Hildina facts for kids
Hildina is an old song, called a ballad. People think it was written in Orkney around the 1600s. It was found on the island of Foula in Shetland in 1774. The song was first printed in 1805. It tells a story about love, fighting, and revenge. The characters are from the important families of Orkney and Norway.
Hildina is special because it's written in Norn. Norn was an old language from the North Germanic family. It used to be spoken in Orkney and Shetland, but it's not used anymore. Hildina is the only long piece of writing we have left in Norn.
Contents
What is the Story of Hildina?
The ballad starts with the earl of Orkney taking Hildina. She is the daughter of the king of Norway. The king is very angry and promises to get revenge. Hildina tells the earl that she loves him. She asks him to make peace with her father.
The earl tries to make peace. He offers the king a dowry, which is money or gifts. But another person, Hiluge, offers an even bigger dowry. Hildina warns that someone will die if they don't make up. And she is right! Hiluge and the earl of Orkney fight a duel. The earl is killed.
The king then agrees that Hiluge can marry his daughter. But the king warns that this marriage will bring bad luck. At the wedding party, Hildina puts a sleeping drug in the wine. Everyone falls asleep except her. She pulls her father and the guests out of the hall. Then she sets the hall on fire. As Hiluge dies in the flames, she tells him he will never hurt the king's children again.
How Was Hildina Discovered?
In 1774, a young Scottish church leader named George Low visited Foula. Foula is a small, faraway island in Shetland. He hoped to find old songs and stories in Norn. This language was almost gone by then.
He found parts of songs and stories. His best helper was an old farmer named William Henry. Henry shared the ballad we now call "Hildina." Low didn't know the Norn language himself. Even Henry didn't know it very well. When he was a child, Henry had memorized all 35 parts of the song in Norn. But he could only tell Low what the story was about, not translate it word for word.
Later, in 1893, a language expert from the Faroes named Jakob Jakobsen visited Shetland. He found more small pieces of old poems. But no one remembered the "Hildina" ballad anymore.
George Low wrote down what he found on his trip. His notes were called "A Tour Through the Islands of Orkney and Schetland [sic]." This book included "Hildina." He called it "The Earl of Orkney and the King of Norway's Daughter: a Ballad." It also had a Norn translation of the Lord's Prayer and a list of 34 common words.
The ballad was first printed from Low's notes in 1805. This was in a book called History of the Orkney Islands by Rev. George Barry. Then, Peter Andreas Munch printed it in 1838. Low's own book was finally printed in 1879.
A detailed study of "Hildina" came out in 1900. It was written by a Norwegian language expert, Marius Hægstad. He called it Hildinakvadet med utgreiding um det norske maal paa Shetland i eldre tid. Hægstad tried to fix Low's notes. He wanted to show what Henry might have really said. This study has never been translated into English.
The Language of Hildina
The language of "Hildina" is very hard to understand. This is what writer Nora Kershaw Chadwick said. It's hard because there are so few other examples of Norn. Also, George Low didn't know Norn at all. William Henry only knew some of it.
The language is definitely a type of Norse. It is most like the south-west Norwegian and Faroese languages. It has a few words borrowed from Danish, Faroese, Frisian, and Scots. But it does not have words from Gaelic.
The grammar of "Hildina"'s Norn is like Old Norse. But it is a bit simpler. Look at stanza 22 to see how similar and different they are:
| George Low's text | Marius Hægstad's corrected version | Old Norse translation | English translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nu fac an Jarlin dahuge Dar min de an engine gro An east ans huge ei Fong ednar u vaxhedne more neo. |
Nu fac an Iarlin dahuge – dar minde an engin gro –. An cast ans huge ei fong ednar, u vaks hedne mere meo. |
Nú fekk hann jarlinn dauðahøggit – þar myndi hann engan grœða –. Hann kastaði hans hǫfði í fang hennar, ok óx henni meiri móðr. |
Now the Earl received a deadly cut, no one there could heal him Hiluge threw his head into Hildina's lap; thus added to her grief. |
Other Stories Like Hildina
The first part of the Hildina story is like an old legend. It's called Hjaðningavíg. This legend tells how the valkyrie Hildr was taken by a prince named Heðinn. Hildr's father, Hǫgni, chased them. This legend was known in many places. It is found in writings by Snorri Sturluson and in the Gesta Danorum. It was also known in Orkney.
The second part of the ballad is different. It's not like the Hjaðningavíg story. But it has parts that are similar to other poems. For example, the wedding of Hildina and Hiluge is like the Icelandic poem "Guðrúnarkviða II." In that poem, the hero Gudrun is told to marry king Atli. Atli had killed her lover Sigurd.
There are also parts of "Hildina" that seem to come from Celtic stories. One idea is "hurling the head." This is found in old Irish stories like Bricriu's Feast. Another idea is the "king and goddess" theme. This is in a story about Camma from the Galatians. Some people also say there are small links to the mabinogi of Branwen.
