348
CHRONICLE OF THE
"Well was it seen that Hakon still
Had saved the temples from all ill;[1]
For the whole council of the gods
Welcomed the king to their abodes.
Happy the day when men are horn
Like Hakon, who all base things scorn,—
Win from the brave an honoured name,
And die amidst an endless fame.
"Sooner shall Fenri's wolf[2] devour
The race of man from shore to shore,
Than such a grace to kingly crown
As gallant Hakon want renown.
Life, land, friends, riches, all will fly,
And we in slavery shall sigh.[3]
But Hakon in the blessed abodes
For ever lives with the bright gods."
- ↑ Hakon, although a Christian, appears to have favoured the old religion, and spared the temples of Odin; and therefore a place in Valhalla is assigned him.
- ↑ The wolf of Fenri is kept in chains and gagged with a sword until the end of the world, when he is to devour mankind.
- ↑ This is supposed to allude to the successor of Hakon, one of Eric's sons, whose government was tyrannical and disliked.
