TORD FOLESON

Tord Foleson

They stood in Stiklasta
drawn up for battle,
the old and then
the new time,
that which had been
against that yet to come,
that which will rise
against that which will fall.

Then they drew their swords
in the same instant,
the bright King Olav
and the grey Tore Hund.
And the war cry thundered
and made the earth shake,
and the spears hummed
and the arrows whistled.

But then it is told
that an outstanding man,
Tord Foleson, the standard
of Olav bore.
And this Tord the standard-bearer
we should remember
as long as a standard-bearer
can be found in Norway.

When Tord felt
he was mortally wounded
going forth in battle
while carrying the standard,
he planted the pole
as deeply as he could
down in the ground
before crumpling beneath it.

And the ancient Saga
tells it thus,
that Tord he fell
but the standard it stood.
And even so
must he behave
who the standard of the future
in Norway shall bear.

If the man he falls
the standard must remain
planted in Norway’s earth
as it did at Stiklasta.
And this is what’s great,
and this is what’s brilliant
the standard stays upright
if the bearer falls.