One would like to have known more about Norn and its 'Vysies,' which might have formed an interesting and instructive link between some of the Northern ballads. On the other hand, the Scandinavian colonies in Ireland, and settlers in English ports such as Bristol, may have done not a little, through their trade with France and the Mediterranean countries, to spread the new rhyming four line verse and the romantic stories of southern and eastern Europe[27]. While this obscurity remains as to the connection between the Faroese ballads and those of neighbouring countries, notably Denmark, the questions of the age and origin of many of the Faroese ballads in their present form are also frought with difficulty. Of the Danish ballads, which sometimes offer parallels so close as to suggest translation from one language to the other, the first MS. collection that can be dated with certainty was written down in 1550. But there is much evidence, both internal and external, for assigning a much earlier date to the historical ballads at least. It has been suggested by Olrik[28], who supports his view by arguments which it would be extremely difficult to contest, that many of the historical ballads are practically contemporaneous with the events which they describe, and some of these took place in the thirteenth century, while others, e.g. _Riboldsvisen_, are possibly of the twelfth century. Unfortunately we have fewer data, whether philological or historical, for assigning dates to the Faroese ballads than we have for the Danish. There can be little doubt, however, that the ballads translated below had their origin in the _Fornaldar Sˆgur_ composed in Iceland during the thirteenth century or in some fourteenth century _RÌmur_ derived from the sagas. That many of the Faroese ballads were literary in origin[29], and were based on either Sagas or RÌmur, is conclusively established by the opening lines of many of the ballads themselves, notably that of the _Olufu RÌma_: Ein er rÌman ur Õslandi komin, SkrÌva Ì bÛk so breia. ("This story is come from Iceland, written in a book so broad.") And _Trˆllini Ì Hornalandum_: Verse 1. Fr¯Ì er komi fr· ÕslandÌ SkrÌva Ì bÛk so vÌa _etc._ Verse 2. Fr¯i er komi fr· Õslandi SkrÌva Ì bÛk so breia _etc._ Verse 3. Fr¯i er komi fr· Õslandi Higar i skald ta tÛk, Havi tÊr hoyrt um kongin tann, Õ skrÌvaur stendur Ì bÛk? ("This poem has come from Iceland, brought hither by a _skald_. Have you heard of the king about whom this book is written?")