"Tale of the Northland of old
And the undying glory of dreams,"

proved a lasting stimulus to Bjornson's genius, and, during the
early period of his career, which is now under review, it made
its influence felt alike in his tales, his dramas, and his
songs. "To see the peasant in the light of the sagas and the
sagas in the light of the peasant" he declared to be the
fundamental principle of his literary method.

It has been seen that during the fifteen years which made
Bjornson in so peculiar a sense the spokesman of his race, he
wrote no less than five saga dramas. The first two of these
works, "Between the Battles" and "Halte-Hulda," are rather
slight performances, and the third, "King Sverre," although a
more extended work, is not particularly noteworthy. The
grimness of the Viking life is softened by romantic coloring,
and the poet has not freed himself from the influence of
Oehlenschlaeger. But in "Sigurd Slembe" he found a subject
entirely worthy of his genius, and produced one of the noblest
masterpieces of all modern literature. This largely planned
and magnificently executed dramatic trilogy was written in
Munich, and published in 1862. The material is found in the
"Heimskringla," but the author has used the prerogative of the
artist to simplify the historical outline thus offered into a
superb imaginative creation, rich in human interest, and
powerful in dramatic presentation. The story is concerned
with the efforts of Sigurd, nicknamed "Slembe," to obtain
the succession to the throne of Norway during the first half