ODIN. Yet awhile my call obey; What Virgins these, in speechless woe [25], That their flaxen tresses tear, And snowy veils, that float in air. Tell me whence their sorrows rose: Then I leave thee to repose. PROPHETESS. Ha! no Traveller art thou, King of Men, I know thee now; Mightiest of a mighty line ODIN. No boding Maid of skill divine [23] These were probably the Nornir, or Parcæ, before-mentioned; their names were Urda, Verdandi, and Skulda; and they were the dispensers of good destinies. As their names signify Time past, present, and future, it is probable they were always invisible to mortals: therefore when Odin asks this question on seeing them, he betrays himself to be a god; which elucidates the next speech of the Prophetess. Art thou, nor Prophetess of good; PROPHETESS. Hie thee hence, and boast at home, Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain ƒ; Has reassum'd her ancient right: [26] In the Latin, " Mater trium Gigantum." He means, therefore, probably Angerbode, who, from her name, seems to be "no Prophetess of good," and who bore to Loke, as the Edda says, three children; the Wolf Fenris, the great Serpent Midgard, and Hela, all of them called Giants in that wild but curious system of Mythology. f Till Lok has burst his tenfold chain. Lok is the Evil Being, who continues in chains till the Twilight of the Gods approaches; when he shall break his bonds; the human race, the stars, and sun, shall disappear; the earth sink in the seas, and fire consume the skies: even Odin himself and his kindred deities shall perish. For a further explanation of this mythology, see "Introduction a l'Histoire de Dannemarc, par Mons. Mallet," 1755, Quarto; or rather a translation of it published in 1770, and intitled "Northern Antiquities;" in which some mistakes in the original are judiciously corrected. THE TRIUMPHS OF OWEN. A FRAGMENT. FROM THE WELSH. [From Mr. Evan's specimens of the Welsh Poetry [33]; London, 1764, Quarto. Owen succeeded his father Griffin in the principality of North Wales, A. D. 1120. This battle was fought near forty years afterwards.] OWEN's praise demands my song, Gwyneth's shield g, and Britain's gem. g Gwyneth. North Wales. [33] The following is the prose version of Mr. Evans, p. 25. Panegyric upon Owain Gwynedd, Prince of North 1. I will extol the generous Hero, descended from the race of Roderic, the bulwark of his country; a prince eminent for his good qualities, the glory of Britain, Owen the brave and expert in arms, a Prince that neither hoardeth nor coveteth rich es. He nor heaps his brooded stores, Big with hosts of mighty name, h Lochlin. Denmark. 2. Three fleets arrived, vessels of the main; three powerful fleets of the first rate, furiously to attack, him on the sudden: one from Jwerddyn (Ireland), the other full of well-armed Lochlinians (Danes and Normans) making a grand appearance on the floods, the third from the transmarine Normans, which was attended with an immense, though successless tcil. 3. The Dragon of Mona's sons was so brave in action, that there was a great tumult on their furious attack; and before the Prince himself there was a vast confusion, havec, conflict, honourable death, bloody battle, horrible consternation, and upon Tal Malvre a thousand banners; there was an outrageous carnage, and the rage of spears and hasty signs of violent indignation. Blood raised the tide of the Menai, and the crimson of human gore stained the brine. There were glittering There the Norman sails afar Catch the winds and join the war: Dauntless on his native sands There the thund'ring strokes begin, Talymalfra's rocky shore Echoing to the battle's roar. [34] 'Check'd by the torrent-tide of blood, Backward Menaï rolls his flood; cuirasses, and the agony of gashing wounds, and the mangled warriors prostrate before the chief, distinguished by his crimson lance. Lloegria was put into confusion; the contest and confusion was great; and the glory of our Prince's wide-wasting sword shall he celebrated in an hundred languages to give him his merited praise. i The Dragon-son of Mona stands. The red Dragon is the device of Cadwallader, which all his descendants bore on their banners. [34] This and the three following lines were not in the original Editions, but were added by Mr. Mason from the Author's MS. |