Illit Grøndahl’s translation of Moltke Moes text
In Liestøl’sDraumkvædet:A Norwegian Visionary Poem from the Middle Ages. (1946)
1. Come list to me, and I will tell
Of a lad so brave and strong;
I’ll tell you of Olav Åsteson
Who slept a sleep so long.
2. He laid him down on Christmas Eve
And fell asleep full fast,
And he woke not till Epiphany,
When folk to church did pass.
For it was Olav Åsteson who slept a sleep so long.
3. He laid him down on Christmas Eve
And slept without a break.
And he woke not till Epiphany,
When the birds their wings did shake.
For it was Olav Åsteson who slept a sleep so long.
4. He woke not till Epiphany,
when the sun shone far and wide,
and then he saddled his swift young steed,
to church he then would ride.
For it was Olav Åsteson who slept a sleep so long.
5. Before the altar stands the priest
And long he reads the prayer.
Olav down in the porch he sits
And tells his dreams out there.
For it was Olav Åsteson who slept a sleep so long.
6. Now give ye heed, as best ye may,
all men, both young and old,
till the brave swain Olav Åsteson
his dream so strong has told.
For it was Olav Åsteson who slept a sleep so long.
7. I laid me down on Christmas Eve
And fell asleep full fast,
And I woke not till Epiphany,
When folk to church did pass.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
8. I have been up to the clouds above
and down to the dark, blue sea.
He who would walk the self-same way
will ne’er with his heart laugh free.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
9. I have been up to the clouds above
and down in the depths of the sea.
He who would walk the self-same way
will ne’er with his mouth laugh free.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
10. I have been up to the clouds above
And down to the dyke full dark.
Both have I seen the flames of hell
And of heaven likewise a part.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
11. I have fared over holy water
and over the valleys low.
I heard the waters but saw them not,
for under the earth they flow.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
12. I am tired and travel-worn
With thirst I am aglow,
Waters I hear but cannot reach,
For under the earth they flow.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
13. Neither did my good horse neigh,
nor barked my dog aloud,
none of the early birds did sing,
they all to me seemed cowed.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
14. I was in the other world
for many a weary night,
and God in heaven knows I saw
full many a sorry sight.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
15. I have tried both smooth and rough
and thence I wise may seem;
long be I buried deep in mould
ere this I a good death deem.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
16. First I went forth with my soul,
I went through briar and thorn,
And torn was then my scarlet cloak,
And the nails from my feet were torn.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
17. From out my body forth my soul
through the narrow ring was borne,
and torn was then my scarlet cloak,
and the nails from my fingers torn.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
18. Came I then to Gjallar Bridge,
So high up in the air.
With red gold it is decked above
And the pinnacles gold so fair.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
19. The serpent strikes, and the dog he bites,
And the bull stands on the path;
These three things are on the Gjallar Bridge
And all are fierce and wroth.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
20. The dog he bites, and the serpent stings,
and the bull gores with its horn:
no one shall pass over Gjallar Bridge
who sets the law to scorn.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
21. Gone have I over Gjallar Bridge,
Did hard and steep it find.
Waded have I the miry march,
Now are they left behind.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
22. Waded have I the miry march
Where never a foot finds hold.
Crossed have I also Gjallar Bridge,
My mouth filled with grave-mould.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
23. Gone have I over Gjallar Bridge
with sharp hooks in a row.
Yet worse I thought the stinking marsh:
God help who there must go!
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
24. Then I came to those lonely lakes,
Were the glittering ice burns blue;
But God put warning in my heart,
And thence my step I drew.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
25. I was in the other world,
and no one knew I there
but only blest godmother mine
with gold on her fingers fair.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
26. Some went over the Grimar Ridge,
and some over SkåleStrand;
but those who crossed the Gjallar Linn
were a drenched and draggled band.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
27. Then I turned to my right hand,
Where the Milky Way does rise,
And over lovely lands I saw
The shining paradise.
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
28. There was again godmother mine,
command she gave full soon:
“Betake thee to the trial-porch,
Where stands the seat of doom!”
The moon it shines, and the roads do stretch so wide.
29. Came I to the pilgrim’s church,
No one knew I there,
But only blest godmother mine
With gold on her fingers fair.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
30. There came a host from out the north,
It rode so fierce and fell.
And first rode Grim the Greybeard
With all his crowd from hell.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
31. There came the host from out the north,
God save us from its course!
In front rode Grim the Greybeard
upon a jet-black horse.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
32. There came a host from the south, -
The best t’was in my sight, -
And first rode Michael, lord of souls,
Upon a charger white.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
33. There came the host from out the south,
and silently did glide.
In front rode Michael, lord of souls,
with Jesus Christ beside.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
34. There came the host from out the south,
and slowly came the swarm.
In front rode Michael, lord of souls,
with the trumpet ‘neath his arm.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
35. It was St. Michael, lord of souls,
He blew his trumpet clear:
“And now must every living soul
To judgement forth appear!”
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
36. Then every sinful soul did shake
Like aspens in the wind,
And every single soul there was
Wept sore for every sin.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
37. It was St. Michael, lord of souls,
He weighed them fair and even, -
He weighed in scales the sinful souls
Away to Christ in heaven.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
38. I saw a young man trudge along, –
the first that I did see –
he bore a boy-child in his arms
and sank in earth to’s knee.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
39. A man I then came up with,
his cope it was of lead:
his sorry soul in straiten’d times
refused the pauper bread.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
40. The men I next came up with,
they carried burning clay:
God’s mercy be with those poor souls
that carried bournes away!
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
41. Children then I came to,
in fiery pit immersed:
God’s mercy be with sinful souls
who father and mother cursed!
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
42. I saw the toad and serpent
so fierce each other bite:
each other sister and brother did
with mutual curses blight.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
43. Next I came on serpents twain,
each other’s tails they chewed:
cousins they who in this life
were joined in marriage lewd.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
44. Then to the house of toil I came,
there witches were within:
they stood and churned the red, red blood,
so heavy was their sin.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
45. Hot it is in the vaults of hell,
and foul is there the feast:
they swung a pot of pitch o’er fire,
flung in a back of priest.
In the trial-porch shall stand the seat of doom.
46. Blest is he who in this life
gave shoes to the needy poor:
he will not have to walk bare-foot
on the sharp and thorny moor.
Tongue shall speak and truthreply on Judgment Day.
47. Blest is he who in this life
to the poor man gave a cow:
he will not have to trip or swoon
on the Gjallar Bridge’s brow.
Tongue shall speak and truthreply on Judgment Day.
48. Blest is he who in this life
did give the poor man bread:
he shall not stand in the other world
of fierce dog’s bark in dread.
Tongue shall speak and truthreply on Judgment Day.
49. Blest is he who in this life
did give the poor man corn:
he need not fear on Gjallar Bridge
the bull with the pointed horn.
Tongue shall speak and truthreply on Judgment Day.
50. Blest is he who in this life
did give the poor man meat:
he need not in the other world
fear either scorn or hate.
Tongue shall speak and truthreply on Judgment Day.
51. Blest is he who in this life
gave clothes to the needy poor:
he need not fear in the other world
the glaciers ice-crest hoar.
Tongue shall speak and truthreply on Judgment Day.
52. Now give ye heed, as best ye may,
all men, both young and old:
for it was Olav Åsteson,
and this the dream he told.