Long Serpent

from Greatest Saga by Winterblade

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about

Shortly after killing the pagan martyr Raud the Strong, King Olaf adds insult to injury and steals the man's longship. Re-christened to Long Serpent, it is the longest and most formidable boat in the Viking world. But it is at this point that Olaf's new God appears to turn His back on the man.

A navy with connections to Olaf's jilted lover, Sigrid the Haughty, approaches his fleet with intentions to do battle. At first, his ships are held back, but soon the men take up arms against each other. Thus began the Battle of Svolder, between Olaf's Christians and a collection of pagans from Denmark and Sweden.

With only 11 ships at his disposal, the outcome of the battle was never uncertain. King Olaf was to be defeated by forces who believed in the Old Gods.

Near the end of the fight, one of Norway's best archers, Einarr Þambarskelfir, attempts to save the day for Olaf by killing the enemy commander, Jarl Eirik of Lade. The archer draws his bow, keen for the kill, but a pagan archer shoots his arrow through through Einarr's bow instead! It snaps in two with a loud crack, and Olaf asks what has broken.

Einarr famously replies, "Norway, king, from thy hands."

lyrics

A thousand years ago
Upon the frozen shore
King Olaf gave commands
A ship be made for war

Dragons on the bow
Serpents in its soul
The cross upon its sail
No telling where they’ll go

To meet certainty and schemes
No peace, Long Serpent out at sea
Twice crossed, fate and jealousy
Sink low, where no one's there to reach

An old song we sing
All hail the King
Form a ring
All hail the King

All hail the king!

An enemy approached
Led there by a wolf
He held his navy back
And watched them from the port

Crushing was the wind
And swiftly fell the line
An arrow made its path
The King was out of time

An old song we sing
All hail the King
Form a ring
All hail the King

All hail the king!

credits

from Greatest Saga, released September 9, 2020

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about

Winterblade Washington, D.C.

Winterblade is one man with a passion for the Old Norse Æsir and heavy metal. Those passions are combined on the album "Long Nights," a project rooted in Viking history and often drawn from historical texts. Just released: GREATEST SAGA, the 11-part story of how Norway's first king rose to power in the most unusual way... ... more