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Scandinavian Influences in the English Romantic Movement
Scandinavian Influences in the English Romantic Movement Author:Frank Edgar Farley Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER II PERCY, GRAY, AND BRUCE The earliest work in the English language intended primarily to arouse popular interest in Norse literature appears to have... more » been a little meagre book whose title-page reads: Five Pieces of Runic Poetry Translated from the Islandic Language. [Six lines of runes on copperplate and a motto from Lucan.] London: Printed for R. and J. Dodsley, in Pall-mall MD CC LXIII. A note upon the reverse of the title-page runs as follows: " N.B. This little tract was drawn up for the press in the year 1761 : but publication has been delayed by an accident." Although the editor is mentioned by name nowhere in the book, he was presently known to be Thomas Percy, famous later as the compiler of Reliques of Ancient English Poetry. Percy's Preface is, signif1cantly, an apology for thrusting upon the attention of cultivated Englishmen specimens of the literary efforts of a people " generally known under no other character than that of a hardy and unpolished race, who subdued all the southern nations by dint of courage and of numbers," and who, though they established a " generous plan of government, . . . raised the fabric upon the ruins of literature and the fine arts." But there is "one feature of their character," our editor protests, " of a more amiable cast; which, tho' not so generally known, no less belongs to them: and that is, an amazing fondness for poetry." He goes on to say something about the characteristics of the poetry produced by "the ancient inhabitants of Sweden, Denmark and Norway," and of the language in which it was written. With the debate over the authenticity of Macpherson's Ossianic fragments in mind, Percy had printed at the end of his volume the Norse texts from which his translations were indirectly derived. For the insertion of these ...« less