Singoalla

Excerpt from Singoalla: A Mediaeval Legend
In issuing the present book, Singoalla, it may not be deemed inappropriate to present the reader with a brief sketch of the literature of the country to which it belongs, together with a few lines respecting the life, and place in literature of its accomplished, versatile author.
The literature of a country and people claiming ancestors as far back as the Stone Age, or some 1500 years B. C., cannot fail to have a commanding, permanent charm for every student of literature. All of that little which has so far reached us, has been read with avidity, and enjoyed, not less for its philosophic charm and romanticism, than for its fantastic turn and powerful colouring. The translations from the Swedish that have appeared in this country can hardly be called numerous, the Swedish tongue being one that has hitherto appealed feebly to the English linguist, and vice versa. Consequently, we are on the whole less familiar with the history and growth of Swedish literature, new or old, than we are, say, with the French, Italian, German, or even Russian.
It was the great work of Luther which gave life to Swedish literature. The Reformation infused the literature of Sweden as markedly as it altered the religious conditions of England. Two literary pioneers - Olaus and Laurentius Petrie - gave their country a Bible in good Swedish, and from that moment the growth of letters in Sweden went on apace. At first the principal books had theological or historical topics as their subjects; but by the time of the Thirty Years War(1618-48) a much more varied character marked the literature of the country. Political pamphlets, essays, newspapers, with works on mythology, the drama, philology, etc., began to appear.
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