The office of Rector Magnificus he
had, however, persisted in declining.
There was at that time a general revival of interest in the so-called
saga-age. The Danish poet, Oehlenschlaeger, had published his old-Norse
cycle of poems, "Helge," which aroused a sympathetic reverberation in
Tegner's mind. The idea took possession of him that here was a theme
which lay well within the range of his own voice, and full of alluring
possibilities. Accordingly he chose the ancient "Saga of Frithjof the
Bold," and resolved to embody in it all the characteristic features of
the old heroic life. And what Oehlenschlaeger had attempted to do, and
partly succeeded in doing, he accomplished with a completeness of
success which was a surprise to himself. No sooner had "Iduna," the
organ of the Gothic League, published the first nine cantos (1821), than
all Sweden resounded with enthusiastic applause; and even from beyond
the boundaries of the fatherland came voices of praise. When the
completed poem appeared in book-form, it was translated into all
civilized languages, and everywhere, in spite of the translators'
shortcomings, it was hailed with delight.
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