The Tree of the Folkungs by Verner von Heidenstam
"The Tree of the Folkungs" by Verner von Heidenstam is a historical narrative set in medieval Sweden, blending elements of legend and mythology with the lives of its characters. Central to the story is Folke Filbyter, a heroic figure who plants the seed of a mighty tree representing the lineage of the Folkungs, a noble family. The tale begins with Folke's return from sea roving, where he encounters a sorcerer who foretells future turmoil for the land. As the narrative unfolds, themes of power, honor, and familial legacy emerge through the experiences of Folke's descendants, particularly focusing on his sons and grandsons as they navigate conflicts and personal struggles in a shifting socio-political landscape.
The narrative intricately weaves the lives of various characters, including warriors, shield maidens, and sorcerers, reflecting the rich tapestry of Viking and medieval Scandinavian culture. The text explores the complexities of loyalty, the influence of faith, and the consequences of ambition, as different factions vie for power amidst the backdrop of a changing world. Ultimately, the story culminates in a cycle of conflict between brothers, illustrating the enduring themes of rivalry and the quest for identity that resonate through Swedish history and folklore. This work not only highlights the personal stories of its characters but also serves as a cultural reflection on the struggles within society during that era.
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The Tree of the Folkungs by Verner von Heidenstam
First published:Folkungaträdet, 1905-1907 (English translation, 1925)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Historical
Time of plot: Eleventh and thirteenth centuries
Locale: Sweden
Principal characters
Folke Filbyter , the founder of the Folkung lineIngemund , ,Hallsten , andIngevald , his sonsFolke Ingevaldsson , his grandsonUlf Ulfsson , a pagan udalmanKing Valdemar , a descendant of Folke FilbyterDuke Magnus , his brotherQueen Sophia , the wife of ValdemarLady Jutta , her sisterGistre Harjanson , a minstrelYrsa-Lill , a goatherdArchbishop Fulco , the prelate of Upsala
The Story:
Folke Filbyter plants the seed from which grows the mighty Folkung tree. Returning homeward after long sea roving, he brings his ship to shore near a shield maiden’s grave ground in the land of Sveas and Goths. Dwarf Jorgrimme, a Finnish sorcerer, prophesies terror will darken the land, and Thor’s image will tremble.
Folke tramps inland for two nights, his sack of booty on his back. The third night he comes to Jorgrimme’s cave, where the sorcerer gives him drink from the horn Manegarm, treasure of the gods. Then the dwarf cuts the sack so that some of the gold falls out. Discovering the leak, Folke swears he sows the ground with riches he will also reap. There he builds his mighty hall, Folketuna.
Before long Folke has land and thralls but no sons. One morning his men find Jorgrimme’s daughter trapped in a wolf pit, and Folke takes her home to his bed. She has three sons—Ingemund, Hallsten, and Ingevald—but she gets no honor and crouches in the straw like the scurviest thrall. Ingevald stays by his father’s side. Ingemund and Hallsten go roving at sea.
Folke, wanting a good marriage for his son, speaks for Holmdis, Ulf Ulfsson’s daughter. Meanwhile old Jakob, a begging friar, preaches a new faith in the region. When Ingevald tumbles the dwarfs’ one-eyed god, his mother gives him sacred Manegarm, stolen from Jorgrimme’s burial cairn. Folke swears blood brotherhood with the king of outlaws and gets great riches. Then Holmdis proudly spurns a match with the thrall woman’s son, but Ingevald carries her by force to his father’s hall. There, waiting in vain for her kinsmen to rescue her, she brings one son to Folketuna before she dies. After Holmdis’s funeral, Folke turns away from Ingevald. Folke Ingevaldsson is his grandfather’s heir.
When Jakob comes again, Ingevald, hoping to save his son from the lawless life at Folketuna, gives the child to the priest. For years old Folke rides from hearth to hearth looking for his lost grandchild. Thrall and thane alike know of the grim old man’s search.
King Inge travels through the land with his bodyguards, and wherever he stops men either die or are baptized in the new faith. When Ulf Ulfsson speaks for the old gods, the king’s earl and chief adviser, a ruthless, priest-trained young man, leaves him bound to perish in the forest. Ingemund and Hallsten, homeward bound, are in Ulf’s hall that night and join the king’s guard.
Folke is at Upsala when the sacred grove burns and people cry out against Inge and call Blot Sven king. There Folke sees the king’s earl, on his hand the star-shaped mark of the child stolen from Folketuna years before. Although the old outlaw offers his riches to help the king’s need, young Folke and his uncles are proud men with little wish to have a name as unsavory as Folke Filbyter’s associated with them, now that they are counted among the greatest of the king’s thanes. They take the treasure he offers to advance themselves, but they seldom visit him in the bare hall where he sits in the dirty straw. At last he opens his veins and dies as unwanted old men did in ancient times.
Two hundred years later, King Holmger lies dead, with the sacred sword Grane on his grave, and Earl Birger of the Folkungs rules in Sweden, although it is his young son Valdemar who wears the crown. Valdemar grows up weak and soft, a lover of pleasure and women. From his far ancestor, Folke Filbyter, he inherits a yeoman’s love of the land and a liking for serfs and for outlaws. There are many who think that his brother, Junker Magnus, should be king, for he is bold and cunning and the better knight. When Magnus unhorses his brother at a great tournament at Belbo and Valdemar laughs at his tumble without shame or regret, Birger is so angry with his son that he collapses from a stroke and dies soon afterward. At the division of the earl’s estate, his sons quarrel over a missing drinking horn, Manegarm, an heirloom of the old days.
Valdemar’s bride is Sophia, the daughter of Denmark’s king. Lady Jutta is her sister. Sometimes Valdemar talks with the maid alone, and she becomes frightened. Valdemar also spends much time in the hut of Yrsa-lill, a woman goatherd, to whom Gistre Harjanson carries Manegarm. The company drinks from it when Valdemar goes to the hut to carouse with herdsmen and outcasts. Meanwhile the land knows confusion. Peasants pay no taxes, and robbers roam the highways. Valdemar will allow no wrongdoer to be punished.
When Jutta wishes to return to Denmark, Magnus and Sir Svantepolk, a worthy knight, set out to escort her. Valdemar overtakes them at the goatherd’s hut, where the party stops to rest. After convincing Jutta that Magnus is a trickster, Valdemar accompanies her to the border, and on the way they become lovers. Sir Svantepolk, renouncing his allegiance, rides off to join Duke Magnus. Queen Sophia has Yrsa-lill thrown into a cage filled with snakes. Gistre, the minstrel, rescues her. She afterward lies speechless in the convent at Vreta.
When Jutta has a son beyond the marches, Valdemar gives the child into the keeping of Archbishop Fulco of Upsala. Then the king threatens to take away his brother’s titles. Magnus has the sword Grane brought from King Holmger’s tomb and fastens it to his own belt. At Vreta, Yrsa-lill regains her speech and prophesies that whoever gets St. Eirik’s banner from a man maiden’s hands will rule Sweden.
Jutta, now prioress at Roskilde, goes to Upsala for a holy festival honoring St. Eirik. There she finds her son and sees Valdemar surrounded by his wild bodyguard. Moved by her old love, she takes off her religious habit and dresses in the robes of one of the king’s favorites. Together she and Valdemar stand on the balcony of the king’s house while the people howl disapproval and insults. Queen Sophia orders Jutta sent to a convent in the archbishop’s keeping.
Archbishop Fulco gives St. Eirik’s banner to some maidens who carry it to Duke Magnus. Afterward there is war between the brothers. Crafty, vain Magnus battles Valdemar and his army of peasants and outlaws. Valdemar, however, seems indifferent to the outcome and sits feasting at Ramundeboda while his army is defeated at Hofva. From that time on Magnus has the crown, but the war does not end with his victory, for Valdemar fights and then flees from lost villages and provinces. At last the outlawed king has nothing left but a jeweled riding whip borrowed from Lady Luitgard, the last friend to share his misfortunes, and he gives that to Gistre and tells the minstrel to go look for Yrsa-lill. Alone and unarmed, Valdemar then surrenders to his brother.
King Magnus, old and sick by that time, gives the country peace. Valdemar lives a prisoner at Nykopingshus, and Luitgard is his only company. Nevertheless, in his captivity he finds such contentment that Magnus dies envying him.
Bibliography
Brantly, Susan. “Heidenstam’s Karolinerna and the Fin de Siècle.” In Fin(s) de Siècle in Scandinavian Perspective, edited by Faith Ingwersen and Mary Kay Norseng. Columbia, S.C.: Camden House, 1993. This critical study of Heidenstam’s novel is included in a collection of essays that examine Scandinavian literature and artistic movements that appeared at the end of the last three centuries.
Gustafson, Alrik. Six Scandinavian Novelists: Lie, Jacobsen, Heidenstam, Selma Lagerlöf, Hamsun, Sigrid Undset. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1940. Reprint. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1966. A chapter on Heidenstam provides biographical information, including the origins of Heidenstam’s ideas about depicting the beginnings of his nation.
Warme, Lars G., ed. A History of Swedish Literature. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1996. The chapter “The Aesthetic Revolt of the 1890’s” contains several pages of information about Heidenstam, and there are other references to him in this survey.
Zuck, Virpi, ed. Dictionary of Scandinavian Literature. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1990. Entry on Heidenstam places the poet and writer in his historical and literary contexts. Discusses Heidenstam’s nationalistic enthusiasms.