Thangbrand the Priest
Short of stature, large of limb,Burly face and russet beard,All the women stared at him,When in Iceland he appeared."Look!" they said,With nodding head,"There goes Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest."
All the prayers he knew by rote,He could preach like Chrysostome,From the Fathers he could quote,He had even been at Rome,A learned clerk,A man of mark,Was this Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest,
He was quarrelsome and loud,And impatient of control,Boisterous in the market crowd,Boisterous at the wassail-bowl,EverywhereWould drink and swear,Swaggering Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest
In his house this malcontentCould the King no longer bear,So to Iceland he was sentTo convert the heathen there,And awayOne summer daySailed this Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest.
There in Iceland, o'er their booksPored the people day and night,But he did not like their looks,Nor the songs they used to write."All this rhymeIs waste of time!"Grumbled Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest.
To the alehouse, where he satCame the Scalds and Saga-men;Is it to be wondered at,That they quarrelled now and then,When o'er his beerBegan to leerDrunken Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest?
All the folk in AltafiordBoasted of their island grand;Saying in a single word,"Iceland is the finest landThat the sunDoth shine upon!"Loud laughed Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest.
And he answered: "What's the useOf this bragging up and down,When three women and one gooseMake a market in your town!"Every ScaldSatires scrawledOn poor Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest.
Something worse they did than that;And what vexed him most of allWas a figure in shovel hat,Drawn in charcoal on the wall;With words that goSprawling below,"This is Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest."
Hardly knowing what he did,Then he smote them might and main,Thorvald Veile and VeterlidLay there in the alehouse slain."To-day we are gold,To-morrow mould!"Muttered Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest.
Much in fear of axe and rope,Back to Norway sailed he then."O, King Olaf! little hopeIs there of these Iceland men!"Meekly said,With bending head,Pious Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest.
Words in this poem
- rote v. t.
- To learn or repeat by rote.
- clerk n.
- A clergyman or ecclesiastic. [Either OF. clerc, fr. L. clericus a priest, or AS. clerc, cleric, clerk, priest, fr. L. clericus, fr. Gr. Clergy.]
- boisterous a.
- Rough or rude; unbending; unyielding; strong; powerful. [OE. boistous; of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwyst wild, savage, wildness, ferocity, bwystus ferocious.]
- malcontent a.
- discontented; uneasy; dissatisfied; especially, dissatisfied with the government. [F., fr. mal ill + content. See Malice, Content.]
- saga n.
- A Scandinavian legend, or heroic or mythic tradition, among the Norsemen and kindred people; a northern European popular historical or religious tale of olden time. [Icel., akin to E. saw a saying. See Say, and cf. Saw.]
- wondered a.
- Having performed wonders; able to perform wonderful things.
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- scald v. t.
- To burn with hot liquid or steam; to pain or injure by contact with, or imersion in, any hot fluid; as, to scald the hand. [OF. eschalder, eschauder, escauder, F. échauder, fr. L. excaldare; ex + caldus, calidus, warm, hot. See Ex, and Calderon.]
- mould n.
- Crumbling, soft, friable earth; esp., earth containing the remains or constituents of organic matter, and suited to the growth of plants; soil. [OE. molde, AS. molde; akin to D. mul, G. mull, mulm, OHG. molt, molta, Icel. mold, Dan. muld, Sw. mull, Goth. mulda, and E. meal flour. See Meal, and cf. Mole a]
- meekly adv.
- In a meek manner.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Thangbrand the Priest 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, Thangbrand the Priest, in A Psalm of Life, and Other Poems (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/thangbrand-the-priest.html, id L17661.
Form and metre
Thangbrand the Priest is 77 lines in 11 stanzas of 7 lines each. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 86%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.1 syllables. 29% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in trochaic 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 ABABCC- limbA · beardB · himA · appearedB · saidC · headC · priest
- 2 ABAB--- roteA · chrysostomeB · quoteA · romeB · clerk · mark · priest
- 3 ABABCC- loudA · controlB · crowdA · bowlB · everywhereC · swearC · priest
- 4 ABABCC- malcontentA · bearB · sentA · thereB · awayC · dayC · priest
- 5 ABABCC- booksA · nightB · looksA · writeB · rhymeC · timeC · priest
- 6 ABABCC- satA · menB · atA · thenB · beerC · leerC · priest
- 7 -A-A--- altafiord · grandA · word · landA · sun · upon · priest
- 8 ABABCC- useA · downB · gooseA · townB · scaldC · scrawledC · priest
- 9 ABABCC- thatA · allB · hatA · wallB · goC · belowC · priest
- 10 -A-ABB- did · mainA · veterlid · slainA · goldB · mouldB · priest
- 11 ABABCC- ropeA · thenB · hopeA · menB · saidC · headC · priest
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Short of stature, large of limb, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Burly face and russet beard, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| All the women stared at him, | 8 | ··/˘·˘·· |
| When in Iceland he appeared. | 8 | ··/˘·˘/˘ |
| "Look!" they said, | 3 | ··· |
| With nodding head, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| "There goes Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest." | 7 | ····/˘· |
| All the prayers he knew by rote, | 7 | ······· |
| He could preach like Chrysostome, | 7 | ······· |
| From the Fathers he could quote, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| He had even been at Rome, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| A learned clerk, | 3 | ··· |
| A man of mark, | 4 | ···· |
| Was this Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| He was quarrelsome and loud, | 7 | ··/˘˘·· |
| And impatient of control, | 7 | ·˘/˘·˘/ |
| Boisterous in the market crowd, | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Boisterous at the wassail-bowl, | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Everywhere | 3 | /˘· |
| Would drink and swear, | 4 | ···· |
| Swaggering Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| In his house this malcontent | 7 | ·····˘/ |
| Could the King no longer bear, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| So to Iceland he was sent | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| To convert the heathen there, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| And away | 3 | ·˘/ |
| One summer day | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Sailed this Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest. | 8 | ·˘···/˘· |
| There in Iceland, o'er their books | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Pored the people day and night, | 8 | ·˘·/˘··· |
| But he did not like their looks, | 7 | ······· |
| Nor the songs they used to write. | 7 | ······· |
| "All this rhyme | 3 | ··· |
| Is waste of time!" | 4 | ···· |
| Grumbled Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest. | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| To the alehouse, where he sat | 7 | ··/···· |
| Came the Scalds and Saga-men; | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Is it to be wondered at, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| That they quarrelled now and then, | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| When o'er his beer | 4 | ···· |
| Began to leer | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Drunken Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest? | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| All the folk in Altafiord | 7 | ······· |
| Boasted of their island grand; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Saying in a single word, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| "Iceland is the finest land | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| That the sun | 3 | ··· |
| Doth shine upon!" | 4 | ···· |
| Loud laughed Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest. | 8 | ··˘··/˘· |
| And he answered: "What's the use | 8 | ··/˘˘··· |
| Of this bragging up and down, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| When three women and one goose | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Make a market in your town!" | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Every Scald | 4 | /˘˘· |
| Satires scrawled | 4 | /·˘· |
| On poor Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest. | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Something worse they did than that; | 7 | /˘····· |
| And what vexed him most of all | 8 | ···˘···· |
| Was a figure in shovel hat, | 8 | ··/˘·/˘· |
| Drawn in charcoal on the wall; | 7 | ··/···· |
| With words that go | 4 | ···· |
| Sprawling below, | 4 | /˘·· |
| "This is Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest." | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Hardly knowing what he did, | 7 | /˘/˘··· |
| Then he smote them might and main, | 7 | ······· |
| Thorvald Veile and Veterlid | 8 | //······ |
| Lay there in the alehouse slain. | 7 | ····/·· |
| "To-day we are gold, | 5 | ····· |
| To-morrow mould!" | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Muttered Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest. | 8 | /˘˘··/˘· |
| Much in fear of axe and rope, | 7 | ······· |
| Back to Norway sailed he then. | 8 | ··/··˘·· |
| "O, King Olaf! little hope | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Is there of these Iceland men!" | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Meekly said, | 3 | /˘· |
| With bending head, | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Pious Thangbrand, Olaf's Priest. | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.