The Stone in Grönan Dal.
It is probable that the “Stone in Grönan Dal” is like the traditional Phœnix, a pure tradition, since it has never been found by any one of the many who have made pilgrimages to the valley in search of it, for the purpose of deciphering the Runic [217]characters said to be engraved thereon. Yet many stories are widely current in the land concerning it, and the old people relate the following:
When St. Jaffen, “the Apostle of the North,” was one time riding through Jämtland from the borders of Norway, his way led along a beautiful green valley, in the parish of Åre. Becoming weary, he dismounted and laid himself down for a nap. When he awoke it occurred to him that such a garden spot must some day be inhabited by mankind, so, selecting a slab of stone, he cut in its surface the following prophetic lines:
“When Swedish men adopt foreign customs
And the land loses its old honor,
Yet, shall stand the Stone in Grönan Dal.
When churches are converted into prisons,
And God’s services have lost their joyous light,
Yet shall stand the Stone in Grönan Dal.
When rogues and villains thrive
And honest men are banished,
Yet will stand the Stone in Grönan Dal.
When priests become beggars,
And farmers monsters,
Then shall lie the Stone in Grönan Dal.”
When the Governor of the Province, Baron Tilas, in 1742, traveled through Jämtland, he found, a few paces east of the gate of Skurdal, a stone lying, which he concluded must be the stone so much talked about. When his coat of arms and the date had been engraved upon it, he caused it to be raised, so that, “even yet it stands, the Stone in Grönan Dal.” [218]
