The Tree of the Folkungs

Folkungaträdet #1-2

by Verner von Heidenstam, Arthur J. Chater (Translator)

1925. Poet and prose writer who led the literary reaction to the Naturalist movement in Sweden, calling for a renaissance of the literature of fantasy, beauty, and national themes. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1916. In his historical novel, The Tree of the Folkungs, he evoked a sense of national continuity. Folke Filbyter; and The Bellbo Heritage.

Genres: Nobel Prize, Sweden, Swedish Literature, Poetry, Fiction, Modern

364 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1907

About the author

Carl Gustav Verner von Heidenstam was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1916 "in recognition of his significance as the leading representative of a new era in our literature."

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beware of nationalism!

Reposted in protest against the nationalist anger we still see in Europe, fuelled by the pompous ideas that Heidenstam stood for. Sadly, our present-day Heidenstams are not as eloquent when they march the streets to show their hatred for people of a different look or accent, based on an idea of collective rather than individual identity.

I feel shame today. Shame! 101 years after this nationalist author received the Nobel Prize in Literature for his romanticised ideal of Nordic heroic (fictional!) history, we see where blind patriotism can lead. Whether Heidenstam later became a Nazi or not (which depends on how you interpret his extremely German-friendly comments in the 1920s and 1930s), he definitely is a symbol for the "values" of the contemporary extreme right-wing group that today demonstrates its hatred for the world outside the blonde, blue-eyed, Swedish, Christian, nationalist, male, militaristic, exclusive little club that they think will make them strong without having to use their brains or hearts at all - by simply excluding everything they fear or do not understand.

Today, Swedish Neonazis march through central Gothenburg in conjunction with the annual Bokmässan - Sweden's biggest book fair. Since last year, their newspaper Nya Tider is allowed to present their hate propaganda inside the fair itself, leading to hundreds of international authors withdrawing their participation, and to condemnation by European cultural institutions such as the Cervantes and the Goethe Institute, as well as the Institut Francais.

One of my favourite candidates for this (and last!) year's Nobel, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, announced his withdrawal early on:

https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...

If I had planned to attend, I would now happily ignore the fair to join the counter-demonstrations in the streets of Gothenburg instead. Stuck as I am in Stockholm, I will only say this:

Beware of romantic glorification of a nation - it is often the first sign of fascism. Why would Sweden need heroes? Our regular life in peaceful, tolerant, secular, democratic spirit is so much more worth celebrating!

Cheers to authors who do not need to write with pathos of Swedishness, cheers to authors who dare to use their "freedom of speech" to speak up against fascism.

Cheers to those who do not indulge in retro-nostalgic delusions!

The stars in the rating stand for Heidenstam's ability to put Swedish words together to an artistic, if somewhat bombastic and historically inaccurate composition. I am taking away three stars because I am angry today. Angry with the mindset he introduced and cultivated in the country I happened to be born into.

I am not proud of it. It would be ridiculous to be proud of such a random fact. Would I be proud of my"Nordic heritage" if I were born with another passport? No! Therefore it is not a human value at all. It is a superficial distinction like so many others.

I am ashamed of my passport today. Bear with us! This is Charlottesville.

Choose sides. There is no middle between tearing down walls or building them.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I came across this book in the following way: I stole it. Decades ago, back in my impetuous youth, I chose this book at random from a bookshelf and put it into my backpack. I kept it all this time, packing and unpacking it into cardboard boxes each time we moved, but I never once cracked it open.

My wife and I recently decided that we simply have too many books. A lot of them we've never even read. For unread books, our new rule is simple: either read it right now and decide it's worth keeping or take it to the thrift store. Accordingly, I sat down with Mr. Heidenstam's volume and finally cracked it open, fully expecting to read the first fifty pages or so and to find, as with most books, that it was too poorly written to continue.

Imagine my surprise, then, to find myself almost instantly transported into the magical and violent world of Swedish Vikings and chieftains of the Middle Ages. Written in a simple, almost matter-of-fact style, the prose stays out of the way of the shimmering images being conveyed to the reader's mind: chests full of gold, huts thick with campfire smoke, dwarves dancing on barren shores, bodies of dogs hanging from trees, twisting in the wind of the night, sacrifices to the old gods.

Mr. Von Heidenstam does more, however, than to simply weave a strange and fascinating story out of these wonderful images. He has a real taste for character, and the characters are the subject matter and stars of the book. From the first pages, when the curtain opens on a Viking ship returning home after years of plundering, and the members of the crew, as was the custom, are allowed to speak (and speak loudly) in criticism of their captain for that one time only, we are introduced to the complexity and strangeness of the main character of the first book, Folke Filbyter.

There are larger themes here as well. The book is divided into two parts, one taking place a few hundred years after the other. But the subject matter of both books is the new Christian influence and way of thinking as it seems to invade, like some kind of virus, the warlike and almost anarchic Viking culture. An example of what I mean by warlike: when the book begins, the rule of the land is that if you take something by force, it's yours, if you are caught stealing something, you must give back half, and if you beg for something, you are put to death.

Mr. Von Heidenstam examines this theme, of the growing Christian influence, in all its real complexity, and he doesn't shy away from the violence involved, or the paradoxes inherent therein. He furthermore is somehow able to use the particular personalities of the characters as symbols which mirror the larger conflicts of theme which are taking place. I am tempted to give examples, but any of them would spoil the effect when these actual events are read in the novel.

Without spoiling anything I will at least note that the characters of the two brothers, in the second part of the book, seem to me to represent two conflicting and equally powerful ways of living one's life and that these two viewpoints have often conflicted in the history of the church.

Finally, I have to mention Mr. Von Heidenstam's excellent sense of pacing. He spends just the right amount of time on each aspect of the story, and he seems to have a great feel for when to switch the action to some other location. Each scene feels complete and whole, yet the story continues to move forward in its weird way. Managed correctly, as in this novel, the way in which an author paces his work can add levels of depth far deeper than the events described might otherwise contain. It is the difference between music sung a cappella versus a song sung while playing a guitar. The words are the same, but the feeling (in most cases) is layered and deeper.

All in all, a great book, and one I will surely read again.

[Sylvain · Rating 5 out of 5]

The two novels collected here take place at the end of the viking era (book 1) and early medieval Sweden (book 2). This is definitely not a "crash and burn" viking story. The 1st book's main character is a retired viking with little interest for the world outside of his farm, although it's changing fast, and the 2d one, a few centuries later, is focused on a king who doesn't want to rule, and would rather roam the woods.

Even though they were inspired by the destiny of the Folkung clan, both novels don't really qualify as historical fiction, but read more as a meditation on the early history of Sweden. Old gods are giving way to a new one and old are ways vanishing. Magic is disappearing from the world and freedom is vanquished by organization. The first book mostly take place in an isolated farm, whereas the end of the second one takes us to the newly founded Stockholm.

Written at the turn of the 20th century, it probably reflects Sweden's entry into modernity. Finally, as far as one can judge based on a translation, this is beautifully written.

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the story is based in Sweden instead of Iceland or Norway and is more "novel" oriented than the crash and burn style storylines that permeate the Sagas, it is obviously heavily influenced by Icelandic/Norse Sagas and I believe this book actually won a Nobel Prize for literature. This is close to being a five star book but the story ran out of steam in the last third or so. I still enjoyed it.

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

Förutom några få diktstrofer, måste detta vara det idag mest läsbara av Heidenstam. Han ville ju vara diktare, inte skriva romaner, och det här känns inte heller som en 'roman'. Den som inte läst den gamla tidens historieböcker om kungar och drottningar, slängs vi in i historien helt utan kontext, och upplevelsen blir bildrik, som en Vikinga-fantasy. I synnerhet första delen, 'Folke Filbyter', om brytningstiden i Nordens förhistoria och kristendom. Folke Filbyter som Bjälboättens urfader anses idag vara legend, men hur mycket som Heidenstam läst sig till eller bara diktar upp själv, som den diktare han var, det vet jag inte. Denna del rör tiden före och kring branden vid Uppsala Asa-tempel (ca år 1080?)

Del 2, 'Bjälboarvet', kan sägas röra samma era som i slutet av Guillous Arn-serie, alltså 'Arvet efter Arn', med Birger Jarl och strider i tidig medeltid, (ca 1280?), men i övrigt saknas likheter. Jag läste på lite om tidens svenska drottningar, de vi har så lite fakta om, men den lilla 'fakta' vi har verkar stämma. Om än i legend-form. Och det är den legenden Heidenstam broderar kring.

Hela händelseförloppet, med Heidenstams föråldrade språkvändningar, känns som ballad i prosaform, legender som dyker in i den skitiga sidan av 'ociviliserat' liv, och mer kring känslor än tankar. Vad jag i synnerhet har svårt för, och svårt att förstå, det är var han ställer 'de blonda' i motsats till 'dvärgarna, de mörka med läderhud som inte kan rodna'. Vad är han ute efter? Dessa två 'arv', tvinnas och brottas, inom Bjälboätten, boken igenom.

Vad står de för? Vad är det Heidenstam kallar finn-dvärgar??? De svarthåriga? Det känns både obegripligt idag, utan den nationalistiska agendan som pågick alltifrån 1800-talet och en bit in på 1900-talet. Och jag både vill och vill inte veta. Eftersom det är strider inom samma släkt, så blir det inte ett rent vi-och-dom-tänk, utan mer som psykologiska karaktärsdrag, mellan den blonde förföraren Valdemar, nära kvinnor och naturtro, den som inga rikedomar samlar på hög. Versus hans bror, den mörke falske Magnus, som tagit till sig Centraleuropas riddarideal, men samtidigt avskiljer sig från kvinnor och kärlek, för att helt hänge sig åt lagar och riddarideal.

Allt känns ovanligt tvinnat, inte så renodlade typideal, varken från tidigare eller senare litteratur.
Alltså lite av en gåta att fundera över. Heidenstam har alltså mediterat över känslor och karaktärer. Det är ju en släktsaga, och saknar romanintrig. Han avslutade inte sin serie, han hade först planerat en trilogi, så vart han ville komma vet vi inte. Början och slutet av varje del är svårast att ta till sig, innan man dyker ner i Heidenstams diktarflöde och sedan när allt ebbar ut och försvinner ...

[Tim Stimson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a British heathen I found this book fascinating ,as a plausible discussion of the convertion of Viking period Swedes to the new religion Christianity.As the first industrial society we Brits lost much of the traditional link with the land from the 18th century onwards ,on top of the deliberate erasing of `superstition `with Protestantism attacking Catholicism from the 16/17th century.Scandinavia with a tiny population & huge land mass, seems to have retained a feeling for nature which is more pervasive than in urbanised Britain.This book is a fine translation & captures the magnificent lilt of language of a Nobel laurete .Written in 1905 it is filled with incidental details which suggest Heidenstam had roots into the past ,which struck me as remarkably authentic.Book 1 is named after the character who dominates the first half of the book-Folke Filbyter,who is a heathen apostate whom i found profoundly unappealing & almost gave up ,but was glad i percevered.The tale is often unpredictable & intriguing.The depiction of the interpenetration of religion & society ,which was my initial interest in the book ,in my view is perceptive & convincing.

[William Romsek · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting historical tale of a small area in Sweden. There are two parts separated by about 200 years. The first part (to me the better of the two) called Folke Filbyter (after the main character) picks up beginning around 1060. The significant historical issue during this period is the conflict of Christianity displacing the worship of the heathen Norse gods. Though the writing is frequently choppy the storytelling is quite good and the historical setting is well-depicted and interesting.

[Svetlana Ivanova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Тази книга ме пренася във времена, заредени с особено очарование и мистика, приказки и легенди се преплитат, особено в първата част. Хората имат свобода да заявят кой да ги управлява и да го свалят, да станат самите те водачи на родове. Втората част е по-исторически обоснована, християнството настъпва, рицарството разцъфтява. Утвърждава се нов ред, дали обаче той ще доведе до повече мир и благоденствие? Наслаждавах се на чудесния, мелодичен изказ, който допринасяше много за възприемането на историята.