'It was on this self-same spot that the forester and his son took up
their abode, and they became the dread and abomination of the whole
surrounding country, for they practised, partly openly and partly in
secret, the most manifold iniquities, so that their nature and bearing
grew into something demoniacal. As quarrellers very strong, and as
enemies dreadfully revengeful, they showed their diabolical nature by
the most inhuman deeds, which brought down injury not only on those
against whom their wrath was directed, but also upon their families for
centuries. In the heights of the mountains they turned the beds of the
torrents, and devastated by this means the most flourishing tracts of
land; on other places the Unholde set on fire whole mountain forests,
to allow free room for the avalanches to rush down and overwhelm the
farms. Through certain means they cut holes and fissures in the rocks,
in which, during the summer, quantities of water collected, which froze
in the winter, and then in the spring the thawing ice split the rocks,
which then rolled down into the valleys, destroying everything before
them.... But at last Heaven's vengeance reached them. An earthquake
threw the forester's house into ruins, wild torrents tore over it,
and thunderbolts set all around it in a blaze; and by fire and water,
with which they had sinned, father and son perished, and were condemned
to everlasting torments. Up to the present day they are to be seen
at nightfall on the mountain in the form of two fiery boars.' [147]
Some of these giants, as has been intimated, were converted. Such was
the case with Heimo, who owned and devastated a vast tract of country
on the river Inn, which, however, he bridged--whence Innsbruck--when
he became a christian and a monk. This conversion was a terrible
disappointment to the devil, who sent a huge dragon to stop the
building of the monastery; but Heimo attacked the dragon, killed him,
and cut out his tongue. With this tongue, a yard and a half long, in
his hand, he is represented in his statue, and the tongue is still
preserved in the cloister. Heimo became a monk at Wilten, lived
a pious life, and on his death was buried near the monastery. The
stone coffin in which the gigantic bones repose is shown there,
and measures over twenty-eight feet.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account