Versions and History
The oldest version dates back to 1819 and was made by Jóannes í Króki of Sandur. He also collected a version in 1823.
When Svend Grundtvig and Jørgen Bloch edited Føroya kvæði, an anthology of Faroese folksongs, around 1880, they knew of six recordings of the ballad. A version in the poet's own hand turned up at a later date, but it is not known when it dates from.
Nowadays the ballad is referred to as Ormurin Langi (i.e. The Long Serpent), but that was not the title used by the poet himself. He referred to it as Olaf Trygvasons kvad (‘'The Ballad of Olaf Trygvason’'), and other recorders did that as well, including Jóannes í Króki.
It was not until a version from around 1846 that it was discovered that the song got its title from Olaf Trygvason's ship, (Ormurin langi). When Hammershaimb had the ballad printed in his principal work, Færøsk Anthologi (A Faroese Anthology) of 1891, he used the title Ormurin langi, and the same title was used when it was serialised a few years earlier (1882) in the Dimmalætting newspaper.
The lyrics of the ballad vary slightly from version to version, but when the ballad is performed today, it is always in the form known from ‘'Færøsk Anthologi.
Nor do the old versions agree on which refrain (and therefore which tune) to use. The refrain that reigns supreme today is found in only one of the oldest versions. It is the one used in Færøsk Anthologi and is, incidentally, familiar from some of the old ballads. Færøsk Anthologi has had a standardising effect and its text has in some ways become the authorised version.
Read more about this topic: Ormurin Langi
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