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 First English-language edition (1954) | |
| Author | Frans G. Bengtsson |
|---|---|
| Original title | Röde Orm |
| Translator | Barrows Mussey Michael Meyer |
| Cover artist | Gunnar Brusewitz |
| Language | Swedish |
| Publisher | Norstedts |
Publication date | 1941–1945 |
| Publication place | Sweden |
Published in English | 1954 |
| Pages | 603(total pages) |
The Long Ships orRed Orm (originalSwedish:Röde Orm, "Red Serpent = Snake/Dragon",lit. 'Worm the Red') is anadventure novel by the Swedish writerFrans Gunnar Bengtsson. The narrative is set in the late 10th century and follows the adventures of the Viking Röde Orm - called "Red" for his hair and his temper, a native ofScania. The book portrays the political situation of Europe in the laterViking Age,Andalusia under Almansur,Denmark underHarald Bluetooth, followed by the struggle betweenEric the Victorious andSven Forkbeard, Ireland underBrian Boru,England underEthelred the Unready, and theBattle of Maldon, and then theByzantine Empire and itsVarangian Guard,Kievan Rus and its neighbors thePatzinaks—all before the backdrop of the gradualChristianization of Scandinavia, contrasting the pragmaticNorse pagan outlook with the exclusiveness ofIslam andChristianity.[1]
The novel is divided into two parts, published in 1941 and 1945, with two books each. It used to be one of the most widely read books in Sweden.[2] The first part was translated into English byBarrows Mussey asRed Orm in 1943, but later editions and newer translations byMichael Meyer use the titleThe Long Ships. The book has been translated into at least 23 languages. It was the basis for the 1999–2004 comic bookRöde Orm byCharlie Christensen.
The first book covers the years 982 to 990. While still a youth, Orm is abducted by aViking party led by Krok and they sail south. They fall captive to Andalusian Muslims and serve asgalleyslaves for more than two years, later becoming members ofAlmansur's bodyguard for four years, raidingSantiago de Compostela under his command. They return to Denmark to KingHarald Bluetooth's court where Orm meets Ylva and Father Willibald. Orm later returns to Scania with Rapp. Orm and Rapp join a Viking party raiding England again after a brief period of peace in that area following the reconquest of theDanelaw in the mid-10th century by King Edgar, Ethelred's father. Orm joins a party led byThorkell the High in England and when he learns that Harald's daughter Ylva is staying in London, gets baptised and marries her. They move to a neglected farm, his mother's inheritance inGöinge, northern Skåne, near the border withSmåland. During the following years (992 to 995), Orm prospers, and Ylva gives birth to twin girls (Oddny and Ludmilla), a son, Harald, and later to another son (though possibly from Rainald, a guesting priest), Svarthöfde (Blackhair in the Michael Meyer translation). Meanwhile, Orm also gets busy in converting the heathens in the district, with the help of Father Willibald.
Theyear 1000passes without Christ returning. In 1007, with Orm now forty-two, his brother Are returns from the east after serving the Byzantine Empire, bringing the news of a treasure ("theBulgar gold") he hadhidden. Orm decides to travel to theDnieper weirs inKievan Rus for the gold, and together with Toke and the Finnveding chieftain Olof mans a ship. They recover the treasure and return home safely. But on their return they encounter an unexpected crisis at home: Rainald, the rather ridiculous failed German Christian missionary, had become a renegade, turned into a Pagan priest of the old Norse gods and the leader of a formidable band of robbers and outlaws, and causes great havoc before being finally overcome. Following this final crisis and from then on, Orm and Toke live in peace and plenty as good neighbours, and Svarthöfde Ormsson becomes a famous Viking, fighting forCanute the Great. The story ends with the statement that Orm and Toke in their old age "did never tire of telling of the years when they had rowed the Caliph's ship and served my lord Al-Mansur."
The Swedish writerSven Stolpe reports that somebody asked authorFrans G. Bengtsson "what intentions he had withThe Long Ships", to which Bengtsson responded that he had no particular intentions. "I just wanted to write a story that people could enjoy reading, likeThe Three Musketeers or theOdyssey."
The research for the book was based largely onSnorri Sturluson'sHeimskringla and other old Icelandic literature, but also on medieval chronicles and contemporary research, and historic names, people and events were woven into the fiction. The language of the novel is modelled on theIcelandic sagas. Early in his career, Bengtsson had held a romantic view on the saga literature, promoting an elevated, almost sacral prose in translations, but when writingThe Long Ships he instead made use of the saga's faculties for wisecracks and comic understatements. The main characters were written as likable anti-heroes, far from the romantic view of Vikings.[3] Like the sagas, the book relies on verbs and nouns to drive the narrative, with only a minimum of adjectives and descriptive passages. In essays, Bengtsson expresses disgust with "psychological realism" in the literature of his day where the thoughts and feelings of the characters are discussed explicitly rather than indicated by actions and outward signs. In the Swedish original ofThe Longships, the grammar is deliberately slightly archaic.
Joan Klein noted that "Within the 10th Century plot, the book's Viking protagonists never heard ofJews, and have a completely open mind about them—and when encountering a Jew who allies with the Vikings and leads them to treasure beyond their dreams, they are duly grateful (...). However, one can hardly overlook the fact that the book was actually written in a very specific part of the 20th Century—during the Second World War, a time when Nazi Germany was involved ina horrific persecution and massacre of Jews, while theNazis claimed the Viking heritage for their monstrous version of German and Germanic Nationalism. Bengtsson in effect throws the Viking heritage back in the Nazis' face"[4]
The 1964 British–Yugoslav filmThe Long Ships (starringRichard Widmark andSidney Poitier) very loosely based on the book, retaining little more than the title (of the English translation) and the Moorish settings.[5] In the 1980s, there were plans for a large-scale Swedish screen adaptation. The film was supposed to be directed byHans Alfredson and starStellan Skarsgård as Orm andSverre Anker Ousdal as Toke. The project was cancelled for financial reasons, but Alfredson's script was reworked into radio theatre which was broadcast in 1990.[6]
Röde Orm, acomic adaptation byCharlie Christensen, was published in fouralbums [fr] from 1999 to 2004, covering the first book in the series.[7]
Swedish author Mikael Westlund published his debut novelSvarthöfde in 2002, which expands on the brief summary at the end ofThe Long Ships, giving the further adventures of Orm's son Svarthöfde (Blackhair) and the sons of Sone. As with Bengtsson's novel the language has an archaic flavor, leavened with humor, and several historical figures appear.
In 2011 the Swedish production companyFladen Film announced they had acquired the film rights for the book, and that an adaptation was under development.[8]
In May 2014, during the press conference of Swedish film companyFilm i Väst at the2014 Cannes Film Festival, Danish film producerPeter Aalbæk Jensen, from the Danish film companyZentropa, founded byLars von Trier, said that he was going to produce an adaptation of the novel.[9] Aalbæk said that he hadStellan Skarsgård in mind as playing the old Röde Orm and his acting sonsAlexander,Gustaf,Bill andValter playing Röde Orm at various stages in his life. This adaptation is planned to be split into two films and also as a TV-series in four parts.Hans Petter Moland from Norway will be directing. Stellan Skarsgård has expressed interest in acting in the film if the script is good.[10] Filming was expected to start inVästra Götaland in 2016, however Film i Väst decided to end their collaboration with Aalbæk and the film project was cancelled.
In 2017, theRoyal Danish Theater made a screenplay based onThe Long Ships, to be played not in the theater, but atop the recently builtMoesgård Museum. The play was held atop a giant constructed wooden stage resembling a crashed Viking ship with a dragon's head and was based on the second part of Bengtsson's book, after Røde Orm returns to Denmark with the bell.[11] The play was directed byHenrik Szklany withAndreas Jebro playing Röde Orm (Røde Orm in Danish). In 2018 the show was brought to Ulvedalene inDyrehaven park.
In 2020,Royal Dramatic Theatre presented an adaptation ofRöde Orm featuringEmma Broomé as Orm,Lennart Jähkel as both Krok and king Harald andKarin Franz Körlof as Ylva. Though awarded with rave reviews, the production was cancelled early due toCOVID-19.[12]
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