A red thread connects the various countries of Europe, which once was united, if not politically, at least culturally, from the stories sung by the jesters and wandering minstrels. Thus we see how the subject of the Concealed Death that started from the North of the Scandinavian countries has reached the Romance languages in the South and in the West, in a plethora of variants. (first part)
One of these variants starts in the same Scandinavian countries, around a mythical creature typical of Norse folklore: the trolls.
A mythical creature also shared by the Anglo-Saxon culture and in the Tolkenian imagery described as crude and wicked, dedicated to the destruction of villages, the theft of cattle and the capture of unwary travelers, who are then often cooked. The troll fears the sunlight because he transforms him into stone.
HERR MANNELIG MEETING WITH THE SHE-WIZARD
The creature of this story is a female troll and she is convinced that by marrying a prince she can turn into a beautiful princess, and so she lures the unfortunate knights with sumptuous gifts. Sir Mannelig refuses her hand and the ballad ends here, but surely the story does not have a happy ending even for the human!
In the collective imagination, death is a woman dressed in black with a scythe, and Orcum in Latin is the god of the Underworld, hence of death. His appearance in the Roman pantheon is attributable to the Etruscans and outclassed by Hades he remained in the popular peasant consciousness under the figure of the Wild Man.
On the false line of Shreck (trolls are a bit like orcs) we can imagine that our troll is a princess under the spell of a witch, and only with the kiss of true love she will be able to resume her human form.
But we are in the Middle Ages and Mannelig is a Christian knight who does not let himself be subjugated by the temptations of the devil and therefore no kiss!
But “bergatrollet” is a witch of the mountains, a wild creature with magic, who practices rituals linked to the cult of the ancient gods, while Ser Mannelig is the knight converted to Christianity.
The ballad has been interpreted by many metal-folk groups with slightly different textual versions.
Garmarna from “Guds spelemän” 1996 live version
Annwn from Orbis Alia with more medieval accents
I Bittida en morgon innan solen upprann Innan foglarna började sjunga Bergatrollet (1) friade till fager ungersven Hon hade en falskeliger tunga (ref.) Herr Mannelig herr Mannelig trolofven i mig För det jag bjuder så gerna I kunnen väl svara endast ja eller nej Om i viljen eller ej II Eder vill jag gifva de gångare tolf Som gå uti rosendelunde Aldrig har det varit någon sadel uppå dem Ej heller betsel uti munnen III Eder vill jag gifva de qvarnarna tolf Som stå mellan Tillö och Ternö Stenarna de äro af rödaste gull Och hjulen silfverbeslagna IV Eder vill jag gifva ett förgyllande svärd Som klingar utaf femton guldringar Och strida huru I strida vill Stridsplatsen skolen i väl vinna V Eder vill jag gifva en skjorta så ny Den bästa I lysten att slita Inte är hon sömnad av nål eller trå(2) Men virkat av silket det hvita VI Sådana gåfvor toge jag väl emot Om du vore en kristelig qvinna Men nu så är du det värsta bergatroll Af Neckens(3) och djävulens stämma VII Bergatrollet ut på dörren sprang Hon rister och jämrar sig svåra Hade jag fått den fager ungersven Så hade jag mistat min plåga | I Early one morning before the sun rose up Before the birds began to sing The mountain troll (1) proposed to the handsome man She had a false tongue (ref.) Herr Mannelig, herr Mannelig, will you be betrothed to me? For that, I offer you gifts very gladly Surely you can answer only yes or no If you wish to or not II To you I wish to give the twelve horses That go in the grove of roses Never has there been a saddle upon them Nor a bridle in their mouths III To you I wish to give the twelve mills That are between Tillö and Ternö The stones are made of the reddest gold And the wheels are covered in silver IV To you I wish to give a gilded sword That chimes of fifteen gold rings And fight however you fight The battle you would surely win V To you I wish to give a shirt so new The best you will want to wear It was not sewn with needle or thread(2) But crocheted of white silk VI Such gifts I would surely accept If thou[wert a Christian woman However, thou art the worst mountain troll The spawn of the Nix (3) or the Devil VII The mountain troll ran out the door She shakes and wails hard If I had got the handsome young man I would have got rid of my plight. |
NOTE
English translation (from Wiki)
1) bergatrollet is a she-wizard (in the ballade “Bergatrollet”, often erroneously translated as “she-troll”)
2) on the symbolism of the fine silk shirt woven in one piece without using needle and thread see also Scarborough fair
3) the nix is shown in the form of frog or toad or small fish or a strange fish to human form. Wanting to make a distinction between Kelpie and Nix we can say that the first prefers to attract the victims in the form of a horse to get them on the back and carry them to the abyss; the second instead attracts them in human form with sweet melodies (they are sirens / nymphs with a beautiful singing or mermen skilled musicians) see
Haggard from “Eppur si muove”, 2004, they sing it in Italian on a rock metal sound (symphonic metal or neo-classic metal). The German group is basically composed of about twenty musicians with Asis Nasseri as composer, who translated the text of the Swedish ballad into Italian
All’alba, prima che il sole sorgesse
E gli uccelli cantassero la canzone
La donna del troll con lingua falsa
Et ingannevole propose al signore:
“Herr Mannelig, herr Mannelig mi vorrai sposare
Per tutto quello che io ti darò?
Se vorrai, rispondi solo si o no
Farai così o no?
Ti darò i dodici mulini
Che stanno tra Tillo e Terno
Le macine sono fatte del più rosso rame
E le ruote sono cariche d’argento
Herr mannelig, herr mannelig mi vorrai sposare
Per tutto quello che io ti darò?
Se vorrai, rispondi solo si o no
Farai così o no?”
“Se tu fossi una donna cristiana
Riceverei volentieri regali così,
Ma io so che sei il peggiore troll
Figlio degli spiriti maligni.”
“Herr mannelig, herr mannelig mi vorrai sposare
Per tutto quello che io ti darò?
Se vorrai, rispondi solo si o no
Farai così o no?”
Tibetréa a folk rock that is not too techno but relies on the acoustic sound of the hurdy-gurdy and the harp and they also put the trumpet on it
And I could go on with more medieval-metal versions: In Extremo (here), Othlan (here), Cromdale (here)
Many also transcriptions in other languages see for example Sir Mannelig played by Brian Kay, at the Anglo-Saxon lyra
LINK
https://terreceltiche.altervista.org/la-morte-occultata/
http://www.metalgermania.it/traduzioni/haggard/herr-mannelig.html
http://www.metalgermania.it/traduzioni/in-extremo/herr-mannelig.html