Page:History of the Literature of the Scandinavian North.djvu/172

154 sancto Kanuto duce." In spite of its Latin title it is written in Danish verse and is probably an adaptation of the Latin legend in regard to the life of Duke Knud, who played a principal part in the church festivals celebrated in the Catholic time in commemoration of that saint. In this "mystery" less prominence is, however, given to Knud as a saint than to his historical character. This is the only attempt in the old Danish literature at writing a national drama, and it is consequently of very great interest, though it has no important intrinsic merits.

The first author of dramas after the period of the Reformation was, who in the latter half of the sixteenth century wrote his moral allegorical play, "Kortvending" (the change of fortune), the basis of which is manifestly taken from the above-mentioned allegory, "The Dance of Death." (1542-1614), rector in Ribe, wrote a "comicotragedia," called "Susanna," chiefly based on a Latin original. From (1539-1607), without comparison the most interesting of all these old playwrights, we have the dramas "Kong Salomons Hylding" (the crowning of King Salomon); "Samsons Fængsel" (Salomon's Prison); "Karrig Niding" (Miser and Nithing). Both the first are very remarkable on account of the lyric passages they contain. This is particularly noticeable in "Samsons Fængsel;" it has, not improperly, been styled the first Danish opera. The songs interwoven vary in style and contents, some being moral, others merry, and a few of them are simply exquisite, full of freshness and life and thoroughly popular in style. The author's renowned "Fuglevise" (bird-song), the only poem we know him to have written outside of his plays, is an allegorical comparison between different kinds of men and birds, and it, too, is graphic and humorous. Hieronymus Justesen's best work is, however, of a totally different kind. It is "Karrig Niding," a popular burlesque which long enjoyed great popularity, and which contains many passages marked by a fresh, though somewhat bold, humor,