Kalevala (Kirby 1907)/Runo 27
Runo XXVII.—The Duel at Pohjola
Argument
Lemminkainen comes to Pohjola and behaves with the greatest insolence (1-204). The Lord of Pohjola grows angry, and as he can do nothing against Lemminkainen by magic, he challenges him to a duel (205-282). In the course of the duel Lemminkainen strikes off the head of the Lord of Pohjola, and to avenge this, the Mistress of Pohjola raises an army against him (283-420).
Now that I have broughtmy Kauko,
Carried Ahto Saarelainen,
Often past Death’s jaw expanded,
Past the very tongue of Kalma,
To the banquet held at Pohja,
And to the concealed carousal,
Now must I relate in detail,
And my tongue relate in fulness,
How the lively Lemminkainen,
He the handsome Kaukomieli, 10
To the homestead came of Pohja,
Halls of Sariola the misty,
Uninvited to the banquet,
To the drinking-bout unbidden.
Thus the lively Lemminkainen,
Ruddy youth, and arrant scoundrel,
In the room at once came forward,
Walking to the very middle;
’Neath him swayed the floor of linden,
And the room of firwood rattled. 20
Spoke the lively Lemminkainen,
And he said the words which follow:
“Greetings to ye on my coming,
Greetings also to the greeter!
Hearken, Pohjola’s great Master,
Have you here within this dwelling,
Barley for the horse’s fodder,
Beer to offer to the hero?“
There sat Pohjola’s great Master,
At the end of the long table,30
And from thence he made his answer,
In the very words which follow:
“Perhaps there is within this dwelling,
Standing room for your fine courser,
Nor would I indeed forbid you
In the room a quiet corner,
Or to stand within the doorway,
In the doorway, ’neath the rafters,
In the space between two kettles,
There where three large hoes are standing.”40
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Tore his black beard in his anger,
(’Twas the colour of a kettle),
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Lempo might perchance be willing,
Thus to stand within the doorway,
Where he might with soot be dirtied,
While the soot falls all around him!
But at no time did my father,
Never did my aged father50
Ever stand in such a station,
In the doorway, ’neath the rafters!
There was always room sufficient
For his horse within the stable,
And a clean room for the hero,
And a place to put his gloves in,
Pegs whereon to hang his mittens,
Walls where swords may rest in order.
Why should I not also find it,
As my father always found it?”60
After this he strode on further,
To the end of the long table,
At the bench-end then he sat him,
At the end of bench of firwood,
And the bench it cracked beneath him,
And the bench of firwood tottered.
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“Seems to me that I’m unwelcome,
As no ale is offered to me,
To the guest who just has entered.”70
Ilpotar, the noble Mistress,
Answered in the words which follow:
“O thou boy, O Lemminkainen,
Not as guest thou com’st among us,
But upon my head to trample,
And to make it bow before you,
For our ale is still in barley,
Still in malt the drink delicious,
And the wheatbread still unbaken,
And unboiled the meat remaineth.80
Yesternight you should have entered,
Or perchance have come to-morrow.”
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
Twisted mouth and turned his head round,
Tore his black beard in his anger,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“Eaten is the feast already,
Finished feast, and drunk the bride-ale,
And the ale has been divided,
To the men the mead been given,90
And the cans away been carried,
And the pint-pots laid in storage.
“Pohjola’s illustrious Mistress,
Long-toothed Mistress of Pimentola,
Thou hast held the wedding badly,
And in doggish fashion held it,
Baked the bread in loaves enormous,
Thou hast brewed the beer of barley,
Six times sent thy invitations,
Nine times hast thou sent a summons,100
Thou hast asked the poor, the spectres,
Asked the scum, and asked the wastrels,
Asked the leanest of the loafers,
Labourers with one garment only;
All folks else thou hast invited,
Me rejected uninvited.
“Wherefore should I thus be treated,
When I sent myself the barley?
Others brought it by the spoonful,
Others poured it out by dishfuls,110
But I poured it out in bushels,
By the half-ton out I poured it,
Of my own, the best of barley,
Corn which I had sown aforetime.
“’Tis not now that Lemminkainen,
Is a guest of great distinction,
For no ale is offered to me,
Nor the pot set on the fire.
In the pot is nothing cooking,
Not a pound of pork you give me,120
Neither food nor drink you give me,
Now my weary journey’s ended.”
Ilpotar, the noble Mistress,
Uttered then the words which follow:
“O my little waiting-maiden,
O my ever-ready servant,
Put into the pot some dinner,
Bring some ale to give the stranger.”
Then the girl, the child so wretched,
Washed the worst of all the dishes,130
And the spoons she then was wiping,
And the ladles she was scouring,
Then into the pot put dinner,
Bones of meat, and heads of fishes,
Very ancient stalks of turnips,
Crusts of bread of stony hardness,
And a pint of ale she brought him,
And a can of filthy victuals,
Gave it lively Lemminkainen
That he should drink out the refuse,140
And she spoke the words which follow:
“If you are indeed a hero,
Can you drink the ale I bring you,
Nor upset the can that holds it?”
Lemminkainen, youth so lively,
Looked at once into the pint-pot,
And below a worm was creeping,
In the midst there crept a serpent,
On the edge were serpents creeping,
Lizards also there were gliding.150
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
Loudly grumbled Kaukomieli,
“Off to Tuonela the bearer,
Quick to Manala the handmaid,
Ere the moon again has risen,
Or this very day is ended!”
Afterwards these words he added,
“O thou beer, thou drink so nasty,
In an evil hour concocted,
Evil only lurks within thee!160
Notwithstanding I will drink it,
On the ground will cast the refuse,
With my nameless finger lift it,
With my left thumb will I lift it.”
Then he felt into his pocket,
And within his pouch was searching,
Took an angle from his pocket,
Iron hooks from out his satchel,
Dropped it down into the pint-pot,
In the ale began to angle,170
Hooked the snakes upon his fish-hooks,
On his hooks the evil vipers,
Up he drew of toads a hundred,
And of dusky snakes a thousand.
Down upon the ground he threw them,
Threw them all upon the planking,
Thereupon a sharp knife taking,
From the sheath he quickly drew it,
Cut the heads from off the serpents,
Broke the necks of all the serpents.180
Then he drank the ale with gusto,
Drank the black mead with enjoyment,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“As a guest I am not honoured,
Since no ale was brought unto me
Which was better worth my drinking,
Offered me by hands more careful,
In a larger vessel brought me;
Since no sheep was slaughtered for me,
No gigantic steer was slaughtered,190
In the hall no ox they brought me,
From the house of hoofed cattle.”
Then did Pohjola’s great Master,
Answer in the words which follow:
“Wherefore have you then come hither,
Who invited you among us?”
Answered lively Lemminkainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli:
“Good is perhaps the guest invited,
Better still if uninvited.200
Hearken then, thou son of Pohja,
Pohjola’s illustrious Master,
Give me ale for cash directly,
Reach me here some drink for money.”
Then did Pohjola’s great Master,
Angry grow and greatly furious,
Very furious and indignant,
Sang a pond upon the flooring,
In the front of Lemminkainen,
And he said the words which follow:210
“Here’s a river you may drink of,
Here’s a pond that you may splash in.”
Little troubled Lemminkainen,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“I’m no calf by women driven,
Nor a bull with tail behind me,
That I drink of river-water,
Or from filthy ponds the water.”
Then himself began to conjure,
And himself commenced his singing,220
Sang upon the floor a bullock,
Mighty ox with horns all golden,
And he soon drank up the puddle,
Drank the river up with pleasure.
But the mighty son of Pohja,
By his spells a wolf created,
And upon the floor he sang him,
To devour the fleshy bullock.
Lemminkainen, youth so lively,
Sang a white hare to his presence,230
And upon the floor ’twas leaping,
Near the wolf-jaws widely opened.
But the mighty son of Pohja,
Sang a dog with pointed muzzle;
And the dog the hare devoured,
Rent the Squint-eye into fragments.
Lemminkainen, youth so lively,
On the rafters sang a squirrel,
And it frolicked on the rafters,
And the dog was barking at it.240
But the mighty son of Pohja,
Sang a golden-breasted marten,
And the marten seized the squirrel,
On the rafter’s end while sitting.
Lemminkainen, youth so lively,
Sang a fox cf ruddy colour,
And it killed the gold-breast marten,
And destroyed the handsome-haired one.
But the mighty son of Pohja
By his spells a hen created,250
And upon the ground ’twas walking,
Just before the fox’s muzzle.
Lemminkainen, youth so lively,
Thereupon a hawk created,
Quickly with its claws it seized it,
And it tore the hen to pieces.
Then said Pohjola’s great Master,
In the very words which follow:
“Better will not be the banquet,
Nor the guest-provision lessened.260
House for work, the road for strangers,
Unrefreshed from the carousal!
Quit this place, O scamp of Hiisi,
Haste away from all folks’ knowledge,
To thy home, O toad the basest,
Forth, O scoundrel, to thy country!”
Answered lively Lemminkainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
“None would let himself be banished,
Not a man, how bad soever,270
From this place be ever driven,
Forced to fly from such a station.”
Then did Pohjola’s great Master,
Snatch his sword from wall where hanging,
Grasped in haste the sharpened weapon,
And he spoke the words which follow:
“O thou Ahti Saarelainen,
Or thou handsome Kaukomieli,
Let us match our swords together,
Match the glitter of the sword-blades,280
Whether my sword is the better,
Or is Ahti Saarelainen’s.”
Said the lively Lemminkainen,
“Little of my sword is left me,
For on bones it has been shattered,
And on skulls completely broken!
But let this be as it may be,
If no better feast is ready,
Let us struggle, and determine
Which of our two swords is favoured.290
Ne’er in former times my father
In a duel has been worsted,
Why should then his son be different,
Or his child be like a baby?”
Sword he took, and bared his sword-blade,
And he drew his sharp-edged weapon,
Drew it from the leather scabbard,
Hanging at his belt of lambskin.
Then they measured and inspected
Which of their two swords was longer,300
And a very little longer,
Was the sword of Pohja’s Master,
As upon the nail the blackness,
Or a half-joint of a finger.
Spoke then Ahti Saarelainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
“As your sword is rather longer,
Let the first attack be yours.”
Then did Pohjola’s great Master,
Aim a blow, and tried to strike him,310
Aimed his sword, but never struck it,
On the head of Lemminkainen.
Once indeed he struck the rafters,
And the beams resounded loudly,
And across the beam was shattered,
And the arch in twain was broken.
Then spoke Ahti Saarelainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli:
“Well, what mischief did the rafters,
And what harm the beam effected,320
That you thus attack the rafters,
And have made the arch to rattle?
“Hear me, son of Pohja’s country,
Pohjola’s illustrious Master,
Awkward ’tis in room to combat,
Trouble would it give the women,
If the clean room should be damaged,
And with blood denied the flooring.
Let us go into the courtyard,
In the field outside to battle,330
On the grass outside to combat.
In the yard the blood looks better,
In the yard it looks more lovely,
On the snow it looks much better.”
Out into the yard they wandered,
And they found therein a cowhide,
And they spread it in the courtyard,
And they took their stand upon it.
Then said Ahti Saarelainen,
“Hearken, O thou son of Pohja!340
As your sword is rather longer,
And your sword is more terrific,
Perhaps indeed you need to use it,
Just before your own departure,
Or before your neck is broken.
Strike away, O son of Pohja.”
Fenced away the son of Pohja,
Struck a blow, and struck a second,
And he struck a third blow after,
But he could not strike him fairly,350
Could not scratch the flesh upon him,
From his skin a single bristle.
Then spoke Ahti Saarelainen,
Said the handsome Kaukomieli,
“Give me leave to try a little,
For at last my time is coming.”
Natheless Pohjola’s great Master,
Did not pay the least attention,
Striking on, without reflection,
Ever striking, never hitting.360
From his sword-blade flashed red fire,
And its edge was always gleaming
In the hands of Lemminkainen,
And the sheen extended further,
As against the neck he turned it,
Of the mighty son of Pohja.
Said the handsome Lemminkainen,
“Hearken, Pohjola’s great Master,
True it is, thy neck so wretched,
Is as red as dawn of morning.”370
Thereupon the son of Pohja,
He, the mighty lord of Pohja,
Bent his eyes that he might witness
How his own neck had been reddened.
Then the lively Lemminkainen,
Hurriedly a stroke delivered,
With his sword he struck the hero,
Quickly with the sword he struck him.
Full and fair he struck the hero,
Struck his head from off his shoulders,380
And the skull from neck he severed,
As from off the stalk a turnip,
Or an ear of corn is severed,
From a fish a fin divided.
In the yard the head went rolling,
And the skull in the enclosure,
As when it is struck by arrow
Falls, the capercail from tree-top.
In the ground stood stakes a hundred,
In the yard there stood a thousand,390
On the stakes were heads a hundred,
Only one stake still was headless.
Then the lively Lemminkainen
Took the head of the poor fellow;
From the ground the skull he lifted,
And upon the stake he set it.
Then did Ahti Saarelainen,
He the handsome Kaukomieli,
Once again the house re-enter,
And he spoke the words which follow:400
“Wicked maid, now bring me water,
That I wash my hands and cleanse them,
From the blood of wicked Master,
From the gore of man of evil.”
Furious was the Crone of Pohja,
Wild with wrath and indignation,
And at once she sang up swordsmen,
Heroes well equipped for battle.
Up she sang a hundred swordsmen,
Sang a thousand weapon-bearers,410
Lemminkainen’s head to capture,
From the neck of Kaukomieli.
Now the time seemed really coming,
Fitting time for his departure,
Terror came at length upon him,
And too hard the task before him;
From the house the youthful Ahti
Lemminkainen quick departed,
From the feast prepared at Pohja,
From the unannounced carousal.420