[Softly and shuddering.] No, no—we should have to part,—I could never see him more!

King Skule.

You would darken the fairest light of his life and of yours;—be at peace, Margrete,—it shall not be needful.

Lady Ragnhild.

Flee from the land, Skule; I will follow you whithersoever you will.

King Skule.

[Shaking his head.] With a mocking shade between us?—To-night have I found you for the first time; there must fall no shade between me and you, my silent, faithful wife;—therefore must we not seek to unite our lives on this earth.

Sigrid.

My kingly brother! I see you need me not;—I see you know what path to take.

King Skule.

There are men born to live, and men born to die. My desire was ever thitherward where God’s finger pointed not the way for me; therefore I never saw my path clear, till now. My peaceful home-life have I wrecked; I can never win it back again. My sins against Håkon I can atone by freeing him from a kingly duty which must have parted him from his dearest treasure. The townsfolk stand without; I will not wait for King Håkon! The Vargbælgs are near; so long as I live they will not swerve from their purpose; if they find me here, I cannot save your child, Margrete.—See, look upwards! See how it wanes and pales, the flaming sword that has hung over my head! Yes, yes,—God has spoken and I have understood him, and his wrath is appeased. Not in the sanctuary of Elgesæter will I cast me down and beg for grace of an earthly king;—I must into the mighty church roofed with the vault of stars and ’tis the King of Kings I must implore for grace and mercy over all my life-work.

Sigrid.

Withstand him not! Withstand not the call of God! The day dawns; it dawns in Norway and it dawns in his restless soul! Have not we trembling women cowered long enough in our secret rooms, terror-stricken and hidden in the darkest corners, listening to all the horror that was doing without, listening to the bloody pageant that stalked over the land from end to end! Have we not lain pale and stone-like in the churches, not daring to look forth, even as Christ’s disciples lay in Jerusalem on the Great Good Friday whenthe Lord was led by to Golgotha! Use thy wings, and woe to them who would bind thee now!

Lady Ragnhild.

Fare forth in peace, my husband; fare thither, where no mocking shade shall stand between us, when we meet.

[Hastens into the chapel.

Margrete.

My father, farewell, farewell,—a thousand times farewell!

[FollowsLady Ragnhild.

Sigrid.

[Opens the church door and calls in.] To your knees, all ye women! Assemble yourselves in prayer; send up a message in song to the Lord, and tell him that now Skule Bårdsson comes penitent home from his rebellious race on earth.

King Skule.

Sigrid, my faithful sister, greet King Håkon from me; tell him that even in my last hour I know not whether he be king-born; but this I know of a surety: he it is whom God has chosen.

Sigrid.

I will bear him your greeting.

King Skule.

And yet another greeting must you bear. There dwells a penitent woman in the north, in Halogaland; tell her that her son has gone before; he went with me when there was great danger for his soul.

Sigrid.

That will I.

King Skule.

Tell her, it was not with the heart he sinned; pure and blameless shall she surely meet him again.

Sigrid.

That will I. [Points towards the background.] Hark! they are breaking the lock!

King Skule.

[Points towards the chapel.] Hark! they are singing loud to God of salvation and peace!

Sigrid.

Hark again! All the bells in Nidaros are ringing——!

King Skule.

[Smiles mournfully.] They are ringing a king to his grave.

Sigrid.

Nay, nay, they ring for your true crowning! Farewell, my brother, let the purple robe of blood flow wide over your shoulders; under it may all sin be hidden! Go forth, go into the great church and take the crown of life.

[Hastens into the chapel.

[Chanting and bell-ringing continue during what follows.

Voices.

[Outside the gate.] The lock has burst! Force us not to break the peace of the church!

King Skule.

I come.

The Townsmen.

And the church-robber must cometoo!too!

King Skule.

Ay, the church-robber shall come too. [Goes over toPeter.] My son, are you ready?

Peter.

Ay, father, I am ready.

King Skule.

[Looks upwards.] O God, I am a poor man, I have but my life to give; but take that, and keep watch over Håkon’s great king’s-thought.—See now, give me your hand.

Peter.

Here is my hand, father.

King Skule.

And fear not for that which is now to come.

Peter.

Nay, father, I fear not, when I go with you.

King Skule.

A safer way have we two never trodden together. [He opens the gate; theTownsmenstand without with upraised weapons.] Here are we; we come of our own free will;—but strike him not in the face.

[They pass out, hand in hand; the gate glides to.

A Voice.

Aim not, spare not;—strike them where ye can.

King Skule’s Voice.

’Tis base to deal thus with chieftains.

[A short noise of weapons; then a heavy fall is heard; all is still for a moment.

A Voice.

They are dead, both of them!

[TheKing’shorn sounds.

Another Voice.

There comes King Håkon with all his guard!

The Crowd.

Hail Håkon Håkonsson; now have you no longer any foemen.

Gregorius Jonsson.

[Stops a little before the corpses.] So I have come too late!

[Enters the convent yard.

Dagfinn.

It had been ill for Norway had you come sooner. [Calls out.] In here, King Håkon!

Håkon.

[Stopping.] The body lies in my way!

Dagfinn.

If Håkon Håkonsson would go forward, he must pass over Skule Bårdsson’s body!

Håkon.

In God’s name then!

[Steps over the corpse and comes in.

Dagfinn.

At last you can set about your king’s-work with free hands. In there are those youlove; in Nidaros they are ringing in peace in theland; and yonder he lies who was your direst foe.

Håkon.

All men misjudged him, reading not his secret.

Dagfinn.

His secret?

Håkon.

[Seizes him by the arm, and says softly.] Skule Bårdsson was God’s step-child on earth; that was the secret.

[The song of the women is heard more loudly from the chapel; all the bells are still ringing in Nidaros.

THE END.

21. PronounceSverrë.

22. Pronounce Inghë.

23. The old name forTrondheimTrondheim.

24. The “Birkebeiner” or Birchlegs were at this period a political faction. They were so called because, at the time of their first appearance, when they seem to have been little more than bandits, they eked out their scanty attire by making themselves leggings of birch-bark. Norway at this time swarmed with factions, such as the “Bagler” or Croziers (Latin, baculus), so called because Bishop Nicholas was their chief, the Ribbungs, the Slittungs, etc., devoted, for the most part, to one or other of the many Pretenders to the crown.

25. A “thing,” or assembly, held from time to time on the “öre” or foreshore at the mouth of the river Nid, at Trondhiem.

26. The wordhirdis very difficult to render. It meant something between “court,” “household,” and “guard.” I have never translated it “court,” as that word seemed to convey an idea of peaceful civilisation foreign to the country and period; but I have used either “guard” or “household” as the context seemed to demand.HirdmandI have generally rendered “man-at-arms.”LendermandI have represented by “baron”;lagmandandsysselmandby “thane”; andstallareby “marshal”—all mere rough approximations.

27. See note, p.125.

28. PronounceShaldarband.

29. Bishop Nicholas’s speech, “Nu slår jeg bonden, herre jarl,” means literally, “Now I strike (or slay) the peasant”; the pawn being called in Norwegian “bonde,” peasant, as in German “Bauer.” Thus in this speech and the next the Bishop and the Earl are girding at Dagfinn the Peasant. [Our own word “pawn” comes from the Spanishpeon= a foot-soldier or day-labourer.]

30. PronounceYostein.

31.Den lykkeligste mand.The wordlykkemeans not only luck or fortune, but happiness. To renderlykkeligstecompletely, we should require a word in which the ideas “fortunate” and “happy” should be blent.

32. See note, p.125.

33. An ancient city close to the present Christiania.

34. Men of the Trondheim district.

35.Skibreder, districts each of which furnished a ship to the fleet.

36. The metre of this song is very rugged in the original, and the wording purposely uncouth.

37. Seenote, p. 127.

38. The derivation of this word is doubtful. In the formVargbælgit means Wolf-skin, from IcelandicVargr= a wolf, andBelgr—the skin of an animal taken off whole. The more common form, however, isVarbelg,which, as P. A. Munch suggests (“Det Norske Folks Historie,” iii. 219), may possibly come fromvar(our word “ware”), a covering, and may be an allusion to the falsity and cunning of the faction. What Ibsen understands by the formVårbælgI cannot discover.Vår(IcelandicVâr) means the springtide. The nick-name had been applied to a political faction as early as 1190, and was merely revived as a designation for Skule’s adherents.

39.Knœsœtte, see note, p. 19.

40.Varger, the first part of the wordVargbælg.

41. As to the earlier text of this scene, see Brandes’Ibsen and Björnson(Heinemann, 1899), p. 29.

42.Lur, the long wooden horn still used among the mountains in Norway.

43. The arms of Norway consist of a lion rampant, holding an axe.

44.Et nyt kongs-emne.

45.Elgesæter—Elk-châlet.

46.Et kongs-emne.

Printed byBallantyne & Co. LimitedTavistock Street, Covent Garden, London

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Tavistock Street, Covent Garden, London

Transcriber’s NoteThere are quite a few instances of missing punctuation. The conventional period following the character’s name is sometimes missing and has been added for consistency’s sake without further comment. Those missing from setting and stage direction are also added without comment, since there is no obvious purpose to be served by the omission. However, the restoration of punctuation missing from dialogue is noted below, since the punctuation is frequently expressive.Volume I of this series included errata for each succeeding volume. Some, but not all of the corrections indicated there had been made before this printing. Those that remained unchanged have been corrected here, and noted as such.Other errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions.63.16If Thorol[d/f] is slainReplaced, per Errata.63.18If Thorol[d/f] is slainReplaced, per Errata.82.29Whither wilt thou[?]Added.118.12H[a/å]kon’s marshal.Replaced.123.32The old name for Trondh[ie/ei]m.Transposed.161.27the full strength of my youth[;/.]Replaced.279.13what have you done[?]Added.329.1[Softly[to]Skule.] Farewell, Skule BårdssonAdded.341.4And the church-robber must come too[!]Added.

Transcriber’s Note

There are quite a few instances of missing punctuation. The conventional period following the character’s name is sometimes missing and has been added for consistency’s sake without further comment. Those missing from setting and stage direction are also added without comment, since there is no obvious purpose to be served by the omission. However, the restoration of punctuation missing from dialogue is noted below, since the punctuation is frequently expressive.

Volume I of this series included errata for each succeeding volume. Some, but not all of the corrections indicated there had been made before this printing. Those that remained unchanged have been corrected here, and noted as such.

Other errors deemed most likely to be the printer’s have been corrected, and are noted here. The references are to the page and line in the original. The following issues should be noted, along with the resolutions.

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