THE VIRGIN SPRING
Scenario by Ulla Isaksson based on a medieval legend
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
God Odin, come!
I seek your service
God the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, with Your angel host
Protect us this day from the devil's snares
Save us from sin and shame and harm
It is Friday, the day of Our Lord's Passion
Lord, I almost trod on them in the gloom
Poor mite, live out your miserable life...
...as surely as God allows us all to live
Where have you been all night?
You could help with the milking, but you don't care if my legs ache
Jesus-Maria! What a look! What is it?
Nothing but the old story: bastards beget bastards
Serves you right, Ingeri, the way you behave
You spit like a wildcat
You should thank God for His mercy in allowing you to live here...
...even though you act like an animal
The milk is still on the porch
You must ride to church with the Virgin's candles
Isn't Karin going to take them?
She is unwell
She'll be better when it's too late for early Mass
I think she has a fever
Last night she danced feverishly enough
You're no more like your stepsister than a thorn is like a rose!
You still act like a wildcat...
...even now, when we ought to turn you out
Lord, bless our daily bread
Isn't Karin taking the Virgin's candles to Mass?
Karin is unwell
She's a lazybones. She was well enough to dance
Today she is unwell
Too ill to ride to church?
Frida will take the candles
But a maiden must take the Virgin's candles
You are always so strict with Karin
You are always so easygoing with her
She is the only child I have left
So she should be brought up well
I had evil dreams last night
You mortify your flesh too much
Send Ingeri to wake Karen
I'll go myself
Go and rouse the sluggard
Ingeri, prepare Karin's food for the journey: bread, cheese and meat
-Are you ill? -No, only sleepy
May I have breakfast in bed?
Father says you must take the Virgin's candles to church
-lf you are ill, Frida will go -I'm not ill
Then you must go
-lf I can wear my silk shift -On a week day?
Then I won't go
You're behaving childishly
If I had answered my parents in that tone...
...I'd have been birched and made to fast
Birch me and starve me, then. Give me berries instead of bread
You know I can't be strict with you, though I should be
You're laughing now, but I warn you: father is angry
Get my yellow shift, my Sunday skirts and my blue cloak
Then I'll be happy, you'll be happy and father will be happy
How demurely I'll ride to church
And Tawny's hooves will trot as though on a pilgrimage...
...and I shall look neither left nor right, but straight ahead...
...and think of the candles and the Holy Virgin
White stockings...
...and the blue shoes with pearls
This is no ordinary shift
Fifteen maidens stitched it
Fifteen all at once?
Sit down so that I can comb you
No, I want it loose, to go with my fine clothes
If you always get your way, you'll please the devil so much...
...the saints will punish you with toothache
Why do you talk so much of the devil? Father never does
Because the devil is the seducer of the innocent
He strives to destroy all goodness
But I always say my prayers
Who did you dance with last night?
I danced with him... and him... and him
-Why do you ask? -I had such evil dreams
What did you dream?
How I'd love to dream big, wonderful dreams
But I never do
Now the skirts: the blue and the red with golden threads
Tighter, or it won't puff out as it should
What about the clasp?
Save that for Sunday, you've gone far enough
You're in my light
"It's father; he's angry"
Didn't mother say you were ill?
Do you think I look pale and wasted?
Is it right to sleep after sunrise?
I'll ask Father Erik's forgiveness for not attending early Mass
I'll tell him that all of you are ill and no one woke me...
...the candles were not ready and Tawny was not shod
I'll ride to the mountains with this wicked maid...
...and say I don't want such a daughter
Imprison her in the mountain for seven years
When she is chastened, I'll take her back
"Let Ingeri come with me; she never leaves the farm now"
It's a pity the church is so far away
The likes of you need a confessional closer to hand
You can't talk! You fled your town in fear for your life
"I know all about you, "learned man"
"A bird on the wing finds food; a bird on the roost dies"
I have seen women and churches
How were the churches?
As high as heaven - and built of stone, not wood
With windows the colours of the rainbow
You may come, too, Ingeri
Hurry, or you won't get to church before nightfall
Hurry, Ingeri
Drink some mulled ale
It's a long journey
Give it to Ingeri, she's coming, too
-Who said so? -Father
Won't you kiss me good-bye?
The Lord Christ bless your young life
Take this cheese and these candles to the priest for me
Don't forget to give Father Erik my message... you know it
He's to say five paternosters and fifteen Hail Marys
I know an orchard sweet and fair
A maiden with virtues so true
Shining like spun gold her hair
Her eyes like the heavens blue
Happily the streams meander
Through valleys green they wander
In the springtime
The little bird soars up so high
Glides softly on the breeze
How sweet it would be to fly
Floating o'er mountains and trees
Happily the streams meander
Through valleys green they wander
In the springtime
-Is the child paining you? -One day you'll know how it is
I'll be mistress of a house and married with honour
We'll see how your honour is, when a man starts fumbling you
No man will bed me without marriage
And if one tumbles you behind a bush at night?
I'll struggle free
But he is stronger
It's better to brighten the road than languish in church
I'm taking the candles
So you've put your best on in honour of the Virgin
Not for you
Don't think I wear them to please you
-Thank you for last night, Karin -Why Thank me?
You've nothing to thank me for
-What is it, Ingeri? -I saw you with him last night
I wanted him to find a way out for you and the child
And he said he'd help, if you lay in the hay with him
You danced with him and took his hand
I danced with all who gave me their hand
Forgive me
Don't ask my forgiveness
-Let's turn back -But we're going to church
I can take the candles
Father and mother wouldn't like that
"The forest is so black; I can't go on"
Don't cry so, you might harm the child
Afraid of the forest?
Not I. I'm riding to church
May she rest here until I return?
This is enough for you both
Did you think I'd slap you again?
In labour?
Worse than that
Come, I can help
Sit down. It's long since anyone sat here with me
-What Is your name? -These days I have no name
This is a forlorn place. Have you no neighbours?
I hear what I will and I see what I will
I hear what mankind whispers in secret...
...and I see what it believes no one can see
You can hear for yourself, if you do as I do
What thunders outside?
Three dead men ride north
It's long since a woman made my seat narrow
Here is a cure for your suffering
Here is a cure for your woe
Blood, cease to flow
Fish, high and dry
Eagle, fall from the sky
Here is the power
You have made a human sacrifice - a sacrifice to Odin
I recognized you at once
I recognized you by your eyes, your mouth, your hands
"But you are afraid; you must not be"
I shall give you strength
That's a funny thing
My father's - who got it from his father's father
Who are you?
Three brothers, orphaned all too soon
Who cares for you?
We're goatherds, we live on roots in the forest
Mother gave me food for the journey
-Is he dumb? -Wicked men cut out his tongue
He says we can only accept the food if you share it with us
I must take the Holy Mother's candles to church
Early Mass?
No, I overslept
If Mass is past, there's no hurry
And your mother meant you to eat the food
My brother says we can go to a sunny glade, if you will honour us
Blessed Jesus, God the Father's Son
You are the living bread from heaven come
Make me worthy to receive this bodily bread
And save my soul when I am dead
My brother wonders where my lady lives
East of the mountains, west of the forests...
...the battlements of my father's castle reach to the sky
Is my lady a king's daughter?
Father's robes are of silk, his helm is of gold...
...and his lance flashes like gold in the sun
Mother has so many keys she cannot wear them at her belt...
...so a maid carries them on a cushion
And perhaps you three are princes under a witch's spell...
...and the goats are really bears and wolves
My brother says my lady has such white hands
Princesses do not launder or make fires
My brother says my lady has such a white neck
So that gold necklaces will gleam brighter
My brother says my lady has such a slender waist
You can cut this for us
But perhaps you have no knife
This is Simon of Snollsta's mark
I am on my way to church with the Virgin's candles
Mind the goats until we get back, or you know what to expect
What do you want?
The night is cold and the road is long
Where are you from?
The north, from Vasternol
How was the winter?
Hard, with much sickness
People are starving and the cattle are too weak to stand
Yes, I heard you had a cruel winter
Where are you going?
We'll look for work in the south
You can sleep inside. There'll be a frost tonight
The master said we could come in
Sit there till he comes
Those shoes have seen some wear
If a day begins well, it will end in woe
Seldom, if ever, was a morn as promising as today
The bright sun dispelled all the misery of winter
Legs felt like dancing
But by dusk she lay dead
The May Queen rode off on the sun, but never returned
Blessed Jesus, God the Father's Son
You are the living bread from heaven come
Make me worthy to receive this bodily bread
And save my soul when I am dead
Did you finish?
All manured and ploughed
Manure clay thick, manure sand thin
Forgive my poor brother
Is he often like this?
Only if we've starved
Rub his temples with salt and vinegar, put a hot wooden lid on his stomach
Our humble thanks...
...but the less attention the better
I may be able to give you work; we can talk of it tomorrow
Keep the fire going, the night will be cold
I hope you say your prayers, even if no one reminds you
Yes, you poor thing
The Lord is more merciful than you think
Say your prayers, tonight and every night
See the smoke trembling under the roof?
As if it were terrified
Yet when it gets outside...
...it has the heavens to swirl about in
But it doesn't know that
So it crouches beneath the roof and trembles
It's the same with people
They quiver like a leaf in a storm...
...afraid of what they know and what they don't know
You are about to walk a narrow plank
So narrow, you don't know where to place your foot
A river runs below you
Its blackness wants to engulf you
But you cross unharmed
A chasm lies before you
So deep, you can't see its depths
Hands stretch out for you, but they cannot reach you
Finally, you stand before a fearful mountain
It belches flame, an abyss opens at its foot
All colours blaze there: copper and iron...
...blue vitriol and yellow suphur
Flames dazzle and flash and devour the rocks
People leap and writhe, people tiny as ants
This furnace...
...devours murderers and violators
When you think you are lost, a hand will grasp you
An arm will embrace you and you will be borne away...
...to where evil can no longer harm you
If Karin is not home tonight, she is sure to be home tomorrow
Rest, Mareta
How can you speak of rest? That's all you have ever said
What would have happened to us if I had been like you...
...never worried, never anxious, never crying out to God?
Open your hands
I know you are worried about Karin
I have no one but her
She has stayed in the village without permission before
I have no one but her
She is all I have
They hit the boy
I thought the boy screamed
It was probably an owl; we've heard it several times
This silken shift...
These other things, too, belonged to our sister who died at Candlemas
It is dear to us...
...but we have no choice than to offer it for sale
We can see that you appreciate beautiful things...
...and this was our sister's most treasured possession
It is a bit worn and stained...
...but the embroidery is surely the work of nine maidens
A deft hand like yours can surely make it good
I must ask my husband...
...what would be a just price for such a costly garment
Now you must take your rest
The herdsmen offered this for sale
It is Karin's
It is bloodstained
What will you do?
-First, bar the door -it Is done
You'll call our men?
Be careful
-Tell me what you know -Kill me, rather
My guilt is greater than theirs. I wanted it
Since I've been with child I've hated her
The day I prayed for it, God Odin did it
It was him and me, not the herdsmen
They were possessed by him, they flung themselves on her like devils
They took her
You saw it?
I stood in the forest, I saw it and I wanted it
I had a stone to throw at them, but I let it drop
When it was over, they killed her with a cudgel
I saw that, too
Heat the bath-house. I'll fetch birch twigs
Bring me the slaughtering knife
God have mercy on me
We must search for Karin
I loved her more than God Himself
Then she turned to you and I began to hate you. The guilt is mine
Not yours alone, Mareta. Only God can judge
You saw it. God, You saw it
The innocent child's death and my vengeance
You permitted it
I don't understand You
Yet now I beg Your forgiveness
I know no other way to reconcile myself with my own hands
I know no other way to live
I promise You, God...
...beside the body of my child I promise You...
...in penance for my sin I shall build a church
Here I shall build it,a church of stone
With these my hands