Mr. Mannelig

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Herr Mannelig is a Swedish ballad in a medieval style. It is about a troll who tries to persuade Mr. Mannelig to marry her. She would shower him with gifts for this, but he refuses because she is not a Christian. She then remarks that if she had married “she would have been relieved of her torment”. B. could mean that if she married a Christian man, she would have received an immortal soul.

As far as is known, the song was first printed in 1877, in a folk song collection from the Södermanland region of Sweden . The title is there "Bergatrollets frieri" ("The marriage proposal of the mountain troll"). The song bears the indication of origin "from the parish of Lunda" (meaning: Lunda in Södermanland County, Nyköping municipality ). The two places Tillö and Ternö mentioned in the fourth verse of the song are located in southern Södermanland.

Volume 3 of the above-mentioned collection of folk songs contains a variant of this song with the title “Skogjungfruns frieri” (“The forest maiden's proposal”); Here too, Mr. Mannelig refuses, because the forest maiden is a pagan. This song variant comes from the parish of Näshulta, Södermanland County. Other variants of this song are called "Herr Magnus och Hafstrollet" ("Herr Magnus and the Meertroll") and "Hertig Magnus och Hafsfrun" ("Duke Magnus and the Mermaid").

The statement "Hon hade en falskeliger tunga" (i.e., "She had a false / forked tongue") made in the first verse of the song seems to indicate that the trollin is making empty or false promises. But this detail is not to be overestimated, because in the song variant from Näshulta it says "Hon sjong med så rörande tunga" (ie, "She sang with such a touching tongue"), so that in this version no dishonesty of the trollin is assumed.

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” shows parallels in motifs to the ballad by Mr. Mannelig in that the little mermaid would only have received an immortal soul by marrying the prince, but it is also her attempt to win the prince's heart , Sure to fail.

The language of the song "Herr Mannelig" is not "Fornsvenska" (Old Norse / Swedish) , but rather a form of the later "Nysvenska" ( New Swedish) , which began around the time of Gustav Vasa and then became "Nusvenska" (Present Swedish) developed further. A few inconsistencies in the linguistic structure also suggest that the text here is mixed with elements of New Swedish and contemporary Swedish. Thus, in its traditional language, the song should roughly correspond to what was spoken in Sweden (especially in central Sweden) in the late 18th century, but with occasional archaic tints. So far there is no evidence that the ballad existed as early as the Swedish Middle Ages (i.e. before 1521).

Nevertheless, since the end of the 20th century, several medieval bands have included the song in their repertoire and also translated it into other languages ​​(see below under reception ). In the interpretation of the Czech band Psalteria, the title of the ballad was changed to "Herr Mannerlig".

text

Original text

Bittida en morgon, innan solen upprann,
Innan foglarna började sjunga,
Bergatrollet friade till fager ungersven.
Hon hade en falskeliger tunga:

Mr. Mannelig, Mr. Mannelig, trolofven I mig,
För det jag bjuder så gerna;
I kunnen väl svara endast ja eller nej.
Om I viljen eller ej.

Eder vill jag gifva de gångare tolf,
Som gå uti rosendelunden;
Aldrig has varit någon sadel uppå dem,
Ej heller betsel uti munnen.

Eder vill jag gifva de qvarnarna tolf,
Som stå mellan Tillö och Ternö;
Stenarna de aro af rödaste gull,
Och hjulen silfverbeslagna.

Eder vill jag gifva ett förgyllande svärd,
Som klingar utaf femton guldringar;
Och strida huru I strida vill,
Stridsplatsen skolen I väl vinna.

Eder vill jag gifva en skjorta så ny,
Den bästa I lysten att slita;
In the meantime, there will be no other information, there
will be a description of the life.

Sådana gåfvor toge jag toge väl emot,
Om du vore en kristelig qvinna,
Men nu så är du det värsta bergatroll
Af Neckens och djävulens stämma.

Bergatrollet ut på dörren sprang,
Hon rister och jämrar sig svåra:
Hade jag fått den fager ungersven,
Så hade jag mistat min plåga.

Herr Mannelig, Herr Mannelig, trolofven I mig,
För det jag bjuder så gerna;
I kunnen väl svara endast ja eller nej,
Om I viljen eller ej.

translation

One early morning before the sun came up
before the birds started to sing
the mountain troll made a proposal to the handsome bachelor.
She had a forked tongue:

"Mr. Mannelig, Mr. Mannelig, will you marry me,
for what I love to give you?
You can only say yes or no
whether you want to do it or not?

I will give you the twelve magnificent steeds
grazing there in the rose grove.
A saddle has never been put on her
they never had a bridle in their mouth.

I will give you the twelve fine mills
that stand between Tillö and Ternö.
The millstones were made of the reddest gold
and the wheels are studded with silver.

I'll give you the gold-plated sword
echoed by fifteen gold rings.
And if you lead it in battle
you will conquer the battlefield.

I'll give you the brand new shirt
the shimmering best there is to wear.
It was not sewn with a needle or thread,
but knitted from the whitest silk. "

"I would gladly accept such gifts
if you were a christian woman.
But you're the worst mountain troll
from the brood of Tease and the devil. "

The mountain troll jumped out the door
she howled and whined so loud:
"Had I got this beautiful bachelor
I would have been freed from my torment. "

Mr. Mannelig, Mr. Mannelig, will you marry me,
for what I love to give you?
You can only say yes or no
whether you want to do it or not?

reception

Among the numerous artists who play this song in different languages, there are well-known names such as

Denise Weltken from Cologne created a choral version for the Swedish-speaking choir “De tokiga trollen” .

supporting documents

  1. ↑ H. Aminson (ed.): Bidrag till Södermanlands äldre Kulturhistoria, på uppdrag af Södermanlands Fornminnesförening. Vol. 1: Folkvisor. Stockholm 1877, pp. 21-23. Online here (PDF; 1.9 MB).
  2. ↑ H. Aminson (as note 1), p. 21: "Från Lunda socken"
  3. ↑ H. Aminson (see note 1), p. 22.
  4. ↑ H. Aminson (ed.): Bidrag till Södermanlands äldre Kulturhistoria, på uppdrag af Södermanlands Fornminnesförening. Vol. 3: Folkvisor. Stockholm 1882, pp. 34-36. Online here (PDF; 2.2 MB)
  5. ↑ H. Aminson (see note 4), p. 36 below.
  6. ↑ H. Aminson (see note 4), p. 34.
  7. ↑ The text follows H. Aminson (see note 1), pp. 21–23.
  8. ↑ Repertoire of the choir “De tokiga trollen” . , accessed on August 12, 2014.