Gondla
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| Title: | Gondla |
| Original title: | Гондла |
| Genus: | Verse drama |
| Original language: | Russian |
| Author: | Nikolai Gumilev |
| Publishing year: | 1917 |
| Premiere: | 1920 |
| Place of premiere: | Rostov on Don |
| Place and time of the action: | Iceland in the 9th century |
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Gondla ( Russian Гондла ) is a verse drama in four acts by Nikolai Gumiljow , one of the most important authors of acmeism . The first printing took place in January 1917 in the journal Russkaja Mysl ( Russischer Gedanke ). The drama is set in a legendary 9th century Iceland and is about the symbolic contrast between the Irish 'swan' and the Icelandic 'wolf'. The human sacrifice of Gondlas leads to the redemption of the wolves and the unification of both kingdoms under the Christian flag. - So far there has been no translation of the verse drama into German.
content
first act
Years ago the old Icelandic king had an Irish prince brought to Iceland and raised him. The play begins with the marriage of this foster son (Gondla) to the noble foster daughter Lera and the proclamation of Gondlas as the future King of Iceland. The old king hopes that this marriage of the Christian, poetic and peaceful Irish 'swan' with the Icelandic 'wolf' will create a new kind of rulership for Iceland.
Snorre, Grubbe, Lage (whose father Ger-Peder had the job of bringing Gondla to Iceland at the time) and Ahti do not want to put up with the fact that a strange weakling would become Icelandic king. They want to distract Gondla before the wedding night, and instead of him one of their (location) should spend the night with Lera in the dark.
In an interview with Gondla Lera speaks of her two sides: During the day she is proud and strong-willed, at night she is meek - in this state she listens to the name Laik, which is of Irish origin and which her mother always used. For now she asks Gondla to give her some more time. He meets Ahti shortly afterwards, who asks him whether one of his first acts as king would be to resume the war against the Danes. But Gondla speaks of peace:
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Instead, Gondla promises the building of churches, raves about bells ringing, singing and true faith in Christ. During this distraction, Lera's room invaded. When Gondla notices this, it is too late. Lera is ashamed and demands to be killed, but Gondla refuses and - while Snorre, Grubbe, Lage and Ahti make fun of - proclaims himself king.
Second act
Gondla has a trial against Lage scheduled that same night and demands a verdict from the old king. He asks Lage, Snorre and Grubbe, who insist on fighting the dispute face-to-face. The king passes this on to Gondla, but he refuses to fight, also because of his physical condition (he is hunched over). Instead, he suggests that the whole thing be carried out musically and asks for a lute . Ahti hands him a magical Finnish lute, which, however, weighs on an escape. As long as Gondla plays the lute, however, the Icelandic wolves cannot harm him. So Gondla's opponents have to wait for him to give up the lute to kill him.
At the end of the act, Gondla and Lera meet. She asks Gondla to go back to Ireland together.
Third act
Lera and Gondla discuss the nature of their rule. Lera talks about leading Irish warriors in battle, but Gondla reminds her that Irish swans believe in Christ and do not shed their blood for dark purposes.
Lage seeks out Lera and confesses his love to her. She fends off him and asks him to serve her as a warrior later when she has become Queen of Ireland. Gondla appears and insults and threatens Lage to commit suicide in order to put Lage in the shameful situation of being sprinkled with royal blood. But Lage laughs at it and asks Grubbe who has stepped in to finally reveal the secret of Gondla's origins:
Three boys were on board during the crossing from Ireland to Iceland, the actual Irish prince, the hunchbacked Gondla and Lage (Ger-Peder's son). In exuberance, Lage pushed the actual prince into the sea, in which he perished. In order to spare his son Lage the consequences of the deed, Ger-Peder unceremoniously declared the humped Gondla to be a prince.
Lera breaks away from Gondla and lets himself into an orgy with Snorre, Grubbe, Lage and Ahti.
Fourth act
A delegation of Irish fighters comes into the country looking for their prince. You meet Gondla and shortly afterwards Snorre, Grubbe, Lage and Ahti. Gondla drops his lute, whereupon the Icelanders pounce on him. But the Irish fighters are pushing them back. Finally they recognize their king in Gondla. Due to his new knowledge, he initially rejects her, but another peripetia ensues , the Irish warriors explain to him: After the death of the old king, the Irish people chose a new one, Gondla's father, a bard and poet. On his death, in turn, he declared that his son should succeed him as the new king. The Icelanders recognize that there is a king before them and offer him their services. But Gondla insists that he is not king for Ireland or Iceland, but that his kingdom is supernatural.
The Icelandic fighters reveal another secret: Gondla and Lera are half siblings. Lera's mother was abducted from Ireland to Iceland and her lawsuit ultimately led to Gondla being brought to Iceland as well.
Gondla takes a sword and prepares to baptize the Icelanders. But they don't want to do without their old gods. Gondla offers himself as a sacrifice, he throws himself into the sword and dies:
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Icelanders are impressed that Gondla is taking her own life at the hour of his greatest power. One after the other they kiss the hilt of the sword with which Gondla killed himself. Ireland and Iceland are now united in a higher sense.
The drama ends with Lera's monologue, she dreams of sailing out with Gondla into the open sea of love, to the unearthly place of the swans.
Full text
- the drama in the original Russian on Wikisource
English transmission
- Gondla; or, The Salvation of the Wolves. English by Philip McDonagh. Dublin: Arlen House 2016. ISBN 978-1-851321-26-1 .