Sinclairvisan

"Sinclairvisan" or "Sinclairsvisan" ("The Sinclair Song") is a Swedish propaganda song with 90 verses, written by Anders Odel in 1739 to the "La Folia" melody. The song describes the murder of the Swedish diplomat, friherre, and major Malcolm Sinclair. Sinclair was murdered in 1739, while on a diplomatic mission, by two Russian officers acting on orders from the Russian government.

Synopsis

The song is narrated by the shepherd Celadon, who tells how a gray-haired old man appears to him and carries him to an unfamiliar area, where he unlocks a door leading into a mountain and lets him in. There he sees groves and hills overgrown with cypress. The two men enter a castle standing there and find themselves in a well-lit and cool room where enters a great castle, 12 kings ("twelve Swedish Carls", i.e. Charles I–XII), sit.

Suddenly the door opens, and a wounded man with a bullet-hole in his chest enters the room. Charles XII asks him who he is, and he replies that he is a Swedish major named Malcolm Sinclair. The King, astounded by the his appearance ("His face was washed with blood, / downsabered, trampled, beaten, / and the chest which his heart had hid, / had received rough shots") questions him about the circumstances of his death. He replies that he was killed by six Russian officers near Breslau, on the way back home from a diplomatic trip he had taken to Turkey, which he briefly explains, also talking about the internal and foreign policy of Sweden at the time.

The dead king, in a fit of anger, wants to lead the troops himself in order to avenge his insult, but Charles XI, his father, opposes him, noting that this is the responsibility of his brother-in-law Frederick I and his sister Ulrika Eleanor, and that he should not interfere with the business of the living. The King, though saying that his heart is bleeding, succumbs to the persuasion. He then recalls his victories and thanks his warriors for never retreating before the enemy. After that, Celadon is taken away by the old man, and he, seized by a patriotic feeling, urges his compatriots to avenge Sinclair's blood.

Historical Value

The song spread widely throughout Sweden and was actively used by the Hats to spread anti-Russian sentiment in Swedish society. The resulting mood subsequently led to the beginning of the Russo-Swedish war of 1741-1743.

Authorship

The song is included as an uncharacteristic entry in Erik Gustaf Geijer and Arvid August Afzelius's influential folk song collection Svenska folk-visor från forntiden. According to the authors, the song was popularly held to have been penned by Jacob Henrik Mörk, author of Adelriks och Giöthildas äfwentyr (1742-44), until a draft of the song was found among Odel's manuscripts. They also note that older publications of the song include an epilogue, in which the A and O in "Celadon" are emphasized, hinting at the author's initials.[1]

Sources
  1. Geijer, Erik Gustaf; Afzelius, Arvid August (1814). "Malcom Sinclair". Svenska folk-visor från forntiden (in Swedish). 1. Stockholm: Strinnholm och Häggström. pp. 220–243. OCLC 23555964. Retrieved 15 April 2018.
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