Johannes Ewald

Johannes Ewald (1743–1781) was a Danish poet and dramatist, born in Copenhagen. He ran away to serve in the Prussian and Austrian armies as a young man, and afterwards lived by his pen, in poor health, under the protection of friends and patrons.

His verse drama The Death of Balder (1773) and the singspiel The Fishermen (1779) were landmarks of the Danish literary revival, and the latter contains the royal anthem "King Christian stood by the lofty mast", the Danish national song of naval praise, which is the poem given here in George Borrow's translation.