A book of the west. Volume 2, Cornwall : $b being an introduction to Devon and CornwallBaring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
History
A book of the west. Volume 2, Cornwall : $b being an introduction to Devon and Cornwall
Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)
Cornwall (England : County)
The hermit was undoubtedly a Cornish Briton, and Olaf was obliged to
hold communication with him through an interpreter from Ireland or
Wales.
The old man said to him, “There is a great future in store for thee,
Olaf. Thou wilt have to pass through much conflict, but in the end
wilt reign in thine own land; and when that comes to pass remember to
advance the faith, and to use every opportunity to turn men from their
idols.”
Now the interpreter knew that there was discontent simmering among the
followers of the prince. They wanted to return to their homes with the
plunder they had acquired, but Olaf set his face against this.
The interpreter, knowing that the men were mutinous, said a few words
in Welsh or Irish to the hermit. He was afraid of himself giving
warning to Olaf, lest the mutineers should wreak their resentment on
him. So the anchorite told the king that there were those amongst his
followers who plotted, and purposed seizing the opportunity of his
being on land to execute their design of revolt.
Olaf precipitately returned to his ships, and found that the mutineers
were making off with some of the ships. He hurried on board, gave
chase, and a fight ensued. Finally the mutiny was quelled, but not
without Olaf being wounded. His vessel then put into Tresco harbour,
where were monks to whom Athelstan had granted land in 936. He was
carried into the monastery, carefully tended, and was induced to
receive baptism. Hitherto, though convinced that Christianity was the
true religion, Olaf had never formally been enrolled in the Church.
Unhappily, Olaf could not speak Cornish, and the abbot was ignorant
of the Norse tongue, so that all communication had to go on through
the interpreter, and Olaf did not receive much religious instruction.
Nevertheless, as far as his lights went, he was sincere.
Then he returned to Norway to proclaim his right to the throne.
“To avenge his fathers slain,
And reconquer realm and reign,
Came the youthful Olaf home,
Through the midnight sailing, sailing,
Listening to the wild wind’s wailing,
And the dashing of the foam.
“To his thoughts the sacred name
Of his mother, Astrid, came;
And the tale she oft had told
Of her flight by secret passes,
Through the mountains and morasses,
To the home of Hakon old.
“Then his cruisings o’er the seas,
Westward to the Hebrides,
And to Scilly’s rocky shore,
And the hermit’s cavern dismal,
Christ’s great name and rites baptismal,
In the ocean’s rush and roar.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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