The Mermaid's Prophecy, and Other Songs Relating to Queen Dagmar

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About this book

Royal marriage brings questions of mercy and responsibility into these songs about Queen Dagmar. King Valdemar sends Sir Strange to Bohemia to seek a bride, and the negotiations unfold through ceremonial welcomes, conversation and a game played on a golden board. When Dagmar reaches Denmark, she asks the king to ease the burden of taxation and release prisoners, making compassion part of her role as queen.

George Borrow's narrative poems place courtly splendour beside unease about what lies ahead. In the title song, a captive mermaid is brought before Dagmar, who presses her to reveal the future. Repeated refrains interrupt their exchange and give the scene the rhythm of a sung tale. The collection offers readers of legendary verse a portrait of royal power measured through personal promises, public duties and encounters with the supernatural.

About the author

George Borrow

George Borrow was an English writer, translator, linguist, and traveler whose books draw on encounters across Britain and continental Europe. John Murray issued Lavengro in 1851; it blends autobiography and fiction as its wandering narrator moves through barrack towns, London literary work, and meetings with Romani communities.