Raud the Strong
"All the old gods are dead,All the wild warlocks fled;But the White Christ lives and reigns,And throughout my wide domainsHis Gospel shall be spread!"On the EvangelistsThus swore King Olaf.
But still in dreams of the nightBeheld he the crimson light,And heard the voice that defiedHim who was crucified,And challenged him to the fight.To Sigurd the BishopKing 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 ThanesThe old witchcraft still is spread."Thus to King OlafSaid Sigurd the Bishop.
"Far north in the Salten Fiord,By rapine, fire, and sword,Lives the Viking, Raud the Strong;All the Godoe Isles belongTo him and his heathen horde."Thus went on speakingSigurd 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 crossMade 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 angerSaid Sigurd the Bishop.
Then King Olaf cried aloud:"I will talk with this mighty Raud,And along the Salten FiordPreach the Gospel with my sword,Or be brought back in my shroud!"So northward from DrontheimSailed King Olaf!
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- thor n.
- The god of thunder, and son of Odin. [Icel. þors. Cf. Thursday.]
- fiord n.
- A narrow inlet of the sea, penetrating between high banks or rocks, as on the coasts of Norway and Alaska. [Dan. & Norw. fiord. See Frith.]
- viking n.
- One belonging to the pirate crews from among the Northmen, who plundered the coasts of Europe in the eighth, ninth, and tenth centuries. [Icel. vikingr, fr. vik a bay, inlet.]
- horde n.
- A wandering troop or gang; especially, a clan or tribe of a nomadic people migrating from place to place for the sake of pasturage, plunder, etc.; a predatory multitude. Thomson. [F. horde (cf. G. horde), fr. Turk. ord, ordi, camp; of Tartar origin.]
- went n.
- Course; way; path; journey; direction.
- warlock n.
- A male witch; a wizard; a sprite; an imp. [OE. warloghe a deceiver, a name or the Devil, AS. w a belier or breaker of his agreement, word, or pledge; w covenant, troth (akiverus true; see Very) + loga a ]
- whichever pron.
- Whether one or another; whether one or the other; which; that one (of two or more) which; as, whichever road you take, it will lead you to town.
- craft n.
- Strength; might; secret power. [AS. cr strength, skill, art, cunning; akin to OS., G., Sw., & Dan. kraft strength, D. kracht, Icel. kraptr; perh. originally, a drawing together, stretching, fr]
- devoutly adv.
- In a devout and reverent manner; with devout emotions; piously.
- abhor v. i.
- To shrink back with horror, disgust, or dislike; to be contrary or averse; -- with from.
- aloud adv.
- With a loud voice, or great noise; loudly; audibly. [Pref. a- + loud.]
- northward a.
- Toward the north; nearer to the north than to the east or west point. [AS. noredhweard.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Raud the Strong is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Raud the Strong, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/raud-the-strong.html, id L17662.
Form and metre
Raud the Strong is 49 lines in 7 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 81%). 88% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.5 syllables. 12 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 26% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AABBA-- deadA · fledA · reignsB · domainsB · spreadA · evangelists · olaf
- 2 AABBA-- nightA · lightA · defiedB · crucifiedB · fightA · bishop · it
- 3 AA--A-- saidA · deadA · reigns · thanes · spreadA · olaf · bishop
- 4 AABBAB- fiordA · swordA · strongB · belongB · hordeA · speakingB · bishop
- 5 AABB--- heA · seaA · sailsB · galesB · sorcery · cross · olaf
- 6 AABBA-- abhorA · thorA · saidB · deadB · moreA · anger · bishop
- 7 A-BBA-- aloudA · raud · fiordB · swordB · shroudA · drontheim · olaf
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| "All the old gods are dead, | 6 | ······ |
| All the wild warlocks fled; | 6 | ······ |
| But the White Christ lives and reigns, | 7 | ······· |
| And throughout my wide domains | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| His Gospel shall be spread!" | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| On the Evangelists | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| Thus swore King Olaf. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| But still in dreams of the night | 7 | ······· |
| Beheld he the crimson light, | 7 | ˘/··/˘· |
| And heard the voice that defied | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Him who was crucified, | 6 | ···/˘· |
| And challenged him to the fight. | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| To Sigurd the Bishop | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| King Olaf confessed it. | 6 | ·/˘˘/· |
| And Sigurd the Bishop said, | 7 | ·/˘·/˘· |
| "The old gods are not dead, | 6 | ······ |
| For the great Thor still reigns, | 6 | ······ |
| And among the Jarls and Thanes | 7 | ······· |
| The old witchcraft still is spread." | 7 | ··/···· |
| Thus to King Olaf | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Said Sigurd the Bishop. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| "Far north in the Salten Fiord, | 7 | ······· |
| By rapine, fire, and sword, | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| Lives the Viking, Raud the Strong; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| All the Godoe Isles belong | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| To him and his heathen horde." | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Thus went on speaking | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Sigurd the Bishop. | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| "A warlock, a wizard is he, | 8 | ·/˘·/˘·· |
| And lord of the wind and the sea; | 8 | ········ |
| And whichever way he sails, | 7 | ·˘/˘··· |
| He has ever favoring gales, | 8 | ··/˘/˘˘· |
| By his craft in sorcery." | 7 | ····/˘˘ |
| Here the sign of the cross | 6 | ······ |
| Made devoutly King Olaf. | 7 | ·˘/˘·/˘ |
| "With rites that we both abhor, | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| He worships Odin and Thor; | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| So it cannot yet be said, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| That all the old gods are dead, | 7 | ······· |
| And the warlocks are no more," | 7 | ······· |
| Flushing with anger | 5 | /˘·/˘ |
| Said Sigurd the Bishop. | 6 | ·/˘·/˘ |
| Then King Olaf cried aloud: | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| "I will talk with this mighty Raud, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| And along the Salten Fiord | 7 | ·˘/···· |
| Preach the Gospel with my sword, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Or be brought back in my shroud!" | 7 | ······· |
| So northward from Drontheim | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Sailed King Olaf! | 4 | ··/˘ |
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