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@@ -0,0 +1,34101 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of Heimskringla, by Snorri Sturlason + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Heimskringla + The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway + +Author: Snorri Sturlason + +Release Date: July, 1996 [Etext #598] +Posting Date: November 27, 2009 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEIMSKRINGLA *** + + + + +Produced by Douglas B. Killings + + + + + +HEIMSKRINGLA + +OR + +THE CHRONICLE OF THE KINGS OF NORWAY + +By Snorri Sturlason + +(c.1179-1241) + + +Originally written in Old Norse, app. 1225 A.D., by the poet and +historian Snorri Sturlason. + + +TRANSCRIBER'S NOTE: + +The "Heimskringla" of Snorri Sturlason is a collection of sagas +concerning the various rulers of Norway, from about A.D. 850 to the year +A.D. 1177. + +The Sagas covered in this work are the following: + + 1. Halfdan the Black Saga + 2. Harald Harfager's Saga + 3. Hakon the Good's Saga + 4. Saga of King Harald Grafeld and of Earl Hakon Son of Sigurd + 5. King Olaf Trygvason's Saga + 6. Saga of Olaf Haraldson (St. Olaf) + 7. Saga of Magnus the Good + 8. Saga of Harald Hardrade + 9. Saga of Olaf Kyrre + 10. Magnus Barefoot's Saga + 11. Saga of Sigurd the Crusader and His Brothers Eystein and Olaf + 12. Saga of Magnus the Blind and of Harald Gille + 13. Saga of Sigurd, Inge, and Eystein, the Sons of Harald + 14. Saga of Hakon Herdebreid ("Hakon the Broad-Shouldered") + 15. Magnus Erlingson's Saga + +While scholars and historians continue to debate the historical accuracy +of Sturlason's work, the "Heimskringla" is still considered an important +original source for information on the Viking Age, a period which +Sturlason covers almost in its entirety. + + + + +PREFACE OF SNORRE STURLASON. + +In this book I have had old stories written down, as I have heard +them told by intelligent people, concerning chiefs who have have held +dominion in the northern countries, and who spoke the Danish tongue; +and also concerning some of their family branches, according to what +has been told me. Some of this is found in ancient family registers, +in which the pedigrees of kings and other personages of high birth are +reckoned up, and part is written down after old songs and ballads which +our forefathers had for their amusement. Now, although we cannot just +say what truth there may be in these, yet we have the certainty that old +and wise men held them to be true. + +Thjodolf of Hvin was the skald of Harald Harfager, and he composed a +poem for King Rognvald the Mountain-high, which is called "Ynglingatal." +This Rognvald was a son of Olaf Geirstadalf, the brother of King Halfdan +the Black. In this poem thirty of his forefathers are reckoned up, and +the death and burial-place of each are given. He begins with Fjolner, a +son of Yngvefrey, whom the Swedes, long after his time, worshipped and +sacrificed to, and from whom the race or family of the Ynglings take +their name. + +Eyvind Skaldaspiller also reckoned up the ancestors of Earl Hakon the +Great in a poem called "Haleygjatal", composed about Hakon; and therein +he mentions Saeming, a son of Yngvefrey, and he likewise tells of the +death and funeral rites of each. The lives and times of the Yngling +race were written from Thjodolf's relation enlarged afterwards by the +accounts of intelligent people. + +As to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the Age of Burning; +because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were +raised standing stones. But after Frey was buried under a cairn at +Upsala, many chiefs raised cairns, as commonly as stones, to the memory +of their relatives. + +The Age of Cairns began properly in Denmark after Dan Milkillate had +raised for himself a burial cairn, and ordered that he should be buried +in it on his death, with his royal ornaments and armour, his horse and +saddle-furniture, and other valuable goods; and many of his descendants +followed his example. But the burning of the dead continued, long after +that time, to be the custom of the Swedes and Northmen. Iceland was +occupied in the time that Harald Harfager was the King of Norway. There +were skalds in Harald's court whose poems the people know by heart even +at the present day, together with all the songs about the kings who have +ruled in Norway since his time; and we rest the foundations of our story +principally upon the songs which were sung in the presence of the chiefs +themselves or of their sons, and take all to be true that is found in +such poems about their feats and battles: for although it be the fashion +with skalds to praise most those in whose presence they are standing, +yet no one would dare to relete to a chief what he, and all those who +heard it, knew to be a false and imaginary, not a true account of his +deeds; because that would be mockery, not praise. + +OF THE PRIEST ARE FRODE + +The priest Are Frode (the learned), a son of Thorgils the son of Geller, +was the first man in this country who wrote down in the Norse language +narratives of events both old and new. In the beginning of his book he +wrote principally about the first settlements in Iceland, the laws and +government, and next of the lagmen, and how long each had administered +the law; and he reckoned the years at first, until the time when +Christianity was introduced into Iceland, and afterwards reckoned from +that to his own times. To this he added many other subjects, such as +the lives and times of kings of Norway and Denmark, and also of England; +beside accounts of great events which have taken place in this country +itself. His narratives are considered by many men of knowledge to be the +most remarkable of all; because he was a man of good understanding, +and so old that his birth was as far back as the year after Harald +Sigurdson's fall. He wrote, as he himself says, the lives and times of +the kings of Norway from the report of Od Kolson, a grandson of Hal of +Sida. Od again took his information from Thorgeir Afradskol, who was an +intelligent man, and so old that when Earl Hakon the Great was killed +he was dwelling at Nidarnes--the same place at which King Olaf Trygvason +afterwards laid the foundation of the merchant town of Nidaros (i.e., +Throndhjem) which is now there. The priest Are came, when seven years +old, to Haukadal to Hal Thorarinson, and was there fourteen years. Hal +was a man of great knowledge and of excellent memory; and he could even +remember being baptized, when he was three years old, by the priest +Thanghrand, the year before Christianity was established by law in +Iceland. Are was twelve years of age when Bishop Isleif died, and at +his death eighty years had elapsed since the fall of Olaf Trygvason. Hal +died nine years later than Bishop Isleif, and had attained nearly the +age of ninety-four years. Hal had traded between the two countries, and +had enjoyed intercourse with King Olaf the Saint, by which he had +gained greatly in reputation, and he had become well acquainted with the +kingdom of Norway. He had fixed his residence in Haukadal when he was +thirty years of age, and he had dwelt there sixty-four years, as Are +tells us. Teit, a son of Bishop Isleif, was fostered in the house of +Hal at Haukadal, and afterwards dwelt there himself. He taught Are the +priest, and gave him information about many circumstances which Are +afterwards wrote down. Are also got many a piece of information from +Thurid, a daughter of the gode Snorre. She was wise and intelligent, and +remembered her father Snorre, who was nearly thirty-five years of age +when Christianity was introduced into Iceland, and died a year after +King Olaf the Saint's fall. So it is not wonderful that Are the priest +had good information about ancient events both here in Iceland, +and abroad, being a man anxious for information, intelligent and of +excellent memory, and having besides learned much from old intelligent +persons. But the songs seem to me most reliable if they are sung +correctly, and judiciously interpreted. + + + + +HALFDAN THE BLACK SAGA. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Of this saga there are other versions found in "Fagrskinna" and in +"Flateyjarbok". The "Flateyjarbok" version is to a great extent a copy +of Snorre. The story about Halfdan's dream is found both in "Fagrskinna" +and in "Flateyjarbok". The probability is that both Snorre and +the author of "Fagrskinna" must have transcribed the same original +text.--Ed. + + + + +1. HALFDAN FIGHTS WITH GANDALF AND SIGTRYG. + +Halfdan was a year old when his father was killed, and his mother Asa +set off immediately with him westwards to Agder, and set herself there +in the kingdom which her father Harald had possessed. Halfdan grew up +there, and soon became stout and strong; and, by reason of his black +hair, was called Halfdan the Black. When he was eighteen years old he +took his kingdom in Agder, and went immediately to Vestfold, where he +divided that kingdom, as before related, with his brother Olaf. The same +autumn he went with an army to Vingulmark against King Gandalf. They had +many battles, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the victory; +but at last they agreed that Halfdan should have half of Vingulmark, +as his father Gudrod had had it before. Then King Halfdan proceeded to +Raumarike, and subdued it. King Sigtryg, son of King Eystein, who then +had his residence in Hedemark, and who had subdued Raumarike before, +having heard of this, came out with his army against King Halfdan, and +there was great battle, in which King Halfdan was victorious; and just +as King Sigtryg and his troops were turning about to fly, an arrow +struck him under the left arm, and he fell dead. Halfdan then laid the +whole of Raumarike under his power. King Eystein's second son, King +Sigtryg's brother, was also called Eystein, and was then king in +Hedemark. As soon as Halfdan had returned to Vestfold, King Eystein went +out with his army to Raumarike, and laid the whole country in subjection +to him. + + + + +2. BATTLE BETWEEN HALFDAN AND EYSTEIN. + +When King Halfdan heard of these disturbances in Raumarike, he again +gathered his army together; and went out against King Eystein. A battle +took place between them, and Halfdan gained the victory, and Eystein +fled up to Hedemark, pursued by Halfdan. Another battle took place, in +which Halfdan was again victorious; and Eystein fled northwards, up +into the Dales to the herse Gudbrand. There he was strengthened with +new people, and in winter he went towards Hedemark, and met Halfdan the +Black upon a large island which lies in the Mjosen lake. There a great +battle was fought, and many people on both sides were slain, but Halfdan +won the victory. There fell Guthorm, the son of the herse Gudbrand, who +was one of the finest men in the Uplands. Then Eystein fled north up the +valley, and sent his relation Halvard Skalk to King Halfdan to beg for +peace. On consideration of their relationship, King Halfdan gave King +Eystein half of Hedemark, which he and his relations had held before; +but kept to himself Thoten, and the district called Land. He likewise +appropriated to himself Hadeland, and thus became a mighty king. + + + + +3. HALFDAN'S MARRIAGE + +Halfdan the Black got a wife called Ragnhild, a daughter of Harald +Gulskeg (Goldbeard), who was a king in Sogn. They had a son, to whom +Harald gave his own name; and the boy was brought up in Sogn, by his +mother's father, King Harald. Now when this Harald had lived out his +days nearly, and was become weak, having no son, he gave his dominions +to his daughter's son Harald, and gave him his title of king; and he +died soon after. The same winter his daughter Ragnhild died; and the +following spring the young Harald fell sick and died at ten years of +age. As soon as Halfdan the Black heard of his son's death, he took the +road northwards to Sogn with a great force, and was well received. He +claimed the heritage and dominion after his son; and no opposition being +made, he took the whole kingdom. Earl Atle Mjove (the Slender), who was +a friend of King Halfdan, came to him from Gaular; and the king set +him over the Sogn district, to judge in the country according to the +country's laws, and collect scat upon the king's account. Thereafter +King Halfdan proceeded to his kingdom in the Uplands. + + + + +4. HALFDAN'S STRIFE WITH GANDALF'S SONS. + +In autumn, King Halfdan proceeded to Vingulmark. One night when he was +there in guest quarters, it happened that about midnight a man came to +him who had been on the watch on horseback, and told him a war force was +come near to the house. The king instantly got up, ordered his men to +arm themselves, and went out of the house and drew them up in battle +order. At the same moment, Gandalf's sons, Hysing and Helsing, made +their appearance with a large army. There was a great battle; but +Halfdan being overpowered by the numbers of people fled to the forest, +leaving many of his men on this spot. His foster-father, Olver Spake +(the Wise), fell here. The people now came in swarms to King Halfdan, +and he advanced to seek Gandalf's sons. They met at Eid, near Lake +Oieren, and fought there. Hysing and Helsing fell, and their brother +Hake saved himself by flight. King Halfdan then took possession of the +whole of Vingulmark, and Hake fled to Alfheimar. + + + + +5. HALFDAN'S MARRIAGE WITH HJORT'S DAUGHTER. + +Sigurd Hjort was the name of a king in Ringerike, who was stouter and +stronger than any other man, and his equal could not be seen for a +handsome appearance. His father was Helge Hvasse (the Sharp); and his +mother was Aslaug, a daughter of Sigurd the worm-eyed, who again was a +son of Ragnar Lodbrok. It is told of Sigurd that when he was only twelve +years old he killed in single combat the berserk Hildebrand, and eleven +others of his comrades; and many are the deeds of manhood told of him in +a long saga about his feats. Sigurd had two children, one of whom was +a daughter, called Ragnhild, then twenty years of age, and an excellent +brisk girl. Her brother Guthorm was a youth. It is related in regard +to Sigurd's death that he had a custom of riding out quite alone in the +uninhabited forest to hunt the wild beasts that are hurtful to man, and +he was always very eager at this sport. One day he rode out into the +forest as usual, and when he had ridden a long way he came out at a +piece of cleared land near to Hadeland. There the berserk Hake came +against him with thirty men, and they fought. Sigurd Hjort fell there, +after killing twelve of Hake's men; and Hake himself lost one hand, and +had three other wounds. Then Hake and his men rode to Sigurd's house, +where they took his daughter Ragnhild and her brother Guthorm, and +carried them, with much property and valuable articles, home to +Hadeland, where Hake had many great farms. He ordered a feast to be +prepared, intending to hold his wedding with Ragnhild; but the time +passed on account of his wounds, which healed slowly; and the berserk +Hake of Hadeland had to keep his bed, on account of his wounds, all the +autumn and beginning of winter. Now King Halfdan was in Hedemark at the +Yule entertainments when he heard this news; and one morning early, when +the king was dressed, he called to him Harek Gand, and told him to go +over to Hadeland, and bring him Ragnhild, Sigurd Hjort's daughter. Harek +got ready with a hundred men, and made his journey so that they came +over the lake to Hake's house in the grey of the morning, and beset all +the doors and stairs of the places where the house-servants slept. Then +they broke into the sleeping-room where Hake slept, took Ragnhild, with +her brother Guthorm, and all the goods that were there, and set fire +to the house-servants' place, and burnt all the people in it. Then they +covered over a magnificent waggon, placed Ragnhild and Guthorm in it, +and drove down upon the ice. Hake got up and went after them a while; +but when he came to the ice on the lake, he turned his sword-hilt to +the ground and let himself fall upon the point, so that the sword went +through him. He was buried under a mound on the banks of the lake. When +King Halfdan, who was very quick of sight, saw the party returning over +the frozen lake, and with a covered waggon, he knew that their errand +was accomplished according to his desire. Thereupon he ordered the +tables to be set out, and sent people all round in the neighbourhood to +invite plenty of guests; and the same day there was a good feast which +was also Halfdan's marriage-feast with Ragnhild, who became a great +queen. Ragnhild's mother was Thorny, a daughter of Klakharald king in +Jutland, and a sister of Thrye Dannebod who was married to the Danish +king, Gorm the Old, who then ruled over the Danish dominions. + + + + +6. OF RAGNHILD'S DREAM. + +Ragnhild, who was wise and intelligent, dreamt great dreams. She dreamt, +for one, that she was standing out in her herb-garden, and she took a +thorn out of her shift; but while she was holding the thorn in her hand +it grew so that it became a great tree, one end of which struck itself +down into the earth, and it became firmly rooted; and the other end of +the tree raised itself so high in the air that she could scarcely see +over it, and it became also wonderfully thick. The under part of the +tree was red with blood, but the stem upwards was beautifully green and +the branches white as snow. There were many and great limbs to the tree, +some high up, others low down; and so vast were the tree's branches that +they seemed to her to cover all Norway, and even much more. + + + + +7. OF HALFDAN'S DREAM. + +King Halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to him an extraordinary +circumstance; and he told it to a man called Thorleif Spake (the Wise), +and asked him what his advice was about it. Thorleif said that what he +himself did, when he wanted to have any revelation by dream, was to take +his sleep in a swine-sty, and then it never failed that he had dreams. +The king did so, and the following dream was revealed to him. He thought +he had the most beautiful hair, which was all in ringlets; some so long +as to fall upon the ground, some reaching to the middle of his legs, +some to his knees, some to his loins or the middle of his sides, some +to his neck, and some were only as knots springing from his head. These +ringlets were of various colours; but one ringlet surpassed all the +others in beauty, lustre, and size. This dream he told to Thorleif, who +interpreted it thus:--There should be a great posterity from him, and +his descendants should rule over countries with great, but not all with +equally great, honour; but one of his race should be more celebrated +than all the others. It was the opinion of people that this ringlet +betokened King Olaf the Saint. + +King Halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness--who made +laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them. And +that violence should not come in place of the laws, he himself fixed +the number of criminal acts in law, and the compensations, mulcts, or +penalties, for each case, according to every one's birth and dignity +(1). + +Queen Ragnhild gave birth to a son, and water was poured over him, and +the name of Harald given him, and he soon grew stout and remarkably +handsome. As he grew up he became very expert at all feats, and showed +also a good understanding. He was much beloved by his mother, but less +so by his father. + + + ENDNOTES: + +(1) The penalty, compensation, or manbod for every injury, due + the party injured, or to his family and next of kin if the + injury was the death or premeditated murder of the party, + appears to have been fixed for every rank and condition, + from the murder of the king down to the maiming or beating a + man's cattle or his slave. A man for whom no compensation + was due was a dishonored person, or an outlaw. It appears + to have been optional with the injured party, or his kin if + he had been killed, to take the mulct or compensation, or to + refuse it, and wait for an opportunity of taking vengeance + for the injury on the party who inflicted it, or on his kin. + A part of each mulct or compensation was due to the king; + and, these fines or penalties appear to have constituted a + great proportion of the king's revenues, and to have been + settled in the Things held in every district for + administering the law with the lagman.--L. + + + + +8. HALFDAN'S MEAT VANISHES AT A FEAST + +King Halfdan was at a Yule-feast in Hadeland, where a wonderful thing +happened one Yule evening. When the great number of guests assembled +were going to sit down to table, all the meat and all the ale +disappeared from the table. The king sat alone very confused in mind; +all the others set off, each to his home, in consternation. That the +king might come to some certainty about what had occasioned this event, +he ordered a Fin to be seized who was particularly knowing, and tried to +force him to disclose the truth; but however much he tortured the man, +he got nothing out of him. The Fin sought help particularly from Harald, +the king's son, and Harald begged for mercy for him, but in vain. Then +Harald let him escape against the king's will, and accompanied the man +himself. On their journey they came to a place where the man's chief had +a great feast, and it appears they were well received there. When they +had been there until spring, the chief said, "Thy father took it much +amiss that in winter I took some provisions from him,--now I will repay +it to thee by a joyful piece of news: thy father is dead; and now thou +shalt return home, and take possession of the whole kingdom which he +had, and with it thou shalt lay the whole kingdom of Norway under thee." + + + + +9. HALFDAN S DEATH. + +Halfdan the Black was driving from a feast in Hadeland, and it so +happened that his road lay over the lake called Rand. It was in +spring, and there was a great thaw. They drove across the bight called +Rykinsvik, where in winter there had been a pond broken in the ice for +cattle to drink at, and where the dung had fallen upon the ice the thaw +had eaten it into holes. Now as the king drove over it the ice broke, +and King Halfdan and many with him perished. He was then forty years +old. He had been one of the most fortunate kings in respect of good +seasons. The people thought so much of him, that when his death was +known and his body was floated to Ringerike to bury it there, the people +of most consequence from Raumarike, Vestfold, and Hedemark came to +meet it. All desired to take the body with them to bury it in their own +district, and they thought that those who got it would have good crops +to expect. At last it was agreed to divide the body into four parts. The +head was laid in a mound at Stein in Ringerike, and each of the others +took his part home and laid it in a mound; and these have since been +called Halfdan's Mounds. + + + + +HARALD HARFAGER'S SAGA. + + + + +1. HARALD'S STRIFE WITH HAKE AND HIS FATHER GANDALF. + +Harald (1) was but ten years old when he succeeded his father (Halfdan +the Black). He became a stout, strong, and comely man, and withal +prudent and manly. His mother's brother, Guthorm, was leader of the +hird, at the head of the government, and commander ('hertogi') of the +army. After Halfdan the Black's death, many chiefs coveted the dominions +he had left. Among these King Gandalf was the first; then Hogne and +Frode, sons of Eystein, king of Hedemark; and also Hogne Karuson came +from Ringerike. Hake, the son of Gandalf, began with an expedition of +300 men against Vestfold, marched by the main road through some valleys, +and expected to come suddenly upon King Harald; while his father Gandalf +sat at home with his army, and prepared to cross over the fiord into +Vestfold. When Duke Guthorm heard of this he gathered an army, and +marched up the country with King Harald against Hake. They met in +a valley, in which they fought a great battle, and King Harald was +victorious; and there fell King Hake and most of his people. The place +has since been called Hakadale. Then King Harald and Duke Guthorm turned +back, but they found King Gandalf had come to Vestfold. The two armies +marched against each other, and met, and had a great battle; and it +ended in King Gandalf flying, after leaving most of his men dead on the +spot, and in that state he came back to his kingdom. Now when the sons +of King Eystein in Hedemark heard the news, they expected the war would +come upon them, and they sent a message to Hogne Karuson and to Herse +Gudbrand, and appointed a meeting with them at Ringsaker in Hedemark. + + ENDNOTES: (1) The first twenty chapters of this saga refer to Harald's + youth and his conquest of Norway. This portion of the saga + is of great importance to the Icelanders, as the settlement + of their Isle was a result of Harald's wars. The second + part of the saga (chaps. 21-46) treats of the disputes + between Harald's sons, of the jarls of Orkney, and of the + jarls of More. With this saga we enter the domain of + history.--Ed. + + + + +2. KING HARALD OVERCOMES FIVE KINGS. + +After the battle King Harald and Guthorm turned back, and went with all +the men they could gather through the forests towards the Uplands. They +found out where the Upland kings had appointed their meeting-place, and +came there about the time of midnight, without the watchmen observing +them until their army was before the door of the house in which Hogne +Karuson was, as well as that in which Gudbrand slept. They set fire to +both houses; but King Eystein's two sons slipped out with their men, and +fought for a while, until both Hogne and Frode fell. After the fall of +these four chiefs, King Harald, by his relation Guthorm's success and +powers, subdued Hedemark, Ringerike, Gudbrandsdal, Hadeland, Thoten, +Raumarike, and the whole northern part of Vingulmark. King Harald and +Guthorm had thereafter war with King Gandalf, and fought several battles +with him; and in the last of them King Gandalf was slain, and King +Harald took the whole of his kingdom as far south as the river Raum. + + + + +3. OF GYDA, DAUGHTER OF EIRIE. + +King Harald sent his men to a girl called Gyda, daughter of King Eirik +of Hordaland, who was brought up as foster-child in the house of a great +bonde in Valdres. The king wanted her for his concubine; for she was +a remarkably handsome girl, but of high spirit withal. Now when the +messengers came there, and delivered their errand to the girl, she +answered, that she would not throw herself away even to take a king +for her husband, who had no greater kingdom to rule over than a few +districts. "And methinks," said she, "it is wonderful that no king here +in Norway will make the whole country subject to him, in the same way as +Gorm the Old did in Denmark, or Eirik at Upsala." The messengers thought +her answer was dreadfully haughty, and asked what she thought would come +of such an answer; for Harald was so mighty a man, that his invitation +was good enough for her. But although she had replied to their errand +differently from what they wished, they saw no chance, on this occasion, +of taking her with them against her will; so they prepared to return. +When they were ready, and the people followed them out, Gyda said to the +messengers, "Now tell to King Harald these my words. I will only agree +to be his lawful wife upon the condition that he shall first, for my +sake, subject to himself the whole of Norway, so that he may rule +over that kingdom as freely and fully as King Eirik over the Swedish +dominions, or King Gorm over Denmark; for only then, methinks, can he be +called the king of a people." + + + + +4. KING HARALD'S VOW. + +Now came the messengers back to King Harald, bringing him the words of +the girl, and saying she was so bold and foolish that she well deserved +that the king should send a greater troop of people for her, and inflict +on her some disgrace. Then answered the king, "This girl has not spoken +or done so much amiss that she should be punished, but rather she should +be thanked for her words. She has reminded me," said he, "of something +which it appears to me wonderful I did not think of before. And now," +added he, "I make the solemn vow, and take God to witness, who made me +and rules over all things, that never shall I clip or comb my hair +until I have subdued the whole of Norway, with scat (1), and duties, and +domains; or if not, have died in the attempt." Guthorm thanked the +king warmly for his vow; adding, that it was royal work to fulfil royal +words. + + ENDNOTES: (1) Scat was a land-tax, paid to the king in money, malt, + meal, or flesh-meat, from all lands, and was adjudged by the Thing + to each king upon his accession, and being proposed and + accepted as king. + + + + +5. THE BATTLE IN ORKADAL. + +After this the two relations gather together a great force, and +prepare for an expedition to the Uplands, and northwards up the valley +(Gudbrandsdal), and north over Dovrefjeld; and when the king came +down to the inhabited land he ordered all the men to be killed, and +everything wide around to be delivered to the flames. And when the +people came to know this, they fled every one where he could; some down +the country to Orkadal, some to Gaulardal, some to the forests. But some +begged for peace, and obtained it, on condition of joining the king and +becoming his men. He met no opposition until he came to Orkadal. There +a crowd of people had assembled, and he had his first battle with a +king called Gryting. Harald won the victory, and King Gryting was made +prisoner, and most of his people killed. He took service himself under +the king, and swore fidelity to him. Thereafter all the people in Orkadal +district went under King Harald, and became his men. + + + + +6. KING HARALD S LAWS FOR LAND PROPERTY. + +King Harald made this law over all the lands he conquered, that all the +udal property should belong to him; and that the bondes, both great +and small, should pay him land dues for their possessions. Over every +district he set an earl to judge according to the law of the land and to +justice, and also to collect the land dues and the fines; and for this +each earl received a third part of the dues, and services, and fines, +for the support of his table and other expenses. Each earl had under him +four or more herses, each of whom had an estate of twenty marks yearly +income bestowed on him and was bound to support twenty men-at-arms, and +the earl sixty men, at their own expenses. The king had increased the +land dues and burdens so much, that each of his earls had greater power +and income than the kings had before; and when that became known at +Throndhjem, many great men joined the king and took his service. + + + + +7. BATTLE IN GAULARDAL. + +It is told that Earl Hakon Grjotgardson came to King Harald from Yrjar, +and brought a great crowd of men to his service. Then King Harald went +into Gaulardal, and had a great battle, in which he slew two kings, and +conquered their dominions; and these were Gaulardal district and Strind +district. He gave Earl Hakon Strind district to rule over as earl. King +Harald then proceeded to Stjoradal, and had a third battle, in which +he gained the victory, and took that district also. There upon the +Throndhjem people assembled, and four kings met together with their +troops. The one ruled over Veradal, the second over Skaun, third over +the Sparbyggja district, and the fourth over Eyin Idre (Inderoen); and +this latter had also Eyna district. These four kings marched with their +men against King Harald, but he won the battle; and some of these kings +fell, and some fled. In all, King Harald fought at the least eight +battles, and slew eight kings, in the Throndhjem district, and laid the +whole of it under him. + + + + +8. HARALD SEIZES NAUMUDAL DISTRICT. + +North in Naumudal were two brothers, kings,--Herlaug and Hrollaug; and +they had been for three summers raising a mound or tomb of stone and +lime and of wood. Just as the work was finished, the brothers got the +news that King Harald was coming upon them with his army. Then King +Herlaug had a great quantity of meat and drink brought into the mound, +and went into it himself, with eleven companions, and ordered the mound +to be covered up. King Hrollaug, on the contrary, went upon the summit +of the mound, on which the kings were wont to sit, and made a throne to +be erected, upon which he seated himself. Then he ordered feather-beds +to be laid upon the bench below, on which the earls were wont to be +seated, and threw himself down from his high seat or throne into the +earl's seat, giving himself the title of earl. Now Hrollaug went to meet +King Harald, gave up to him his whole kingdom, offered to enter into +his service, and told him his whole proceeding. Then took King Harald a +sword, fastened it to Hrollaug's belt, bound a shield to his neck, +and made him thereupon an earl, and led him to his earl's seat; and +therewith gave him the district Naumudal, and set him as earl over it +((A.D. 866)). (1) + + ENDNOTES: (1) Before writing was in general use, this symbolical way of + performing all important legal acts appears to have entered + into the jurisprudence of all savage nations; and according + to Gibbon, chap. 44, "the jurisprudence of the first Romans + exhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted + to the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the + forms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of + the fairest claims."--Ed. + + + + +9. KING HARALD'S HOME AFFAIRS. + +King Harald then returned to Throndhjem, where he dwelt during the +winter, and always afterwards called it his home. He fixed here his +head residence, which is called Lade. This winter he took to wife Asa, a +daughter of Earl Hakon Grjotgardson, who then stood in great favour and +honour with the king. In spring the king fitted out his ships. In +winter he had caused a great frigate (a dragon) to be built, and had it +fitted-out in the most splendid way, and brought his house-troops and +his berserks on board. The forecastle men were picked men, for they had +the king's banner. From the stem to the mid-hold was called rausn, +or the fore-defence; and there were the berserks. Such men only were +received into King Harald's house-troop as were remarkable for strength, +courage, and all kinds of dexterity; and they alone got place in his +ship, for he had a good choice of house-troops from the best men of +every district. King Harald had a great army, many large ships, and many +men of might followed him. Hornklofe, in his poem called "Glymdrapa", +tells of this; and also that King Harald had a battle with the people of +Orkadal, at Opdal forest, before he went upon this expedition. + + "O'er the broad heath the bowstrings twang, + While high in air the arrows sang. + The iron shower drives to flight + The foeman from the bloody fight. + The warder of great Odin's shrine, + The fair-haired son of Odin's line, + Raises the voice which gives the cheer, + First in the track of wolf or bear. + His master voice drives them along + To Hel--a destined, trembling throng; + And Nokve's ship, with glancing sides, + Must fly to the wild ocean's tides.-- + Must fly before the king who leads + Norse axe-men on their ocean steeds." + + + + +10. BATTLE AT SOLSKEL + +King Harald moved out with his army from Throndhjem, and went southwards +to More. Hunthiof was the name of the king who ruled over the district +of More. Solve Klofe was the name of his son, and both were great +warriors. King Nokve, who ruled over Raumsdal, was the brother of +Solve's mother. Those chiefs gathered a great force when they heard of +King Harald, and came against him. They met at Solskel, and there was +a great battle, which was gained by King Harald (A.D. 867). Hornklofe +tells of this battle:-- + + "Thus did the hero known to fame, + The leader of the shields, whose name + Strikes every heart with dire dismay, + Launch forth his war-ships to the fray. + Two kings he fought; but little strife + Was needed to cut short their life. + A clang of arms by the sea-shore,-- + And the shields' sound was heard no more." + +The two kings were slain, but Solve escaped by flight; and King Harald +laid both districts under his power. He stayed here long in summer to +establish law and order for the country people, and set men to rule +them, and keep them faithful to him; and in autumn he prepared to +return northwards to Throndhjem. Ragnvald Earl of More, a son of Eystein +Glumra, had the summer before become one of Harald's men; and the king +set him as chief over these two districts, North More and Raumsdal; +strengthened him both with men of might and bondes, and gave him +the help of ships to defend the coast against enemies. He was called +Ragnvald the Mighty, or the Wise; and people say both names suited him +well. King Harald came back to Throndhjem about winter. + + + + +11. FALL OF KINGS ARNVID AND AUDBJORN. + +The following spring (A.D. 868) King Harald raised a great force in +Throndhjem, and gave out that he would proceed to South More. Solve +Klofe had passed the winter in his ships of war, plundering in North +More, and had killed many of King Harald's men; pillaging some places, +burning others, and making great ravage; but sometimes he had been, +during the winter, with his friend King Arnvid in South More. Now when +he heard that King Harald was come with ships and a great army, he +gathered people, and was strong in men-at-arms; for many thought they +had to take vengeance of King Harald. Solve Klofe went southwards to +Firdafylke (the Fjord district), which King Audbjorn ruled over, to ask +him to help, and join his force to King Arnvid's and his own. "For," +said he, "it is now clear that we all have but one course to take; +and that is to rise, all as one man, against King Harald, for we have +strength enough, and fate must decide the victory; for as to the other +condition of becoming his servants, that is no condition for us, who +are not less noble than Harald. My father thought it better to fall in +battle for his kingdom, than to go willingly into King Harald's service, +or not to abide the chance of weapons like the Naumudal kings." King +Solve's speech was such that King Audbjorn promised his help, and +gathered a great force together and went with it to King Arnvid, and +they had a great army. Now, they got news that King Harald was come from +the north, and they met within Solskel. And it was the custom to lash +the ships together, stem to stem; so it was done now. King Harald laid +his ship against King Arnvid's, and there was the sharpest fight, and +many men fell on both sides. At last King Harald was raging with anger, +and went forward to the fore-deck, and slew so dreadfully that all the +forecastle men of Arnvid's ship were driven aft of the mast, and some +fell. Thereupon Harald boarded the ship, and King Arnvid's men tried to +save themselves by flight, and he himself was slain in his ship. King +Audbjorn also fell; but Solve fled. So says Hornklofe:-- + + "Against the hero's shield in vain + The arrow-storm fierce pours its rain. + The king stands on the blood-stained deck, + Trampling on many a stout foe's neck; + And high above the dinning stound + Of helm and axe, and ringing sound + Of blade and shield, and raven's cry, + Is heard his shout of 'Victory!'" + +Of King Harald's men, fell his earls Asgaut and Asbjorn, together with +his brothers-in-law, Grjotgard and Herlaug, the sons of Earl Hakon of +Lade. Solve became afterwards a great sea-king, and often did great +damage in King Harald's dominions. + + + + +12. KING VEMUND BURNT TO DEATH. + +After this battle (A.D. 868) King Harald subdued South More; but Vemund, +King Audbjorn's brother, still had Firdafylke. It was now late in +harvest, and King Harald's men gave him the counsel not to proceed +south-wards round Stad. Then King Harald set Earl Ragnvald over South +and North More and also Raumsdal, and he had many people about him. King +Harald returned to Throndhjem. The same winter (A.D. 869) Ragnvald went +over Eid, and southwards to the Fjord district. There he heard news of +King Vemund, and came by night to a place called Naustdal, where King +Vemund was living in guest-quarters. Earl Ragnvald surrounded the house +in which they were quartered, and burnt the king in it, together with +ninety men. The came Berdlukare to Earl Ragnvald with a complete armed +long-ship, and they both returned to More. The earl took all the ships +Vemund had, and all the goods he could get hold of. Berdlukare proceeded +north to Throndhjem to King Harald, and became his man; and dreadful +berserk he was. + + + + +13. DEATH OF EARLS HAKON, AND ATLE MJOVE. + +The following spring (A.D. 869) King Harald went southwards with his +fleet along the coast, and subdued Firdafylke. Then he sailed eastward +along the land until he came to Vik; but he left Earl Hakon Grjotgardson +behind, and set him over the Fjord district. Earl Hakon sent word to +Earl Atle Mjove that he should leave Sogn district, and be earl over +Gaular district, as he had been before, alleging that King Harald had +given Sogn district to him. Earl Atle sent word that he would keep both +Sogn district and Gaular district, until he met King Harald. The two +earls quarreled about this so long, that both gathered troops. They met +at Fialar, in Stavanger fiord, and had a great battle, in which Earl +Hakon fell, and Earl Atle got a mortal wound, and his men carried him to +the island of Atley, where he died. So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller:-- + + "He who stood a rooted oak, + Unshaken by the swordsman's stroke, + Amidst the whiz of arrows slain, + Has fallen upon Fjalar's plain. + There, by the ocean's rocky shore, + The waves are stained with the red gore + Of stout Earl Hakon Grjotgard's son, + And of brave warriors many a one." + + + + +14. HARALD AND THE SWEDISH KING EIRIK. + +King Harald came with his fleet eastward to Viken and landed at +Tunsberg, which was then a trading town. He had then been four years in +Throndhjem, and in all that time had not been in Viken. Here he heard +the news that Eirik Eymundson, king of Sweden, had laid under him +Vermaland, and was taking scat or land-tax from all the forest settlers; +and also that he called the whole country north to Svinasund, and west +along the sea, West Gautland; and which altogether he reckoned to his +kingdom, and took land-tax from it. Over this country he had set an +earl, by name Hrane Gauzke, who had the earldom between Svinasund and +the Gaut river, and was a mighty earl. And it was told to King Harald +that the Swedish king said he would not rest until he had as great +a kingdom in Viken as Sigurd Hring, or his son Ragnar Lodbrok, had +possessed; and that was Raumarike and Vestfold, all the way to the isle +Grenmar, and also Vingulmark, and all that lay south of it. In all these +districts many chiefs, and many other people, had given obedience to +the Swedish king. King Harald was very angry at this, and summoned the +bondes to a Thing at Fold, where he laid an accusation against them +for treason towards him. Some bondes defended themselves from the +accusation, some paid fines, some were punished. He went thus through +the whole district during the summer, and in harvest he did the same in +Raumarike, and laid the two districts under his power. Towards winter +he heard that Eirik king of Sweden was, with his court, going about in +Vermaland in guest-quarters. + + + + +15. HARALD AT A FEAST OF THE PEASANT AKE. + +King Harald takes his way across the Eid forest eastward, and comes out +in Vermaland, where he also orders feasts to be prepared for himself. +There was a man by name Ake, who was the greatest of the bondes of +Vermaland, very rich, and at that time very aged. He sent men to King +Harald, and invited him to a feast, and the king promised to come on the +day appointed. Ake invited also King Eirik to a feast, and appointed the +same day. Ake had a great feasting hall, but it was old; and he made a +new hall, not less than the old one, and had it ornamented in the most +splendid way. The new hall he had hung with new hangings, but the old +had only its old ornaments. Now when the kings came to the feast, King +Eirik with his court was taken into the old hall; but Harald with +his followers into the new. The same difference was in all the table +furniture, and King Eirik and his men had the old-fashioned vessels and +horns, but all gilded and splendid; while King Harald and his men +had entirely new vessels and horns adorned with gold, all with carved +figures, and shining like glass; and both companies had the best of +liquor. Ake the bonde had formerly been King Halfdan the Black s man. +Now when daylight came, and the feast was quite ended, and the kings +made themselves ready for their journey, and the horses were saddled, +came Ake before King Harald, leading in his hand his son Ubbe, a boy of +twelve years of age, and said, "If the goodwill I have shown to thee, +sire, in my feast, be worth thy friendship, show it hereafter to my son. +I give him to thee now for thy service." The king thanked him with many +agreeable words for his friendly entertainment, and promised him his +full friendship in return. Then Ake brought out great presents, which he +gave to the king, and they gave each other thereafter the parting kiss. +Ake went next to the Swedish king, who was dressed and ready for the +road, but not in the best humour. Ake gave to him also good and valuable +gifts; but the king answered only with few words, and mounted his horse. +Ake followed the king on the road and talked with him. The road led +through a wood which was near to the house; and when Ake came to +the wood, the king said to him, "How was it that thou madest such +a difference between me and King Harald as to give him the best of +everything, although thou knowest thou art my man?" "I think" answered +Ake, "that there failed in it nothing, king, either to you or to your +attendants, in friendly entertainment at this feast. But that all the +utensils for your drinking were old, was because you are now old; but +King Harald is in the bloom of youth, and therefore I gave him the new +things. And as to my being thy man, thou art just as much my man." On +this the king out with his sword, and gave Ake his deathwound. King +Harald was ready now also to mount his horse, and desired that Ake +should be called. The people went to seek him; and some ran up the road +that King Eirik had taken, and found Ake there dead. They came back, and +told the news to King Harald, and he bids his men to be up, and avenge +Ake the bonde. And away rode he and his men the way King Eirik had +taken, until they came in sight of each other. Each for himself rode as +hard as he could, until Eirik came into the wood which divides Gautland +and Vermaland. There King Harald wheels about, and returns to Vermaland, +and lays the country under him, and kills King Eirik's men wheresoever +he can find them. In winter King Harald returned to Raumarike, and dwelt +there a while. + + + + +16. HARALD'S JOURNEY TO TUNSBERG. + +King Harald went out in winter to his ships at Tunsberg, rigged them, +and sailed away eastward over the fiord, and subjected all Vingulmark +to his dominion. All winter he was out with his ships, and marauded in +Ranrike; so says Thorbjorn Hornklofe:-- + + "The Norseman's king is on the sea, + Tho' bitter wintry cold it be.-- + On the wild waves his Yule keeps he. + When our brisk king can get his way, + He'll no more by the fireside stay + Than the young sun; he makes us play + The game of the bright sun-god Frey. + But the soft Swede loves well the fire + The well-stuffed couch, the doway glove, + And from the hearth-seat will not move." + +The Gautlanders gathered people together all over the country. + + + + +17. THE BATTLE IN GAUTLAND. + +In spring, when the ice was breaking up, the Gautlanders drove stakes +into the Gaut river to hinder King Harald with his ships from coming +to the land. But King Harald laid his ships alongside the stakes, and +plundered the country, and burnt all around; so says Horn klofe:-- + + "The king who finds a dainty feast, + For battle-bird and prowling beast, + Has won in war the southern land + That lies along the ocean's strand. + The leader of the helmets, he + Who leads his ships o'er the dark sea, + Harald, whose high-rigged masts appear + Like antlered fronts of the wild deer, + Has laid his ships close alongside + Of the foe's piles with daring pride." + +Afterwards the Gautlanders came down to the strand with a great army, +and gave battle to King Harald, and great was the fall of men. But it +was King Harald who gained the day. Thus says Hornklofe:-- + + "Whistles the battle-axe in its swing + O'er head the whizzing javelins sing, + Helmet and shield and hauberk ring; + The air-song of the lance is loud, + The arrows pipe in darkening cloud; + Through helm and mail the foemen feel + The blue edge of our king's good steel + Who can withstand our gallant king? + The Gautland men their flight must wing." + + + + +18. HRANE GAUZKE'S DEATH. + +King Harald went far and wide through Gautland, and many were the +battles he fought there on both sides of the river, and in general he +was victorious. In one of these battles fell Hrane Gauzke; and then the +king took his whole land north of the river and west of the Veneren, and +also Vermaland. And after he turned back there-from, he set Duke Guthorm +as chief to defend the country, and left a great force with him. King +Harald himself went first to the Uplands, where he remained a while, and +then proceeded northwards over the Dovrefjeld to Throndhjem, where he +dwelt for a long time. Harald began to have children. By Asa he had four +sons. The eldest was Guthorm. Halfdan the Black and Halfdan the +White were twins. Sigfrod was the fourth. They were all brought up in +Throndhjem with all honour. + + + + +19. BATTLE IN HAFERSFJORD. + +News came in from the south land that the people of Hordaland and +Rogaland, Agder and Thelemark, were gathering, and bringing together +ships and weapons, and a great body of men. The leaders of this were +Eirik king of Hordaland; Sulke king of Rogaland, and his brother Earl +Sote: Kjotve the Rich, king of Agder, and his son Thor Haklang; and from +Thelemark two brothers, Hroald Hryg and Had the Hard. Now when Harald +got certain news of this, he assembled his forces, set his ships on the +water, made himself ready with his men, and set out southwards along the +coast, gathering many people from every district. King Eirik heard of +this when he same south of Stad; and having assembled all the men he +could expect, he proceeded southwards to meet the force which he knew +was coming to his help from the east. The whole met together north of +Jadar, and went into Hafersfjord, where King Harald was waiting with his +forces. A great battle began, which was both hard and long; but at last +King Harald gained the day. There King Eirik fell, and King Sulke, with +his brother Earl Sote. Thor Haklang, who was a great berserk, had +laid his ship against King Harald's, and there was above all measure +a desperate attack, until Thor Haklang fell, and his whole ship was +cleared of men. Then King Kjotve fled to a little isle outside, on which +there was a good place of strength. Thereafter all his men fled, some to +their ships, some up to the land; and the latter ran southwards over the +country of Jadar. So says Hornklofe, viz.:-- + + "Has the news reached you?--have you heard + Of the great fight at Hafersfjord, + Between our noble king brave Harald + And King Kjotve rich in gold? + The foeman came from out the East, + Keen for the fray as for a feast. + A gallant sight it was to see + Their fleet sweep o'er the dark-blue sea: + Each war-ship, with its threatening throat + Of dragon fierce or ravenous brute (1) + Grim gaping from the prow; its wales + Glittering with burnished shields, (2) like scales + Its crew of udal men of war, + Whose snow-white targets shone from far + And many a mailed spearman stout + From the West countries round about, + English and Scotch, a foreign host, + And swordamen from the far French coast. + And as the foemen's ships drew near, + The dreadful din you well might hear + Savage berserks roaring mad, + And champions fierce in wolf-skins clad, (3) + Howling like wolves; and clanking jar + Of many a mail-clad man of war. + Thus the foe came; but our brave king + Taught them to fly as fast again. + For when he saw their force come o'er, + He launched his war-ships from the shore. + On the deep sea he launched his fleet + And boldly rowed the foe to meet. + Fierce was the shock, and loud the clang + Of shields, until the fierce Haklang, + The foeman's famous berserk, fell. + Then from our men burst forth the yell + Of victory, and the King of Gold + Could not withstand our Harald bold, + But fled before his flaky locks + For shelter to the island rocks. + All in the bottom of the ships + The wounded lay, in ghastly heaps; + Backs up and faces down they lay + Under the row-seats stowed away; + And many a warrior's shield, I ween + Might on the warrior's back be seen, + To shield him as he fled amain + From the fierce stone-storm's pelting rain. + The mountain-folk, as I've heard say, + Ne'er stopped as they ran from the fray, + Till they had crossed the Jadar sea, + And reached their homes--so keen each soul + To drown his fright in the mead bowl." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The war-ships were called dragons, from being decorated + with the head of a dragon, serpent, or other wild animal; and the + word "draco" was adopted in the Latin of the Middle Ages to + denote a ship of war of the larger class. The snekke was + the cutter or smaller war-ship.--L. +(2) The shields were hung over the side-rails of the ships.--L. +(3) The wolf-skin pelts were nearly as good as armour against + the sword. + + + + +20. HARALD SUPREME SOVEREIGN IN NORWAY. + +After this battle King Harald met no opposition in Norway, for all his +opponents and greatest enemies were cut off. But some, and they were a +great multitude, fled out of the country, and thereby great districts +were peopled. Jemtaland and Helsingjaland were peopled then, although +some Norwegians had already set up their habitation there. In the +discontent that King Harald seized on the lands of Norway, the +out-countries of Iceland and the Farey Isles were discovered and +peopled. The Northmen had also a great resort to Hjaltland (Shetland +Isles) and many men left Norway, flying the country on account of King +Harald, and went on viking cruises into the West sea. In winter they +were in the Orkney Islands and Hebrides; but marauded in summer in +Norway, and did great damage. Many, however, were the mighty men who +took service under King Harald, and became his men, and dwelt in the +land with him. + + + + +21. HARALD'S MARRIAGE AND HIS CHILDREN. + +When King Harald had now become sole king over all Norway, he remembered +what that proud girl had said to him; so he sent men to her, and had her +brought to him, and took her to his bed. And these were their children: +Alof--she was the eldest; then was their son Hrorek; then Sigtryg, +Frode, and Thorgils. King Harald had many wives and many children. Among +them he had one wife, who was called Ragnhild the Mighty, a daughter of +King Eirik, from Jutland; and by her he had a son, Eirik Blood-axe. He +was also married to Svanhild, a daughter of Earl Eystein; and their sons +were Olaf Geirstadaalf, Bjorn and Ragnar Rykkil. Lastly, King Harald +married Ashild, a daughter of Hring Dagson, up in Ringerike; and their +children were, Dag, Hring, Gudrod Skiria, and Ingigerd. It is told that +King Harald put away nine wives when he married Ragnhild the Mighty. So +says Hornklofe:-- + + "Harald, of noblest race the head, + A Danish wife took to his bed; + And out of doors nine wives he thrust,-- + The mothers of the princes first. + Who 'mong Holmrygians hold command, + And those who rule in Hordaland. + And then he packed from out the place + The children born of Holge's race." + +King Harald's children were all fostered and brought up by their +relations on the mother's side. Guthorm the Duke had poured water over +King Harald's eldest son and had given him his own name. He set the +child upon his knee, and was his foster-father, and took him with +himself eastward to Viken, and there he was brought up in the house of +Guthorm. Guthorm ruled the whole land in Viken and the Uplands, when +King Harald was absent. + + + + +22. KING HARALD'S VOYAGE TO THE WEST. + +King Harald heard that the vikings, who were in the West sea in winter, +plundered far and wide in the middle part of Norway; and therefore every +summer he made an expedition to search the isles and out-skerries (1) on +the coast. Wheresoever the vikings heard of him they all took to flight, +and most of them out into the open ocean. At last the king grew weary of +this work, and therefore one summer he sailed with his fleet right out +into the West sea. First he came to Hjaltland (Shetland), and he slew +all the vikings who could not save themselves by flight. Then King +Harald sailed southwards, to the Orkney Islands, and cleared them all +of vikings. Thereafter he proceeded to the Sudreys (Hebrides), plundered +there, and slew many vikings who formerly had had men-at-arms under +them. Many a battle was fought, and King Harald was always victorious. +He then plundered far and wide in Scotland itself, and had a battle +there. When he was come westward as far as the Isle of Man, the report +of his exploits on the land had gone before him; for all the inhabitants +had fled over to Scotland, and the island was left entirely bare both +of people and goods, so that King Harald and his men made no booty when +they landed. So says Hornklofe:-- + + "The wise, the noble king, great + Whose hand so freely scatters gold, + Led many a northern shield to war + Against the town upon the shore. + The wolves soon gathered on the sand + Of that sea-shore; for Harald's hand + The Scottish army drove away, + And on the coast left wolves a prey." + +In this war fell Ivar, a son of Ragnvald, Earl of More; and King Harald +gave Ragnvald, as a compensation for the loss, the Orkney and Shetland +isles, when he sailed from the West; but Ragnvald immediately gave both +these countries to his brother Sigurd, who remained behind them; and +King Harald, before sailing eastward, gave Sigurd the earldom of them. +Thorstein the Red, a son of Olaf the White and of Aud the Wealthy, +entered into partnership with him; and after plundering in Scotland, +they subdued Caithness and Sutherland, as far as Ekkjalsbakke. Earl +Sigurd killed Melbridge Tooth, a Scotch earl, and hung his head to his +stirrup-leather; but the calf of his leg were scratched by the teeth, +which were sticking out from the head, and the wound caused inflammation +in his leg, of which the earl died, and he was laid in a mound at +Ekkjalsbakke. His son Guthorm ruled over these countries for about a +year thereafter, and died without children. Many vikings, both Danes and +Northmen, set themselves down then in those countries. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Skerries are the uninhabited dry or halt-tide rocks of a + coast.--L. + + + + +23. HARALD HAS HIS HAIR CLIPPED. + +After King Harald had subdued the whole land, he was one day at a feast +in More, given by Earl Ragnvald. Then King Harald went into a bath, and +had his hair dressed. Earl Ragnvald now cut his hair, which had been +uncut and uncombed for ten years; and therefore the king had been called +Lufa (i.e., with rough matted hair). But then Earl Ragnvald gave him the +distinguishing name--Harald Harfager (i.e., fair hair); and all who saw +him agreed that there was the greatest truth in the surname, for he had +the most beautiful and abundant head of hair. + + + + +24. ROLF GANGER DRIVEN INTO BANISHMENT. + +Earl Ragnvald was King Harald's dearest friend, and the king had the +greatest regard for him. He was married to Hild, a daughter of Rolf +Nefia, and their sons were Rolf and Thorer. Earl Ragnvald had also three +sons by concubines,--the one called Hallad, the second Einar, the third +Hrollaug; and all three were grown men when their brothers born in +marriage were still children Rolf became a great viking, and was of so +stout a growth that no horse could carry him, and wheresoever he went he +must go on foot; and therefore he was called Rolf Ganger. He plundered +much in the East sea. One summer, as he was coming from the eastward on +a viking's expedition to the coast of Viken, he landed there and made +a cattle foray. As King Harald happened, just at that time, to be in +Viken, he heard of it, and was in a great rage; for he had forbid, +by the greatest punishment, the plundering within the bounds of the +country. The king assembled a Thing, and had Rolf declared an outlaw +over all Norway. When Rolf's mother, Hild heard of it she hastened to +the king, and entreated peace for Rolf; but the king was so enraged that +here entreaty was of no avail. Then Hild spake these lines:-- + + "Think'st thou, King Harald, in thy anger, + To drive away my brave Rolf Ganger + Like a mad wolf, from out the land? + Why, Harald, raise thy mighty hand? + Why banish Nefia's gallant name-son, + The brother of brave udal-men? + Why is thy cruelty so fell? + Bethink thee, monarch, it is ill + With such a wolf at wolf to play, + Who, driven to the wild woods away + May make the king's best deer his prey." + +Rolf Ganger went afterwards over sea to the West to the Hebrides, or +Sudreys; and at last farther west to Valland, where he plundered and +subdued for himself a great earldom, which he peopled with Northmen, +from which that land is called Normandy. Rolf Ganger's son was William, +father to Richard, and grandfather to another Richard, who was the +father of Robert Longspear, and grandfather of William the Bastard, from +whom all the following English kings are descended. From Rolf Ganger +also are descended the earls in Normandy. Queen Ragnhild the Mighty +lived three years after she came to Norway; and, after her death, her +son and King Harald's was taken to the herse Thorer Hroaldson, and Eirik +was fostered by him. + + + + +25. OF THE FIN SVASE AND KING HARALD. + +King Harald, one winter, went about in guest-quarters in the Uplands, +and had ordered a Christmas feast to be prepared for him at the farm +Thoptar. On Christmas eve came Svase to the door, just as the king went +to table, and sent a message to the king to ask if he would go out with +him. The king was angry at such a message, and the man who had brought +it in took out with him a reply of the king's displeasure. But Svase, +notwithstanding, desired that his message should be delivered a second +time; adding to it, that he was the Fin whose hut the king had promised +to visit, and which stood on the other side of the ridge. Now the king +went out, and promised to go with him, and went over the ridge to his +hut, although some of his men dissuaded him. There stood Snaefrid, the +daughter of Svase, a most beautiful girl; and she filled a cup of +mead for the king. But he took hold both of the cup and of her hand. +Immediately it was as if a hot fire went through his body; and he wanted +that very night to take her to his bed. But Svase said that should not +be unless by main force, if he did not first make her his lawful +wife. Now King Harald made Snaefrid his lawful wife, and loved her so +passionately that he forgot his kingdom, and all that belonged to his +high dignity. They had four sons: the one was Sigurd Hrise; the others +Halfdan Haleg, Gudrod Ljome and Ragnvald Rettilbeine. Thereafter +Snaefrid died; but her corpse never changed, but was as fresh and red +as when she lived. The king sat always beside her, and thought she +would come to life again. And so it went on for three years that he +was sorrowing over her death, and the people over his delusion. At +last Thorleif the Wise succeeded, by his prudence, in curing him of his +delusion by accosting him thus:--"It is nowise wonderful, king, that +thou grievest over so beautiful and noble a wife, and bestowest costly +coverlets and beds of down on her corpse, as she desired; but these +honours fall short of what is due, as she still lies in the same +clothes. It would be more suitable to raise her, and change her dress." +As soon as the body was raised in the bed all sorts of corruption and +foul smells came from it, and it was necessary in all haste to gather a +pile of wood and burn it; but before this could be done the body turned +blue, and worms, toads, newts, paddocks, and all sorts of ugly reptiles +came out of it, and it sank into ashes. Now the king came to his +understanding again, threw the madness out of his mind, and after that +day ruled his kingdom as before. He was strengthened and made joyful by +his subjects, and his subjects by him and the country by both. + + + + +26. OF THJODOLF OF HVIN, THE SKALD. + +After King Harald had experienced the cunning of the Fin woman, he was +so angry that he drove from him the sons he had with her, and would not +suffer them before his eyes. But one of them, Gudrod Ljome, went to his +foster-father Thjodolf of Hvin, and asked him to go to the king, who was +then in the Uplands; for Thjodolf was a great friend of the king. And +so they went, and came to the king's house late in the evening, and sat +down together unnoticed near the door. The king walked up and down +the floor casting his eye along the benches; for he had a feast in the +house, and the mead was just mixed. The king then murmured out these +lines:-- + + "Tell me, ye aged gray-haired heroes, + Who have come here to seek repose, + Wherefore must I so many keep + Of such a set, who, one and all, + Right dearly love their souls to steep, + From morn till night, in the mead-bowl?" + +Then Thjodolf replies:-- + + "A certain wealthy chief, I think, + Would gladly have had more to drink + With him, upon one bloody day, + When crowns were cracked in our sword-play." + +Thjodolf then took off his hat, and the king recognised him, and gave +him a friendly reception. Thjodolf then begged the king not to cast off +his sons; "for they would with great pleasure have taken a better family +descent upon the mother's side, if the king had given it to them." The +king assented, and told him to take Gudrod with him as formerly; and he +sent Halfdan and Sigurd to Ringerike, and Ragnvald to Hadaland, and all +was done as the king ordered. They grew up to be very clever men, very +expert in all exercises. In these times King Harald sat in peace in the +land, and the land enjoyed quietness and good crops. + + + + +27. OF EARL TORFEINAR'S OBTAINING ORKNEY. + +When Earl Ragnvald in More heard of the death of his brother Earl +Sigurd, and that the vikings were in possession of the country, he sent +his son Hallad westward, who took the title of earl to begin with, and +had many men-at-arms with him. When he arrived at the Orkney Islands, +he established himself in the country; but both in harvest, winter, and +spring, the vikings cruised about the isles plundering the headlands, +and committing depredations on the coast. Then Earl Hallad grew tired +of the business, resigned his earldom, took up again his rights as an +allodial owner, and afterwards returned eastward into Norway. When Earl +Ragnvald heard of this he was ill pleased with Hallad, and said his son +were very unlike their ancestors. Then said Einar, "I have enjoyed but +little honour among you, and have little affection here to lose: now +if you will give me force enough, I will go west to the islands, and +promise you what at any rate will please you--that you shall never see +me again." Earl Ragnvald replied, that he would be glad if he never came +back; "For there is little hope," said he, "that thou will ever be an +honour to thy friends, as all thy kin on thy mother's side are born +slaves." Earl Ragnvald gave Einar a vessel completely equipped, and he +sailed with it into the West sea in harvest. When he came to the Orkney +Isles, two vikings, Thorer Treskeg and Kalf Skurfa, were in his way with +two vessels. He attacked them instantly, gained the battle, and slew the +two vikings. Then this was sung:-- + + "Then gave he Treskeg to the trolls, + Torfeinar slew Skurfa." + +He was called Torfeinar, because he cut peat for fuel, there being no +firewood, as in Orkney there are no woods. He afterwards was earl over +the islands, and was a mighty man. He was ugly, and blind of an eye, yet +very sharp-sighted withal. + + + + +28. KING EIRIK EYMUNDSON'S DEATH. + +Duke Guthorm dwelt principally at Tunsberg, and governed the whole of +Viken when the king was not there. He defended the land, which, at that +time, was much plundered by the vikings. There were disturbances also up +in Gautland as long as King Eirik Eymundson lived; but he died when King +Harald Harfager had been ten years king of all Norway. + + + + +29. GUTHORM'S DEATH IN TUNSBERG. + +After Eirik, his son Bjorn was king of Svithjod for fifty years. He was +father of Eirik the Victorious, and of Olaf the father of Styrbjorn. +Guthorm died on a bed of sickness at Tunsberg, and King Harald gave his +son Guthorm the government of that part of his dominions and made him +chief of it. + + + + +30. EARL RAGNVALD BURNT IN HIS HOUSE. + +When King Harald was forty years of age many of his sons were well +advanced, and indeed they all came early to strength and manhood. And +now they began to take it ill that the king would not give them any +part of the kingdom, but put earls into every district; for they thought +earls were of inferior birth to them. Then Halfdan Haleg and Gudrod +Ljome set off one spring with a great force, and came suddenly upon Earl +Ragnvald, earl of More, and surrounded the house in which he was, and +burnt him and sixty men in it. Thereafter Halfdan took three long-ships, +and fitted them out, and sailed into the West sea; but Gudrod set +himself down in the land which Ragnvald formerly had. Now when King +Harald heard this he set out with a great force against Gudrod, who +had no other way left but to surrender, and he was sent to Agder. King +Harald then set Earl Ragnvald's son Thorer over More, and gave him +his daughter Alof, called Arbot, in marriage. Earl Thorer, called the +Silent, got the same territory his father Earl Ragnvald had possessed. + + + + +31. HALFDAN HALEG'S DEATH. + +Halfdan Haleg came very unexpectedly to Orkney, and Earl Einar +immediately fled; but came back soon after about harvest time, unnoticed +by Halfdan. They met and after a short battle Halfdan fled the same +night. Einar and his men lay all night without tents, and when it was +light in the morning they searched the whole island and killed every +man they could lay hold of. Then Einar said "What is that I see upon the +isle of Rinansey? Is it a man or a bird? Sometimes it raises itself +up, and sometimes lies down again." They went to it, and found it was +Halfdan Haleg, and took him prisoner. + +Earl Einar sang the following song the evening before he went into this +battle:-- + + "Where is the spear of Hrollaug? where + Is stout Rolf Ganger's bloody spear! + I see them not; yet never fear, + For Einar will not vengeance spare + Against his father's murderers, though + Hrollaug and Rolf are somewhat slow, + And silent Thorer sits add dreams + At home, beside the mead-bowl's streams." + +Thereafter Earl Einar went up to Halfdan, and cut a spread eagle +upon his back, by striking his sword through his back into his belly, +dividing his ribs from the backbone down to his loins, and tearing out +his lungs; and so Halfdan was killed. Einar then sang:-- + + "For Ragnvald's death my sword is red: + Of vengeance it cannot be said + That Einar's share is left unsped. + So now, brave boys, let's raise a mound,-- + Heap stones and gravel on the ground + O'er Halfdan's corpse: this is the way + We Norsemen our scat duties pay." + +Then Earl Einar took possession of the Orkney Isles as before. Now when +these tidings came to Norway, Halfdan's brothers took it much to heart, +and thought that his death demanded vengeance; and many were of the same +opinion. When Einar heard this, he sang:-- + + "Many a stout udal-man, I know, + Has cause to wish my head laid low; + And many an angry udal knife + Would gladly drink of Eina's life. + But ere they lay Earl Einar low,-- + Ere this stout heart betrays its cause, + Full many a heart will writhe, we know, + In the wolf's fangs, or eagle's claws." + + + + +32. HARALD AND EINAR RECONCILED. + +King Harald now ordered a levy, and gathered a great force, with which +he proceeded westward to Orkney; and when Earl Einar heard that King +Harald was come, he fled over to Caithness. He made the following verses +on this occasion:-- + + "Many a bearded man must roam, + An exile from his house and home, + For cow or horse; but Halfdan's gore + Is red on Rinansey's wild shore. + A nobler deed--on Harald's shield + The arm of one who ne'er will yield + Has left a scar. Let peasants dread + The vengeance of the Norsemen's head: + I reck not of his wrath, but sing, + 'Do thy worst!--I defy thee, king!--'" + +Men and messages, however, passed between the king and the earl, and at +last it came to a conference; and when they met the earl submitted the +case altogether to the king's decision, and the king condemned the earl +Einar and the Orkney people to pay a fine of sixty marks of gold. As the +bondes thought this was too heavy for them to pay, the earl offered to +pay the whole if they would surrender their udal lands to him. This they +all agreed to do: the poor because they had but little pieces of land; +the rich because they could redeem their udal rights again when they +liked. Thus the earl paid the whole fine to the king, who returned in +harvest to Norway. The earls for a long time afterwards possessed all +the udal lands in Orkney, until Sigurd son of Hlodver gave back the udal +rights. + + + + +33. DEATH OF GUTHORM AND HALFDAN THE WHITE. + +While King Harald's son Guthorm had the defence of Viken, he sailed +outside of the islands on the coast, and came in by one of the mouths +of the tributaries of the Gaut river. When he lay there Solve Klofe came +upon him, and immediately gave him battle, and Guthorm fell. Halfdan the +White and Halfdan the Black went out on an expedition, and plundered +in the East sea, and had a battle in Eistland, where Halfdan the White +fell. + + + + +34. MARRIAGE OF EIRIK. + +Eirik, Harald's son, was fostered in the house of the herse Thorer, son +of Hroald, in the Fjord district. He was the most beloved and honoured +by King Harald of all his sons. When Eirik was twelve years old, +King Harald gave him five long-ships, with which he went on an +expedition,--first in the Baltic; then southwards to Denmark, Friesland, +and Saxland; on which expedition he passed four years. He then sailed +out into the West sea and plundered in Scotland, Bretland, Ireland, and +Valland, and passed four years more in this way. Then he sailed north to +Finmark, and all the way to Bjarmaland, where he had many a battle, and +won many a victory. When he came back to Finmark, his men found a girl +in a Lapland hut, whose equal for beauty they never had seen. She said +her name was Gunhild, and that her father dwelt in Halogaland, and was +called Ozur Tote. "I am here," she said, "to learn sorcery from two of +the most knowing Fins in all Finmark, who are now out hunting. They both +want me in marriage. They are so skilful that they can hunt out traces +either upon the frozen or the thawed earth, like dogs; and they can run +so swiftly on skees that neither man nor beast can come near them in +speed. They hit whatever they take aim at, and thus kill every man +who comes near them. When they are angry the very earth turns away in +terror, and whatever living thing they look upon then falls dead. Now ye +must not come in their way; but I will hide you here in the hut, and ye +must try to get them killed." They agreed to it, and she hid them, and +then took a leather bag, in which they thought there were ashes which +she took in her hand, and strewed both outside and inside of the hut. +Shortly after the Fins came home, and asked who had been there; and she +answered, "Nobody has been here." "That is wonderful," said they, "we +followed the traces close to the hut, and can find none after that." +Then they kindled a fire, and made ready their meat, and Gunhild +prepared her bed. It had so happened that Gunhild had slept the three +nights before, but the Fins had watched the one upon the other, being +jealous of each other. "Now," she said to the Fins, "come here, and lie +down one on each side of me." On which they were very glad to do so. She +laid an arm round the neck of each and they went to sleep directly. She +roused them up; but they fell to sleep again instantly, and so soundly +the she scarcely could waken them. She even raised them up in the bed, +and still they slept. Thereupon she too two great seal-skin bags, and +put their heads in them, and tied them fast under their arms; and then +she gave a wink to the king's men. They run forth with their weapons, +kill the two Fins, and drag them out of the hut. That same night came +such a dreadful thunder-storm that the could not stir. Next morning they +came to the ship, taking Gunhild with them, and presented her to Eirik. +Eirik and his followers then sailed southwards to Halogaland and he sent +word to Ozur Tote, the girl's father, to meet him. Eirik said he would +take his daughter in marriage, to which Ozur Tote consented, and Eirik +took Gunhild and went southwards with her (A.D. 922). + + + + +35. HARALD DIVIDES HIS KINGDOM. + +When King Harald was fifty years of age many of his sons were grown up, +and some were dead. Many of them committed acts of great violence in the +country, and were in discord among themselves. They drove some of the +king's earls out of their properties, and even killed some of them. +Then the king called together a numerous Thing in the south part of the +country, and summoned to it all the people of the Uplands. At this +Thing he gave to all his sons the title of king, and made a law that his +descendants in the male line should each succeed to the kingly title and +dignity; but his descendants by the female side only to that of earl. +And he divided the country among them thus:--Vingulmark, Raumarike, +Vestfold and Thelamark, he bestowed on Olaf, Bjorn, Sigtryg, Frode, and +Thorgils. Hedemark and Gudbrandsdal he gave to Dag, Hring, and Ragnar. +To Snaefrid's sons he gave Ringerike, Hadeland, Thoten, and the lands +thereto belonging. His son Guthorm, as before mentioned, he had set over +the country from Glommen to Svinasund and Ranrike. He had set him to +defend the country to the East, as before has been written. King Harald +himself generally dwelt in the middle of the country, and Hrorek and +Gudrod were generally with his court, and had great estates in Hordaland +and in Sogn. King Eirik was also with his father King Harald; and the +king loved and regarded him the most of all his sons, and gave him +Halogaland and North More, and Raumsdal. North in Throndhjem he gave +Halfdan the Black, Halfdan the White, and Sigrod land to rule over. In +each of these districts he gave his sons the one half of his revenues, +together with the right to sit on a high-seat,--a step higher than +earls, but a step lower than his own high-seat. His king's seat each of +his sons wanted for himself after his death, but he himself destined it +for Eirik. The Throndhjem people wanted Halfdan the Black to succeed to +it. The people of Viken, and the Uplands, wanted those under whom they +lived. And thereupon new quarrels arose among the brothers; and because +they thought their dominions too little, they drove about in piratical +expeditions. In this way, as before related, Guthorm fell at the mouth +of the Gaut river, slain by Solve Klofe; upon which Olaf took the +kingdom he had possessed. Halfdan the White fell in Eistland, Halfdan +Haleg in Orkney. King Harald gave ships of war to Thorgils and Frode, +with which they went westward on a viking cruise, and plundered in +Scotland, Ireland, and Bretland. They were the first of the Northmen +who took Dublin. It is said that Frode got poisoned drink there; but +Thorgils was a long time king over Dublin, until he fell into a snare of +the Irish, and was killed. + + + + +36. DEATH OF RAGNVALD RETTILBEINE. + +Eirik Blood-axe expected to be head king over all his brothers and +King Harald intended he should be so; and the father and son lived long +together. Ragnvald Rettilbeine governed Hadaland, and allowed himself to +be instructed in the arts of witchcraft, and became an area warlock. +Now King Harald was a hater of all witchcraft. There was a warlock in +Hordaland called Vitgeir; and when the king sent a message to him that +he should give up his art of witchcraft, he replied in this verse:-- + + "The danger surely is not great + From wizards born of mean estate, + When Harald's son in Hadeland, + King Ragnvald, to the art lays hand." + +But when King Harald heard this, King Eirik Blood-axe went by his orders +to the Uplands, and came to Hadeland and burned his brother Ragnvald in +a house, along with eighty other warlocks; which work was much praised. + + + + +37. DEATH OF GUDROD LJOME. + +Gudrod Ljome was in winter on a friendly visit to his foster-father +Thjodolf in Hvin, and had a well-manned ship, with which he wanted to go +north to Rogaland. It was blowing a heavy storm at the time; but Gudrod +was bent on sailing, and would not consent to wait. Thjodolf sang +thus:-- + + "Wait, Gudrod, till the storm is past,-- + Loose not thy long-ship while the blast + Howls over-head so furiously,-- + Trust not thy long-ship to the sea,-- + Loose not thy long-ship from the shore; + Hark to the ocean's angry roar! + See how the very stones are tost + By raging waves high on the coast! + Stay, Gudrod, till the tempest's o'er-- + Deep runs the sea off the Jadar's shore." + +Gudrod set off in spite of what Thjodolf could say: and when they came +off the Jadar the vessel sunk with them, and all on board were lost. + + + + +38. KING BJORN KAUPMAN'S DEATH. + +King Harald's son, Bjorn, ruled over Vestfold at that time, and +generally lived at Tunsberg, and went but little on war expeditions. +Tunsberg at that time was much frequented by merchant vessels, both from +Viken and the north country, and also from the south, from Denmark, and +Saxland. King Bjorn had also merchant ships on voyages to other lands, +by which he procured for himself costly articles, and such things as +he thought needful; and therefore his brothers called him Farman +(the Seaman), and Kaupman (the Chapman). Bjorn was a man of sense and +understanding, and promised to become a good ruler. He made a good and +suitable marriage, and had a son by his wife, who was named Gudrod. +Eirik Blood-axe came from his Baltic cruise with ships of war, and +a great force, and required his brother Bjorn to deliver to him King +Harald's share of the scat and incomes of Vestfold. But it had always +been the custom before, that Bjorn himself either delivered the money +into the king's hands, or sent men of his own with it; and therefore +he would continue with the old custom, and would not deliver the +money. Eirik again wanted provisions, tents, and liquor. The brothers +quarrelled about this; but Eirik got nothing and left the town. Bjorn +went also out of the town towards evening up to Saeheim. In the night +Eirik came back after Bjorn, and came to Saeheim just as Bjorn and his +men were seated at table drinking. Eirik surrounded the house in which +they were; but Bjorn with his men went out and fought. Bjorn, and many +men with him, fell. Eirik, on the other hand, got a great booty, and +proceeded northwards. But this work was taken very ill by the people of +Viken, and Eirik was much disliked for it; and the report went that King +Olaf would avenge his brother Bjorn, whenever opportunity offered. King +Bjorn lies in the mound of Farmanshaug at Saeheim. + + + + +39. RECONCILIATION OF THE KINGS. + +King Eirik went in winter northwards to More, and was at a feast in +Solve, within the point Agdanes; and when Halfdan the Black heard of it +he set out with his men, and surrounded the house in which they were. +Eirik slept in a room which stood detached by itself, and he escaped +into the forest with four others; but Halfdan and his men burnt the main +house, with all the people who were in it. With this news Eirik came +to King Harald, who was very wroth at it, and assembled a great force +against the Throndhjem people. When Halfdan the Black heard this he +levied ships and men, so that he had a great force, and proceeded +with it to Stad, within Thorsbjerg. King Harald lay with his men at +Reinsletta. Now people went between them, and among others a clever man +called Guthorm Sindre, who was then in Halfdan the Black's army, but had +been formerly in the service of King Harald, and was a great friend of +both. Guthorm was a great skald, and had once composed a song both about +the father and the son, for which they had offered him a reward. But he +would take nothing; but only asked that, some day or other, they should +grant him any request he should make, which they promised to do. Now he +presented himself to King Harald, brought words of peace between them, +and made the request to them both that they should be reconciled. So +highly did the king esteem him, that in consequence of his request they +were reconciled. Many other able men promoted this business as well as +he; and it was so settled that Halfdan should retain the whole of his +kingdom as he had it before, and should let his brother Eirik sit in +peace. After this event Jorun, the skald-maid, composed some verses in +"Sendibit" ("The Biting Message"):-- + + "I know that Harald Fairhair + Knew the dark deed of Halfdan. + To Harald Halfdan seemed + Angry and cruel." + + + + +40. BIRTH OF HAKON THE GOOD. + +Earl Hakon Grjotgardson of Hlader had the whole rule over Throndhjem +when King Harald was anywhere away in the country; and Hakon stood +higher with the king than any in the country of Throndhjem. After +Hakon's death his son Sigurd succeeded to his power in Throndhjem, and +was the earl, and had his mansion at Hlader. King Harald's sons, Halfdan +the Black and Sigrod, who had been before in the house of his father +Earl Hakon, continued to be brought up in his house. The sons of Harald +and Sigurd were about the same age. Earl Sigurd was one of the wisest +men of his time, and married Bergljot, a daughter of Earl Thorer the +Silent; and her mother was Alof Arbot, a daughter of Harald Harfager. +When King Harald began to grow old he generally dwelt on some of his +great farms in Hordaland; namely, Alreksstader or Saeheim, Fitjar, +Utstein, or Ogvaldsnes in the island Kormt. When Harald was seventy +years of age he begat a son with a girl called Thora Mosterstang, +because her family came from Moster. She was descended from good people, +being connected with Kare (Aslakson) of Hordaland; and was moreover +a very stout and remarkably handsome girl. She was called the king's +servant-girl; for at that time many were subject to service to the king +who were of good birth, both men and women. Then it was the custom, with +people of consideration, to choose with great care the man who should +pour water over their children, and give them a name. Now when the time +came that Thora, who was then at Moster, expected her confinement, +she would to King Harald, who was then living at Saeheim; and she went +northwards in a ship belonging to Earl Sigurd. They lay at night close +to the land; and there Thora brought forth a child upon the land, up +among the rocks, close to the ship's gangway, and it was a man child. +Earl Sigurd poured water over him, and called him Hakon, after his own +father, Hakon earl of Hlader. The boy soon grew handsome, large in size, +and very like his father King Harald. King Harald let him follow his +mother, and they were both in the king's house as long as he was an +infant. + + + + +41. KING ATHELSTAN'S MESSAGE + +At this time a king called Aethelstan had taken the Kingdom of England. +He was called victorious and faithful. He sent men to Norway to King +Harald, with the errand that the messengers should present him with a +sword, with the hilt and handle gilt, and also the whole sheath adorned +with gold and silver, and set with precious jewels. The ambassador +presented the sword-hilt to the king, saying, "Here is a sword which +King Athelstan sends thee, with the request that thou wilt accept it." +The king took the sword by the handle; whereupon the ambassador said, +"Now thou hast taken the sword according to our king's desire, and +therefore art thou his subject as thou hast taken his sword." King +Harald saw now that this was an insult, for he would be subject to no +man. But he remembered it was his rule, whenever anything raised his +anger, to collect himself, and let his passion run off, and then take +the matter into consideration coolly. Now he did so, and consulted his +friends, who all gave him the advice to let the ambassadors, in the +first place, go home in safety. + + + + +42. HAUK'S JOURNEY TO ENGLAND. + +The following summer King Harald sent a ship westward to England, and +gave the command of it to Hauk Habrok. He was a great warrior, and very +dear to the king. Into his hands he gave his son Hakon. Hank proceeded +westward in England, and found King Athelstan in London, where there was +just at the time a great feast and entertainment. When they came to the +hall, Hauk told his men how they should conduct themselves; namely, that +he who went first in should go last out, and all should stand in a row +at the table, at equal distance from each other; and each should have +his sword at his left side, but should fasten his cloak so that his +sword should not be seen. Then they went into the hall, thirty in +number. Hauk went up to the king and saluted him, and the king bade him +welcome. Then Hauk took the child Hakon, and set it on the king's knee. +The king looks at the boy, and asks Hauk what the meaning of this is. +Hauk replies, "Herald the king bids thee foster his servant-girl's +child." The king was in great anger, and seized a sword which lay beside +him, and drew it, as if he was going to kill the child. Hauk says, "Thou +hast borne him on thy knee, and thou canst murder him if thou wilt; but +thou wilt not make an end of all King Harald's sons by so doing." On +that Hauk went out with all his men, and took the way direct to his +ship, and put to sea,--for they were ready,--and came back to King +Harald. The king was highly pleased with this; for it is the common +observation of all people, that the man who fosters another's children +is of less consideration than the other. From these transactions between +the two kings, it appears that each wanted to be held greater than the +other; but in truth there was no injury, to the dignity of either, for +each was the upper king in his own kingdom till his dying day. + + + + +43. HAKON, THE FOSTER-SON OF ATHELSTAN, IS BAPTIZED. + +King Athelstan had Hakon baptized, and brought up in the right faith, +and in good habits, and all sorts of good manners, and he loved Hakon +above all his relations; and Hakon was beloved by all men. He was +henceforth called Athelstan's foster-son. He was an accomplished skald, +and he was larger, stronger and more beautiful than other men; he was +a man of understanding and eloquence, and also a good Christian. King +Athelstan gave Hakon a sword, of which the hilt and handle were gold, +and the blade still better; for with it Hakon cut down a mill-stone to +the centre eye, and the sword thereafter was called the Quernbite (1). +Better sword never came into Norway, and Hakon carried it to his dying +day. + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) Quern is the name of the small hand mill-stones still + found. + in use among the cottars in Orkney, Shetland, and the + Hebrides. This sword is mentioned in the Younger Edda. + There were many excellent swords in the olden time, and many + of them had proper names. + + + + +44. EIRIK BROUGHT TO THE SOVEREIGNTY. + +When King Harald was eighty years of age (A.D. 930) he became very +heavy, and unable to travel through the country, or do the business of +a king. Then he brought his son Eirik to his high-seat, and gave him the +power and command over the whole land. Now when King Harald's other sons +heard this, King Halfdan the Black also took a king's high-seat, and +took all Throndhjem land, with the consent of all the people, under his +rule as upper king. After the death of Bjorn the Chapman, his brother +Olaf took the command over Vestfold, and took Bjorn's son, Gudrod, +as his foster-child. Olaf's son was called Trygve; and the two +foster-brothers were about the same age, and were hopeful and clever. +Trygve, especially, was remarkable as a stout and strong man. Now when +the people of Viken heard that those of Hordaland had taken Eirik as +upper king, they did the same, and made Olaf the upper king in Viken, +which kingdom he retained. Eirik did not like this at all. Two years +after this, Halfdan the Black died suddenly at a feast in Throndhjem +and the general report was that Gunhild had bribed a witch to give him +a death-drink. Thereafter the Throndhjem people took Sigrod to be their +king. + + + + +45. KING HARALD'S DEATH. + +King Harald lived three years after he gave Eirik the supreme authority +over his kingdom, and lived mostly on his great farms which he +possessed, some in Rogaland, and some in Hordaland. Eirik and Gunhild +had a son on whom King Harald poured water, and gave him his own name, +and the promise that he should be king after his father Eirik. King +Harald married most of his daughters within the country to his earls, +and from them many great families are descended. Harald died on a bed of +sickness in Hogaland (A.D. 933), and was buried under a mound at Haugar +in Karmtsund. In Haugesund is a church, now standing; and not far from +the churchyard, at the north-west side, is King Harald Harfager's mound; +but his grave-stone stands west of the church, and is thirteen feet and +a half high, and two ells broad. One stone was set at head and one at +the feet; on the top lay the slab, and below on both sides were laid +small stones. The grave, mound, and stone, are there to the present day. +Harald Harfager was, according to the report of men of knowledge, or +remarkably handsome appearance, great and strong, and very generous +and affable to his men. He was a great warrior in his youth; and people +think that this was foretold by his mother's dream before his birth, +as the lowest part of the tree she dreamt of was red as blood. The stem +again was green and beautiful, which betokened his flourishing kingdom; +and that the tree was white at the top showed that he should reach a +grey-haired old age. The branches and twigs showed forth his posterity, +spread over the whole land; for of his race, ever since. Norway has +always had kings. + + + + +46. THE DEATH OF OLAF AND OF SIGROD. + +King Eirik took all the revenues (A.D. 934), which the king had in the +middle of the country, the next winter after King Harald's decease. But +Olaf took all the revenues eastward in Viken, and their brother Sigrod +all that of the Throndhjem country. Eirik was very ill pleased with +this; and the report went that he would attempt with force to get the +sole sovereignty over the country, in the same way as his father had +given it to him. Now when Olaf and Sigrod heard this, messengers passed +between them; and after appointing a meeting place, Sigrod went eastward +in spring to Viken, and he and his brother Olaf met at Tunsberg, and +remained there a while. The same spring (A.D. 934), King Eirik levied a +great force, and ships and steered towards Viken. He got such a strong +steady gale that he sailed night and day, and came faster than the news +of him. When he came to Tunsberg, Olaf and Sigrod, with their forces, +went out of the town a little eastward to a ridge, where they drew up +their men in battle order; but as Eirik had many more men he won the +battle. Both brothers, Olaf and Sigrod, fell there; and both their +grave-mounds are upon the ridge where they fell. Then King Eirik went +through Viken, and subdued it, and remained far into summer. Gudrod and +Trygve fled to the Uplands. Eirik was a stout handsome man, strong, and +very manly,--a great and fortunate man of war; but bad-minded, gruff, +unfriendly, and silent. Gunhild, his wife, was the most beautiful +of women,--clever, with much knowledge, and lively; but a very false +person, and very cruel in disposition. The children of King Eirik +and Gunhild were, Gamle, the oldest; then Guthorm, Harald, Ragnfrod, +Ragnhild, Erling, Gudrod, and Sigurd Sleva. All were handsome, and of +manly appearance (1). + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Of Eirik, his wife, and children, see the following sagas. + + + + +HAKON THE GOOD'S SAGA. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Of Eirik Blood-axe's five years' reign Snorre has no separate saga. He +appears not to have been beloved by the people and his queen Gunhild +seems to have had a bad influence on him. + +Other accounts of Hakon may be found in "Fagrskinna" (chaps. 25-34), +"Agrip", "Historia", "Norvegiae", and in "Thjodrek" (chap. 4). + +The reader is also referred to "Saxo", "Egla", "Laxdaela", "Kormaks +Saga", "Gisle Surssons Saga", "Halfred's Saga", "Floamanna Saga", "Viga +Glum's Saga", and to "Landnamabok". + +Skald mentioned in this Saga are:--Glum Geirason, Thord Sjarekson, +Guthorm Sindre, Kormak Ogmundson, and Eyvind Skaldaspiller. In +the "Egla" are found many poems belonging to this epoch by Egil +Skallagrimson. + +In "Fagrskinna" is found a poem (not given by Snorre) which Gunhild (his +wife) had made on King Eirik after his death, telling how Odin welcomed +him to Valhal. The author or skald who composed it is not known, but +it is considered to be one of the gems of old Norse poetry, and we here +quote it in Vigfusson's translation in his "Corpus Poeticum", vol. +i. pp. 260, 261. Gudbrand Vigfusson has filled up a few gaps from +"Hakonarmat", the poem at the end of this Saga. We have changed +Vigfusson's orthography of names, and brought them into harmony with the +spelling used in this work:--Ed. + +"Odin wakes in the morning and cries, as he opens his eyes, with his +dream still fresh in his mind:--'What dreams are these? I thought I +arose before daybreak to make Valhal ready for a host of slain. I woke +up the host of the chosen. I bade them ride up to strew the benches, and +to till up the beer-vats, and I bade valkyries to bear the wine, as if +a king were coming. I look for the coming of some noble chiefs from the +earth, wherefore my heart is glad.' + +"Brage, Odin's counsellor, now wakes, as a great din is heard without, +and calls out:--'What is that thundering? as if a thousand men or some +great host were tramping on--the walls and the benches are creaking +withal--as if Balder was coming back to the ball of Odin?' + +"Odin answers:--'Surely thou speakest foolishly, good Brage, although +thou art very wise. It thunders for Eirik the king, that is coming to +the hall of Odin.' + +"Then turning to his heroes, he cries:--'Sigmund and Sinfjotle, rise in +haste and go forth to meet the prince! Bid him in if it be Eirik, for it +is he whom I look for.' + +"Sigmund answers:--'Why lookest thou more for Eirik, the king, to Odin's +hall, than for other kings?' + +"Odin answers:--'Because he has reddened his brand, and borne his bloody +sword in many a land.' + +"Quoth Sigmund:--'Why didst thou rob him, the chosen king of victory +then, seeing thou thoughtest him so brave?' + +"Odin answered:--'Because it is not surely to be known, when the grey +wolf shall come upon the seat of the god.' + +SECOND SCENE.--Without Valhal. Sigmund and Sinfjotle go outside the hall +and meet Eirik. + +"Quoth Sigmund:--'Hail to thee, Eirik, be welcome here, and come into +the hall, thou gallant king! Now I will ask thee, what kings are these +that follow thee from the clash of the sword edges?' + +"Eirik answers:--'They are five kings; I will tell thee all their names; +I myself am the sixth (the names followed in the song, whereof the rest +is lost.) + +"Fagrskinna" says "Hakonarmal" was the model of this poem. + + + + +1. HAKON CHOSEN KING. + +Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, was in England at the time (A.D. 934) he +heard of his father King Harald's death, and he immediately made himself +ready to depart. King Athelstan gave him men, and a choice of good +ships, and fitted him out for his journey most excellently. In harvest +time he came to Norway, where he heard of the death of his brothers, +and that King Eirik was then in Viken. Then Hakon sailed northwards to +Throndhjem, where he went to Sigurd earl of Hlader who was the ablest +man in Norway. He gave Hakon a good reception; and they made a league +with each other, by which Hakon promised great power to Sigurd if he +was made king. They assembled then a numerous Thing, and Sigurd the earl +recommended Hakon's cause to the Thing, and proposed him to the bondes +as king. Then Hakon himself stood up and spoke; and the people said to +each other, two and two, as they heard him, "Herald Harfager is come +again, grown and young." The beginning of Hakon's speech was, that he +offered himself to the bondes as king, and desired from them the title +of king, and aid and forces to defend the kingdom. He promised, on the +other hand, to make all the bondes udal-holders, and give every man udal +rights to the land he lived on. This speech met such joyful applause, +that the whole public cried and shouted that they would take him to be +king. And so it was that the Throndhjem people took Hakon, who was +then fifteen years old, for king; and he took a court or bodyguard, +and servants, and proceeded through the country. The news reached the +Uplands that the people in Throndhjem had taken to themselves a +king, who in every respect was like King Harald Harfager,--with the +difference, that Harald had made all the people of the land vassals, and +unfree; but this Hakon wished well to every man, and offered the bondes +to give them their udal rights again, which Harald had taken from them. +All were rejoiced at this news, and it passed from mouth to mouth,--it +flew, like fire in dry grass, through the whole land, and eastward to +the land's end. Many bondes came from the Uplands to meet King Hakon. +Some sent messengers, some tokens; and all to the same effect--that his +men they would be: and the king received all thankfully. + + + + +2. KING HAKON'S PROGRESS THROUGH THE COUNTRY. + +Early in winter (935), the king went to the Uplands, and summoned the +people to a Thing; and there streamed all to him who could come. He was +proclaimed king at every Thing; and then he proceeded eastward to Viken, +where his brother's sons, Trygve and Gudrod, and many others, came +unto him, and complained of the sorrow and evil his brother Eirik had +wrought. The hatred to King Eirik grew more and more, the more liking +all men took to King Hakon; and they got more boldness to say what they +thought. King Hakon gave Trygve and Gudrod the title of kings, and the +dominions which King Harald had bestowed on their fathers. Trygve got +Ranrike and Vingulmark, and Gudrod, Vestfold; but as they were young, +and in the years of childhood, he appointed able men to rule the land +for them. He gave them the country on the same conditions as it had been +given before,--that they should have half of the scat and revenues with +him. Towards spring King Hakon returned north, over the Uplands, to +Throndhjem. + + + + +3. EIRIK'S DEPARTURE FROM THE COUNTRY. + +King Hakon, early in spring, collected a great army at Throndhjem, and +fitted out ships. The people of Viken also had a great force on foot, +and intended to join Hakon. King Eirik also levied people in the middle +of the country; but it went badly with him to gather people, for the +leading men left him, and went over to Hakon. As he saw himself not +nearly strong enough to oppose Hakon, he sailed (A.D. 935) out to the +West sea with such men as would follow him. He first sailed to Orkney, +and took many people with him from that country; and then went south +towards England, plundering in Scotland, and in the north parts of +England, wherever he could land. Athelstan, the king of England, sent +a message to Eirik, offering him dominions under him in England; saying +that King Harald his father was a good friend of King Athelstan, and +therefore he would do kindly towards his sons. Messengers passed between +the two kings; and it came to an agreement that King Eirik should take +Northumberland as a fief from King Athelstan, and which land he should +defend against the Danes or other vikings. Eirik should let himself be +baptized, together with his wife and children, and all the people who +had followed him. Eirik accepted this offer, and was baptized, and +adopted the right faith. Northumberland is called a fifth part of +England. Eirik had his residence at York, where Lodbrok's sons, it was +said, had formerly been, and Northumberland was principally inhabited by +Northmen. Since Lodbrok's sons had taken the country, Danes and Northmen +often plundered there, when the power of the land was out of their +hands. Many names of places in the country are Norwegian; as Grimsby, +Haukfliot, and many others. + + + + +4. EIRIK'S DEATH. + +King Eirik had many people about him, for he kept many Northmen who had +come with him from the East; and also many of his friends had joined +him from Norway. But as he had little land, he went on a cruise every +summer, and plundered in Scotland, the Hebrides, Ireland, and Bretland, +by which he gathered property. King Athelstan died on a sick bed, after +a reign of fourteen years, eight weeds, and three days. After him +his brother Jatmund was king of England, and he was no friend to the +Northmen. King Eirik, also, was in no great favour with him; and +the word went about that King Jatmund would set another chief over +Northumberland. Now when King Eirik heard this, he set off on a viking +cruise to the westward; and from the Orkneys took with him the Earls +Arnkel and Erlend, the sons of Earl Torfeinar. Then he sailed to the +Hebrides, where there were many vikings and troop-kings, who joined +their men to his. With all this force he steered to Ireland first, +where he took with him all the men he could, and then to Bretland, and +plundered; and sailed thereafter south to England, and marauded there +as elsewhere. The people fled before him wherever he appeared. As King +Eirik was a bold warrior, and had a great force, he trusted so much to +his people that he penetrated far inland in the country, following and +plundering the fugitives. King Jatmund had set a king, who was called +Olaf, to defend the land; and he gathered an innumerable mass of people, +with whom he marched against King Eirik. A dreadful battle ensued, in +which many Englishmen fell; but for one who fell came three in his place +out of the country behind, and when evening came on the loss of men +turned on the side of the Northmen, and many people fell. Towards the +end of the day, King Eirik and five kings with him fell. Three of them +were Guthorm and his two sons, Ivar and Harek: there fell, also, Sigurd +and Ragnvald; and with them Torfeinar's two sons, Arnkel and Erlend. +Besides these, there was a great slaughter of Northmen; and those who +escaped went to Northumberland, and brought the news to Gunhild and her +sons (A.D. 941). + + + + +5. GUNHILD AND HER SONS. + +When Gunhild and her sons knew for certain that King Eirik had fallen, +after having plundered the land of the King of England, they thought +there was no peace to be expected for them; and they made themselves +ready to depart from Northumberland, with all the ships King Eirik had +left, and all the men who would go with them. They took also all the +loose property, and goods which they had gathered partly as taxes in +England, partly as booty on their expeditions. With their army they +first steered northward to Orkney, where Thorfin Hausakljufer was earl, +a son of Torfeinar, and took up their station there for a time. Eirik's +sons subdued these islands and Hjaltland, took scat for themselves, and +staid there all the winter; but went on viking cruises in summer to the +West, and plundered in Scotland and Ireland. About this Glum Geirason +sings:-- + + "The hero who knows well to ride + The sea-horse o'er the foamingtide,-- + He who in boyhood wild rode o'er + The seaman's horse to Skanea's shore. + And showed the Danes his galley's bow, + Right nobly scours the ocean now. + On Scotland's coast he lights the brand + Of flaming war; with conquering hand + Drives many a Scottish warrior tall + To the bright seats in Odin's hall. + The fire-spark, by the fiend of war + Fanned to a flame, soon spreads afar. + Crowds trembling fly,--the southern foes + Fall thick beneath the hero's blows: + The hero's blade drips red with gore, + Staining the green sward on the shore." + + + + +6. BATTLE IN JUTLAND. + +When King Eirik had left the country, King Hakon, Athelstan's +foster-son, subdued the whole of Norway. The first winter (A.D. 936) +he visited the western parts, and then went north, and settled in +Throndhjem. But as no peace could be reasonably looked for so long as +King Eirik with his forces could come to Norway from the West sea, he +set himself with his men-at-arms in the middle of the country,--in the +Fjord district, or in Sogn, or Hordaland, or Rogaland. Hakon placed +Sigurd earl of Hlader over the whole Throradhjem district, as he and his +father had before had it under Harald Harfager. When King Hakon heard +of his brother Eirik's death, and also that his sons had no footing in +England, he thought there was not much to fear from them, and he went +with his troops one summer eastward to Viken. At that time the Danes +plundered often in Viken, and wrought much evil there; but when they +heard that King Hakon was come with a great army, they got out of the +way, to Halland; and those who were nearest to King Hakon went out to +sea, and over to Jotland (Jutland). When the king heard of this, he +sailed after them with all his army. On arriving in Jutland he plundered +all round; and when the country people heard of it, they assembled in a +great body, and determined to defend their land, and fight. There was +a great battle; and King Hakon fought so boldly, that he went forward +before his banner without helmet or coat of mail. King Hakon won the +victory, and drove the fugitives far up the country. So says Guthorm +Sindre, in his song of Hakon:-- + + "Furrowing the deep-blue sea with oars, + The king pursues to Jutland's shores. + They met; and in the battle storm + Of clashing shields, full many a form + Of goodly warrior on the plain, + Full many a corpse by Hakon slain, + Glutted the ravens, who from far, + Scenting the banquet-feast of war, + Came in black flocks to Jutland's plains + To drink the blood-wine from the veins." + + + + +7. BATTLE IN EYRARSUND (THE SOUND). + +Then Hakon steered southwards with his fleet to seek the vikings, and +so on to Sealand. He rowed with two cutters into the Eyrarsund, where he +found eleven viking ships, and instantly attacked them. It ended in his +gaining the victory, and clearing the viking ships of all their men. So +says Guthorm Sindre:-- + + "Hakon the Brave, whose skill all know + To bend in battle storm the bow, + Rushed o'er the waves to Sealand's tongue, + His two war-ships with gilt shields hung, + And cleared the decks with his blue sword + That rules the fate of war, on board + Eleven ships of the Vindland men.-- + Famous is Hakon's name since then." + + + + +8. KING HAKON'S EXPEDITION TO DENMARK. + +Thereafter King Hakon carried war far and wide in Sealand; plundering +some, slaying others, taking some prisoners of war, taking ransom from +others, and all without opposition. Then Hakon proceeded along the +coast of Skane, pillaging everywhere, levying taxes and ransome from the +country, and killing all vikings, both Danish and Vindish. He then went +eastwards to the district of Gautland, marauded there, and took great +ransom from the country. So says Guthorm Sindre:-- + + "Hakon, who midst the battle shock + Stands like a firmly-rooted oak, + Subdued all Sealand with the sword: + From Vindland vikings the sea-bord + Of Scania swept; and, with the shield + Of Odin clad, made Gautland yield + A ransom of the ruddy gold, + Which Hakon to his war-men bold + Gave with free hand, who in his feud + Against the arrow-storm had stood." + +King Hakon returned back in autumn with his army and an immense booty; +and remained all the winter (A.D. 946) in Viken to defend it against the +Danes and Gautlanders, if they should attack it. + + + + +9. OF KING TRYGVE. + +In the same winter King Trygve Olafson returned from a viking cruise in +the West sea, having before ravaged in Ireland and Scotland. In spring +(A.D. 946) King Hakon went north, and set his brother's son, King +Trygve, over Viken to defend that country against enemies. He gave him +also in property all that he could reconquer of the country in Denmark, +which the summer before King Hakon had subjected to payment of scat to +him. So says Guthorm:-- + + "King Hakon, whose sharp sword dyes red + The bright steel cap on many a head, + Has set a warrior brave and stout + The foreign foeman to keep out,-- + To keep that green land safe from war + Which black Night bore to dwarf Annar (1). + For many a carle whose trade's to wield + The battle-axe, and swing the shield, + On the swan's ocean-skates has come, + In white-winged ships, across the foam,-- + Across the sea, from far Ireland, + To war against the Norseman's land." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The dwarf Annar was the husband of Night, and Earth was + their daughter.--L. + + + + +10. OF GUNHILD S SONS. + +King Harald Gormson ruled over Denmark at that time. He took it much +amiss that King Hakon had made war in his dominions, and the report went +that he would take revenge; but this did not take place so soon. When +Gunhild and her sons heard there was enmity between Denmark and Norway, +they began to turn their course from the West. They married King Eirik's +daughter, Ragnhild, to Arnfin, a son of Thorfin Hausakljufer; and as +soon as Eirik's sons went away, Thorfin took the earldom again over +the Orkney Islands. Gamle Eirikson was somewhat older than the other +brothers, but still he was not a grown man. When Gunhild and her sons +came from the westward to Denmark, they were well received by King +Harald. He gave them great fiefs in his kingdom, so that they could +maintain themselves and their men very well. He also took Harald +Eirikson to be his foster-son, set him on his knee, and thereafter he +was brought up at the Danish king's court. Some of Eirik's sons went +out on viking expeditions as soon as they were old enough, and gathered +property, ravaging all around in the East sea. They grew up quickly to +be handsome men, and far beyond their years in strength and perfection. +Glum Geirason tells of one of them in the Grafeld song:-- + + "I've heard that, on the Eastland coast, + Great victories were won and lost. + The king, whose hand is ever graced + With gift to skald, his banner placed + On, and still on; while, midst the play + Of swords, sung sharp his good sword's sway + As strong in arm as free of gold, + He thinn'd the ranks of warriors bold." + +Then Eirik's sons turned northwards with their troops to Viken and +marauded there; but King Trygve kept troops on foot with which he met +them, and they had many a battle, in which the victory was sometimes on +one side, and sometimes on the other. Sometimes Eirik's sons plundered +in Viken, and sometimes Trygve in Sealand and Halland. + + + + +11. KING HAKON AS A LAW-GIVER. + +As long as Hakon was king in Norway, there was good peace between the +bondes and merchants; so that none did harm either to the life or goods +of the other. Good seasons also there were, both by sea and land. King +Hakon was of a remarkably cheerful disposition, clever in words, and +very condescending. He was a man of great understanding also, and +bestowed attention on law-giving. He gave out the Gula-thing's laws on +the advice of Thorleif Spake (the Wise); also the Frosta-thing's laws +on the advice of Earl Sigurd, and of other Throndhjem men of wisdom. +Eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by Halfdan the +Black, as has before been written. + + + + +12. THE BIRTH OF EARL HAKON THE GREAT. + +King Hakon kept Yule at Throndhjem, and Earl Sigurd had made a feast +for him at Hlader. The night of the first day of Yule the earl's wife, +Bergljot, was brought to bed of a boy-child, which afterwards King +Hakon poured water over, and gave him his own name. The boy grew up, and +became in his day a mighty and able man, and was earl after his father, +who was King Hakon's dearest friend. + + + + +13. OF EYSTEIN THE BAD. + +Eystein, a king of the Uplands, whom some called the Great, and some the +Bad, once on a time made war in Throndhjem, and subdued Eyna district +and Sparbyggia district, and set his own son Onund over them; but the +Throndhjem people killed him. Then King Eystein made another inroad into +Throndhjem, and ravaged the land far and wide, and subdued it. He then +offered the people either his slave, who was called Thorer Faxe, or his +dog, whose name was Saur, to be their king. They preferred the dog, +as they thought they would sooner get rid of him. Now the dog was, by +witchcraft, gifted with three men's wisdom; and when he barked, he spoke +one word and barked two. A collar and chain of gold and silver were +made for him, and his courtiers carried him on their shoulders when the +weather or ways were foul. A throne was erected for him, and he sat +upon a high place, as kings are used to sit. He dwelt on Eyin Idre (Idre +Isle), and had his mansion in a place now called Saurshaug. It is told +that the occasion of his death was that the wolves one day broke into +his fold, and his courtiers stirred him up to defend his cattle; but +when he ran down from his mound, and attacked the wolves, they tore +him into pieces. Many other extraordinary things were done by this +King Eystein against the Throndhjem people, and in consequence of this +persecution and trouble, many chiefs and people fled and left their udal +properties. + + + + +14. JAMTALAND AND HELSINGJALAND. + +Ketil Jamte, a son of Earl Onund of Sparabu, went eastward across the +mountain ridge, and with him a great multitude, who took all their +farm-stock and goods with them. They cleared the woods, and established +large farms, and settled the country afterwards called Jamtaland. +Thorer Helsing, Ketil's grandson, on account of a murder, ran away from +Jamtaland and fled eastward through the forest, and settled there. Many +people followed, and that country, which extends eastward down to the +seacoast, was called Helsingjaland; and its eastern parts are inhabited +by Swedes. Now when Harald Harfager took possession of the whole country +many people fled before him, both people of Throndhjem and of Naumudal +districts; and thus new settlers came to Jamtaland, and some all the way +to Helsingjaland. The Helsingjaland people travelled into Svithiod for +their merchandise, and thus became altogether subjects of that country. +The Jamtaland people, again, were in a manner between the two countries; +and nobody cared about them, until Hakon entered into friendly +intercourse with Jamtaland, and made friends of the more powerful +people. Then they resorted to him, and promised him obedience and +payment of taxes, and became his subjects; for they saw nothing but what +was good in him, and being of Norwegian race they would rather stand +under his royal authority than under the king of Sweden: and he gave +them laws, and rights to their land. All the people of Helsingjaland did +the same,--that is, all who were of Norwegian race, from the other side +of the great mountain ridge. + + + + + +15. HAKON SPREADS CHRISTIANITY. + +King Hakon was a good Christian when he came to Norway; but as the whole +country was heathen, with much heathenish sacrifice, and as many +great people, as well as the favour of the common people, were to be +conciliated, he resolved to practice his Christianity in private. But +he kept Sundays, and the Friday fasts, and some token of the greatest +holy-days. He made a law that the festival of Yule should begin at +the same time as Christian people held it, and that every man, under +penalty, should brew a meal of malt into ale, and therewith keep the +Yule holy as long as it lasted. Before him, the beginning of Yule, or +the slaughter night, was the night of mid-winter (Dec. 14), and Yule was +kept for three days thereafter. It was his intent, as soon as he had set +himself fast in the land, and had subjected the whole to his power, +to introduce Christianity. He went to work first by enticing to +Christianity the men who were dearest to him; and many, out of +friendship to him, allowed themselves to be baptized, and some laid +aside sacrifices. He dwelt long in the Throndhjem district, for the +strength of the country lay there; and when he thought that, by the +support of some powerful people there, he could set up Christianity he +sent a message to England for a bishop and other teachers; and when +they arrived in Norway, Hakon made it known that he would proclaim +Christianity over all the land. The people of More and Raumsdal referred +the matter to the people of Throndhjem. King Hakon then had several +churches consecrated, and put priests into them; and when he came to +Throndhjem he summoned the bondes to a Thing, and invited them to accept +Christianity. They gave an answer to the effect that they would defer +the matter until the Frosta-thing, at which there would be men from +every district of the Throndhjem country, and then they would give their +determination upon this difficult matter. + + + + +16. ABOUT SACRIFICES. + +Sigurd, earl of Hlader, was one of the greatest men for sacrifices, and +so had Hakon his father been; and Sigurd always presided on account of +the king at all the festivals of sacrifice in the Throndhjem country. +It was an old custom, that when there was to be sacrifice all the bondes +should come to the spot where the temple stood and bring with them all +that they required while the festival of the sacrifice lasted. To this +festival all the men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as +well as horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from +them was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected were +called hlaut-vessels. Hlaut-staves were made, like sprinkling brushes, +with which the whole of the altars and the temple walls, both outside +and inside, were sprinkled over, and also the people were sprinkled with +the blood; but the flesh was boiled into savoury meat for those present. +The fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung +the kettles, and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he +who made the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and +all the meat of the sacrifice. And first Odin's goblet was emptied for +victory and power to his king; thereafter, Niord's and Freyja's goblets +for peace and a good season. Then it was the custom of many to empty the +brage-goblet (1); and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of +departed friends, called the remembrance goblet. Sigurd the earl was an +open-handed man, who did what was very much celebrated; namely, he made +a great sacrifice festival at Hlader of which he paid all the expenses. +Kormak Ogmundson sings of it in his ballad of Sigurd:-- + + "Of cup or platter need has none + The guest who seeks the generous one,-- + Sigurd the Generous, who can trace + His lineage from the giant race; + For Sigurd's hand is bounteous, free,-- + The guardian of the temples he. + He loves the gods, his liberal hand + Scatters his sword's gains o'er the land--" + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The brage-goblet, over which vows were made.--L. + + + + +17. THE FROSTA-THING. + +King Hakon came to the Frosta-thing, at which a vast multitude of people +were assembled. And when the Thing was seated, the king spoke to the +people, and began his speech with saying,--it was his message and +entreaty to the bondes and householding men, both great and small, and +to the whole public in general, young and old, rich and poor, women as +well as men, that they should all allow themselves to be baptized, and +should believe in one God, and in Christ the son of Mary and refrain +from all sacrifices and heathen gods; and should keep holy the seventh +day, and abstain from all work on it, and keep a fast on the seventh +day. As soon as the king had proposed this to the bondes, great was the +murmur and noise among the crowd. They complained that the king wanted +to take their labour and their old faith from them, and the land could +not be cultivated in that way. The labouring men and slaves thought that +they could not work if they did not get meat; and they said it was +the character of King Hakon, and his father, and all the family, to be +generous enough with their money, but sparing with their diet. Asbjorn +of Medalhus in the Gaulardal stood up, and answered thus to the king's +proposal:-- + +"We bondes, King Hakon, when we elected thee to be our king, and got +back our udal rights at the Thing held in Throndhjem, thought we had got +into heaven; but now we don't know whether we have really got back our +freedom, or whether thou wishest to make vassals of us again by this +extraordinary proposal that we should abandon the ancient faith which +our fathers and forefathers have held from the oldest times, in the +times when the dead were burnt, as well as since that they are laid +under mounds, and which, although they were braver than the people of +our days, has served us as a faith to the present time. We have also +held thee so dear, that we have allowed thee to rule and give law and +right to all the country. And even now we bondes will unanimously hold +by the law which thou givest us here in the Frosta-thing, and to which +we have also given our assent; and we will follow thee, and have thee +for our king, as long as there is a living man among us bondes here in +this Thing assembled. But thou, king, must use some moderation towards +us, and only require from us such things as we can obey thee in, and are +not impossible for us. If, however, thou wilt take up this matter with +a high hand, and wilt try thy power and strength against us, we +bondes have resolved among ourselves to part with thee, and to take to +ourselves some other chief, who will so conduct himself towards us +that we can freely and safely enjoy that faith that suits our own +inclinations. Now, king, thou must choose one or other of these +conditions before the Thing is ended." + +The bondes gave loud applause to this speech, and said it expressed +their will, and they would stand or fall by what had been spoken. When +silence was again restored, Earl Sigurd said, "It is King Hakon's will +to give way to you, the bondes, and never to separate himself from your +friendship." The bondes replied, that it was their desire that the king +should offer a sacrifice for peace and a good year, as his father was +want to do; and thereupon the noise and tumult ceased, and the Thing was +concluded. Earl Sigurd spoke to the king afterwards, and advised him +not to refuse altogether to do as the people desired, saying there was +nothing else for it but to give way to the will of the bondes; "for +it is, as thou hast heard thyself, the will and earnest desire of the +head-people, as well as of the multitude. Hereafter we may find a good +way to manage it." And in this resolution the king and earl agreed (A.D. +950). + + + + +18. KING HAKON OFFERS SACRIFICES. + +The harvest thereafter, towards the winter season, there was a festival +of sacrifice at Hlader, and the king came to it. It had always been his +custom before, when he was present at a place where there was sacrifice, +to take his meals in a little house by himself, or with some few of +his men; but the bondes grumbled that he did not seat himself in his +high-seat at these the most joyous of the meetings of the people. The +earl said that the king should do so this time. The king accordingly +sat upon his high-seat. Now when the first full goblet was filled, Earl +Sigurd spoke some words over it, blessed it in Odin's name, and drank to +the king out of the horn; and the king then took it, and made the sign +of the cross over it. Then said Kar of Gryting, "What does the king mean +by doing so? Will he not sacrifice?" Earl Sigurd replies, "The king is +doing what all of you do, who trust to your power and strength. He is +blessing the full goblet in the name of Thor, by making the sign of his +hammer over it before he drinks it." On this there was quietness for +the evening. The next day, when the people sat down to table, the bondes +pressed the king strongly to eat of horse-flesh (1); and as he would on +no account do so, they wanted him to drink of the soup; and as he would +not do this, they insisted he should at least taste the gravy; and on +his refusal they were going to lay hands on him. Earl Sigurd came and +made peace among them, by asking the king to hold his mouth over the +handle of the kettle, upon which the fat smoke of the boiled horse-flesh +had settled itself; and the king first laid a linen cloth over the +handle, and then gaped over it, and returned to the high-seat; but +neither party was satisfied with this. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) This eating of horse-flesh at these religious festivals + was considered the most direct proof of paganism in the + following times, and was punished by death or mutilation by + Saint Olaf. It was a ceremony apparently commemorative of + their Asiatic origin and ancestors. + + + + +19. FEAST OF THE SACRIFICE AT MORE. + +The winter thereafter the king prepared a Yule feast in More, and eight +chiefs resolved with each other to meet at it. Four of them were from +without the Throndhjem district--namely, Kar of Gryting, Asbjorn +of Medalhus, Thorberg of Varnes, and Orm from Ljoxa; and from the +Throndhjem district, Botolf of Olvishaug, Narfe of Staf in Veradal, +Thrand Hak from Egg, and Thorer Skeg from Husaby in Eyin Idre. These +eight men bound themselves, the four first to root out Christianity in +Norway, and the four others to oblige the king to offer sacrifice to the +gods. The four first went in four ships southwards to More, and killed +three priests, and burnt three churches, and then they returned. Now, +when King Hakon and Earl Sigurd came to More with their court, the +bondes assembled in great numbers; and immediately, on the first day of +the feast, the bondes insisted hard with the king that he should offer +sacrifice, and threatened him with violence if he refused. Earl Sigurd +tried to make peace between them, and brought it so far that the king +took some bits of horse-liver, and emptied all the goblets the bondes +filled for him without the sign of the cross; but as soon as the feast +was over, the king and the earl returned to Hlader. The king was very +ill pleased, and made himself ready to leave Throndhjem forthwith with +all his people; saying that the next time he came to Throndhjem, he +would come with such strength of men-at-arms that he would repay the +bondes for their enmity towards him. Earl Sigurd entreated the king not +to take it amiss of the bondes; adding, that it was not wise to threaten +them, or to make war upon the people within the country, and especially +in the Throndhjem district, where the strength of the land lay; but the +king was so enraged that he would not listen to a word from anybody. He +went out from Throndhjem, and proceeded south to More, where he remained +the rest of the winter, and on to the spring season (A.D. 950); and when +summer came he assembled men, and the report was that he intended with +this army to attack the Throndhjem people. + + + + +20. BATTLE AT OGVALDSNES. + +But just as the king had embarked with a great force of troops, the news +was brought him from the south of the country, that King Eirik's sons +had come from Denmark to Viken and had driven King Trygve Olafson from +his ships at Sotanes, and then had plundered far and wide around in +Viken, and that many had submitted to them. Now when King Hakon heard +this news, he thought that help was needed; and he sent word to Earl +Sigurd, and to the other chiefs from whom he could expect help, to +hasten to his assistance. Sigurd the earl came accordingly with a great +body of men, among whom were all the Throndhjem people who had set upon +him the hardest to offer sacrifice; and all made their peace with the +king, by the earl's persuasion. Now King Hakon sailed south along the +coast; and when he came south as far as Stad, he heard that Eirik's sons +were come to North Agder. Then they advanced against each other, and +met at Kormt. Both parties left their ships there, and gave battle at +Ogvaldsnes. Both parties had a great force, and it was a great battle. +King Hakon went forward bravely, and King Guthorm Eirikson met him with +his troop, and they exchanged blows with each other. Guthorm fell, and +his standard was cut down. Many people fell around him. The army of +Eirik's sons then took flight to their ships and rowed away with the +loss of many a man. So says Guthorm Sindre:-- + + + "The king's voice waked the silent host + Who slept beside the wild sea-coast, + And bade the song of spear and sword + Over the battle plain be heard. + Where heroes' shields the loudest rang, + Where loudest was the sword-blade's clang, + By the sea-shore at Kormt Sound, + Hakon felled Guthorm to the ground." + +Now King Hakon returned to his ships, and pursued Gunhild's sons. And +both parties sailed all they could sail, until they came to East Adger, +from whence Eirik's sons set out to sea, and southwards for Jutland +(A.D. 950). Guthorm Sindre speaks of it in his song:-- + + "And Guthorm's brothers too, who know + So skilfully to bend the bow, + The conquering hand must also feel + Of Hakon, god of the bright steel,-- + The sun-god, whose bright rays, that dart + Flame-like, are swords that pierce the heart. + Well I remember how the King + Hakon, the battle's life and spring, + O'er the wide ocean cleared away + Eirik's brave sons. They durst not stay, + But round their ships' sides hung their shields + And fled across the blue sea-fields." + +King Hakon returned then northwards to Norway, but Eirik's sons remained +a long time in Denmark. + + + + +21. KING HAKON'S LAWS. + +King Hakon after this battle made a law, that all inhabited land over +the whole country along the sea-coast, and as far back from it as +the salmon swims up in the rivers, should be divided into ship-raths +according to the districts; and it was fixed by law how many ships there +should be from each district, and how great each should be, when the +whole people were called out on service. For this outfit the whole +inhabitants should be bound whenever a foreign army came to the country. +With this came also the order that beacons should be erected upon the +hills, so that every man could see from the one to the other; and it is +told that a war-signal could thus be given in seven days, from the most +southerly beacon to the most northerly Thing-seat in Halogaland + + + + +22. CONCERNING EIRIK'S SONS. + +Eirik's sons plundered much on the Baltic coasts and sometimes, as +before related, in Norway; but so long as Hakon ruled over Norway there +was in general good peace, and good seasons, and he was the most beloved +of kings. When Hakon had reigned about twenty years in Norway (A.D. +954), Eirik's sons came from Denmark with a powerful army, of which +a great part consisted of the people who had followed them on their +expeditions; but a still greater army of Danes had been placed at their +disposal by King Harald Gormson. They sailed with a fair wind from +Vendil, and came to Agder; and then sailed northwards, night and day, +along the coast. But the beacons were not fired, because it had been +usual to look for them lighted from the east onwards, and nobody had +observed them from the east coast; and besides King Hakon had set +heavy penalties for giving false alarm, by lighting the beacons without +occasion. The reason of this was, that ships of war and vikings cruised +about and plundered among the outlying islands, and the country people +took them for Eirik's sons, and lighted the beacons, and set the whole +country in trouble and dread of war. Sometimes, no doubt, the sons of +Eirik were there; but having only their own troops, and no Danish army +with them, they returned to Denmark; and sometimes these were other +vikings. King Hakon was very angry at this, because it cost both trouble +and money to no purpose. The bondes also suffered by these false alarms +when they were given uselessly; and thus it happened that no news of +this expedition of Eirik's sons circulated through the land until they +had come as far north as Ulfasund, where they lay for seven days. Then +spies set off across Eid and northwards to More. King Hakon was at that +time in the island Frede, in North More, at a place called Birkistrand, +where he had a dwelling-house, and had no troops with him, only his +bodyguard or court, and the neighbouring bondes he had invited to his +house. + + + + +23. OF EGIL ULSERK. + +The spies came to King Hakon, and told him that Eirik's sons, with a +great army, lay just to the south of Stad. Then he called together +the most understanding of the men about him, and asked their opinion, +whether he should fight with Eirik's sons, although they had such +a great multitude with them, or should set off northwards to gather +together more men. Now there was a bonde there, by name Egil Ulserk, who +was a very old man, but in former days had been strong and stout beyond +most men, and a hardy man-at-arms withal, having long carried King +Harald Harfager's banner. Egil answered thus to the king's speech,--"I +was in several battles with thy father Harald the king, and he gave +battle sometimes with many, sometimes with few people; but he always +came off with victory. Never did I hear him ask counsel of his friends +whether he should fly--and neither shalt thou get any such counsel from +us, king; but as we know we have a brave leader, thou shalt get a trusty +following from us." Many others agreed with this speech, and the king +himself declared he was most inclined to fight with such strength as +they could gather. It was so determined. The king split up a war-arrow, +which he sent off in all directions, and by that token a number of men +was collected in all haste. Then said Egil Ulserk,--"At one time the +peace had lasted so long I was afraid I might come to die the death of +old age (1), within doors upon a bed of straw, although I would rather +fall in battle following my chief. And now it may so turn out in the end +as I wished it to be." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) In all the sagas of this pagan time, the dying on a bed of + sickness is mentioned as a kind of derogatory end of a man + of any celebrity.--L. + + + + +24. BATTLE AT FREDARBERG. + +Eirik's sons sailed northwards around Stad; as soon as the wind suited; +and when they had passed it, and heard where King Hakon was, they +sailed to meet him. King Hakon had nine ships, with which he lay under +Fredarberg in Feeysund; and Eirik's sons had twenty ships, with which +they brought up on the south side of the same cape, in Feeysund. King +Hakon sent them a message, asking them to go upon the land; and telling +them that he had hedged in with hazel boughs a place of combat at +Rastarkalf, where there is a flat large field, at the foot of a long +and rather low ridge. Then Eirik's sons left their ships, and went +northwards over the neck of land within Fredarberg, and onward to +Rastarkalf. Then Egil asked King Hakon to give him ten men with ten +banners, and the king did so. Then Egil went with his men under the +ridge; but King Hakon went out upon the open field with his army, and +set up his banner, and drew up his army, saying, "Let us draw up in a +long line, that they may not surround us, as they have the most men." +And so it was done; and there was a severe battle, and a very sharp +attack. Then Egil Ulserk set up the ten banners he had with him, and +placed the men who carried them so that they should go as near the +summit of the ridge as possible, and leaving a space between each of +them. They went so near the summit that the banners could be seen over +it, and moved on as if they were coming behind the army of Eirik's +sons. Now when the men who stood uppermost in the line of the troops of +Eirik's sons saw so many flying banners advancing high over the edge of +the ridge, they supposed a great force must be following, who would +come behind their army, and between them and their ships. They made each +other acquainted with what was going on in a loud shout, and the whole +took to flight; and when the king saw it, they fled with the rest. King +Hakon now pushes on briskly with his people, pursuing the flying, and +killing many. + + + + +25. OF KING GAMLE. + +When Gamle Eirikson came up the ridge of the hill he turned round, and +he observed that not more people were following than his men had been +engaged with already, and he saw it was but a stratagem of war; so he +ordered the war-horns to be blown, his banner to be set up, and he put +his men in battle order. On this, all his Northmen stood, and turned +with him, but the Danes fled to the ships; and when King Hakon and his +men came thither, there was again sharp conflict; but now Hakon had most +people. At last the Eirik's sons' force fled, and took the road south +about the hill; but a part of their army retreated upon the hill +southwards, followed by King Hakon. There is a flat field east of the +ridge which runs westward along the range of hills, and is bounded +on its west side by a steep ridge. Gamle's men retreated towards this +ground; but Hakon followed so closely that he killed some, and others +ran west over the ridge, and were killed on that side of it. King Hakon +did not part with them till the last man of them was killed. + + + + +26. KING GAMLE AND ULSERK FALL. + +Gamle Eirikson fled from the ridge down upon the plain to the south of +the hill. There he turned himself again, and waited until more people +gathered to him. All his brothers, and many troops of their men, +assembled there. Egil Ulserk was in front, and in advance of Hakon's +men, and made a stout attack. He and King Gamle exchanged blows with +each other, and King Gamle got a grievous wound; but Egil fell, and +many people with him. Then came Hakon the king with the troops which had +followed him, and a new battle began. King Hakon pushed on, cutting down +men on both sides of him, and killing the one upon the top of the other. +So sings Guthorm Sindre:-- + + "Scared by the sharp sword's singing sound, + Brandished in air, the foe gave ground. + The boldest warrior cannot stand + Before King Hakon's conquering hand; + And the king's banner ever dies + Where the spear-forests thickest rise. + Altho' the king had gained of old + Enough of Freyja's tears of gold (1), + He spared himself no more than tho' + He'd had no well-filled purse to show." + +When Eirik's sons saw their men falling all round, they turned and fled +to their ships; but those who had sought the ships before had pushed off +some of them from the land, while some of them were still hauled up and +on the strand. Now the sons of Eirik and their men plunged into the sea, +and betook themselves to swimming. Gamle Eirikson was drowned; but the +other sons of Eirik reached their ships, and set sail with what men +remained. They steered southwards to Denmark, where they stopped a +while, very ill satisfied with their expedition. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Freyja's husband was Od; and her tears, when she wept at + the long absence of her husband, were tears of gold. Od's + wife's tears is the skald's expression here for gold-- + understood, no doubt, as readily as any allusion to Plutus + would convey the equivalent meaning in modern poetry.--L. + + + + +27. EGIL ULSERK'S BURIAL-GROUND. + +King Hakon took all the ships of the sons of Eirik that had been left +upon the strand, and had them drawn quite up, and brought on the land. +Then he ordered that Egil Ulserk, and all the men of his army who had +fallen, should be laid in the ships, and covered entirely over with +earth and stones. King Hakon made many of the ships to be drawn up to +the field of battle, and the hillocks over them are to be seen to the +present day a little to the south of Fredarberg. At the time when King +Hakon was killed, when Glum Geirason, in his song, boasted of King +Hakon's fall, Eyvind Skaldaspiller composed these verses on this +battle:-- + + "Our dauntless king with Gamle's gore + Sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er: + Sprinkled the gag that holds the mouth + Of the fell demon Fenriswolf (1). + Proud swelled our warriors' hearts when he + Drove Eirik's sons out to the sea, + With all their Guatland host: but now + Our warriors weep--Hakon lies low!" + +High standing stones mark Egil Uslerk s grave. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The Fenriswolf, one of the children of Loke, begotten with + a giantess, was chained to a rock, and gagged by a sword + placed in his mouth, to prevent him devouring mankind. + Fenriswolf's gag is a skaldic expression for a sword.--L. + + + + +28. NEWS OF WAR COMES TO KING HAKON. + +When King Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, had been king for twenty-six +years after his brother Eirik had left the country, it happened (A.D. +960) that he was at a feast in Hordaland in the house at Fitjar on the +island Stord, and he had with him at the feast his court and many of +the peasants. And just as the king was seated at the supper-table, his +watchmen who were outside observed many ships coming sailing along from +the south, and not very far from the island. Now, said the one to the +other, they should inform the king that they thought an armed force was +coming against them; but none thought it advisable to be the bearer of +an alarm of war to the king, as he had set heavy penalties on those who +raised such alarms falsely, yet they thought it unsuitable that the king +should remain in ignorance of what they saw. Then one of them went into +the room and asked Eyvind Finson to come out as fast as possible, for it +was very needful. Eyvind immediately came out and went to where he could +see the ships, and saw directly that a great army was on the way; and +he returned in all haste into the room, and, placing himself before +the kind, said, "Short is the hour for acting, and long the hour for +feasting." The king cast his eyes upon him, and said, "What now is in +the way?" Eyvind said-- + + "Up king! the avengers are at hand! + Eirik's bold sons approach the land! + The Judgment of the sword they crave + Against their foe. Thy wrath I brave; + Tho' well I know 'tis no light thing + To bring war-tidings to the king + And tell him 'tis no time to rest. + Up! gird your armour to your breast: + Thy honour's dearer than my life; + Therefore I say, up to the strife!" + +Then said the king, "Thou art too brave a fellow, Eyvind, to bring us +any false alarm of war." The others all said it was a true report. The +king ordered the tables to be removed, and then he went out to look at +the ships; and when it could be clearly seen that these were ships of +war, the king asked his men what resolution they should take--whether +to give battle with the men they had, or go on board ship and sail away +northwards along the land. "For it is easy to see," said he, "that we +must now fight against a much greater force than we ever had against +us before; although we thought just the same the last time we fought +against Gunhild's sons." No one was in a hurry to give an answer to the +king; but at last Eyvind replied to the king's speech:-- + + "Thou who in the battle-plain + Hast often poured the sharp spear-rain! + Ill it beseems our warriors brave + To fly upon the ocean wave: + To fly upon the blue wave north, + When Harald from the south comes forth, + With many a ship riding in pride + Upon the foaming ocean-tide; + With many a ship and southern viking,-- + Let us take shield in hand, brave king!" + +The king replied, "Thy counsel, Eyvind, is manly, and after my own +heart; but I will hear the opinion of others upon this matter." Now as +the king's men thought they discerned what way the king was inclined to +take, they answered that they would rather fall bravely and like men, +than fly before the Danes; adding, that they had often gained the +victory against greater odds of numbers. The king thanked them for their +resolution, and bade them arm themselves; and all the men did so. The +king put on his armour, and girded on his sword Kvernbit, and put a gilt +helmet upon his head, and took a spear (Kesja) in his hand, and a shield +by his side. He then drew up his courtmen and the bondes in one body, +and set up his banner. + + + + +29. THE ARMAMENT OF EIRIK'S SONS. + +After Gamle's death King Harald, Eirik's son, was the chief of the +brothers, and he had a great army with him from Denmark. In their army +were also their mother's brothers,--Eyvind Skreyja, and Alf Askman, both +strong and able men, and great man slayers. The sons of Eirik brought up +with their ships off the island, and it is said that their force was not +less than six to one,--so much stronger in men were Eirik's sons. + + + + +30. KING HAKON'S BATTLE ARRAY. + +When King Hakon had drawn up his men, it is told of him that he threw +off his armour before the battle began. So sings Eyvind Skaldaspiller, +in Hakmarmal:-- + + "They found Blorn's brother bold + Under his banner as of old, + Ready for battle. Foes advance,-- + The front rank raise the shining lance: + And now begins the bloody fray! + Now! now begins Hild's wild play! + Our noble king, whose name strikes fear + Into each Danish heart,--whose spear + Has single-handed spilt the blood + Of many a Danish noble,--stood + Beneath his helmet's eagle wing + Amidst his guards; but the brave king + Scorned to wear armour, while his men + Bared naked breasts against the rain + Of spear and arrow, his breast-plate rung + Against the stones; and, blithe and gay, + He rushed into the thickest fray. + With golden helm, and naked breast, + Brave Hakon played at slaughter's feast." + +King Hakon selected willingly such men for his guard or court-men as +were distinguished for their strength and bravery, as his father King +Harald also used to do; and among these was Thoralf Skolmson the Strong, +who went on one side of the king. He had helmet and shield, spear and +sword; and his sword was called by the name of Footbreadth. It was said +that Thoralf and King Hakon were equal in strength. Thord Sjarekson +speaks of it in the poem he composed concerning Thoralf:-- + + "The king's men went with merry words + To the sharp clash of shields and flame swords, + When these wild rovers of the sea + At Fitlar fought. Stout Thoralf he + Next to the Northmen's hero came, + Scattering wide round the battle flame + For in the storm of shields not one + Ventured like him with brave Hakon." + +When both lines met there was a hard combat, and much bloodshed. The +combatants threw their spears and then drew their swords. Then King +Hakon, and Thoralf with him, went in advance of the banner, cutting down +on both sides of them. So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller:-- + + "The body-coats of naked steel, + The woven iron coats of mail, + Like water fly before the swing + Of Hakon's sword--the champion-king. + About each Gotland war-man's head + Helm splits, like ice beneath the tread, + Cloven by the axe or sharp swordblade, + The brave king, foremost in the fight, + Dyes crimson-red the spotless white + Of his bright shield with foemen's gore.-- + Amidst the battle's wild uproar, + Wild pealing round from shore to shore." + + + + +31. FALL OF SKREYJA AND ASKMAN. + +King Hakon was very conspicuous among other men, and also when the sun +shone his helmet glanced, and thereby many weapons were directed at him. +Then Eyvind Finson took a hat and put it over the king's helmet. Now +Eyvind Skreyja called out, "Does the king of the Norsemen hide himself, +or has he fled? Where is now the golden helmet?" Then Eyvind, and his +brother Alf with him, pushed on like fools or madmen. King Hakon shouted +to Eyvind, "Come on as thou art coming, and thou shalt find the king of +the Norsemen." So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller:-- + + "The raiser of the storm of shields, + The conqueror in battle fields,-- + Hakon the brave, the warrior's friend, + Who scatters gold with liberal hand, + Heard Skreyja's taunt, and saw him rush, + Amidst the sharp spears' thickest push, + And loudly shouted in reply-- + 'If thou wilt for the victory try, + The Norseman's king thou soon shall find! + Hold onwards, friend! Hast thou a mind!" + +It was also but a short space of time before Eyvind did come up swinging +his sword, and made a cut at the king; but Thoralf thrust his shield so +hard against Eyvind that he tottered with the shock. Now the king takes +his sword Kvernbit with both hands, and hewed Eyvind through helm and +head, and clove him down to the shoulders. Thoralf also slew Alf Askman. +So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller:-- + + "With both his hands the gallant king + Swung round his sword, and to the chin + Clove Eyvind down: his faithless mail + Against it could no more avail, + Than the thin plank against the shock + When the ship's side beats on the rock. + By his bright sword with golden haft + Thro' helm, and head, and hair, was cleft + The Danish champion; and amain, + With terror smitten, fled his men." + +After this fall of the two brothers, King Hakon pressed on so hard that +all men gave way before his assault. Now fear came over the army of +Eirik's sons, and the men began to fly; and King Hakon, who was at the +head of his men, pressed on the flying, and hewed down oft and hard. +Then flew an arrow, one of the kind called "flein", into Hakon's arm, +into the muscles below the shoulder; and it is said by many people that +Gunhild's shoe-boy, whose name was Kisping, ran out and forwards amidst +the confusion of arms, called out "Make room for the king-killer," and +shot King Hakon with the flein. Others again say that nobody could tell +who shot the king, which is indeed the most likely; for spears, arrows, +and all kinds of missiles flew as thick as a snow-drift. Many of the +people of Eirik's sons were killed, both on the field of battle and on +the way to the ships, and also on the strand, and many threw themselves +into the water. Many also, among whom were Eirik's sons, got on board +their ships, and rowed away as fast as they could, and Hakon's men after +them. So says Thord Sjarekson:-- + + "The wolf, the murderer, and the thief, + Fled from before the people's chief: + Few breakers of the peace grew old + Under the Northmen's king so bold. + When gallant Hakon lost his life + Black was the day, and dire the strife. + It was bad work for Gunhild's sons, + Leading their pack of Hungry Danes + From out the south, to have to fly, + And many a bonde leave to die, + Leaning his heavy wounded head + On the oar-bench for feather-bed. + Thoralf was nearest to the side + Of gallant Hakon in the tide + Of battle; his the sword that best + Carved out the raven's bloody feast: + Amidst the heaps of foemen slain + He was named bravest on the plain." + + + + +32. HAKON'S DEATH. + +When King Hakon came out to his ship he had his wound bound up; but +the blood ran from it so much and so constantly, that it could not be +stopped; and when the day was drawing to an end his strength began to +leave him. Then he told his men that he wanted to go northwards to his +house at Alreksstader; but when he came north, as far as Hakonarhella +Hill, they put in towards the land, for by this time the king was almost +lifeless. Then he called his friends around him, and told them what he +wished to be done with regard to his kingdom. He had only one child, +a daughter, called Thora, and had no son. Now he told them to send a +message to Eirik's sons, that they should be kings over the country; +but asked them to hold his friends in respect and honour. "And if +fate," added he, "should prolong my life, I will, at any rate, leave the +country, and go to a Christian land, and do penance for what I have done +against God; but should I die in heathen land, give me any burial you +think fit." Shortly afterwards Hakon expired, at the little hill on the +shore-side at which he was born. So great was the sorrow over Hakon's +death, that he was lamented both by friends and enemies; and they said +that never again would Norway see such a king. His friends removed his +body to Saeheim, in North Hordaland, and made a great mound, in which +they laid the king in full armour and in his best clothes, but with no +other goods. They spoke over his grave, as heathen people are used to +do, and wished him in Valhal. Eyvind Skaldaspiller composed a poem on +the death of King Hakon, and on how well he was received in Valhal. The +poem is called "Hakonarmal":-- + + "In Odin's hall an empty place + Stands for a king of Yngve's race; + 'Go, my valkyries,' Odin said, + 'Go forth, my angels of the dead, + Gondul and Skogul, to the plain + Drenched with the battle's bloody rain, + And to the dying Hakon tell, + Here in Valhal shall he dwell.' + + "At Stord, so late a lonely shore, + Was heard the battle's wild uproar; + The lightning of the flashing sword + Burned fiercely at the shore of Stord. + From levelled halberd and spearhead + Life-blood was dropping fast and red; + And the keen arrows' biting sleet + Upon the shore at Stord fast beat. + + "Upon the thundering cloud of shield + Flashed bright the sword-storm o'er the field; + And on the plate-mail rattled loud + The arrow-shower's rushing cloud, + In Odin's tempest-weather, there + Swift whistling through the angry air; + And the spear-torrents swept away + Ranks of brave men from light of day. + + "With batter'd shield, and blood-smear'd sword + Slits one beside the shore of Stord, + With armour crushed and gashed sits he, + A grim and ghastly sight to see; + And round about in sorrow stand + The warriors of his gallant band: + Because the king of Dags' old race + In Odin's hall must fill a place. + + "Then up spake Gondul, standing near + Resting upon her long ash spear,-- + 'Hakon! the gods' cause prospers well, + And thou in Odin's halls shalt dwell!' + The king beside the shore of Stord + The speech of the valkyrie heard, + Who sat there on his coal-black steed, + With shield on arm and helm on head. + + "Thoughtful, said Hakon, 'Tell me why + Ruler of battles, victory + Is so dealt out on Stord's red plain? + Have we not well deserved to gain?' + 'And is it not as well dealt out?' + Said Gondul. 'Hearest thou not the shout? + The field is cleared--the foemen run-- + The day is ours--the battle won!' + + "Then Skogul said, 'My coal-black steed, + Home to the gods I now must speed, + To their green home, to tell the tiding + That Hakon's self is thither riding.' + To Hermod and to Brage then + Said Odin, 'Here, the first of men, + Brave Hakon comes, the Norsemen's king,-- + Go forth, my welcome to him bring.' + + "Fresh from the battle-field came in, + Dripping with blood, the Norsemen'a king. + 'Methinks,' said he, great Odin's will + Is harsh, and bodes me further ill; + Thy son from off the field to-day + From victory to snatch away!' + But Odin said, 'Be thine the joy + Valhal gives, my own brave boy!' + + "And Brage said, 'Eight brothers here + Welcome thee to Valhal's cheer, + To drain the cup, or fights repeat + Where Hakon Eirik's earls beat.' + Quoth the stout king, 'And shall my gear, + Helm, sword, and mail-coat, axe and spear, + Be still at hand! 'Tis good to hold + Fast by our trusty friends of old.' + + "Well was it seen that Hakon still + Had saved the temples from all ill (1); + For the whole council of the gods + Welcomed the king to their abodes. + Happy the day when men are born + Like Hakon, who all base things scorn.-- + Win from the brave and honoured name, + And die amidst an endless fame. + + "Sooner shall Fenriswolf devour + The race of man from shore to shore, + Than such a grace to kingly crown + As gallant Hakon want renown. + Life, land, friends, riches, all will fly, + And we in slavery shall sigh. + But Hakon in the blessed abodes + For ever lives with the bright gods." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Hakon, although a Christian, appears to have favoured the + old religion, and spared the temples of Odin, and therefore + a place in Valhal is assigned him.--L. + + + + +SAGA OF KING HARALD GRAFELD AND OF EARL HAKON SON OF SIGURD. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS + +This saga might be called Gunhild's Saga, as she is the chief person in +it. The reign of King Harald and Earl Hakon is more fully described +in the next saga, that is, Olaf Trygvason's. Other literature on this +epoch: + +"Agrip" (chap. 8), "Historia Norvegia", (p. 12), "Thjodrek" (chap. 5), +"Saxo" (pp. 479-482), "Egla" (chaps. 81, 82), "Floamanna" (chap. +12), "Fareyinga" (chaps. 2, 4, 10), "Halfred's Saga" (chap. 2), "Hord +Grimkelsons Saga" (chaps. 13, 18), "Kormak" (chaps. 19-27), "Laxdaela" +(chaps. 19-21), "Njala" (chaps, 3-6). + +The skalds of this saga are:--Glum Geirason, Kormak Agmundson, Eyvind +Skaldaspiller, and Einar Helgason Skalaglam. + + + + +1. GOVERNMENT OF THE SONS OF EIRIK. + +When King Hakon was killed, the sons of Eirik took the sovereignty of +Norway. Harald, who was the oldest of the living brothers, was over them +in dignity. Their mother Gunhild, who was called the King-mother, mixed +herself much in the affairs of the country. There were many chiefs in +the land at that time. There was Trygve Olafson in the Eastland, Gudrod +Bjornson in Vestfold, Sigurd earl of Hlader in the Throndhjem land; but +Gunhild's sons held the middle of the country the first winter. There +went messages and ambassadors between Gunhild's sons and Trygve and +Gudrod, and all was settled upon the footing that they should hold from +Gunhild's sons the same part of the country which they formerly had +held under King Hakon. A man called Glum Geirason, who was King Harald's +skald, and was a very brave man, made this song upon King Hakon's +death:-- + + "Gamle is avenged by Harald! + Great is thy deed, thou champion bold! + The rumour of it came to me + In distant lands beyond the sea, + How Harald gave King Hakon's blood + To Odin's ravens for their food." + +This song was much favoured. When Eyvind Finson heard of it he composed +the song which was given before, viz.:-- + + "Our dauntless king with Gamle's gore + Sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er," &c. + +This song also was much favoured, and was spread widely abroad; and +when King Harald came to hear of it, he laid a charge against Evyind +affecting his life; but friends made up the quarrel, on the condition +that Eyvind should in future be Harald's skald, as he had formerly been +King Hakon's. There was also some relationship between them, as Gunhild, +Eyvind's mother, was a daughter of Earl Halfdan, and her mother was +Ingibjorg, a daughter of Harald Harfager. Thereafter Eyvind made a song +about King Harald:-- + + "Guardian of Norway, well we know + Thy heart failed not when from the bow + The piercing arrow-hail sharp rang + On shield and breast-plate, and the clang + Of sword resounded in the press + Of battle, like the splitting ice; + For Harald, wild wolf of the wood, + Must drink his fill of foeman's blood." + +Gunhild's sons resided mostly in the middle of the country, for they did +not think it safe for them to dwell among the people of Throndhjem or +of Viken, where King Hakon's best friends lived; and also in both places +there were many powerful men. Proposals of agreement then passed between +Gunhild's sons and Earl Sigurd, or they got no scat from the Throndhjem +country; and at last an agreement was concluded between the kings and +the earl, and confirmed by oath. Earl Sigurd was to get the same power +in the Throndhjem land which he had possessed under King Hakon, and on +that they considered themselves at peace. All Gunhild's sons had the +character of being penurious; and it was said they hid their money in +the ground. Eyvind Skaldaspiller made a song about this:-- + + "Main-mast of battle! Harald bold! + In Hakon's days the skald wore gold + Upon his falcon's seat; he wore + Rolf Krake's seed, the yellow ore + Sown by him as he fled away, + The avenger Adils' speed to stay. + The gold crop grows upon the plain; + But Frode's girls so gay (1) in vain + Grind out the golden meal, while those + Who rule o'er Norway's realm like foes, + In mother earth's old bosom hide + The wealth which Hakon far and wide + Scattered with generous hand: the sun + Shone in the days of that great one, + On the gold band of Fulla's brow,(2) + On gold-ringed hands that bend the bow, + On the skald's hand; but of the ray + Of bright gold, glancing like the spray + Of sun-lit waves, no skald now sings-- + Buried are golden chains and rings." + +Now when King Harald heard this song, he sent a message to Eyvind to +come to him, and when Eyvind came made a charge against him of being +unfaithful. "And it ill becomes thee," said the king, "to be my enemy, +as thou hast entered into my service." Eyvind then made these verses:-- + + "One lord I had before thee, Harald! + One dear-loved lord! Now am I old, + And do not wish to change again,-- + To that loved lord, through strife and pain, + Faithful I stood; still true to Hakon,-- + To my good king, and him alone. + But now I'm old and useless grown, + My hands are empty, wealth is flown; + I am but fir for a short space + In thy court-hall to fill a place." + +But King Harald forced Eyvind to submit himself to his clemency. Eyvind +had a great gold ring, which was called Molde, that had been dug up out +of the earth long since. This ring the King said he must have as the +mulet for the offence; and there was no help for it. Then Eyvind sang:-- + + "I go across the ocean-foam, + Swift skating to my Iceland home + Upon the ocean-skates, fast driven + By gales by Thurse's witch fire given. + For from the falcon-bearing hand + Harald has plucked the gold snake band + My father wore--by lawless might + Has taken what is mine by right." + +Eyvind went home; but it is not told that he ever came near the king +again. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Menja and Fenja were strong girls of the giant race, whom + Frode bought in Sweden to grind gold and good luck to him; + and their meal means gold.--L. +(2) Fulla was one of Frig's attendants, who wore a gold band on + the forehead, and the figure means gold,--that the sun + shone on gold rings on the hands of the skalds in Hakon's + days.--L. + + + + +2. CHRISTIANITY OF GUNHILD'S SONS. + +Gunhild's sons embraced Christianity in England, as told before; but +when they came to rule over Norway they made no progress in spreading +Christianity--only they pulled down the temples of the idols, and cast +away the sacrifices where they had it in their power, and raised great +animosity by doing so. The good crops of the country were soon wasted in +their days, because there were many kings, and each had his court about +him. They had therefore great expenses, and were very greedy. Besides, +they only observed those laws of King Hakon which suited themselves. +They were, however, all of them remarkably handsome men--stout, strong, +and expert in all exercises. So says Glum Geirason, in the verses he +composed about Harald, Gunhild's son:-- + + "The foeman's terror, Harald bold, + Had gained enough of yellow gold; + Had Heimdal's teeth (1) enough in store, + And understood twelve arts or more." + +The brothers sometimes went out on expeditions together, and sometimes +each on his own account. They were fierce, but brave and active; and +great warriors, and very successful. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Heimdal was one of the gods, whose horse was called + Gold-top; and the horse's teeth were of gold. + + + + +3. COUNCILS BY GUNHILD AND HER SONS. + +Gunhild the King-mother, and her sons, often met, and talked together +upon the government of the country. Once Gunhild asked her sons what +they intended to do with their kingdom of Throndhjem. "Ye have the title +of king, as your forefathers had before you; but ye have little land or +people, and there are many to divide with. In the East, at Viken, there +are Trygve and Gudrod; and they have some right, from relationship, to +their governments. There is besides Earl Sigurd ruling over the whole +Throndhjem country; and no reason can I see why ye let so large a +kingdom be ruled by an earl, and not by yourselves. It appears wonderful +to me that ye go every summer upon viking cruises against other lands, +and allow an earl within the country to take your father's heritage from +you. Your grandfather, whose name you bear, King Harald, thought it +but a small matter to take an earl's life and land when he subdued all +Norway, and held it under him to old age." + +Harald replied, "It is not so easy, mother, to cut off Earl Sigurd as +to slay a kid or a calf. Earl Sigurd is of high birth, powerful in +relations, popular, and prudent; and I think if the Throndhjem people +knew for certain there was enmity between us, they would all take his +side, and we could expect only evil from them. I don't think it would +be safe for any of us brothers to fall into the hands of the Throndhjem +people." + +Then said Gunhild, "We shall go to work another way, and not put +ourselves forward. Harald and Erling shall come in harvest to North +More, and there I shall meet you, and we shall consult together what is +to be done." This was done. + + + + +4. GUNHILD'S SONS AND GRJOTGARD. + +Earl Sigurd had a brother called Grjotgard, who was much younger, and +much less respected; in fact, was held in no title of honour. He had +many people, however, about him, and in summer went on viking cruises, +and gathered to himself property. Now King Harald sent messengers to +Throndhjem with offers of friendship, and with presents. The messengers +declared that King Harald was willing to be on the same friendly terms +with the earl that King Hakon had been; adding, that they wished the +earl to come to King Harald, that their friendship might be put on a +firm footing. The Earl Sigurd received well the king's messengers and +friendly message, but said that on account of his many affairs he could +not come to the king. He sent many friendly gifts, and many glad and +grateful words to the king, in return for his friendship. With this +reply the messengers set off, and went to Grjotgard, for whom they had +the same message, and brought him good presents, and offered him King +Harald's friendship, and invited him to visit the king. Grjotgard +promised to come and at the appointed time he paid a visit to King +Harald and Gunhild, and was received in the most friendly manner. They +treated him on the most intimate footing, so that Grjotgard had +access to their private consultations and secret councils. At last the +conversation, by an understanding between the king and queen, was turned +upon Earl Sigurd; and they spoke to Grjotgard about the earl having kept +him so long in obscurity, and asked him if he would not join the king's +brothers in an attack on the earl. If he would join with them, the +king promised Grjotgard that he should be his earl, and have the same +government that Sigurd had. It came so far that a secret agreement was +made between them, that Grjotgard should spy out the most favourable +opportunity of attacking by surprise Earl Sigurd, and should give King +Harald notice of it. After this agreement Grjotgard returned home with +many good presents from the king. + + + + +5. SIGURD BURNT IN A HOUSE IN STJORADAL + +Earl Sigurd went in harvest into Stjoradal to guest-quarters, and from +thence went to Oglo to a feast. The earl usually had many people about +him, for he did not trust the king; but now, after friendly messages +had passed between the king and him, he had no great following of people +with him. Then Grjotgard sent word to the king that he could never +expect a better opportunity to fall upon Earl Sigurd; and immediately, +that very evening, Harald and Erling sailed into Throndhjem fjord with +several ships and many people. They sailed all night by starlight, and +Grjotgard came out to meet them. Late in the night they came to Oglo, +where Earl Sigurd was at the feast, and set fire to the house; and burnt +the house, the earl, and all his men. As soon as it was daylight, they +set out through the fjord, and south to More, where they remained a long +time. + + + + +6. HISTORY OF HAKON, SIGURD'S SON. + +Hakon, the son of Earl Sigurd, was up in the interior of the Throndhjem +country when he heard this news. Great was the tumult through all the +Throndhjem land, and every vessel that could swim was put into the +water; and as soon as the people were gathered together they took Earl +Sigurd's son Hakon to be their earl and the leader of the troops, and +the whole body steered out of Throndhjem fjord. When Gunhild's sons +heard of this, they set off southwards to Raumsdal and South More; and +both parties kept eye on each other by their spies. Earl Sigurd was +killed two years after the fall of King Hakon (A.D. 962). So says Eyvind +Skaldaspiller in the "Haleygjatal":-- + + "At Oglo, as I've heard, Earl Sigurd + Was burnt to death by Norway's lord,-- + Sigurd, who once on Hadding's grave + A feast to Odin's ravens gave. + In Oglo's hall, amidst the feast, + When bowls went round and ale flowed fast, + He perished: Harald lit the fire + Which burnt to death the son of Tyr." + +Earl Hakan, with the help of his friends, maintained himself in the +Throndhjem country for three years; and during that time (A.D. 963-965) +Gunhild's sons got no revenues from it. Hakon had many a battle with +Gunhild's sons, and many a man lost his life on both sides. Of this +Einar Skalaglam speaks in his lay, called "Vellekla," which he composed +about Earl Hakon:-- + + "The sharp bow-shooter on the sea + Spread wide his fleet, for well loved he + The battle storm: well loved the earl + His battle-banner to unfurl, + O'er the well-trampled battle-field + He raised the red-moon of his shield; + And often dared King Eirik's son + To try the fray with the Earl Hakon." + +And he also says:-- + + "Who is the man who'll dare to say + That Sigurd's son avoids the fray? + He gluts the raven--he ne'er fears + The arrow's song or flight of spears, + With thundering sword he storms in war, + As Odin dreadful; or from far + He makes the arrow-shower fly + To swell the sail of victory. + The victory was dearly bought, + And many a viking-fight was fought + Before the swinger of the sword + Was of the eastern country lord." + +And Einar tells also how Earl Hakon avenged his father's murderer:-- + + "I praise the man, my hero he, + Who in his good ship roves the sea, + Like bird of prey, intent to win + Red vengeance for his slaughtered kin. + From his blue sword the iron rain + That freezes life poured down amain + On him who took his father's life, + On him and his men in the strife. + To Odin many a soul was driven,-- + To Odin many a rich gift given. + Loud raged the storm on battle-field-- + Axe rang on helm, and sword on shield." + +The friends on both sides at last laid themselves between, and brought +proposals of peace; for the bondes suffered by this strife and war in +the land. At last it was brought to this, by the advice of prudent men, +that Earl Hakon should have the same power in the Throndhjem land which +his father Earl Sigurd had enjoyed; and the kings, on the other hand, +should have the same dominion as King Hakon had: and this agreement was +settled with the fullest promises of fidelity to it. Afterwards a great +friendship arose between Earl Hakon and Gunhild, although they sometimes +attempted to deceive each other. And thus matters stood for three years +longer (A.D. 966-968), in which time Earl Hakon sat quietly in his +dominions. + + + + +7. OF HARALD GRAFELD. + +King Hakon had generally his seat in Hordaland and Rogaland, and also +his brothers; but very often, also, they went to Hardanger. One summer +it happened that a vessel came from Iceland belonging to Icelanders, and +loaded with skins and peltry. They sailed to Hardanger, where they heard +the greatest number of people assembled; but when the folks came to deal +with them, nobody would buy their skins. Then the steersman went to King +Harald, whom he had been acquainted with before, and complained of his +ill luck. The king promised to visit him, and did so. King Harald was +very condescending, and full of fun. He came with a fully manned boat, +looked at the skins, and then said to the steersman, "Wilt thou give me +a present of one of these gray-skins?" "Willingly," said the steersman, +"if it were ever so many." On this the king wrapped himself up in a +gray-skin, and went back to his boat; but before they rowed away from +the ship, every man in his suite bought such another skin as the king +wore for himself. In a few days so many people came to buy skins, that +not half of them could be served with what they wanted; and thereafter +the king was called Harald Grafeld (Grayskin). + + + + +8. EARL EIRIK'S BIRTH. + +Earl Hakon came one winter to the Uplands to a feast, and it so happened +that he had intercourse with a girl of mean birth. Some time after the +girl had to prepare for her confinement, and she bore a child, a boy, +who had water poured on him, and was named Eirik. The mother carried the +boy to Earl Hakon, and said that he was the father. The earl placed +him to be brought up with a man called Thorleif the Wise, who dwelt in +Medaldal, and was a rich and powerful man, and a great friend of the +earl. Eirik gave hopes very early that he would become an able man, was +handsome in countenance, and stout and strong for a child; but the +earl did not pay much attention to him. The earl himself was one of +the handsomest men in countenance,--not tall, but very strong, and +well practised in all kinds of exercises; and withal prudent, of good +understanding, and a deadly man at arms. + + + + +9. KING TRYGVE OLAFSON'S MURDER. + +It happened one harvest (A.D. 962) that Earl Hakon, on a journey in +the Uplands, came to Hedemark; and King Trygve Olafson and King Gudrod +Bjornson met him there, and Dale-Gudbrand also came to the meeting. They +had agreed to meet, and they talked together long by themselves; but so +much only was known of their business, that they were to be friends of +each other. They parted, and each went home to his own kingdom. Gunhild +and her sons came to hear of this meeting, and they suspected it must +have been to lay a treasonable plot against the kings; and they often +talked of this among themselves. When spring (A.D. 963) began to set +in, King Harald and his brother King Gudrod proclaimed that they were to +make a viking cruise, as usual, either in the West sea, or the Baltic. +The people accordingly assembled, launched the ships into the sea, and +made themselves ready to sail. When they were drinking the farewell +ale,--and they drank bravely,--much and many things were talked over +at the drink-table, and, among other things, were comparisons between +different men, and at last between the kings themselves. One said that +King Harald excelled his brothers by far, and in every way. On this King +Gudrod was very angry, and said that he was in no respect behind Harald, +and was ready to prove it. Instantly both parties were so inflamed that +they challenged each other to battle, and ran to their arms. But some of +the guests who were less drunk, and had more understanding, came between +them, and quieted them; and each went to his ship, but nobody expected +that they would all sail together. Gudrod sailed east ward along the +land, and Harald went out to sea, saying he would go to the westward; +but when he came outside of the islands he steered east along the coast, +outside of the rocks and isles. Gudrod, again, sailed inside, through +the usual channel, to Viken, and eastwards to Folden. He then sent +a message to King Trygve to meet him, that they might make a cruise +together in summer in the Baltic to plunder. Trygve accepted willingly, +and as a friend, the invitation; and as heard King Gudrod had but few +people with him, he came to meet him with a single boat. They met +at Veggen, to the east of Sotanes; but just as they were come to the +meeting place, Gudrod's men ran up and killed King Trygve and twelve +men. He lies buried at a place called Trygve's Cairn (A.D. 963). + + + + +10. KING GUDROD'S FALL. + +King Harald sailed far outside of the rocks and isles; but set his +course to Viken, and came in the night-time to Tunsberg, and heard that +Gudrod Bjornson was at a feast a little way up the country. Then King +Harald set out immediately with his followers, came in the night, and +surrounded the house. King Gudrod Bjornson went out with his people; +but after a short resistance he fell, and many men with him. Then King +Harald joined his brother King Gudrod, and they subdued all Viken. + + + + +11. OF HARALD GRENSKE. + +King Gudrod Bjornson had made a good and suitable marriage, and had +by his wife a son called Harald, who had been sent to be fostered to +Grenland to a lenderman called Hroe the White. Hroe's son, called Hrane +Vidforle (the Far-travelled), was Harald's foster-brother, and about +the same age. After his father Gudrod's fall, Harald, who was called +Grenske, fled to the Uplands, and with him his foster-brother Hrane, +and a few people. Harald staid a while there among his relations; but +as Eirik's sons sought after every man who interfered with them, and +especially those who might oppose them, Harald Grenske's friends and +relations advised him to leave the country. Harald therefore went +eastward into Svithjod, and sought shipmates, that he might enter into +company with those who went out a cruising to gather property. Harald +became in this way a remarkably able man. There was a man in Svithjod at +that time called Toste, one of the most powerful and clever in the land +among those who had no high name or dignity; and he was a great warrior, +who had been often in battle, and was therefore called Skoglar-Toste. +Harald Grenske came into his company, and cruised with Toste in summer; +and wherever Harald came he was well thought of by every one. In the +winter Harald, after passing two years in the Uplands, took up his abode +with Toste, and lived five years with him. Toste had a daughter, who +was both young and handsome, but she was proud and high-minded. She was +called Sigrid, and was afterwards married to the Swedish king, Eirik +the Victorious, and had a son by him, called Olaf the Swede, who was +afterwards king of Svithjod. King Eirik died in a sick-bed at Upsala ten +years after the death of Styrbjorn. + + + + +12. EARL HAKON'S FEUDS. + +Gunhild's sons levied a great army in Viken (A.D. 963), and sailed along +the land northwards, collecting people and ships on the way out of every +district. They then made known their intent, to proceed northwards with +their army against Earl Hakon in Throndhjem. When Earl Hakon heard this +news, he also collected men, and fitted out ships; and when he heard +what an overwhelming force Gunhild's sons had with them, he steered +south with his fleet to More, pillaging wherever he came, and +killing many people. He then sent the whole of the bonde army back to +Throndhjem; but he himself, with his men-at-arms, proceeded by both the +districts of More and Raumsdal, and had his spies out to the south of +Stad to spy the army of Gunhild's sons; and when he heard they were come +into the Fjords, and were waiting for a fair wind to sail northwards +round Stad, Earl Hakon set out to sea from the north side of Stad, so +far that his sails could not be seen from the land, and then sailed +eastward on a line with the coast, and came to Denmark, from whence he +sailed into the Baltic, and pillaged there during the summer. Gunhild's +sons conducted their army north to Throndhjem, and remained there +the whole summer collecting the scat and duties. But when summer +was advanced they left Sigurd Slefa and Gudron behind; and the other +brothers returned eastward with the levied army they had taken up in +summer. + + + + +13. OF EARL HAKON AND GUNHILD'S SONS. + +Earl Hakon, towards harvest (A.D. 963), sailed into the Bothnian Gulf +to Helsingjaland, drew his ships up there on the beach, and took the +land-ways through Helsingjaland and Jamtaland, and so eastwards round +the dividing ridge (the Kjol, or keel of the country), and down into the +Throndhjem district. Many people streamed towards him, and he fitted out +ships. When the sons of Gunhild heard of this they got on board their +ships, and sailed out of the Fjord; and Earl Hakon came to his seat at +Hlader, and remained there all winter. The sons of Gunhild, on the other +hand, occupied More; and they and the earl attacked each other in +turns, killing each other's people. Earl Hakon kept his dominions of +Throndhjem, and was there generally in the winter; but in summer he +sometimes went to Helsingjaland, where he went on board of his ships +and sailed with them down into the Baltic, and plundered there; and +sometimes he remained in Throndhjem, and kept an army on foot, so that +Gunhild's sons could get no hold northwards of Stad. + + + + +14. SIGURD SLEFA'S MURDER. + +One summer Harald Grayskin with his troops went north to Bjarmaland, +where be forayed, and fought a great battle with the inhabitants on the +banks of the Vina (Dwina). King Harald gained the victory, killed many +people, plundered and wasted and burned far and wide in the land, and +made enormous booty. Glum Geirason tells of it thus:-- + + "I saw the hero Harald chase + With bloody sword Bjarme's race: + They fly before him through the night, + All by their burning city's light. + On Dwina's bank, at Harald's word, + Arose the storm of spear and sword. + In such a wild war-cruise as this, + Great would he be who could bring peace." + +King Sigurd Slefa came to the Herse Klyp's house. Klyp was a son of +Thord, and a grandson of Hordakare, and was a man of power and great +family. He was not at home; but his wife Alof give a good reception to +the king, and made a great feast at which there was much drinking. Alof +was a daughter of Asbjorn, and sister to Jarnskegge, north in Yrjar. +Asbjorn's brother was called Hreidar, who was father to Styrkar, whose +son was Eindride, father of Einar Tambaskielfer. In the night the king +went to bed to Alof against her will, and then set out on his journey. +The harvest thereafter, King Harald and his brother King Sigurd Slefa +went to Vors, and summoned the bondes to a Thing. There the bondes fell +on them, and would have killed them, but they escaped and took different +roads. King Harald went to Hardanger, but King Sigurd to Alrekstader. +Now when the Herse Klyp heard of this, he and his relations assembled to +attack the king; and Vemund Volubrjot (1) was chief of their troop. Now +when they came to the house they attacked the king, and Herse Klyp, it +is said, ran him through with his sword and killed him; but instantly +Klyp was killed on the spot by Erling Gamle (A.D. 965). + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Volubrjotr.--Literally "the one who breaks the vala", that + is, breaks the skulls of witches. + + + + +15. GRJOTGARD'S FALL. + +King Harald Grafeld and his brother King Gudrod gathered together a +great army in the east country, with which they set out northwards to +Throndhjem (A.D. 968). When Earl Hakon heard of it he collected men, +and set out to More, where he plundered. There his father's brother, +Grjotgard, had the command and defence of the country on account of +Gunhild's sons, and he assembled an army by order of the kings. +Earl Hakon advanced to meet him, and gave him battle; and there fell +Grjotgard and two other earls, and many a man besides. So says Einar +Skalaglam:-- + + "The helm-crown'd Hakon, brave as stout, + Again has put his foes to rout. + The bowl runs o'er with Odin's mead, (1) + That fires the skald when mighty deed + Has to be sung. Earl Hakon's sword, + In single combat, as I've heard, + Three sons of earls from this one fray + To dwell with Odin drove away." (2) + +Thereafter Earl Hakon went out to sea, and sailed outside the coast, +and came to Denmark. He went to the Danish King, Harald Gormson, and was +well received by him, and staid with him all winter (A.D. 969). At that +time there was also with the Danish king a man called Harald, a son of +Knut Gormson, and a brother's son of King Harald. He was lately come +home from a long viking cruise, on which he had gathered great riches, +and therefore he was called Gold Harald. He thought he had a good chance +of coming to the Danish kingdom. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Odin's mead, called Bodn, was the blood or mead the sons +of Brage, the god of poets, drank to inspire them.--L. +(2) To dwell with Odin,--viz. slew them.--L. + + + + +16. KING ERLING'S FALL. + +King Harald Grafeld and his brothers proceeded northwards to Throndhjem, +where they met no opposition. They levied the scat-duties, and all other +revenues, and laid heavy penalties upon the bondes; for the kings had +for a long time received but little income from Throndhjem, because Earl +Hakon was there with many troops, and was at variance with these kings. +In autumn (A.D. 968) King Harald went south with the greater part of +the men-at-arms, but King Erlin remained behind with his men. He raised +great contributions from the bondes, and pressed severely on them; at +which the bondes murmured greatly, and submitted to their losses with +impatience. In winter they gathered together in a great force to go +against King Erling, just as he was at a feast; and they gave battle to +him, and he with the most of his men fell (A.D. 969). + + + + +17. THE SEASONS IN NORWAY AT THIS TIME. + +While Gunhild's sons reigned in Norway the seasons were always bad, and +the longer they reigned the worse were the crops; and the bondes laid +the blame on them. They were very greedy, and used the bondes harshly. +It came at length to be so bad that fish, as well as corn, were wanting. +In Halogaland there was the greatest famine and distress; for scarcely +any corn grew, and even snow was lying, and the cattle were bound in +the byres (1) all over the country until midsummer. Eyvind Skaldaspiller +describes it in his poem, as he came outside of his house and found a +thick snowdrift at that season:-- + + "Tis midsummer, yet deep snows rest + On Odin's mother's frozen breast: + Like Laplanders, our cattle-kind + In stall or stable we must bind." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Byres = gards or farms. + + + + +18. THE ICELANDERS AND EYVIND THE SKALD. + +Eyvind composed a poem about the people of Iceland, for which they +rewarded him by each bonde giving him three silver pennies, of full +weight and white in the fracture. And when the silver was brought +together at the Althing, the people resolved to have it purified, and +made into a row of clasps; and after the workmanship of the silver was +paid, the row of clasps was valued at fifty marks. This they sent to +Eyvind; but Eyvind was obliged to separate the clasps from each other, +and sell them to buy food for his household. But the same spring a shoal +of herrings set in upon the fishing ground beyond the coast-side, and +Eyvind manned a ship's boat with his house servants and cottars, and +rowed to where the herrings were come, and sang:-- + + "Now let the steed of ocean bound + O'er the North Sea with dashing sound: + Let nimble tern and screaming gull + Fly round and round--our net is full. + Fain would I know if Fortune sends + A like provision to my friends. + Welcome provision 'tis, I wot, + That the whale drives to our cook's pot." + +So entirely were his movable goods exhausted, that he was obliged to +sell his arrows to buy herrings, or other meat for his table:-- + + "Our arms and ornaments of gold + To buy us food we gladly sold: + The arrows of the bow gave we + For the bright arrows of the sea." (1) + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Herrings, from their swift darting along, are called the + arrows of the sea. + + + + +KING OLAF TRYGVASON'S SAGA. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Hitherto the narrative has been more or less fragmentary. With Olaf +Trygvason's Saga reliable history begins, and the narration is full and +connected. The story of Hakon the earl is incorporated in this saga. + +Accounts of Olaf Trygvason may be found in Od the Monk's legendary saga, +in parts of "Agrip", "Historia Norvegiae", and in Thjodrek. Icelandic +works on this epoch are: + +"Egla", "Eyrbyggja", "Finboga", "Floamanna", "Faereyinga", "Hallfredar +Saga", "Havardar Saga", "Are's Islendinga-bok", "Kristni Saga", +"Laxdaela", "Ljosvetninga", "Njala", "Orkneyinga", "Viga Glums Saga", +and "Viga Styrs Saga". + +The skalds quoted are: Glum Geirason, Eyvind Finson, Skaldaspiller, +Einar Skalaglam, Tind Halkelson, Eyjolf Dadaskald, Hallarstein, +Halfred Vandraedaskald, Haldor Ukristne, Skule Thorsteinson, and Thord +Kolbeinson. + + + + +1. OLAF TRYGVASON'S BIRTH. + +King Trygve Olafson had married a wife who was called Astrid. She was a +daughter of Eirik Bjodaskalle, a great man, who dwelt at Oprustader. But +after Trygve's death (A.D. 963) Astrid fled, and privately took with her +all the loose property she could. Her foster-father, Thorolf Lusarskeg, +followed her, and never left her; and others of her faithful followers +spied about to discover her enemies, and where they were. Astrid was +pregnant with a child of King Trygve, and she went to a lake, and +concealed herself in a holm or small island in it with a few men. Here +her child was born, and it was a boy; and water was poured over it, and +it was called Olaf after the grandfather. Astrid remained all summer +here in concealment; but when the nights became dark, and the day began +to shorten and the weather to be cold, she was obliged to take to the +land, along with Thorolf and a few other men. They did not seek for +houses unless in the night-time, when they came to them secretly; +and they spoke to nobody. One evening, towards dark, they came to +Oprustader, where Astrid's father Eirik dwelt, and privately sent a man +to Eirik to tell him; and Eirik took them to an out-house, and spread a +table for them with the best of food. When Astrid had been here a short +time her travelling attendants left her, and none remained, behind with +her but two servant girls, her child Olaf, Thorolf Lusarskeg, and his +son Thorgils, who was six years old; and they remained all winter (A.D. +964). + + + + +2. OF GUNHILD S SONS. + +After Trygve Olafson's murder, Harald Grafeld and his brother Gudrod +went to the farm which he owned; but Astrid was gone, and they could +learn no tidings of her. A loose report came to their ears that she was +pregnant to King Trygve; but they soon went away northwards, as before +related. As soon as they met their mother Gunhild they told her all that +had taken place. She inquired particularly about Astrid, and they told +her the report they had heard; but as Gunhild's sons the same harvest +and winter after had bickerings with Earl Hakon, as before related, they +did not seek after Astrid and her son that winter. + + + + +3. ASTRID'S JOURNEY. + +The spring after (A.D. 964) Gunhild sent spies to the Uplands, and all +the way down to Viken, to spy what they could about Astrid; and her men +came back, and could only tell her that Astrid must be with her father +Eirik, and it was probable was bringing up her infant, the son of +Trygve. Then Gunhild, without delay, sent off men well furnished with +arms and horses, and in all a troop of thirty; and as their leader she +sent a particular friend of her own, a powerful man called Hakon. Her +orders were to go to Oprustader, to Eirik, and take King Trygve's son +from thence, and bring the child to her; and with these orders the men +went out. Now when they were come to the neighbourhood of Oprustader, +some of Eirik's friends observed the troop of travellers, and about the +close of the day brought him word of their approach. Eirik immediately, +in the night, made preparation for Astrid's flight, gave her good +guides, and send her away eastward to Svithjod, to his good friend Hakon +Gamle, who was a powerful man there. Long before day they departed, +and towards evening they reached a domain called Skaun. Here they saw +a large mansion, towards which they went, and begged a night's lodging. +For the sake of concealment they were clad in mean clothing. There +dwelt here a bonde called Bjorn Eiterkveisa, who was very rich, but very +inhospitable. He drove them away; and therefore, towards dark, they went +to another domain close by that was called Vidar. Thorstein was the name +of the bonde; and he gave them lodging, and took good care of them, +so that they slept well, and were well entertained. Early that morning +Gunhild's men had come to Oprustader, and inquired for Astrid and her +son. As Eirik told them she was not there, they searched the whole +house, and remained till late in the day before they got any news of +Astrid. Then they rode after her the way she had taken, and late +at night they came to Bjorn Eiterkveisa in Skaun, and took up their +quarters there. Hakon asked Bjorn if he knew anything about Astrid, and +he said some people had been there in the evening wanting lodgings; +"but I drove them away, and I suppose they have gone to some of the +neighbouring houses." Thorstein's labourer was coming from the forest, +having left his work at nightfall, and called in at Bjorn's house +because it was in his way; and finding there were guests come to the +house, and learning their business, he comes to Thorstein and tells him +of it. As about a third part of the night was still remaining, Thorstein +wakens his guests and orders them in an angry voice to go about their +business; but as soon as they were out of the house upon the road, +Thorstein tells them that Gunhild's messengers were at Bjorn's house, +and are upon the trace of them. They entreat of him to help them, and +he gave them a guide and some provisions. He conducted them through a +forest to a lake, in which there was an islet overgrown with reeds. They +waded out to the islet, and hid themselves among the reeds. Early in the +morning Hakon rode away from Bjorn's into the township, and wherever he +came he asked after Astrid; and when he came to Thorstein's he asked if +she had been there. He said that some people had been there; but as soon +as it was daylight they had set off again, eastwards, to the forest. +Hakon made Thorstein go along with them, as he knew all the roads and +hiding-places. Thorstein went with them; but when they were come into +the woods, he led them right across the way Astrid had taken. They went +about and about the whole day to no purpose, as they could find no trace +of her, so they turned back to tell Gunhild the end of their travel. +Astrid and her friends proceeded on their journey, and came to Svithjod, +to Hakon Gamle (the Old), where she and her son remained a long time, +and had friendly welcome. + + + + +4. HAKON'S EMBASSY TO SWEDEN. + +When Gunhild, the mother of the kings, heard that Astrid and her son +Olaf were in the kingdom of Svithjod, she again sent Hakon, with a +good attendance, eastward, to Eirik king of Sweden, with presents and +messages of friendship. The ambassadors were well received and well +treated. Hakon, after a time, disclosed his errand to the king, saying +that Gunhild had sent him with the request that the king would assist +him in getting hold of Olaf Trygvason, to conduct him to Norway, where +Gunhild would bring him up. The king gave Hakon people with him, and he +rode with them to Hakon the Old, where Hakon desired, with many friendly +expressions, that Olaf should go with him. Hakon the Old returned a +friendly answer, saying that it depended entirely upon Olaf's mother. +But Astrid would on no account listen to the proposal; and the +messengers had to return as they came, and to tell King Eirik how the +matter stood. The ambassadors then prepared to return home, and asked +the king for some assistance to take the boy, whether Hakon the Old +would or not. The king gave them again some attendants; and when they +came to Hakon the Old, they again asked for the boy, and on his refusal +to deliver him they used high words and threatened violence. But one of +the slaves, Buste by name, attacked Hakon, and was going to kill him; +and they barely escaped from the thralls without a cudgelling, and +proceeded home to Norway to tell Gunhild their ill success, and that +they had only seen Olaf. + + + + +5. OF SIGURD EIRIKSON. + +Astrid had a brother called Sigurd, a son of Eirik Bjodaskalle, who had +long been abroad in Gardarike (Russia) with King Valdemar, and was there +in great consideration. Astrid had now a great inclination to travel to +her brother there. Hakon the Old gave her good attendants, and what was +needful for the journey, and she set out with some merchants. She had +then been two years (A.D. 965-966) with Hakon the Old, and Olaf was +three years of age. As they sailed out into the Baltic, they were +captured by vikings of Eistland, who made booty both of the people and +goods, killing some, and dividing others as slaves. Olaf was separated +from his mother, and an Eistland man called Klerkon got him as his share +along with Thorolf and Thorgils. Klerkon thought that Thorolf was too +old for a slave, and that there was not much work to be got out of him, +so he killed him; but took the boys with him, and sold them to a man +called Klerk for a stout and good ram. A third man, called Reas, bought +Olaf for a good cloak. Reas had a wife called Rekon, and a son by her +whose name was Rekone. Olaf was long with them, was treated well, and +was much beloved by the people. Olaf was six years in Eistland in this +banishment (A.D. 987-972). + + + + +6. OLAF IS SET FREE IN EISTLAND. + +Sigurd, the son of Eirik (Astrid's brother), came into Eistland from +Novgorod, on King Valdemar's business to collect the king's taxes and +rents. Sigurd came as a man of consequence, with many followers and +great magnificence. In the market-place he happened to observe a +remarkably handsome boy; and as he could distinguish that he was a +foreigner, he asked him his name and family. He answered him, that +his name was Olaf; that he was a son of Trygve Olafson; and Astrid, a +daughter of Eirik Bjodaskalle, was his mother. Then Sigurd knew that the +boy was his sister's son, and asked him how he came there. Olaf told him +minutely all his adventures, and Sigurd told him to follow him to the +peasant Reas. When he came there he bought both the boys, Olaf and +Thorgils, and took them with him to Holmgard. But, for the first, he +made nothing known of Olaf's relationship to him, but treated him well. + + + + +7. KLERKON KILLED BY OLAF. + +Olaf Trygvason was one day in the market-place, where there was a +great number of people. He recognized Klerkon again, who had killed his +foster-father Thorolf Lusarskeg. Olaf had a little axe in his hand, and +with it he clove Klerkon's skull down to the brain, and ran home to his +lodging, and told his friend Sigurd what he had done. Sigurd immediately +took Olaf to Queen Allogia's house, told her what had happened, and +begged her to protect the boy. She replied, that the boy appeared far +too comely to allow him to be slain; and she ordered her people to +be drawn out fully armed. In Holmgard the sacredness of peace is so +respected, that it is law there to slay whoever puts a man to death +except by judgment of law; and, according to this law and usage, the +whole people stormed and sought after the boy. It was reported that +he was in the Queen's house, and that there was a number of armed men +there. When this was told to the king, he went there with his people, +but would allow no bloodshed. It was settled at last in peace, that the +king should name the fine for the murder; and the queen paid it. Olaf +remained afterwards with the queen, and was much beloved. It is a law +at Holmgard, that no man of royal descent shall stay there without the +king's permission. Sigurd therefore told the queen of what family Olaf +was, and for what reason he had come to Russia; namely, that he could +not remain with safety in his own country: and begged her to speak to +the king about it. She did so, and begged the king to help a king's son +whose fate had been so hard; and in consequence of her entreaty the king +promised to assist him, and accordingly he received Olaf into his court, +and treated him nobly, and as a king's son. Olaf was nine years old when +he came to Russia, and he remained nine years more (A.D. 978-981) with +King Valdemar. Olaf was the handsomest of men, very stout and strong, +and in all bodily exercises he excelled every Northman that ever was +heard of. + + + + +8. OF HAKON EARL OF HLADER. + +Earl Hakon, Sigurd's son, was with the Danish king, Harald Gormson, the +winter after he had fled from Norway before Gunhild's sons. During the +winter (A.D. 969) the earl had so much care and sorrow that he took to +bed, and passed many sleepless nights, and ate and drank no more than +was needful to support his strength. Then he sent a private message to +his friends north in Throndhjem, and proposed to them that they should +kill King Erling, if they had an opportunity; adding, that he would come +to them in summer. The same winter the Throndhjem people accordingly, as +before related, killed King Erling. There was great friendship between +Earl Hakon and Gold Harald, and Harald told Hakon all his intentions. He +told him that he was tired of a ship-life, and wanted to settle on the +land; and asked Hakon if he thought his brother King Harald would agree +to divide the kingdom with him if he asked it. "I think," replied Hakon, +"that the Danish king would not deny thy right; but the best way to know +is to speak to the king himself. I know for certain so much, that +you will not get a kingdom if you don't ask for it." Soon after this +conversation Gold Harald spoke to the king about the matter, in the +presence of many great men who were friends to both; and Gold Harald +asked King Harald to divide the kingdom with him in two equal parts, +to which his royal birth and the custom of the Danish monarchy gave him +right. The king was highly incensed at this demand, and said that no man +had asked his father Gorm to be king over half of Denmark, nor yet his +grandfather King Hordaknut, or Sigurd Orm, or Ragnar Lodbrok; and he was +so exasperated and angry, that nobody ventured to speak of it to him. + + + + +9. OF GOLD HARALD. + +Gold Harald was now worse off than before; for he had got no kingdom, +and had got the king's anger by proposing it. He went as usual to his +friend Hakon, and complained to him of his fate, and asked for good +advice, and if he could help him to get his share of the kingdom; saying +that he would rather try force, and the chance of war, than give it up. + +Hakon advised him not to speak to any man so that this should be known; +"for," said he, "it concerns thy life: and rather consider with thyself +what thou art man enough to undertake; for to accomplish such a purpose +requires a bold and firm man, who will neither stick at good nor evil to +do that which is intended; for to take up great resolutions, and then to +lay them aside, would only end in dishonour." + +Gold Harald replies--"I will so carry on what I begin, that I will not +hesitate to kill Harald with my own hands, if I can come thereby to +the kingdom he denies me, and which is mine by right." And so they +separated. + +Now King Harald comes also to Earl Hakon, and tells him the demand on +his kingdom which Gold Harald had made, and also his answer, and that +he would upon no account consent to diminish his kingdom. "And if Gold +Harald persists in his demand, I will have no hesitation in having him +killed; for I will not trust him if he does not renounce it." + +The earl answered,--"My thoughts are, that Harald has carried his demand +so far that he cannot now let it drop, and I expect nothing but war in +the land; and that he will be able to gather a great force, because his +father was so beloved. And then it would be a great enormity if you were +to kill your relation; for, as things now stand, all men would say that +he was innocent. But I am far from saying, or advising, that you should +make yourself a smaller king than your father Gorm was, who in many ways +enlarged, but never diminished his kingdom." + +The king replies,--"What then is your advice,--if I am neither to divide +my kingdom, nor to get rid of my fright and danger?" + +"Let us meet again in a few days," said Earl Hakon, "and I will then +have considered the matter well, and will give you my advice upon it." + +The king then went away with his people. + + + + +10. COUNCILS HELD BY HAKON AND HARALD. + +Earl Hakon had now great reflection, and many opinions to weigh, and he +let only very few be in the house with him. In a few days King Harald +came again to the earl to speak with him, and ask if he had yet +considered fully the matter they had been talking of. + +"I have," said the earl, "considered it night and day ever since, and +find it most advisable that you retain and rule over the whole of +your kingdom just as your father left it; but that you obtain for your +relation Harald another kingdom, that he also may enjoy honour and +dignity." + +"What kind of kingdom is that," said the king, "which I can give to +Harald, that I may possess Denmark entire?" + +"It is Norway," said the earl. "The kings who are there are oppressive +to the people of the country, so that every man is against them who has +tax or service to pay." + +The king replies,--"Norway is a large country, and the people fierce, +and not good to attack with a foreign army. We found that sufficiently +when Hakon defended that country; for we lost many people, and gained no +victory. Besides, Harald the son of Eirik is my foster-son, and has sat +on my knee." + +The earl answers, "I have long known that you have helped Gunhild's sons +with your force, and a bad return you have got for it; but we shall get +at Norway much more easily than by fighting for it with all the Danish +force. Send a message to your foster-son Harald, Eirik's son, and offer +him the lands and fiefs which Gunhild's sons held before in Denmark. +Appoint him a meeting, and Gold Harald will soon conquer for himself a +kingdom in Norway from Harald Grafeld." + +The king replies, that it would be called a bad business to deceive his +own foster-son. + +"The Danes," answered the earl, "will rather say that it was better to +kill a Norwegian viking than a Danish, and your own brother's son." + +They spoke so long over the matter, that they agreed on it. + + + + +11. HARALD GORMSON'S MESSAGE TO NORWAY. + +Thereafter Gold Harald had a conference with Earl Hakon; and the earl +told him he had now advanced his business so far, that there was hope a +kingdom might stand open for him in Norway. "We can then continue," said +he, "our ancient friendship, and I can be of the greatest use to you in +Norway. Take first that kingdom. King Harald is now very old, and has +but one son, and cares but little about him, as he is but the son of a +concubine." + +The Earl talked so long to Gold Harald that the project pleased him +well; and the king, the earl, and Gold Harald often talked over the +business together. The Danish king then sent messengers north to Norway +to Harald Grafeld, and fitted them out magnificently for their journey. +They were well received by Harald. The messengers told him that Earl +Hakon was in Denmark, but was lying dangerously sick, and almost out +of his senses. They then delivered from Harald, the Danish king, the +invitation to Harald Grafeld, his foster-son, to come to him and receive +investiture of the fiefs he and his brothers before him had formerly +held in Denmark; and appointing a meeting in Jutland. Harald Grafeld +laid the matter before his mother and other friends. Their opinions were +divided. Some thought that the expedition was not without its danger, +on account of the men with whom they had to deal; but the most were in +haste to begin the journey, for at that time there was such a famine in +Norway that the kings could scarcely feed their men-at-arms; and on this +account the Fjord, on which the kings resided, usually got the name +of Hardanger (Hardacre). In Denmark, on the other hand, there had been +tolerably good crops; so that people thought that if King Harald got +fiefs, and something to rule over there they would get some assistance. +It was therefore concluded, before the messengers returned, that Harald +should travel to Denmark to the Danish king in summer, and accept the +conditions King Harald offered. + + + + +12. TREACHERY OF HARALD AND HAKON. + +Harald Grafeld went to Denmark in the summer (A.D. 969) with three +long-ships; and Herse Arinbjorn, from the Fjord district, commanded one +of them. King Harald sailed from Viken over to Limfjord in Jutland, and +landed at the narrow neck of land where the Danish king was expected. +Now when Gold Harald heard of this, he sailed there with nine ships +which he had fitted out before for a viking cruise. Earl Hakon had also +his war force on foot; namely, twelve large ships, all ready, with which +he proposed to make an expedition. When Gold Harald had departed Earl +Hakon says to the king, "Now I don't know if we are not sailing on an +expedition, and yet are to pay the penalty of not having joined it. Gold +Harald may kill Harald Grafeld, and get the kingdom of Norway; but you +must not think he will be true to you, although you do help him to so +much power, for he told me in winter that he would take your life if he +could find opportunity to do so. Now I will win Norway for you, and kill +Gold Harald, if you will promise me a good condition under you. I will +be your earl; swear an oath of fidelity to you, and, with your help, +conquer all Norway for you; hold the country under your rule; pay you +the scat and taxes; and you will be a greater king than your father, as +you will have two kingdoms under you." The king and the earl agreed upon +this, and Hakon set off to seek Gold Harald. + + + + +13. DEATH OF HARALD GRAFELD. + +Gold Harald came to the neck of land at Limfjord, and immediately +challenged Harald Grafeld to battle; and although Harald had fewer men, +he went immediately on the land, prepared for battle, and drew up his +troops. Before the lines came together Harald Grafeld urged on his men, +and told them to draw their swords. He himself advanced the foremost of +the troop, hewing down on each side. So says Glum Geirason, in Grafeld's +lay:-- + + "Brave were thy words in battlefield, + Thou stainer of the snow-white shield!-- + Thou gallant war-god! With thy voice + Thou couldst the dying man rejoice: + The cheer of Harald could impart + Courage and life to every heart. + While swinging high the blood-smeared sword, + By arm and voice we knew our lord." + +There fell Harald Grafeld. So says Glum Geirason:-- + + "On Limfjord's strand, by the tide's flow, + Stern Fate has laid King Harald low; + The gallant viking-cruiser--he + Who loved the isle-encircling sea. + The generous ruler of the land + Fell at the narrow Limfjord strand. + Enticed by Hakon's cunning speech + To his death-bed on Limfjord's beach." + +The most of King Harald's men fell with him. There also fell Herse +Arinbjorn. + +This happened fifteen years after the death of Hakon, Athelstan's +foster-son, and thirteen years after that of Sigurd earl of Hlader. The +priest Are Frode says that Earl Hakon was thirteen years earl over his +father's dominions in Throndhjem district before the fall of Harald +Grafeld; but, for the last six years of Harald Grafeld's life, Are Frode +says the Earl Hakon and Gunhild's sons fought against each other, and +drove each other out of the land by turns. + + + + +14. GOLD HARALD'S DEATH. + +Soon after Harald Grafeld's fall, Earl Hakon came up to Gold Harald, and +the earl immediately gave battle to Harald. Hakon gained the victory, +and Harald was made prisoner; but Hakon had him immediately hanged on a +gallows. Hakon then went to the Danish king, and no doubt easily settled +with him for the killing his relative Gold Harald. + + + + +15. DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY. + +Soon after King Harald Gormson ordered a levy of men over all his +kingdom, and sailed with 600 ships (1). There were with him Earl Hakon, +Harald Grenske, a son of King Gudrod, and many other great men who had +fled from their udal estates in Norway on account of Gunhild's sons. The +Danish king sailed with his fleet from the south to Viken, where all +the people of the country surrendered to him. When he came to Tunsberg +swarms of people joined him; and King Harald gave to Earl Hakon the +command of all the men who came to him in Norway, and gave him the +government over Rogaland, Hordaland, Sogn, Fjord-district, South More, +Raumsdal, and North More. These seven districts gave King Harald to Earl +Hakon to rule over, with the same rights as Harald Harfager gave with +them to his sons; only with the difference, that Hakon should there, as +well as in Throndhjem, have the king's land-estates and land-tax, and +use the king's money and goods according to his necessities whenever +there was war in the country. King Harald also gave Harald Grenske +Vingulmark, Vestfold, and Agder all the way to Lidandisnes (the Naze), +together with the title of king; and let him have these dominions with +the same rights as his family in former times had held them, and as +Harald Harfager had given with them to his sons. Harald Grenske was then +eighteen years old, and he became afterwards a celebrated man. Harald +king of Denmark returned home thereafter with all his army. + + + ENDNOTES: + (1) i.e., 720 ships, as they were counted by long hundreds, + 100=120. + + + + +16. GUNHILD'S SONS LEAVE THE COUNTRY. + +Earl Hakon proceeded northwards along the coast with his force; and when +Gunhild and her sons got the tidings they proceeded to gather troops, +but were ill off for men. Then they took the same resolution as before, +to sail out to sea with such men as would follow them away to the +westward (A.D. 969). They came first to the Orkney Islands, and remained +there a while. There were in Orkney then the Earls Hlodver. Arnfid, +Ljot, and Skule, the sons of Thorfin Hausakljufer. + +Earl Hakon now brought all the country under him, and remained all +winter (A.D. 970) in Throndhjem. Einar Skalaglam speaks of his conquests +in "Vellekla":-- + + "Norway's great watchman, Harald, now + May bind the silk snood on his brow-- + Seven provinces he seized. The realm + Prospers with Hakon at the helm." + +As Hakon the earl proceeded this summer along the coast subjecting all +the people to him, he ordered that over all his dominions the temples +and sacrifices should be restored, and continued as of old. So it is +said in the "Vellekla":-- + + "Hakon the earl, so good and wise, + Let all the ancient temples rise;-- + Thor's temples raised with fostering hand + That had been ruined through the land. + His valiant champions, who were slain + On battle-fields across the main, + To Thor, the thunder-god, may tell + How for the gods all turns out well. + The hardy warrior now once more + Offers the sacrifice of gore; + The shield-bearer in Loke's game + Invokes once more great Odin's name. + The green earth gladly yields her store, + As she was wont in days of yore, + Since the brave breaker of the spears + The holy shrines again uprears. + The earl has conquered with strong hand + All that lies north of Viken land: + In battle storm, and iron rain + Hakon spreads wide his sword's domain." + +The first winter that Hakon ruled over Norway the herrings set in +everywhere through the fjords to the land, and the seasons ripened to +a good crop all that had been sown. The people, therefore, laid in +seed for the next year, and got their lands sowed, and had hope of good +times. + + +17. HAKON'S BATTLE WITH RAGNFRED. + +King Ragnfred and King Gudrod, both sons of Gunhild and Eirik, were now +the only sons of Gunhild remaining in life. So says Glum Geirason in +Grafeld's lay:-- + + "When in the battle's bloody strife + The sword took noble Harald's life, + Half of my fortunes with him fell: + But his two brothers, I know well, + My loss would soon repair, should they + Again in Norway bear the sway, + And to their promises should stand, + If they return to rule the land." + +Ragnfred began his course in the spring after he had been a year in the +Orkney Islands. He sailed from thence to Norway, and had with him fine +troops, and large ships. When he came to Norway he learnt that Earl +Hakon was in Throndhjem; therefore he steered northwards around Stad, +and plundered in South More. Some people submitted to him; for it often +happens, when parties of armed men scour over a country, that those who +are nearest the danger seek help where they think it may be expected. As +soon as Earl Hakon heard the news of disturbance in More, he fitted out +ships, sent the war-token through the land, made ready in all haste, +and proceeded out of the fjord. He had no difficulty in assembling men. +Ragnfred and Earl Hakon met at the north corner of More; and Hakon, who +had most men, but fewer ships, began the battle. The combat was severe, +but heaviest on Hakon's side; and as the custom then was, they fought +bow to bow, and there was a current in the sound which drove all the +ships in upon the land. The earl ordered to row with the oars to the +land where landing seemed easiest. When the ships were all grounded, the +earl with all his men left them, and drew them up so far that the +enemy might not launch them down again, and then drew up his men on a +grass-field, and challenged Ragnfred to land. Ragnfred and his men laid +their vessels in along the land, and they shot at each other a long +time; but upon the land Ragnfred would not venture: and so they +separated. Ragnfred sailed with his fleet southwards around Stad; for +he was much afraid the whole forces of the country would swarm around +Hakon. Hakon, on his part, was not inclined to try again a battle, for +he thought the difference between their ships in size was too great; so +in harvest he went north to Throndhjem, and staid there all winter (A.D. +971). King Ragnfred consequently had all the country south of Stad at +his mercy; namely, Fjord district, Hordaland, Sogn, Rogaland; and he had +many people about him all winter. When spring approached he ordered out +the people and collected a large force. By going about the districts he +got many men, ships, and warlike stores sent as he required. + + + + +18. BATTLE BETWEEN HAKON AND RAGNFRED. + +Towards spring Earl Hakon ordered out all the men north in the country; +and got many people from Halogaland and Naumudal; so that from Bryda to +Stad he had men from all the sea-coast. People flocked to him from all +the Throndhjem district and from Raumsdal. It was said for certain that +he had men from four great districts, and that seven earls followed him, +and a matchless number of men. So it is said in the "Vellekla":-- + + "Hakon, defender of the land, + Armed in the North his warrior-band + To Sogn's old shore his force he led, + And from all quarters thither sped + War-ships and men; and haste was made + By the young god of the sword-blade, + The hero-viking of the wave, + His wide domain from foes to save. + With shining keels seven kings sailed on + To meet this raven-feeding one. + When the clash came, the stunning sound + Was heard in Norway's farthest bound; + And sea-borne corpses, floating far, + Brought round the Naze news from the war." + +Earl Hakon sailed then with his fleet southwards around Stad; and when +he heard that King Ragnfred with his army had gone towards Sogn, he +turned there also with his men to meet him: and there Ragnfred and Hakon +met. Hakon came to the land with his ships, marked out a battle-field +with hazel branches for King Ragnfred, and took ground for his own men +in it. So it is told in the "Vellekla":-- + + "In the fierce battle Ragnfred then + Met the grim foe of Vindland men; + And many a hero of great name + Fell in the sharp sword's bloody game. + The wielder of fell Narve's weapon, + The conquering hero, valiant Hakon + Had laid his war-ships on the strand, + And ranged his warriors on the land." + +There was a great battle; but Earl Hakon, having by far the most people, +gained the victory. It took place on the Thinganes, where Sogn and +Hordaland meet. + +King Rangfred fled to his ships, after 300 of his men had fallen. So it +is said in the "Vellekla":-- + + "Sharp was the battle-strife, I ween,-- + Deadly and close it must have been, + Before, upon the bloody plain, + Three hundred corpses of the slain + Were stretched for the black raven's prey; + And when the conquerors took their way + To the sea-shore, they had to tread + O'er piled-up heaps of foemen dead." + +After this battle King Ragnfred fled from Norway; but Earl Hakon +restored peace to the country, and allowed the great army which had +followed him in summer to return home to the north country, and he +himself remained in the south that harvest and winter (A.D. 972). + + + + +19. EARL HAKON'S MARRIAGE. + +Earl Hakon married a girl called Thora, a daughter of the powerful Skage +Skoptason, and very beautiful she was. They had two sons, Svein and +Heming, and a daughter called Bergljot who was afterwards married to +Einar Tambaskielfer. Earl Hakon was much addicted to women, and had many +children; among others a daughter Ragnhild, whom he married to Skopte +Skagason, a brother of Thora. The Earl loved Thora so much that he held +Thora's family in higher respect than any other people, and Skopte his +brother-in-law in particular; and he gave him many great fiefs in +More. Whenever they were on a cruise together, Skopte must lay his ship +nearest to the earl's, and no other ship was allowed to come in between. + + + + +20. DEATH OF SKOPTE. + +One summer that Earl Hakon was on a cruise, there was a ship with him +of which Thorleif Spake (the Wise) was steersman. In it was also +Eirik, Earl Hakon's son, then about ten or eleven years old. Now in the +evenings, as they came into harbour, Eirik would not allow any ship but +his to lie nearest to the earl's. But when they came to the south, to +More, they met Skopte the earl's brother-in-law, with a well-manned +ship; and as they rowed towards the fleet, Skopte called out that +Thorleif should move out of the harbour to make room for him, and should +go to the roadstead. Eirik in haste took up the matter, and ordered +Skopte to go himself to the roadstead. When Earl Hakon heard that his +son thought himself too great to give place to Skopte, he called to them +immediately that they should haul out from their berth, threatening them +with chastisement if they did not. When Thorleif heard this, he ordered +his men to slip their land-cable, and they did so; and Skopte laid his +vessel next to the earl's as he used to do. When they came together, +Skopte brought the earl all the news he had gathered, and the earl +communicated to Skopte all the news he had heard; and Skopte was +therefore called Tidindaskopte (the Newsman Skopte). The winter after +(A.D. 973) Eirik was with his foster-father Thorleif, and early in +spring he gathered a crew of followers, and Thorleif gave him a boat +of fifteen benches of rowers, with ship furniture, tents, and ship +provisions; and Eirik set out from the fjord, and southwards to More. +Tidindaskopte happened also to be going with a fully manned boat of +fifteen rowers' benches from one of his farms to another, and Eirik went +against him to have a battle. Skopte was slain, but Eirik granted +life to those of his men who were still on their legs. So says Eyjolf +Dadaskald in the "Banda Lay":-- + + "At eve the youth went out + To meet the warrior stout-- + To meet stout Skopte--he + Whose war-ship roves the sea + Like force was on each side, + But in the whirling tide + The young wolf Eirik slew + Skopte, and all his crew + And he was a gallant one, + Dear to the Earl Hakon. + Up, youth of steel-hard breast-- + No time hast thou to rest! + Thy ocean wings spread wide-- + Speed o'er the foaming tide! + Speed on--speed on thy way! + For here thou canst not stay." + +Eirik sailed along the land and came to Denmark, and went to King Harald +Gormson, and staid with him all winter (A.D. 974). In spring the +Danish king sent him north to Norway, and gave him an earldom, and the +government of Vingulmark and Raumarike, on the same terms as the small +scat-paying kings had formerly held these domains. So says Eyjolf +Dadaskald:-- + + "South through ocean's spray + His dragon flew away + To Gormson's hall renowned. + Where the bowl goes bravely round. + And the Danish king did place + This youth of noble race + Where, shield and sword in hand, + He would aye defend his land." + +Eirik became afterwards a great chief. + + + + +21. OLAF TRYGVASON'S JOURNEY FROM RUSSIA. + +All this time Olaf Trygvason was in Gardarike (Russia), and highly +esteemed by King Valdemar, and beloved by the queen. King Valdemar made +him chief over the men-at-arms whom he sent out to defend the land. So +says Hallarsteid:-- + + "The hater of the niggard band, + The chief who loves the Northman's land, + Was only twelve years old when he + His Russian war-ships put to sea. + The wain that ploughs the sea was then + Loaded with war-gear by his men-- + With swords, and spears, and helms: and deep + Out to the sea his good ships sweep." + +Olaf had several battles, and was lucky as a leader of troops. He +himself kept a great many men-at-arms at his own expense out of the pay +the king gave him. Olaf was very generous to his men, and therefore +very popular. But then it came to pass, what so often happens when a +foreigner is raised to higher power and dignity than men of the country, +that many envied him because he was so favoured by the king, and also +not less so by the queen. They hinted to the king that he should take +care not to make Olaf too powerful,--"for such a man may be dangerous to +you, if he were to allow himself to be used for the purpose of doing you +or your kingdom harm; for he is extremely expert in all exercises and +feats, and very popular. We do not, indeed, know what it is he can have +to talk of so often with the queen." It was then the custom among great +monarchs that the queen should have half of the court attendants, +and she supported them at her own expense out of the scat and revenue +provided for her for that purpose. It was so also at the court of King +Valdemar that the queen had an attendance as large as the king, and they +vied with each other about the finest men, each wanting to have such +in their own service. It so fell out that the king listened to such +speeches, and became somewhat silent and blunt towards Olaf. When Olaf +observed this, he told it to the queen; and also that he had a great +desire to travel to the Northern land, where his family formerly had +power and kingdoms, and where it was most likely he would advance +himself. The queen wished him a prosperous journey, and said he would +be found a brave man wherever he might be. Olaf then made ready, went on +board, and set out to sea in the Baltic. + +As he was coming from the east he made the island of Borgundarholm +(Bornholm), where he landed and plundered. The country people hastened +down to the strand, and gave him battle; but Olaf gained the victory, +and a large booty. + + + + +22. OLAF TRYGVASON'S MARRIAGE. + +While Olaf lay at Borgundarholm there came on bad weather, storm, and +a heavy sea, so that his ships could not lie there; and he sailed +southwards under Vindland, where they found a good harbour. They +conducted themselves very peacefully, and remained some time. In +Vindland there was then a king called Burizleif, who had three +daughters,--Geira, Gunhild, and Astrid. The king's daughter Geira had +the power and government in that part where Olaf and his people landed, +and Dixen was the name of the man who most usually advised Queen Geira. +Now when they heard that unknown people were came to the country, who +were of distinguished appearance, and conducted themselves peaceably, +Dixen repaired to them with a message from Queen Geira, inviting the +strangers to take up their winter abode with her; for the summer was +almost spent, and the weather was severe and stormy. Now when Dixen came +to the place he soon saw that the leader was a distinguished man, +both from family and personal appearance, and he told Olaf the queen's +invitation with the most kindly message. Olaf willingly accepted the +invitation, and went in harvest (A.D. 982) to Queen Geira. They liked +each other exceedingly, and Olaf courted Queen Geira; and it was so +settled that Olaf married her the same winter, and was ruler, along with +Queen Geira, over her dominions. Halfred Vandredaskald tells of these +matters in the lay he composed about King Olaf:-- + + "Why should the deeds the hero did + In Bornholm and the East he hid? + His deadly weapon Olaf bold + Dyed red: why should not this be told?" + + + + +23. EARL HAKON PAYS NO SCAT. + +Earl Hakon ruled over Norway, and paid no scat; because the Danish king +gave him all the scat revenue that belonged to the king in Norway, +for the expense and trouble he had in defending the country against +Gunhild's sons. + + + + +24. HARALD OPPOSES CHRISTIANITY. + +The Emperor Otta (Otto) was at that time in the Saxon country, and sent +a message to King Harald, the Danish king, that he must take on the true +faith and be baptized, he and all his people whom he ruled; "otherwise," +says the emperor, "we will march against him with an army." The Danish +king ordered the land defence to be fitted out, Danavirke (1) (the +Danish wall) to be well fortified, and his ships of war rigged out. +He sent a message also to Earl Hakon in Norway to come to him early in +spring, and with as many men as he could possibly raise. In spring (A.D. +975) Earl Hakon levied an army over the whole country which was very +numerous, and with it he sailed to meet the Danish king. The king +received him in the most honourable manner. Many other chiefs also +joined the Danish king with their men, so that he had gathered a very +large army. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Danavirke. The Danish work was a wall of earth, stones, + and wood, with a deep ditch in front, and a castle at every + hundred fathoms, between the rivers Eider and Slien, + constructed by Harald Blatand (Bluetooth) to oppose the + progress of Charlemagne. Some traces of it still exist. + --L. + + + + +25. OLAF TRYGVASON'S WAR EXPEDITION. + +Olaf Trygvason had been all winter (A.D. 980) in Vindland, as before +related, and went the same winter to the baronies in Vindland which +had formerly been under Queen Geira, but had withdrawn themselves from +obedience and payment of taxes. There Olaf made war, killed many +people, burnt out others, took much property, and laid all of them under +subjection to him, and then went back to his castle. Early in spring +Olaf rigged out his ships and set off to sea. He sailed to Skane and +made a landing. The people of the country assembled, and gave him +battle; but King Olaf conquered, and made a great booty. He then sailed +eastward to the island of Gotland, where he captured a merchant vessel +belonging to the people of Jamtaland. They made a brave defence; but the +end of it was that Olaf cleared the deck, killed many of the men, and +took all the goods. He had a third battle in Gotland, in which he +also gained the victory, and made a great booty. So says Halfred +Vandredaskald:-- + + "The king, so fierce in battle-fray, + First made the Vindland men give way: + The Gotlanders must tremble next; + And Scania's shores are sorely vexed + By the sharp pelting arrow shower + The hero and his warriors pour; + And then the Jamtaland men must fly, + Scared by his well-known battle-cry." + + + + +26. OTTA AND HAKON IN BATTLE. + +The Emperor Otta assembled a great army from Saxland, Frakland, +Frisland, and Vindland. King Burizleif followed him with a large army, +and in it was his son-in-law, Olaf Trygvason. The emperor had a great +body of horsemen, and still greater of foot people, and a great army +from Holstein. Harald, the Danish king, sent Earl Hakon with the army +of Northmen that followed him southwards to Danavirke, to defend his +kingdom on that side. So it is told in the "Vellekla":-- + + "Over the foaming salt sea spray + The Norse sea-horses took their way, + Racing across the ocean-plain + Southwards to Denmark's green domain. + The gallant chief of Hordaland + Sat at the helm with steady hand, + In casque and shield, his men to bring + From Dovre to his friend the king. + He steered his war-ships o'er the wave + To help the Danish king to save + Mordalf, who, with a gallant band + Was hastening from the Jutes' wild land, + Across the forest frontier rude, + With toil and pain through the thick wood. + Glad was the Danish king, I trow, + When he saw Hakon's galley's prow. + The monarch straightway gave command + To Hakon, with a steel-clad band, + To man the Dane-work's rampart stout, + And keep the foreign foemen out." + +The Emperor Otta came with his army from the south to Danavirke, but +Earl Hakon defended the rampart with his men. The Dane-work (Danavirke) +was constructed in this way:--Two fjords run into the land, one on each +side; and in the farthest bight of these fjords the Danes had made a +great wall of stone, turf, and timber, and dug a deep and broad ditch in +front of it, and had also built a castle over each gate of it. There was +a hard battle there, of which the "Vellekla" speaks:-- + + "Thick the storm of arrows flew, + Loud was the din, black was the view + Of close array of shield and spear + Of Vind, and Frank, and Saxon there. + But little recked our gallant men; + And loud the cry might be heard then + Of Norway's brave sea-roving son-- + 'On 'gainst the foe! On! Lead us on!" + +Earl Hakon drew up his people in ranks upon all the gate-towers of the +wall, but the greater part of them he kept marching along the wall +to make a defence wheresoever an attack was threatened. Many of +the emperor's people fell without making any impression on the +fortification, so the emperor turned back without farther attempt at an +assault on it. So it is said in the "Vellekla":-- + + "They who the eagle's feast provide + In ranked line fought side by side, + 'Gainst lines of war-men under shields\ + Close packed together on the fields, + Earl Hakon drive by daring deeds + The Saxons to their ocean-steeds; + And the young hero saves from fall + The Danavirke--the people's wall." + +After this battle Earl Hakon went back to his ships, and intended to +sail home to Norway; but he did not get a favourable wind, and lay for +some time outside at Limafjord. + + + + +27. HARALD AND HAKON ARE BAPTIZED. + +The Emperor Otta turned back with his troops to Slesvik, collected his +ships of war, and crossed the fjord of Sle into Jutland. As soon as the +Danish king heard of this he marched his army against him, and there was +a battle, in which the emperor at last got the victory. The Danish king +fled to Limafjord and took refuge in the island Marsey. By the help +of mediators who went between the king and the emperor, a truce and a +meeting between them were agreed on. The Emperor Otta and the Danish +king met upon Marsey. There Bishop Poppo instructed King Harald in +the holy faith; he bore red hot irons in his hands, and exhibited his +unscorched hands to the king. Thereafter King Harald allowed himself to +be baptized, and also the whole Danish army. King Harald, while he +was in Marsey, had sent a message to Hakon that he should come to his +succour; and the earl had just reached the island when the king had +received baptism. The king sends word to the earl to come to him, and +when they met the king forced the earl to allow himself also to be +baptized. So Earl Hakon and all the men who were with him were baptized; +and the king gave them priests and other learned men with them, and +ordered that the earl should make all the people in Norway be baptized. +On that they separated; and the earl went out to sea, there to wait for +a wind. + + + + +28. HAKON RENOUNCES CHRISTIANITY. + +When a wind came with which he thought he could get clear out to sea, he +put all the learned men on shore again, and set off to the ocean; but +as the wind came round to the south-west, and at last to west, he sailed +eastward, out through Eyrarsund, ravaging the land on both sides. He +then sailed eastward along Skane, plundering the country wherever he +came. When he got east to the skerries of East Gautland, he ran in and +landed, and made a great blood-sacrifice. There came two ravens flying +which croaked loudly; and now, thought the earl, the blood-offering has +been accepted by Odin, and he thought good luck would be with him any +day he liked to go to battle. Then he set fire to his ships, landed +his men, and went over all the country with armed hand. Earl Ottar, who +ruled over Gautland, came against him, and they held a great battle with +each other; but Earl Hakon gained the day, and Earl Ottar and a great +part of his men were killed. Earl Hakon now drove with fire and +sword over both the Gautlands, until he came into Norway; and then he +proceeded by land all the way north to Throndhjem. The "Vellekla" tells +about this:-- + + "On the silent battle-field, + In viking garb, with axe and shield, + The warrior, striding o'er the slain, + Asks of the gods 'What days will gain?' + Two ravens, flying from the east, + Come croaking to the bloody feast: + The warrior knows what they foreshow-- + The days when Gautland blood will flow. + A viking-feast Earl Hakon kept, + The land with viking fury swept, + Harrying the land far from the shore + Where foray ne'er was known before. + Leaving the barren cold coast side, + He raged through Gautland far and wide,-- + Led many a gold-decked viking shield + O'er many a peaceful inland field. + Bodies on bodies Odin found + Heaped high upon each battle ground: + The moor, as if by witchcraft's power, + Grows green, enriched by bloody shower. + No wonder that the gods delight + To give such luck in every fight + To Hakon's men--for he restores + Their temples on our Norway shores." + + + + +29. THE EMPEROR OTTA RETURNS HOME. + +The Emperor Otta went back to his kingdom in the Saxon land, and parted +in friendship with the Danish king. It is said that the Emperor Otta +stood godfather to Svein, King Harald's son, and gave him his name; +so that he was baptized Otta Svein. King Harald held fast by his +Christianity to his dying day. + +King Burizleif went to Vindland, and his son-in-law King Olaf went with +him. This battle is related also by Halfred Vandredaskald in his song on +Olaf:-- + + "He who through the foaming surges + His white-winged ocean-coursers urges, + Hewed from the Danes, in armour dressed, + The iron bark off mail-clad breast." + + + + +30. OLAF'S JOURNEY FROM VINDLAND. + +Olaf Trygvason was three years in Vindland (A.D. 982-984) when Geira +his queen fell sick, and she died of her illness. Olaf felt his loss so +great that he had no pleasure in Vindland after it. He provided himself, +therefore, with warships, and went out again a plundering, and +plundered first in Frisland, next in Saxland, and then all the way to +Flaemingjaland (Flanders). So says Halfred Vandredaskald:-- + + "Olaf's broad axe of shining steel + For the shy wolf left many a meal. + The ill-shaped Saxon corpses lay + Heaped up, the witch-wife's horses' (1) prey. + She rides by night: at pools of blood. + Where Frisland men in daylight stood, + Her horses slake their thirst, and fly + On to the field where Flemings lie. + The raven-friend in Odin's dress-- + Olaf, who foes can well repress, + Left Flemish flesh for many a meal + With his broad axe of shining steel." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Ravens were the witches' horses.--L. + + + + +31. KING OLAF'S FORAYS. + +Thereafter Olaf Trygvason sailed to England, and ravaged wide around +in the land. He sailed all the way north to Northumberland, where he +plundered; and thence to Scotland, where he marauded far and wide. +Then he went to the Hebrides, where he fought some battles; and then +southwards to Man, where he also fought. He ravaged far around in +Ireland, and thence steered to Bretland, which he laid waste with fire +and sword, and all the district called Cumberland. He sailed westward +from thence to Valland, and marauded there. When he left the west, +intending to sail to England, he came to the islands called the Scilly +Isles, lying westward from England in the ocean. Thus tells Halfred +Vandraskald of these events:-- + + The brave young king, who ne'er retreats, + The Englishman in England beats. + Death through Northumberland is spread + From battleaxe and broad spearhead. + Through Scotland with his spears he rides; + To Man his glancing ships he guides: + Feeding the wolves where'er he came, + The young king drove a bloody game. + The gallant bowmen in the isles + Slew foemen, who lay heaped in piles. + The Irish fled at Olaf's name-- + Fled from a young king seeking fame. + In Bretland, and in Cumberland, + People against him could not stand: + Thick on the fields their corpses lay, + To ravens and howling wolves a prey." + +Olaf Trygvason had been four years on this cruise (A.D. 985-988), from +the time he left Vindland till he came to the Scilly Islands. + + + + +32. KING OLAF IS BAPTIZED. + +While Olaf Trygvason lay in the Scilly Isles he heard of a seer, or +fortune-teller, on the islands, who could tell beforehand things not +yet done, and what he foretold many believed was really fulfilled. Olaf +became curious to try this man's gift of prophecy. He therefore sent +one of his men, who was the handsomest and strongest, clothed him +magnificently, and bade him say he was the king; for Olaf was known +in all countries as handsomer, stronger, and braver than all others, +although, after he had left Russia, he retained no more of his name than +that he was called Ole, and was Russian. Now when the messenger came +to the fortune-teller, and gave himself out for the king, he got the +answer, "Thou art not the king, but I advise thee to be faithful to thy +king." And more he would not say to that man. The man returned, and told +Olaf, and his desire to meet the fortune-teller was increased; and now +he had no doubt of his being really a fortune-teller. Olaf repaired +himself to him, and, entering into conversation, asked him if he could +foresee how it would go with him with regard to his kingdom, or of any +other fortune he was to have. The hermit replies in a holy spirit of +prophecy, "Thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. +Many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and +others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this +answer, listen to these tokens: When thou comest to thy ships many of +thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow +in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to +death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou +shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be +baptized." Soon after Olaf went down to his ships, where he met some +mutineers and people who would destroy him and his men. A fight took +place, and the result was what the hermit had predicted, that Olaf was +wounded, and carried upon a shield to his ship, and that his wound was +healed in seven days. Then Olaf perceived that the man had spoken truth, +that he was a true fortune-teller, and had the gift of prophecy. Olaf +went once more to the hermit, and asked particularly how he came to have +such wisdom in foreseeing things to be. The hermit replied, that the +Christian God himself let him know all that he desired; and he +brought before Olaf many great proofs of the power of the Almighty. +In consequence of this encouragement Olaf agreed to let himself be +baptized, and he and all his followers were baptized forthwith. He +remained here a long time, took the true faith, and got with him priests +and other learned men. + + + + +33. OLAF MARRIES GYDA. + +In autumn (A.D. 988) Olaf sailed from Scilly to England, where he +put into a harbour, but proceeded in a friendly way; for England was +Christian, and he himself had become Christian. At this time a summons +to a Thing went through the country, that all men should come to hold a +Thing. Now when the Thing was assembled a queen called Gyda came to it, +a sister of Olaf Kvaran, who was king of Dublin in Ireland. She had been +married to a great earl in England, and after his death she was at the +head of his dominions. In her territory there was a man called Alfvine, +who was a great champion and single-combat man. He had paid his +addresses to her; but she gave for answer, that she herself would choose +whom of the men in her dominions she would take in marriage; and on +that account the Thing was assembled, that she might choose a husband. +Alfvine came there dressed out in his best clothes, and there were many +well-dressed men at the meeting. Olaf had come there also; but had on +his bad-weather clothes, and a coarse over-garment, and stood with his +people apart from the rest of the crowd. Gyda went round and looked at +each, to see if any appeared to her a suitable man. Now when she came to +where Olaf stood she looked at him straight in the face, and asked "what +sort of man he was?" + +He said, "I am called Ole; and I am a stranger here." + +Gyda replies, "Wilt thou have me if I choose thee?" + +"I will not say no to that," answered he; and he asked what her name +was, and her family, and descent. + +"I am called Gyda," said she; "and am daughter of the king of Ireland, +and was married in this country to an earl who ruled over this +territory. Since his death I have ruled over it, and many have courted +me, but none to whom I would choose to be married." + +She was a young and handsome woman. They afterwards talked over the +matter together, and agreed, and Olaf and Gyda were betrothed. + + + + +34. KING OLAF AND ALFVINE'S DUEL. + +Alfvine was very ill pleased with this. It was the custom then in +England, if two strove for anything, to settle the matter by single +combat (1); and now Alfvine challenges Olaf Trygvason to fight about +this business. The time and place for the combat were settled, and that +each should have twelve men with him. When they met, Olaf told his men +to do exactly as they saw him do. He had a large axe; and when Alfvine +was going to cut at him with his sword he hewed away the sword out of +his hand, and with the next blow struck down Alfvine himself. He then +bound him fast. It went in the same way with all Alfvine's men. They +were beaten down, bound, and carried to Olaf's lodging. Thereupon he +ordered Alfvine to quit the country, and never appear in it again; and +Olaf took all his property. Olaf in this way got Gyda in marriage, and +lived sometimes in England, and sometimes in Ireland. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Holm-gang: so called because the combatants went to a holm + or uninhabited isle to fight in Norway.--L. + + + + +35. KING OLAF GETS HIS DOG VIGE. + +While Olaf was in Ireland he was once on an expedition which went by +sea. As they required to make a foray for provisions on the coast, some +of his men landed, and drove down a large herd of cattle to the strand. +Now a peasant came up, and entreated Olaf to give him back the cows that +belonged to him. Olaf told him to take his cows, if he could distinguish +them; "but don't delay our march." The peasant had with him a large +house-dog, which he put in among the herd of cattle, in which many +hundred head of beasts were driven together. The dog ran into the herd, +and drove out exactly the number which the peasant had said he wanted; +and all were marked with the same mark, which showed that the dog knew +the right beasts, and was very sagacious. Olaf then asked the peasant +if he would sell him the dog. "I would rather give him to you," said the +peasant. Olaf immediately presented him with a gold ring in return, and +promised him his friendship in future. This dog was called Vige, and was +the very best of dogs, and Olaf owned him long afterwards. + + + + +36. HARALD GORMSON SAILS AGAINST ICELAND. + +The Danish king, Harald Gormson, heard that Earl Hakon had thrown off +Christianity, and had plundered far and wide in the Danish land. The +Danish king levied an army, with which he went to Norway; and when he +came to the country which Earl Hakon had to rule over he laid waste the +whole land, and came with his fleet to some islands called Solunder. +Only five houses were left standing in Laeradal; but all the people +fled up to the mountains, and into the forest, taking with them all the +moveable goods they could carry with them. Then the Danish king proposed +to sail with his fleet to Iceland, to avenge the mockery and scorn +all the Icelanders had shown towards him; for they had made a law in +Iceland, that they should make as many lampoons against the Danish king +as there were headlands in his country; and the reason was, because a +vessel which belonged to certain Icelanders was stranded in Denmark, and +the Danes took all the property, and called it wreck. One of the king's +bailiffs called Birger was to blame for this; but the lampoons were made +against both. In the lampoons were the following lines:-- + + "The gallant Harald in the field + Between his legs lets drop his shield; + Into a pony he was changed. + And kicked his shield, and safely ranged. + And Birger, he who dwells in halls + For safety built with four stone walls, + That these might be a worthy pair, + Was changed into a pony mare." + + + + +37. HARALD SENDS A WARLOCK TO ICELAND. + +King Harald told a warlock to hie to Iceland in some altered shape, +and to try what he could learn there to tell him: and he set out in the +shape of a whale. And when he came near to the land he went to the west +side of Iceland, north around the land, where he saw all the mountains +and hills full of guardian-spirits, some great, some small. When he came +to Vapnafjord he went in towards the land, intending to go on shore; but +a huge dragon rushed down the dale against him with a train of serpents, +paddocks, and toads, that blew poison towards him. Then he turned to +go westward around the land as far as Eyjafjord, and he went into the +fjord. Then a bird flew against him, which was so great that its wings +stretched over the mountains on either side of the fjord, and many +birds, great and small, with it. Then he swam farther west, and then +south into Breidafjord. When he came into the fjord a large grey bull +ran against him, wading into the sea, and bellowing fearfully, and he +was followed by a crowd of land-spirits. From thence he went round by +Reykjanes, and wanted to land at Vikarsskeid, but there came down a +hill-giant against him with an iron staff in his hands. He was a head +higher than the mountains, and many other giants followed him. He then +swam eastward along the land, and there was nothing to see, he said, but +sand and vast deserts, and, without the skerries, high-breaking surf; +and the ocean between the countries was so wide that a long-ship +could not cross it. At that time Brodhelge dwelt in Vapnafjord, Eyjolf +Valgerdson in Eyjafjord, Thord Geller in Breidafjord, and Thorod Gode in +Olfus. Then the Danish king turned about with his fleet, and sailed back +to Denmark. + +Hakon the earl settled habitations again in the country that had been +laid waste, and paid no scat as long as he lived to Denmark. + + + + +38. HARALD GORMSON'S DEATH. + +Svein, King Harald's son, who afterwards was called Tjuguskeg (forked +beard), asked his father King Harald for a part of his kingdom; but now, +as before, Harald would not listen to dividing the Danish dominions, and +giving him a kingdom. Svein collected ships of war, and gave out that he +was going on a viking cruise; but when all his men were assembled, and +the Jomsborg viking Palnatoke had come to his assistance he ran into +Sealand to Isafjord, where his father had been for some time with his +ships ready to proceed on an expedition. Svein instantly gave battle, +and the combat was severe. So many people flew to assist King Harald, +that Svein was overpowered by numbers, and fled. But King Harald +received a wound which ended in his death: and Svein was chosen King of +Denmark. At this time Sigvalde was earl over Jomsborg in Vindland. He +was a son of King Strutharald, who had ruled over Skane. Heming, and +Thorkel the Tall, were Sigvalde's brothers. Bue the Thick from Bornholm, +and Sigurd his brother, were also chiefs among the Jomsborg vikings: +and also Vagn, a son of Ake and Thorgunna, and a sister's son of Bue and +Sigurd. Earl Sigvalde had taken King Svein prisoner, and carried him +to Vindland, to Jomsborg, where he had forced him to make peace with +Burizleif, the king of the Vinds, and to take him as the peace-maker +between them. Earl Sigvalde was married to Astrid, a daughter of King +Burizleif; and told King Svein that if he did not accept of his terms, +he would deliver him into the hands of the Vinds. The king knew that +they would torture him to death, and therefore agreed to accept the +earl's mediation. The earl delivered this judgment between them--that +King Svein should marry Gunhild, King Burizleif's daughter; and King +Burizleif again Thyre, a daughter of Harald, and King Svein's sister; +but that each party should retain their own dominions, and there should +be peace between the countries. Then King Svein returned home to Denmark +with his wife Gunhild. Their sons were Harald and Knut (Canute) the +Great. At that time the Danes threatened much to bring an army into +Norway against Earl Hakon. + + + + +39. VOW OF THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS. + +King Svein made a magnificent feast, to which he invited all the +chiefs in his dominions; for he would give the succession-feast, or the +heirship-ale, after his father Harald. A short time before, Strutharald +in Skane, and Vesete in Bornholm, father to Bue the Thick and to Sigurd, +had died; and King Svein sent word to the Jomsborg vikings that Earl +Sigvalde and Bue, and their brothers, should come to him, and drink the +funeral-ale for their fathers in the same feast the king was giving. +The Jomsborg vikings came to the festival with their bravest men, forty +ships of them from Vindland, and twenty ships from Skane. Great was the +multitude of people assembled. The first day of the feast, before King +Svein went up into his father's high-seat, he drank the bowl to his +father's memory, and made the solemn vow, that before three winters were +past he would go over with his army to England, and either kill King +Adalrad (Ethelred), or chase him out of the country. This heirship +bowl all who were at the feast drank. Thereafter for the chiefs of the +Jomsborg vikings was filled and drunk the largest horn to be found, +and of the strongest drink. When that bowl was emptied, all men drank +Christ's health; and again the fullest measure and the strongest drink +were handed to the Jomsborg vikings. The third bowl was to the memory of +Saint Michael, which was drunk by all. Thereafter Earl Sigvalde emptied +a remembrance bowl to his father's honour, and made the solemn vow, that +before three winters came to an end he would go to Norway, and either +kill Earl Hakon, or chase him out of the country. Thereupon Thorkel the +Tall, his brother, made a solemn vow to follow his brother Sigvalde to +Norway, and not flinch from the battle so long as Sigvalde would fight +there. Then Bue the Thick vowed to follow them to Norway, and not flinch +so long as the other Jomsborg vikings fought. At last Vagn Akason vowed +that he would go with them to Norway, and not return until he had slain +Thorkel Leira, and gone to bed to his daughter Ingebjorg without her +friends' consent. Many other chiefs made solemn vows about different +things. Thus was the heirship-ale drunk that day, but the next morning, +when the Jomsborg vikings had slept off their drink, they thought they +had spoken more than enough. They held a meeting to consult how they +should proceed with their undertaking, and they determined to fit out +as speedily as possible for the expedition; and without delay ships and +men-at-arms were prepared, and the news spread quickly. + + + + +40. EIRIK AND HAKON MAKE A WAR LEVY. + +When Earl Eirik, the son of Hakon, who at that time was in Raumarike, +heard the tidings, he immediately gathered troops, and went to the +Uplands, and thence over the mountains to Throndhjem, and joined +his father Earl Hakon. Thord Kolbeinson speaks of this in the lay of +Eirik:-- + + "News from the south are flying round; + The bonde comes with look profound, + Bad news of bloody battles bringing, + Of steel-clad men, of weapons ringing. + I hear that in the Danish land + Long-sided ships slide down the strand, + And, floating with the rising tide, + The ocean-coursers soon will ride." + +The earls Hakon and Eirik had war-arrows split up and sent round the +Throndhjem country; and despatched messages to both the Mores, North +More and South More, and to Raumsdal, and also north to Naumudal and +Halogaland. They summoned all the country to provide both men and ships. +So it is said in Eirik's lay: + + "The skald must now a war-song raise, + The gallant active youth must praise, + Who o'er the ocean's field spreads forth + Ships, cutters, boats, from the far north. + His mighty fleet comes sailing by,-- + The people run to see them glide, + Mast after mast, by the coast-side." + +Earl Hakon set out immediately to the south, to More, to reconnoitre and +gather people; and Earl Eirik gathered an army from the north to follow. + + + + +41. EXPEDITION OF THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS. + +The Jomsborg vikings assembled their fleet in Limafjord, from whence +they went to sea with sixty sail of vessels. When they came under the +coast of Agder, they steered northwards to Rogaland with their fleet, +and began to plunder when they came into the earl's territory; and so +they sailed north along the coast, plundering and burning. A man, by +name Geirmund, sailed in a light boat with a few men northwards to More, +and there he fell in with Earl Hakon, stood before his dinner table, +and told the earl the tidings of an army from Denmark having come to +the south end of the land. The earl asked if he had any certainty of it. +Then Geirmund stretched forth one arm, from which the hand was cut off, +and said, "Here is the token that the enemy is in the land." Then the +earl questioned him particularly about this army. Geirmund says it +consists of Jomsborg vikings, who have killed many people, and plundered +all around. "And hastily and hotly they pushed on," says he "and I +expect it will not be long before they are upon you." On this the earl +rode into every fjord, going in along the one side of the land and out +at the other, collecting men; and thus he drove along night and day. +He sent spies out upon the upper ridges, and also southwards into the +Fjords; and he proceeded north to meet Eirik with his men. This appears +from Eirik's lay:-- + + "The earl, well skilled in war to speed + O'er the wild wave the viking-steed, + Now launched the high stems from the shore, + Which death to Sigvalde's vikings bore. + Rollers beneath the ships' keels crash, + Oar-blades loud in the grey sea splash, + And they who give the ravens food + Row fearless through the curling flood." + +Eirik hastened southwards with his forces the shortest way he could. + + + + +42. OF THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS. + +Earl Sigvalde steered with his fleet northwards around Stad, and came +to the land at the Herey Isles. Although the vikings fell in with the +country people, the people never told the truth about what the earl was +doing; and the vikings went on pillaging and laying waste. They laid +to their vessels at the outer end of Hod Island, landed, plundered, and +drove both men and cattle down to the ships, killing all the men able to +bear arms. + +As they were going back to their ships, came a bonde, walking near to +Bue's troop, who said to them, "Ye are not doing like true warriors, to +be driving cows and calves down to the strand, while ye should be giving +chase to the bear, since ye are coming near to the bear's den." + +"What says the old man?" asked some. "Can he tell us anything about Earl +Hakon?" + +The peasant replies, "The earl went yesterday into the Hjorundarfjord +with one or two ships, certainly not more than three, and then he had no +news about you." + +Bue ran now with his people in all haste down to the ships, leaving all +the booty behind. Bue said, "Let us avail ourselves now of this news we +have got of the earl, and be the first to the victory." When they came +to their ships they rode off from the land. Earl Sigvalde called to +them, and asked what they were about. They replied, "The earl is in the +fjord;" on which Earl Sigvalde with the whole fleet set off, and rowed +north about the island Hod. + + + + +43. BATTLE WITH THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS. + +The earls Hakon and Eirik lay in Halkelsvik, where all their forces +were assembled. They had 150 ships, and they had heard that the Jomsborg +vikings had come in from sea, and lay at the island Hod; and they, in +consequence, rowed out to seek them. When they reached a place called +Hjorungavag they met each other, and both sides drew up their ships in +line for an attack. Earl Sigvalde's banner was displayed in the midst of +his army, and right against it Earl Hakon arranged his force for attack. +Earl Sigvalde himself had 20 ships, but Earl Hakon had 60. In Earl's +army were these chiefs,--Thorer Hjort from Halogaland, and Styrkar from +Gimsar. In the wing of the opposite array of the Jomsborg vikings was +Bue the Thick, and his brother Sigurd, with 20 ships. Against him +Earl Eirik laid himself with 60 ships; and with him were these +chiefs,--Gudbrand Hvite from the Uplands, and Thorkel Leira from Viken. +In the other wing of the Jomsborg vikings' array was Vagn Akason with 20 +ships; and against him stood Svein the son of Hakon, in whose division +was Skegge of Yrjar at Uphaug, and Rognvald of Aervik at Stad, with 60 +ships. It is told in the Eirik's lay thus:-- + + "The bonde's ships along the coast + Sailed on to meet the foemen's host; + The stout earl's ships, with eagle flight, + Rushed on the Danes in bloody fight. + The Danish ships, of court-men full, + Were cleared of men,--and many a hull + Was driving empty on the main, + With the warm corpses of the slain." + +Eyvind Skaldaspiller says also in the "Haleygja-tal":-- + + "Twas at the peep of day,-- + Our brave earl led the way; + His ocean horses bounding-- + His war-horns loudly sounding! + No joyful morn arose + For Yngve Frey's base foes + These Christian island-men + Wished themselves home again." + +Then the fleets came together, and one of the sharpest of conflicts +began. Many fell on both sides, but the most by far on Hakon's side; for +the Jomsborg vikings fought desperately, sharply, and murderously, and +shot right through the shields. So many spears were thrown against Earl +Hakon that his armour was altogether split asunder, and he threw it off. +So says Tind Halkelson:-- + + "The ring-linked coat of strongest mail + Could not withstand the iron hail, + Though sewed with care and elbow bent, + By Norn (1), on its strength intent. + The fire of battle raged around,-- + Odin's steel shirt flew all unbound! + The earl his ring-mail from him flung, + Its steel rings on the wet deck rung; + Part of it fell into the sea,-- + A part was kept, a proof to be + How sharp and thick the arrow-flight + Among the sea-steeds in this fight." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Norn, one of the Fates, stands here for women, whose + business it was to sew the rings of iron upon the cloth + which made these ring-mail coats or shirts. The needles, + although some of them were of gold, appear to have been + without eyes, and used like shoemaker's awls.--L. + + + + +44. EARL SIGVALDE'S FLIGHT. + +The Jomsborg vikings had larger and higher-sided ships; and both parties +fought desperately. Vagn Akason laid his ship on board of Svein Earl +Hakon's son's ship, and Svein allowed his ship to give way, and was +on the point of flying. Then Earl Eirik came up, and laid his ship +alongside of Vagn, and then Vagn gave way, and the ships came to lie +in the same position as before. Thereupon Eirik goes to the other wing, +which had gone back a little, and Bue had cut the ropes, intending to +pursue them. Then Eirik laid himself, board to board, alongside of +Bue's ship, and there was a severe combat hand to hand. Two or three +of Eirik's ships then laid themselves upon Bue's single vessel. A +thunder-storm came on at this moment, and such a heavy hail-storm that +every hailstone weighed a pennyweight. The Earl Sigvalde cut his cable, +turned his ship round, and took flight. Vagn Akason called to him not to +fly; but as Earl Sigvalde paid no attention to what he said, Vagn threw +his spear at him, and hit the man at the helm. Earl Sigvalde rowed away +with 35 ships, leaving 25 of his fleet behind. + + + + +45. BUE THROWS HIMSELF OVERBOARD. + +Then Earl Hakon laid his ship on the other side of Bue's ship, and now +came heavy blows on Bue's men. Vigfus, a son of Vigaglum, took up an +anvil with a sharp end, which lay upon the deck, and on which a man had +welded the hilt to his sword just before, and being a very strong man +cast the anvil with both hands at the head of Aslak Holmskalle, and the +end of it went into his brains. Before this no weapon could wound this +Aslak, who was Bue's foster-brother, and forecastle commander, although +he could wound right and left. Another man among the strongest and +bravest was Havard Hoggande. In this attack Eirik's men boarded Bue's +ship, and went aft to the quarter-deck where Bue stood. There Thorstein +Midlang cut at Bue across his nose, so that the nosepiece of his helmet +was cut in two, and he got a great wound; but Bue, in turn, cut at +Thorstein's side, so that the sword cut the man through. Then Bue lifted +up two chests full of gold, and called aloud, "Overboard all Bue s men," +and threw himself overboard with his two chests. Many of his people +sprang overboard with him. Some fell in the ship, for it was of no +use to call for quarter. Bue's ship was cleared of people from stem to +stern, and afterwards all the others, the one after the other. + + + + +46. VIKINGS BOUND TOGETHER IN ONE CHAIN. + +Earl Eirik then laid himself alongside of Vagn's ship, and there was +a brave defence; but at last this ship too was cleared, and Vagn and +thirty men were taken prisoners, and bound, and brought to land. Then +came up Thorkel Leira, and said, "Thou madest a solemn vow, Vagn, to +kill me, but now it seems more likely that I will kill thee." Vagn and +his men sat all upon a log of wood together. Thorkel had an axe in his +hands, with which he cut at him who sat outmost on the log. Vagn and the +other prisoners were bound so that a rope was fastened on their feet, +but they had their hands free. One of them said, "I will stick this +cloak-pin that I have in my hand into the earth, if it be so that I +know anything, after my head is cut off." His head was cut off, but the +cloak-pin fell from his hand. There sat also a very handsome man with +long hair, who twisted his hair over his head, put out his neck, and +said, "Don't make my hair bloody." A man took the hair in his hands and +held it fast. Thorkel hewed with his axe; but the viking twitched his +head so strongly that he who was holding his hair fell forwards, and the +axe cut off both his hands, and stuck fast in the earth. Then Earl Eirik +came up, and asked, "Who is that handsome man?" + +He replies, "I am called Sigurd, and am Bue's son. But are all the +Jomsborg vikings dead?" + +Eirik says, "Thou art certainly Boe's son. Wilt thou now take life and +peace?" + +"That depends," says he, "upon who it is that offers it." + +"He offers who has the power to do it--Earl Eirik." + +"That will I," says he, "from his hands." And now the rope was loosened +from him. + +Then said Thorkel Leira, "Although thou should give all these men life +and peace, earl, Vagn Akason shall never come from this with life." And +he ran at him with uplifted axe; but the viking Skarde swung himself +in the rope, and let himself fall just before Thorkel's feet, so that +Thorkel ell over him, and Vagn caught the axe and gave Thorkel a +death-wound. Then said the earl, "Vagn, wilt thou accept life?" + +"That I will," says he, "if you give it to all of us." + +"Loose them from the rope," said the earl, and it was done. Eighteen +were killed, and twelve got their lives. + + + + +47. DEATH OF GISSUR OF VALDERS. + +Earl Hakon, and many with him, were sitting upon a piece of wood, and +a bow-string twanged from Bue's ship, and the arrow struck Gissur from +Valders, who was sitting next the earl, and was clothed splendidly. +Thereupon the people went on board, and found Havard Hoggande standing +on his knees at the ship's railing, for his feet had been cut off (1), +and he had a bow in his hand. When they came on board the ship Havard +asked, "Who fell by that shaft?" + +They answered, "A man called Gissur." + +"Then my luck was less than I thought," said he. + +"Great enough was the misfortune," replied they; "but thou shalt not +make it greater." And they killed him on the spot. + +The dead were then ransacked, and the booty brought all together to be +divided; and there were twenty-five ships of the Jomsborg vikings in the +booty. So says Tind: + + "Many a viking's body lay + Dead on the deck this bloody day, + Before they cut their sun-dried ropes, + And in quick flight put all their hopes. + He whom the ravens know afar + Cleared five-and-twenty ships of war: + A proof that in the furious fight + None can withstand the Norsemen's might." + +Then the army dispersed. Earl Hakon went to Throndhjem, and was much +displeased that Earl Eirik had given quarter to Vagn Akason. It was said +that at this battle Earl Hakon had sacrificed for victory his son, young +Erling, to the gods; and instantly came the hailstorm, and the defeat +and slaughter of the Jomsborg vikings. + +Earl Eirik went to the Uplands, and eastward by that route to his +own kingdom, taking Vagn Akason with him. Earl Eirik married Vagn to +Ingebjorg, a daughter of Thorkel Leira, and gave him a good ship of +war and all belonging to it, and a crew; and they parted the best of +friends. Then Vagn went home south to Denmark, and became afterwards +a man of great consideration, and many great people are descended from +him. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) This traditionary tale of a warrior fighting on his knees + after his legs were cut off, appears to have been a popular + idea among the Northmen, and is related by their descendants + in the ballad o Chevy Chase.--L. + + + + +48. KING HARALD GRENSKE'S DEATH. + +Harald Grenske, as before related, was king in Vestfold, and was married +to Asta, a daughter of Gudbrand Kula. One summer (A.D. 994) Harald +Grenske made an expedition to the Baltic to gather property, and he +came to Svithjod. Olaf the Swede was king there, a son of Eirik the +Victorious, and Sigrid, a daughter of Skoglartoste. Sigrid was then a +widow, and had many and great estates in Svithjod. When she heard that +her foster-brother was come to the country a short distance from her, +she sent men to him to invite him to a feast. He did not neglect the +invitation, but came to her with a great attendance of his followers, +and was received in the most friendly way. He and the queen sat in the +high-seat, and drank together towards the evening, and all his men were +entertained in the most hospitable manner. At night, when the king went +to rest, a bed was put up for him with a hanging of fine linen around +it, and with costly bedclothes; but in the lodging-house there were few +men. When the king was undressed, and had gone to bed, the queen came +to him, filled a bowl herself for him to drink, and was very gay, and +pressed to drink. The king was drunk above measure, and, indeed, so were +they both. Then he slept, and the queen went away, and laid herself down +also. Sigrid was a woman of the greatest understanding, and clever +in many things. In the morning there was also the most excellent +entertainment; but then it went on as usual when people have drunk too +much, that next day they take care not to exceed. The queen was very +gay, and she and the king talked of many things with each other; among +other things she valued her property, and the dominions she had in +Svithjod, as nothing less than his property in Norway. With that +observation the king was nowise pleased, and he found no pleasure in +anything after that, but made himself ready for his journey in an ill +humor. On the other hand, the queen was remarkably gay, and made him +many presents, and followed him out to the road. Now Harald returned +about harvest to Norway, and was at home all winter; but was very silent +and cast down. In summer he went once more to the Baltic with his ships, +and steered to Svithjod. He sent a message to Queen Sigrid that he +wished to have a meeting with her and she rode down to meet him. They +talked together and he soon brought out the proposal that she should +marry him. She replied, that this was foolish talk for him, who was so +well married already that he might think himself well off. Harald says, +"Asta is a good and clever woman; but she is not so well born as I am." +Sigrid replies, "It may be that thou art of higher birth, but I think +she is now pregnant with both your fortunes." They exchanged but few +words more before the queen rode away. King Harald was now depressed in +mind, and prepared himself again to ride up the country to meet Queen +Sigrid. Many of his people dissuaded him; but nevertheless he set off +with a great attendance, and came to the house in which the queen dwelt. +The same evening came another king, called Vissavald, from Gardarike +(Russia), likewise to pay his addresses to Queen Sigrid. Lodging was +given to both the kings, and to all their people, in a great old room +of an out-building, and all the furniture was of the same character; but +there was no want of drink in the evening, and that so strong that all +were drunk, and the watch, both inside and outside, fell fast asleep. +Then Queen Sigrid ordered an attack on them in the night, both with fire +and sword. The house was burnt, with all who were in it and those who +slipped out were put to the sword. Sigrid said that she would make these +small kings tired of coming to court her. She was afterwards called +Sigrid the Haughty (Storrada). + + + + +49. BIRTH OF OLAF, SON OF HARALD GRENSKE. + +This happened the winter after the battle of the Jomsborg vikings at +Hjorungavag. When Harald went up the country after Sigrid, he left Hrane +behind with the ships to look after the men. Now when Hrane heard that +Harald was cut off, he returned to Norway the shortest way he could, and +told the news. He repaired first to Asta, and related to her all that +had happened on the journey, and also on what errand Harald had visited +Queen Sigrid. When Asta got these tidings she set off directly to her +father in the Uplands, who received her well; but both were enraged at +the design which had been laid in Svithjod, and that King Harald had +intended to set her in a single condition. In summer (A.D. 995) Asta, +Gudbrand's daughter, was confined, and had a boy child, who had water +poured over him, and was called Olaf. Hrane himself poured water over +him, and the child was brought up at first in the house of Gudbrand and +his mother Asta. + + + + +50. ABOUT EARL HAKON. + +Earl Hakon ruled over the whole outer part of Norway that lies on the +sea, and had thus sixteen districts under his sway. The arrangement +introduced by Harald Harfager, that there should be an earl in each +district, was afterward continued for a long time; and thus Earl Hakon +had sixteen earls under him. So says the "Vellekla":-- + + "Who before has ever known + Sixteen earls subdued by one? + Who has seen all Norway's land + Conquered by one brave hero's hand? + It will be long in memory held, + How Hakon ruled by sword and shield. + When tales at the viking's mast go round, + His praise will every mouth resound." + +While Earl Hakon ruled over Norway there were good crops in the land, +and peace was well preserved in the country among the bondes. The Earl, +for the greater part of his lifetime, was therefore much beloved by the +bondes; but it happened, in the longer course of time, that the earl +became very intemperate in his intercourse with women, and even carried +it so far that he made the daughters of people of consideration be +carried away and brought home to him; and after keeping them a week +or two as concubines, he sent them home. He drew upon himself the +indignation of me relations of these girls; and the bondes began to +murmur loudly, as the Throndhjem people have the custom of doing when +anything goes against their judgment. + + + + +51. THORER KLAKKA'S JOURNEY. + +Earl Hakon, in the mean time, hears some whisper that to the westward, +over the Nor h sea, was a man called Ole, who was looked upon as a king. +From the conversation of some people, he fell upon the suspicion that he +must be of the royal race of Norway. It was, indeed, said that this Ole +was from Russia; but the earl had heard that Trygve Olafson had had a +son called Olaf, who in his infancy had gone east to Gardarike, and had +been brought up by King Valdemar. The earl had carefully inquired about +this man, and had his suspicion that he must be the same person who had +now come to these western countries. The earl had a very good friend +called Thorer Klakka, who had been long upon viking expeditions, +sometimes also upon merchant voyages; so that he was well acquainted all +around. This Thorer Earl Hakon sends over the North sea, and told him to +make a merchant voyage to Dublin, many were in the habit of doing, and +carefully to discover who this Ole was. Provided he got any certainty +that he was Olaf Trygvason, or any other of the Norwegian royal race, +then Thorer should endeavor to ensnare him by some deceit, and bring him +into the earl's power. + + + + +52. OLAF TRYGVASON COMES TO NORWAY. + +On this Thorer sails westward to Ireland, and hears that Ole is in +Dublin with his wife's father King Olaf Kvaran. Thorer, who was a +plausible man, immediately got acquainted with Ole; and as they often +met, and had long conversations together, Ole began to inquire +about news from Norway, and above all of the Upland kings and great +people,--which of them were in life, and what dominations they now had. +He asked also about Earl Hakon, and if he was much liked in the country. +Thorer replies, that the earl is such a powerful man that no one dares +to speak otherwise than he would like; but that comes from there being +nobody else in the country to look to. "Yet, to say the truth, I know +it to be the mind of many brave men, and of whole communities, that +they would much rather see a king of Harald Harfager's race come to the +kingdom. But we know of no one suited for this, especially now that it +is proved how vain every attack on Earl Hakon must be." As they often +talked together in the same strain, Olaf disclosed to Thorer his name +and family, and asked him his opinion, and whether he thought the bondes +would take him for their king if he were to appear in Norway. Thorer +encouraged him very eagerly to the enterprise, and praised him and his +talents highly. Then Olaf's inclination to go to the heritage of his +ancestors became strong. Olaf sailed accordingly, accompanied by Thorer, +with five ships; first to the Hebrides, and from thence to the Orkneys. +At that time Earl Sigurd, Hlodver's son, lay in Osmundswall, in the +island South Ronaldsa, with a ship of war, on his way to Caithness. Just +at the same time Olaf was sailing with his fleet from the westward to +the islands, and ran into the same harbour, because Pentland Firth was +not to be passed at that tide. When the king was informed that the earl +was there, he made him be called; and when the earl came on board to +speak with the king, after a few words only had passed between them, the +king says the earl must allow himself to be baptized, and all the people +of the country also, or he should be put to death directly; and he +assured the earl he would lay waste the islands with fire and sword, if +the people did not adopt Christianity. In the position the earl found +himself, he preferred becoming Christian, and he and all who were with +him were baptized. Afterwards the earl took an oath to the king, went +into his service, and gave him his son, whose name was Hvelp (Whelp), or +Hunde (Dog), as an hostage; and the king took Hvelp to Norway with him. +Thereafter Olaf went out to sea to the eastward, and made the land at +Morster Island, where he first touched the ground of Norway. He had +high mass sung in a tent, and afterwards on the spot a church was built. +Thorer Klakka said now to the king, that the best plan for him would +be not to make it known who he was, or to let any report about him get +abroad; but to seek out Earl Hakon as fast as possible and fall upon +him by surprise. King Olaf did so, sailing northward day and night, when +wind permitted, and did not let the people of the country know who it +was that was sailing in such haste. When he came north to Agdanes, +he heard that the earl was in the fjord, and was in discord with the +bondes. On hearing this, Thorer saw that things were going in a very +different way from what he expected; for after the battle with the +Jomsborg vikings all men in Norway were the most sincere friends of +the earl on account of the victory he had gained, and of the peace and +security he had given to the country; and now it unfortunately turns out +that a great chief has come to the country at a time when the bondes are +in arms against the earl. + + + + +53. EARL HAKON'S FLIGHT. + +Earl Hakon was at a feast in Medalhus in Gaulardal and his ships lay out +by Viggja. There was a powerful bonde, by name Orm Lyrgja, who dwelt in +Bunes, who had a wife called Gudrun, a daughter of Bergthor of Lundar. +She was called the Lundasol; for she was the most-beautiful of women. +The earl sent his slaves to Orm, with the errand that they should bring +Orm's wife, Gudrun, to the earl. The thralls tell their errand, and +Orm bids them first seat themselves to supper; but before they had done +eating, many people from the neighbourhood, to whom Orm had sent notice, +had gathered together: and now Orm declared he would not send Gudrun +with the messengers. Gudrun told the thralls to tell the earl that she +would not come to him, unless he sent Thora of Rimul after her. Thora +was a woman of great influence, and one of the earl's best beloved. The +thralls say that they will come another time, and both the bonde and his +wife would be made to repent of it; and they departed with many threats. +Orm, on the other hand, sent out a message-token to all the neighbouring +country, and with it the message to attack Earl Hakon with weapons and +kill him. He sent also a message to Haldor in Skerdingsstedja, who also +sent out his message-token. A short time before, the earl had taken away +the wife of a man called Brynjolf, and there had very nearly been +an insurrection about that business. Having now again got this +message-token, the people made a general revolt, and set out all to +Medalhus. When the earl heard of this, he left the house with his +followers, and concealed himself in a deep glen, now called Jarlsdal +(Earl's Dale). Later in the day, the earl got news of the bondes' army. +They had beset all the roads; but believed the earl had escaped to his +ships, which his son Erlend, a remarkably handsome and hopeful young +man, had the command of. When night came the earl dispersed his people, +and ordered them to go through the forest roads into Orkadal; "for +nobody will molest you," said he, "when I am not with you. Send a +message to Erlend to sail out of the fjord, and meet me in More. In the +mean time I will conceal myself from the bondes." Then the earl went his +way with one thrall or slave, called Kark, attending him. There was ice +upon the Gaul (the river of Gaulardal), and the earl drove his horse +upon it, and left his coat lying upon the ice. They then went to a hole, +since called Jarlshella (the Earl's Hole), where they slept. When Kark +awoke he told his dream,--that a black threatening mad had come into the +hole, and was angry that people should have entered it; and that the +man had said, "Ulle is dead." The earl said that his son Erlend must be +killed. Kark slept again and was again disturbed in his sleep; and when +he awoke he told his dream,--that the same man had again appeared to +him, and bade him tell the earl that all the sounds were closed. From +this dream the earl began to suspect that it betokened a short life to +him. They stood up, and went to the house of Rimul. The earl now sends +Kark to Thora, and begs of her to come secretly to him. She did so and +received the earl kindly and he begged her to conceal him for a few +nights until the army of the bondes had dispersed. "Here about my +house," said she, "you will be hunted after, both inside and outside; +for many know that I would willingly help you if I can. There is but one +place about the house where they could never expect to find such a man +as you, and that is the swine-stye." When they came there the earl said, +"Well, let it be made ready for us; as to save our life is the first and +foremost concern." The slave dug a great hole in it, bore away the earth +that he dug out, and laid wood over it. Thora brought the tidings to +the earl that Olaf Trygvason had come from sea into the fjord, and had +killed his son Erlend. Then the earl and Kark both went into the hole. +Thora covered it with wood, and threw earth and dung over it, and drove +the swine upon the top of it. The swine-style was under a great stone. + + + + +54. ERLEND'S DEATH. + +Olaf Trygvason came from sea into the fjord with five long-ships, +and Erlend, Hakon's son, rowed towards him with three ships. When the +vessels came near to each other, Erlend suspected they might be enemies, +and turned towards the land. When Olaf and his followers saw long-ships +coming in haste out of the fjord, and rowing towards them, they thought +Earl Hakon must be here; and they put out all oars to follow them. +As soon as Erlend and his ships got near the land they rowed aground +instantly, jumped overboard, and took to the land; but at the same +instant Olaf's ship came up with them. Olaf saw a remarkably handsome +man swimming in the water, and laid hold of a tiller and threw it at +him. The tiller struck Erlend, the son of Hakon the earl, on the head, +and clove it to the brain; and there left Erlend his life. Olaf and his +people killed many; but some escaped, and some were made prisoners, and +got life and freedom that they might go and tell what had happened. They +learned then that the bondes had driven away Earl Hakon, and that he had +fled, and his troops were all dispersed. + + + + +55. EARL HAKON'S DEATH. + +The bondes then met Olaf, to the joy of both, and they made an agreement +together. The bondes took Olaf to be their king, and resolved, one and +all, to seek out Earl Hakon. They went up Gaulardal; for it seemed to +them likely that if the earl was concealed in any house it must be at +Rimul, for Thora was his dearest friend in that valley. They come up, +therefore, and search everywhere, outside and inside the house, but +could not find him. Then Olaf held a House Thing (trusting), or council +out in the yard, and stood upon a great stone which lay beside the +swine-stye, and made a speech to the people, in which he promised to +enrich the man with rewards and honours who should kill the earl. This +speech was heard by the earl and the thrall Kark. They had a light in +their room. + +"Why art thou so pale," says the earl, "and now again black as earth? +Thou hast not the intention to betray me?" + +"By no means," replies Kark. + +"We were born on the same night," says the earl, "and the time will be +short between our deaths." + +King Olaf went away in the evening. When night came the earl kept +himself awake but Kark slept, and was disturbed in his sleep. The earl +woke him, and asked him "what he was dreaming of?" + +He answered, "I was at Hlader and Olaf Trygvason was laying a gold ring +about my neck." + +The earl says, "It will be a red ring Olaf will lay about thy neck if +he catches thee. Take care of that! From me thou shalt enjoy all that is +good, therefore betray me not." + +They then kept themselves awake both; the one, as it were, watching upon +the other. But towards day the earl suddenly dropped asleep; but his +sleep was so unquiet that he drew his heels under him, and raised his +neck, as if going to rise, and screamed dreadfully high. On this Kark, +dreadfully alarmed, drew a large knife out of his belt, stuck it in the +earl's throat, and cut it across, and killed Earl Hakon. Then Kark cut +off the earl's head, and ran away. Late in the day he came to Hlader, +where he delivered the earl's head to King Olaf, and told all these +circumstances of his own and Earl Hakon's doings. Olaf had him taken out +and beheaded. + + + + +56. EARL HAKON'S HEAD. + +King Olaf, and a vast number of bondes with him, then went out to +Nidarholm, and had with him the heads of Earl Hakon and Kark. This holm +was used then for a place of execution of thieves and ill-doers, and +there stood a gallows on it. He had the heads of the earl and of Kark +hung upon it, and the whole army of the bondes cast stones at them, +screaming and shouting that the one worthless fellow had followed the +other. They then sent up to Gaulardal for the earl's dead body. So great +was the enmity of the Throndhjem people against Earl Hakon, that no man +could venture to call him by any other name than Hakon the Bad; and he +was so called long after those days. Yet, sooth to say of Earl Hakon, +he was in many respects fitted to be a chief: first, because he was +descended from a high race; then because he had understanding and +knowledge to direct a government; also manly courage in battle to +gain victories, and good luck in killing his enemies. So says Thorleif +Raudfeldson:-- + + "In Norway's land was never known + A braver earl than the brave Hakon. + At sea, beneath the clear moon's light, + No braver man e'er sought to fight. + Nine kings to Odin's wide domain + Were sent, by Hakon's right hand slain! + So well the raven-flocks were fed-- + So well the wolves were filled with dead!" + +Earl Hakon was very generous; but the greatest misfortunes attended even +such a chief at the end of his days: and the great cause of this was +that the time was come when heathen sacrifices and idolatrous worship +were doomed to fall, and the holy faith and good customs to come in +their place. + + + + +57. OLAF TRYGVASON ELECTED KING. + +Olaf Trvgvason was chosen at Throndhjem by the General Thing to be the +king over the whole country, as Harald Harfager had been. The whole +public and the people throughout all the land would listen to nothing +else than that Olaf Trygvason should be king. Then Olaf went round the +whole country, and brought it under his rule, and all the people of +Norway gave in their submission; and also the chiefs in the Uplands and +in Viken, who before had held their lands as fiefs from the Danish king, +now became King Olaf's men, and held their hands from him. He went thus +through the whole country during the first winter (A.D. 996) and the +following summer. Earl Eirik, the son of Earl Hakon, his brother Svein, +and their friends and relations, fled out of the country, and went east +to Sweden to King Olaf the Swede, who gave them a good reception. So +says Thord Kolbeinson:-- + + "O thou whom bad men drove away, + After the bondes by foul play, + Took Hakon's life! Fate will pursue + These bloody wolves, and make them rue. + When the host came from out the West, + Like some tall stately war-ship's mast, + I saw the son of Trygve stand, + Surveying proud his native land." + +And again,-- + + "Eirik has more upon his mind, + Against the new Norse king designed, + Than by his words he seems to show-- + And truly it may well be so. + Stubborn and stiff are Throndhjem men, + But Throndhjem's earl may come again; + In Swedish land he knows no rest-- + Fierce wrath is gathering in his breast." + + + + +58. LODIN'S MARRIAGE + +Lodin was the name of a man from Viken who was rich and of good family. +He went often on merchant voyages, and sometimes on viking cruises. +It happened one summer that he went on a merchant voyage with much +merchandise in a ship of his own. He directed his course first to +Eistland, and was there at a market in summer. To the place at which the +market was held many merchant goods were brought, and also many thralls +or slaves for sale. There Lodin saw a woman who was to be sold as a +slave: and on looking at her he knew her to be Astrid Eirik's daughter, +who had been married to King Trygve. But now she was altogether unlike +what she had been when he last saw her; for now she was pale, meagre in +countenance, and ill clad. He went up to her, and asked her how matters +stood with her. She replied, "It is heavy to be told; for I have been +sold as a slave, and now again I am brought here for sale." After +speaking together a little Astrid knew him, and begged him to buy her; +and bring her home to her friends. "On this condition," said he, "I will +bring thee home tn Norway, that thou wilt marry me." Now as Astrid stood +in great need, and moreover knew that Lodin was a man of high birth, +rich, and brave, she promised to do so for her ransom. Lodin accordingly +bought Astrid, took her home to Norway with him, and married her with +her friends' consent. Their children were Thorkel Nefia, Ingerid, and +Ingegerd. Ingebjorg and Astrid were daughters of Astrid by King Trygve. +Eirik Bjodaskalle's sons were Sigird, Karlshofud, Jostein, and Thorkel +Dydril, who were all rich and brave people who had estates east in +the country. In Viken in the east dwelt two brothers, rich and of good +descent; one called Thorgeir, and the other Hyrning; and they married +Lodin and Astrid's daughters, Ingerid and Ingegerd. + + + + +59. OLAF BAPTIZES THE COUNTRY OF VIKEN. + +When Harald Gormson, king of Denmark, had adopted Christianity, he sent +a message over all his kingdom that all people should be baptized, and +converted to the true faith. He himself followed his message, and used +power and violence where nothing else would do. He sent two earls, +Urguthrjot and Brimilskjar, with many people to Norway, to proclaim +Christianity there. In Viken, which stood directly under the king's +power, this succeeded, and many were baptized of the country folk. But +when Svein Forked-beard, immediately after his father King Harald's +death, went out on war expeditions in Saxland, Frisland, and at last +in England, the Northmen who had taken up Christianity returned back to +heathen sacrifices, just as before; and the people in the north of the +country did the same. But now that Olaf Trygvason was king of Norway, he +remained long during the summer (A.D. 996) in Viken, where many of his +relatives and some of his brothers-in-law were settled, and also many +who had been great friends of his father; so that he was received with +the greatest affection. Olaf called together his mother's brothers, his +stepfather Lodin, and his brothers-in-law Thorgeir and Hyrning, to speak +with them, and to disclose with the greatest care the business which he +desired they themselves should approve of, and support with all their +power; namely, the proclaiming Christianity over all his kingdom. He +would, he declared, either bring it to this, that all Norway should be +Christian, or die. "I shall make you all," said he, "great and mighty +men in promoting this work; for I trust to you most, as blood relations +or brothers-in-law." All agreed to do what he asked, and to follow him +in what he desired. King Olaf immediately made it known to the public +that he recommended Christianity to all the people in his kingdom, which +message was well received and approved of by those who had before given +him their promise; and these being the most powerful among the people +assembled, the others followed their example, and all the inhabitants of +the east part of Viken allowed themselves to be baptized. The king +then went to the north part of Viken and invited every man to accept +Christianity; and those who opposed him he punished severely, killing +some, mutilating others, and driving some into banishment. At length he +brought it so far, that all the kingdom which his father King Trvgve had +ruled over, and also that of his relation Harald Grenske, accepted of +Christianity; and during that summer (A.D. 996) and the following winter +(A.D. 997) all Viken was made Christian. + + + + +60. OF THE HORDALAND PEOPLE. + +Early in spring (A.D. 997) King Olaf set out from Viken with a great +force northwards to Agder, and proclaimed that every man should be +baptized. And thus the people received Christianity, for nobody dared +oppose the king's will, wheresoever he came. In Hordaland, however, were +many bold and great men of Hordakare's race. He, namely, had left four +sons,--the first Thorleif Spake; the second, Ogmund, father of Thorolf +Skialg, who was father of Erling of Sole; the third was Thord father of +the Herse Klyp who killed King Sigurd Slefa, Gunhild's son; and lastly, +Olmod, father of Askel, whose son was Aslak Fitjaskalle; and that family +branch was the greatest and most considered in Hordaland. Now when this +family heard the bad tidings, that the king was coming along the country +from the eastward with a great force, and was breaking the ancient law +of the people, and imposing punishment and hard conditions on all who +opposed him, the relatives appointed a meeting to take counsel with each +other, for they knew the king would come down upon them at once: and +they all resolved to appear in force at the Gula-Thing, there to hold a +conference with King Olaf Trygvason. + + + + +61. ROGALAND BAPTIZED. + +When King Olaf came to Rogaland, he immediately summoned the people to a +Thing; and when the bondes received the message-token for a Thing, they +assembled in great numbers well armed. After they had come together, +they resolved to choose three men, the best speakers of the whole, who +should answer King Olaf, and argue with the king; and especially should +decline to accept of anything against the old law, even if the king +should require it of them. Now when the bondes came to the Thing, and +the Thing was formed, King Olaf arose, and at first spoke good-humoredly +to the people; but they observed he wanted them to accept Christianity, +with all his fine words: and in the conclusion he let them know that +those who should speak against him, and not submit to his proposal, must +expect his displeasure and punishment, and all the ill that it was in +his power to inflict. When he had ended his speech, one of the bondes +stood up, who was considered the most eloquent, and who had been chosen +as the first who should reply to King Olaf. But when he would begin to +speak such a cough seized him, and such a difficulty of breathing, that +he could not bring out a word, and had to sit down again. Then another +bonde stood up, resolved not to let an answer be wanting, although it +had gone so ill with the former: but he stammered so that he could not +get a word uttered, and all present set up a laughter, amid which +the bonde sat down again. And now the third stood up to make a speech +against King Olaf's; but when he began he became so hoarse and husky in +his throat, that nobody could hear a word he said, and he also had to +sit down. There was none of the bondes now to speak against the king, +and as nobody answered him there was no opposition; and it came to this, +that all agreed to what the king had proposed. All the people of the +Thing accordingly were baptized before the Thing was dissolved. + + + + +62. ERLING SKJALGSON'S WOOING. + +King Olaf went with his men-at-arms to the Gula-Thing; for the bondes +had sent him word that they would reply there to his speech. When +both parties had come to the Thing, the king desired first to have a +conference with the chief people of the country; and when the meeting +was numerous the king set forth his errand,--that he desired them, +according to his proposal, to allow themselves to be baptized. Then said +Olmod the Old, "We relations have considered together this matter, and +have come to one resolution. If thou thinkest, king, to force us who are +related together to such things as to break our old law, or to bring us +under thyself by any sort of violence, then will we stand against thee +with all our might: and be the victory to him to whom fate ordains it. +But if thou, king, wilt advance our relations' fortunes, then thou shalt +have leave to do as thou desirest, and we will all serve thee with zeal +in thy purpose." + +The king replies, "What do you propose for obtaining this agreement?" + +Then answers Olmod, "The first is, that thou wilt give thy sister Astrid +in marriage to Erling Skjalgson, our relation, whom we look upon as the +most hopeful young man in all Norway." + +King Olaf replied, that this marriage appeared to him also very +suitable; "as Erling is a man of good birth, and a good-looking man in +appearance: but Astrid herself must answer to this proposal." + +Thereupon the king spoke to his sister. She said, "It is but of little +use that I am a king's sister, and a king's daughter, if I must marry +a man who has no high dignity or office. I will rather wait a few years +for a better match." Thus ended this conference. + + +63. HORDALAND BAPTIZED. + +King Olaf took a falcon that belonged to Astrid, plucked off all its +feathers, and then sent it to her. Then said Astrid, "Angry is my +brother." And she stood up, and went to the king, who received her +kindly, and she said that she left it to the king to determine her +marriage. "I think," said the king, "that I must have power enough in +this land to raise any man I please to high dignity." Then the king +ordered Olmod and Erling to be called to a conference, and all their +relations; and the marriage was determined upon, and Astrid betrothed to +Erling. Thereafter the king held the Thing, and recommended Christianity +to the bondes; and as Olmod, and Erling, and all their relations, took +upon themselves the most active part in forwarding the king's desire, +nobody dared to speak against it; and all the people were baptized, and +adopted Christianity. + + + + +64. ERLING SKJALGSON'S WEDDING. + +Erling Skjalgson had his wedding in summer, and a great many people +were assembled at it. King Olaf was also there, and offered Erling an +earldom. Erling replied thus: "All my relations have been herses only, +and I will take no higher title than they have; but this I will accept +from thee, king, that thou makest me the greatest of that title in the +country." The king consented; and at his departure the king invested +his brother-in law Erling with all the land north of the Sognefjord, and +east to the Lidandisnes, on the same terms as Harald Harfager had given +land to his sons, as before related. + + + + +65. RAUMSDAL AND FJORD-DISTRICTS BAPTIZED. + +The same harvest King Olaf summoned the bondes to a Thing of the four +districts at Dragseid, in Stad: and there the people from Sogn, the +Fjord-districts, South More, and Raumsdal, were summoned to meet. King +Olaf came there with a great many people who had followed him from +the eastward, and also with those who had joined him from Rogaland and +Hordaland. When the king came to the Thing, he proposed to them there, +as elsewhere, Christianity; and as the king had such a powerful +host with him, they were frightened. The king offered them two +conditions,--either to accept Christianity, or to fight. But the +bondes saw they were in no condition to fight the king, and resolved, +therefore, that all the people should agree to be baptized. The king +proceeded afterwards to North More, and baptized all that district. He +then sailed to Hlader, in Throndhjem; had the temple there razed to the +ground; took all the ornaments and all property out of the temple, and +from the gods in it; and among other things the great gold ring which +Earl Hakon had ordered to be made, and which hung in the door of the +temple; and then had the temple burnt. But when the bondes heard of +this, they sent out a war-arrow as a token through the whole district, +ordering out a warlike force, and intended to meet the king with it. In +the meantime King Olaf sailed with a war force out of the fjord along +the coast northward, intending to proceed to Halogaland, and baptize +there. When he came north to Bjarnaurar, he heard from Halogaland that +a force was assembled there to defend the country against the king. The +chiefs of this force were Harek of Thjotta, Thorer Hjort from Vagar, +and Eyvind Kinrifa. Now when King Olaf heard this, he turned about +and sailed southwards along the land; and when he got south of Stad +proceeded at his leisure, and came early in winter (A.D. 998) all the +way east to Viken. + + + + +66. OLAF PROPOSES MARRIAGE TO QUEEN SIGRID. + +Queen Sigrid in Svithjod, who had for surname the Haughty, sat in her +mansion, and during the same winter messengers went between King Olaf +and Sigrid to propose his courtship to her, and she had no objection; +and the matter was fully and fast resolved upon. Thereupon King Olaf +sent to Queen Sigrid the great gold ring he had taken from the temple +door of Hlader, which was considered a distinguished ornament. The +meeting for concluding the business was appointed to be in spring on the +frontier, at the Gaut river. Now the ring which King Olaf had sent Queen +Sigrid was highly prized by all men; yet the queen's gold-smiths, +two brothers, who took the ring in their hands, and weighed it, spoke +quietly to each other about it, and in a manner that made the queen call +them to her, and ask "what they smiled at?" But they would not say a +word, and she commanded them to say what it was they had discovered. +Then they said the ring is false. Upon this she ordered the ring to be +broken into pieces, and it was found to be copper inside. Then the queen +was enraged, and said that Olaf would deceive her in more ways than this +one. In the same year (A.D. 998) King Olaf went into Ringenke, and there +the people also were baptized. + + + + +67. OLAF HARALDSON BAPTIZED. + +Asta, the daughter of Gudbrand, soon after the fall of Harald Grenske +married again a man who was called Sigurd Syr, who was a king in +Ringerike. Sigurd was a son of Halfdan, and grandson of Sigurd Hrise, +who was a son of Harald Harfager. Olaf, the son of Asta and Harald +Grenske, lived with Asta, and was brought up from childhood in the house +of his stepfather, Sigurd Syr. Now when King Olaf Trygvason came to +Ringerike to spread Christianity, Sigurd Syr and his wife allowed +themselves to be baptized, along with Olaf her son; and Olaf Trygvason +was godfather to Olaf, the stepson of Harald Grenske. Olaf was then +three years old. Olaf returned from thence to Viken, where he remained +all winter. He had now been three years king in Norway (A.D. 998). + + + + +68. MEETING OF OLAF AND SIGRID. + +Early in spring (A.D. 998) King Olaf went eastwards to Konungahella +to the meeting with Queen Sigrid; and when they met the business was +considered about which the winter before they had held communication, +namely, their marriage; and the business seemed likely to be concluded. +But when Olaf insisted that Sigrid should let herself be baptized, she +answered thus:--"I must not part from the faith which I have held, +and my forefathers before me; and, on the other hand, I shall make no +objection to your believing in the god that pleases you best." Then King +Olaf was enraged, and answered in a passion, "Why should I care to have +thee, an old faded woman, and a heathen jade?" and therewith struck her +in the face with his glove which he held in his hands, rose up, and they +parted. Sigrid said, "This may some day be thy death." The king set off +to Viken, the queen to Svithjod. + + + + +69. THE BURNING OF WARLOCKS. + +Then the king proceeded to Tunsberg, and held a Thing, at which he +declared in a speech that all the men of whom it should be known to a +certainty that they dealt with evil spirits, or in witchcraft, or were +sorcerers, should be banished forth of the land. Thereafter the king had +all the neighborhood ransacked after such people, and called them all +before him; and when they were brought to the Thing there was a man +among them called Eyvind Kelda, a grandson of Ragnvald Rettilbeine, +Harald Harfager's son. Eyvind was a sorcerer, and particularly knowing +in witchcraft. The king let all these men be seated in one room, which +was well adorned, and made a great feast for them, and gave them strong +drink in plenty. Now when they were all very drunk, he ordered the house +be set on fire, and it and all the people within it were consumed, all +but Eyvind Kelda, who contrived to escape by the smoke-hole in the roof. +And when he had got a long way off, he met some people on the road going +to the king, and he told them to tell the king that Eyvind Kelda had +slipped away from the fire, and would never come again in King Olaf's +power, but would carry on his arts of witchcraft as much as ever. When +the people came to the king with such a message from Eyvind, the king +was ill pleased that Eyvind had escaped death. + + + + +70. EYVIND KELDA'S DEATH. + +When spring (A.D. 998) came King Olaf went out to Viken, and was on +visits to his great farms. He sent notice over all Viken that he would +call out an army in summer, and proceed to the north parts of the +country. Then he went north to Agder; and when Easter was approaching +he took the road to Rogaland with 300 (=360) men, and came on Easter +evening north to Ogvaldsnes, in Kormt Island, where an Easter feast was +prepared for him. That same night came Eyvind Kelda to the island with +a well-manned long-ship, of which the whole crew consisted of sorcerers +and other dealers with evil spirits. Eyvind went from his ship to the +land with his followers, and there they played many of their pranks of +witchcraft. Eyvind clothed them with caps of darkness, and so thick a +mist that the king and his men could see nothing of them; but when they +came near to the house at Ogvaldsnes, it became clear day. Then it went +differently from what Eyvind had intended: for now there came just such +a darkness over him and his comrades in witchcraft as they had made +before, so that they could see no more from their eyes than from the +back of their heads but went round and round in a circle upon the +island. When the king's watchman saw them going about, without knowing +what people these were, they told the king. Thereupon he rose up with +his people, put on his clothes, and when he saw Eyvind with his men +wandering about he ordered his men to arm, and examine what folk these +were. The king's men discovered it was Eyvind, took him and all his +company prisoners, and brought them to the king. Eyvind now told all he +had done on his journey. Then the king ordered these all to be taken out +to a skerry which was under water in flood tide, and there to be left +bound. Eyvind and all with him left their lives on this rock, and the +skerry is still called Skrattasker. + + + + +71. OLAF AND ODIN'S APPARITION. + +It is related that once on a time King Olaf was at a feast at this +Ogvaldsnes, and one eventide there came to him an old man very gifted in +words, and with a broad-brimmed hat upon his head. He was one-eyed, and +had something to tell of every land. He entered into conversation with +the king; and as the king found much pleasure in the guest's speech, he +asked him concerning many things, to which the guest gave good answers: +and the king sat up late in the evening. Among other things, the king +asked him if he knew who the Ogvald had been who had given his name both +to the ness and to the house. The guest replied, that this Ogvald was a +king, and a very valiant man, and that he made great sacrifices to a cow +which he had with him wherever he went, and considered it good for his +health to drink her milk. This same King Ogvald had a battle with a king +called Varin, in which battle Ogvald fell. He was buried under a mound +close to the house; "and there stands his stone over him, and close +to it his cow also is laid." Such and many other things, and ancient +events, the king inquired after. Now, when the king had sat late into +the night, the bishop reminded him that it was time to go to bed, and +the king did so. But after the king was undressed, and had laid himself +in bed, the guest sat upon the foot-stool before the bed, and still +spoke long with the king; for after one tale was ended, he still wanted +a new one. Then the bishop observed to the king, it was time to go to +sleep, and the king did so; and the guest went out. Soon after the king +awoke, asked for the guest, and ordered him to be called, but the guest +was not to be found. The morning after, the king ordered his cook and +cellar-master to be called, and asked if any strange person had been +with them. They said, that as they were making ready the meat a man +came to them, and observed that they were cooking very poor meat for the +king's table; whereupon he gave them two thick and fat pieces of beef, +which they boiled with the rest of the meat. Then the king ordered that +all the meat should be thrown away, and said this man can be no other +than the Odin whom the heathens have so long worshipped; and added, "but +Odin shall not deceive us." + + + + +72. THE THING IN THRONDHJEM. + +King Olaf collected a great army in the east of the country towards +summer, and sailed with it north to Nidaros in the Throndhjem country. +From thence he sent a message-token over all the fjord, calling the +people of eight different districts to a Thing; but the bondes changed +the Thing-token into a war-token; and called together all men, free and +unfree, in all the Throndhjem land. Now when the king met the Thing, +the whole people came fully armed. After the Thing was seated, the king +spoke, and invited them to adopt Christianity; but he had only spoken a +short time when the bondes called out to him to be silent, or they +would attack him and drive him away. "We did so," said they, "with Hakon +foster-son of Athelstan, when he brought us the same message, and we +held him in quite as much respect as we hold thee." When King Olaf saw +how incensed the bondes were, and that they had such a war force that he +could make no resistance, he turned his speech as if he would give way +to the bondes, and said, "I wish only to be in a good understanding +with you as of old; and I will come to where ye hold your greatest +sacrifice-festival, and see your customs, and thereafter we shall +consider which to hold by." And in this all agreed; and as the king +spoke mildly and friendly with the bondes, their answer was appeased, +and their conference with the king went off peacefully. At the close +of it a midsummer sacrifice was fixed to take place in Maeren, and all +chiefs and great bondes to attend it as usual. The king was to be at it. + + + + +73. JARNSKEGGE OR IRON BEARD. + +There was a great bonde called Skegge, and sometimes Jarnskegge, or +Iron Beard, who dwelt in Uphaug in Yrjar. He spoke first at the Thing +to Olaf; and was the foremost man of the bondes in speaking against +Christianity. The Thing was concluded in this way for that time,--the +bondes returned home, and the king went to Hlader. + + + + +74. THE FEAST AT HLADER. + +King Olaf lay with his ships in the river Nid, and had thirty vessels, +which were manned with many brave people; but the king himself was often +at Hlader, with his court attendants. As the time now was approaching at +which the sacrifices should be made at Maeren, the king prepared a +great feast at Hlader, and sent a message to the districts of Strind, +Gaulardal, and out to Orkadal, to invite the chiefs and other great +bondes. When the feast was ready, and the chiefs assembled, there was a +handsome entertainment the first evening, at which plenty of liquor went +round, and the guests were made very drunk. The night after they all +slept in peace. The following morning, when the king was dressed, he had +the early mass sung before him; and when the mass was over, ordered to +sound the trumpets for a House Thing: upon which all his men left the +ships to come up to the Thing. When the Thing was seated, the king stood +up, and spoke thus: "We held a Thing at Frosta, and there I invited the +bondes to allow themselves to be baptized; but they, on the other hand, +invited me to offer sacrifice to their gods, as King Hakon, Athelstan's +foster-son, had done; and thereafter it was agreed upon between us that +we should meet at Maerin, and there make a great sacrifice. Now if I, +along with you, shall turn again to making sacrifice, then will I make +the greatest of sacrifices that are in use; and I will sacrifice men. +But I will not select slaves or malefactors for this, but will take the +greatest men only to be offered to the gods; and for this I select +Orm Lygra of Medalhus, Styrkar of Gimsar, Kar of Gryting, Asbjorn +Thorbergson of Varnes, Orm of Lyxa, Haldor of Skerdingsstedja;" and +besides these he named five others of the principal men. All these, he +said, he would offer in sacrifice to the gods for peace and a fruitful +season; and ordered them to be laid hold of immediately. Now when the +bondes saw that they were not strong enough to make head against the +king, they asked for peace, and submitted wholly to the king's pleasure. +So it was settled that all the bondes who had come there should be +baptized, and should take an oath to the king to hold by the right +faith, and to renounce sacrifice to the gods. The king then kept all +these men as hostages who came to his feast, until they sent him their +sons, brothers, or other near relations. + + + + +75. OF THE THING IN THRONDHJEM. + +King Olaf went in with all his forces into the Throndhjem country; and +when he came to Maeren all among the chiefs of the Throndhjem people who +were most opposed to Christianity were assembled, and had with them all +the great bondes who had before made sacrifice at that place. There +was thus a greater multitude of bondes than there had been at the +Frosta-Thing. Now the king let the people be summoned to the Thing, +where both parties met armed; and when the Thing was seated the king +made a speech, in which he told the people to go over to Christianity. +Jarnskegge replies on the part of the bondes, and says that the will +of the bondes is now, as formerly, that the king should not break their +laws. "We want, king," said he, "that thou shouldst offer sacrifice, as +other kings before thee have done." All the bondes applauded his speech +with a loud shout, and said they would have all things according to what +Skegge said. Then the king said he would go into the temple of their +gods with them, and see what the practices were when they sacrificed. +The bondes thought well of this proceeding, and both parties went to the +temple. + + + + +76. THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE BAPTIZED. + +Now King Olaf entered into the temple with some few of his men and a few +bondes; and when the king came to where their gods were, Thor, as +the most considered among their gods, sat there adorned with gold and +silver. The king lifted up his gold-inlaid axe which he carried in his +hands, and struck Thor so that the image rolled down from its seat. Then +the king's men turned to and threw down all the gods from their seats; +and while the king was in the temple, Jarnskegge was killed outside of +the temple doors, and the king's men did it. When the king came forth +out of the temple he offered the bondes two conditions,--that all should +accept of Christianity forthwith, or that they should fight with him. +But as Skegge was killed, there was no leader in the bondes' army to +raise the banner against King Olaf; so they took the other condition, to +surrender to the king's will and obey his order. Then King Olaf had +all the people present baptized, and took hostages from them for their +remaining true to Christianity; and he sent his men round to every +district, and no man in the Throndhjem country opposed Christianity, but +all people took baptism. + + + + +77. A TOWN IN THE THRONDHJEM COUNTRY. + +King Olaf with his people went out to Nidaros, and made houses on the +flat side of the river Nid, which he raised to be a merchant town, and +gave people ground to build houses upon. The king's house he had built +just opposite Skipakrok; and he transported thither, in harvest, all +that was necessary for his winter residence, and had many people about +him there. + + + + +78. KING OLAF'S MARRIAGE. + +King Olaf appointed a meeting with the relations of Jarnskegge, and +offered them the compensation or penalty for his bloodshed; for there +were many bold men who had an interest in that business. Jarnskegge had +a daughter called Gudrun; and at last it was agreed upon between the +parties that the king should take her in marriage. When the wedding day +came King Olaf and Gudrun went to bed together. As soon as Gudrun, the +first night they lay together, thought the king was asleep, she drew a +knife, with which she intended to run him through; but the king saw it, +took the knife from her, got out of bed, and went to his men, and told +them what had happened. Gudrun also took her clothes, and went away +along with all her men who had followed her thither. Gudrun never came +into the king's bed again. + + + + +79. BUILDING OF THE SHIP CRANE. + +The same autumn (A.D. 998) King Olaf laid the keel of a great long-ship +out on the strand at the river Nid. It was a snekkja; and he employed +many carpenters upon her, so that early in winter the vessel was ready. +It had thirty benches for rowers, was high in stem and stern, but +was not broad. The king called this ship Tranen (the Crane). After +Jarnskegge's death his body was carried to Yrjar, and lies there in the +Skegge mound on Austrat. + + + + +80. THANGBRAND THE PRIEST GOES TO ICELAND. + +When King Olaf Trygvason had been two years king of Norway (A.D. 997), +there was a Saxon priest in his house who was called Thangbrand, a +passionate, ungovernable man, and a great man-slayer; but he was a good +scholar, and a clever man. The king would not have him in his house upon +account of his misdeeds; but gave him the errand to go to Iceland, and +bring that land to the Christian faith. The king gave him a merchant +vessel: and, as far as we know of this voyage of his, he landed first in +Iceland at Austfjord in the southern Alptfjord, and passed the winter in +the house of Hal of Sida. Thangbrand proclaimed Christianity in Iceland, +and on his persuasion Hal and all his house people, and many other +chiefs, allowed themselves to be baptized; but there were many more +who spoke against it. Thorvald Veile and Veterlide the skald composed +a satire about Thangbrand; but he killed them both outright. Thangbrand +was two years in Iceland, and was the death of three men before he left +it. + + + + +81. OF SIGURD AND HAUK. + +There was a man called Sigurd, and another called Hauk, both of +Halogaland, who often made merchant voyages. One summer (A.D. 998) they +had made a voyage westward to England; and when they came back to Norway +they sailed northwards along the coast, and at North More they met King +Olaf's people. When it was told the king that some Halogaland people +were come who were heathen, he ordered the steersmen to be brought to +him, and he asked them if they would consent to be baptized; to which +they replied, no. The king spoke with them in many ways, but to no +purpose. He then threatened them with death and torture: but they would +not allow themselves to be moved. He then had them laid in irons, and +kept them in chains in his house for some time, and often conversed with +them, but in vain. At last one night they disappeared, without any man +being able to conjecture how they got away. But about harvest they came +north to Harek of Thjotta, who received them kindly, and with whom they +stopped all winter (A.D. 999), and were hospitably entertained. + + + + +82. OF HAREK OF THJOTTA. + +It happened one good-weather day in spring (A.D. 999) that Harek was +at home in his house with only few people, and time hung heavy on his +hands. Sigurd asked him if he would row a little for amusement. Harek +was willing; and they went to the shore, and drew down a six-oared +skiff; and Sigurd took the mast and rigging belonging to the boat out of +the boat-house, for they often used to sail when they went for amusement +on the water. Harek went out into the boat to hang the rudder. The +brothers Sigurd and Hauk, who were very strong men, were fully armed, as +they were used to go about at home among the peasants. Before they went +out to the boat they threw into her some butter-kits and a bread-chest, +and carried between them a great keg of ale. When they had rowed a +short way from the island the brothers hoisted the sail, while Harek was +seated at the helm; and they sailed away from the island. Then the two +brothers went aft to where Harek the bonde was sitting; and Sigurd says +to him, "Now thou must choose one of these conditions,--first, that we +brothers direct this voyage; or, if not, that we bind thee fast and take +the command; or, third, that we kill thee." Harek saw how matters stood +with him. As a single man, he was not better than one of those brothers, +even if he had been as well armed; so it appeared to him wisest to let +them determine the course to steer, and bound himself by oath to abide +by this condition. On this Sigurd took the helm, and steered south +along the land, the brothers taking particular care that they did not +encounter people. The wind was very favourable; and they held on sailing +along until they came south to Throndhjem and to Nidaros, where they +found the king. Then the king called Harek to him, and in a conference +desired him to be baptized. Harek made objections; and although the king +and Harek talked over it many times, sometimes in the presence of other +people, and sometimes alone, they could not agree upon it. At last the +king says to Harek, "Now thou mayst return home, and I will do thee no +injury; partly because we are related together, and partly that thou +mayst not have it to say that I caught thee by a trick: but know +for certain that I intend to come north next summer to visit you +Halogalanders, and ye shall then see if I am not able to punish those +who reject Christianity." Harek was well pleased to get away as fast +as he could. King Olaf gave Harek a good boat of ten or twelve pair of +oars, and let it be fitted out with the best of everything needful; +and besides he gave Harek thirty men, all lads of mettle, and well +appointed. + + + + +83. EYVIND KINRIFA'S DEATH. + +Harek of Thjotta went away from the town as fast as he could; but Hauk +and Sigurd remained in the king's house, and both took baptism. Harek +pursued his voyage until he came to Thjotta. He sent immediately a +message to his friend Eyvind Kinrifa, with the word that he had been +with King Olaf; but would not let himself be cowed down to accept +Christianity. The message at the same time informed him that King Olaf +intended coming to the north in summer against them, and they must be +at their posts to defend themselves; it also begged Eyvind to come and +visit him, the sooner the better. When this message was delivered to +Eyvind, he saw how very necessary it was to devise some counsel to avoid +falling into the king's hands. He set out, therefore, in a light vessel +with a few hands as fast as he could. When he came to Thjotta he was +received by Harek in the most friendly way, and they immediately entered +into conversation with each other behind the house. When they had spoken +together but a short time, King Olaf's men, who had secretly followed +Harek to the north, came up, and took Eyvind prisoner, and carried him +away to their ship. They did not halt on their voyage until they came +to Throndhjem, and presented themselves to King Olaf at Nidaros. Then +Eyvind was brought up to a conference with the king, who asked him to +allow himself to be baptized, like other people; but Eyvind decidedly +answered he would not. The king still, with persuasive words, urged him +to accept Christianity, and both he and the bishop used many suitable +arguments; but Eyvind would not allow himself to be moved. The king +offered him gifts and great fiefs, but Eyvind refused all. Then the king +threatened him with tortures and death, but Eyvind was steadfast. Then +the king ordered a pan of glowing coals to be placed upon Eyvind's +belly, which burst asunder. Eyvind cried, "Take away the pan, and I will +say something before I die," which also was done. The king said, "Wilt +thou now, Eyvind, believe in Christ?" "No," said Eyvind, "I can take no +baptism; for I am an evil spirit put into a man's body by the sorcery of +Fins because in no other way could my father and mother have a child." +With that died Eyvind, who had been one of the greatest sorcerers. + + + + +84. HALOGALAND MADE CHRISTIAN. + +The spring after (A.D. 999) King Olaf fitted out and manned his ships, +and commanded himself his ship the Crane. He had many and smart people +with him; and when he was ready, he sailed northwards with his fleet +past Bryda, and to Halogaland. Wheresoever he came to the land, or to +the islands, he held a Thing, and told the people to accept the right +faith, and to be baptized. No man dared to say anything against it, and +the whole country he passed through was made Christian. King Olaf was +a guest in the house of Harek of Thjotta, who was baptized with all his +people. At parting the king gave Harek good presents; and he entered +into the king's service, and got fiefs, and the privileges of lendsman +from the king. + + + + +85. THORER HJORT'S DEATH. + +There was a bonde, by name Raud the Strong, who dwelt in Godey in +Salten fjord. Raud was a very rich man, who had many house servants; and +likewise was a powerful man, who had many Fins in his service when he +wanted them. Raud was a great idolater, and very skillful in witchcraft, +and was a great friend of Thorer Hjort, before spoken of. Both were +great chiefs. Now when they heard that King Olaf was coming with a great +force from the south to Halogaland, they gathered together an army, +ordered out ships, and they too had a great force on foot. Raud had +a large ship with a gilded head formed like a dragon, which ship had +thirty rowing benches, and even for that kind of ship was very large. +Thorer Hjort had also a large ship. These men sailed southwards with +their ships against King Olaf, and as soon as they met gave battle. A +great battle there was, and a great fall of men; but principally on the +side of the Halogalanders, whose ships were cleared of men, so that a +great terror came upon them. Raud rode with his dragon out to sea, and +set sail. Raud had always a fair wind wheresoever he wished to sail, +which came from his arts of witchcraft; and, to make a short story, he +came home to Godey. Thorer Hjort fled from the ships up to the land: +but King Olaf landed people, followed those who fled, and killed them. +Usually the king was the foremost in such skirmishes, and was so now. +When the king saw where Thorer Hjort, who was quicker on foot than any +man, was running to, he ran after him with his dog Vige. The king said, +"Vige! Vige! Catch the deer." Vige ran straight in upon him; on which +Thorer halted, and the king threw a spear at him. Thorer struck with his +sword at the dog, and gave him a great wound; but at the same moment the +king's spear flew under Thorer's arm, and went through and through him, +and came out at his other-side. There Thorer left his life; but Vige was +carried to the ships. + + + + +86. KING OLAF'S VOYAGE TO GODEY. + +King Olaf gave life and freedom to all the men who asked it and agreed +to become Christian. King Olaf sailed with his fleet northwards along +the coast, and baptized all the people among whom he came; and when +he came north to Salten fjord, he intended to sail into it to look for +Raud, but a dreadful tempest and storm was raging in the fjord. They +lay there a whole week, in which the same weather was raging within +the fjord, while without there was a fine brisk wind only, fair for +proceeding north along the land. Then the king continued his voyage +north to Omd, where all the people submitted to Christianity. Then the +king turned about and sailed to the south again; but when he came to the +north side of Salten fjord, the same tempest was blowing, and the sea +ran high out from the fjord, and the same kind of storm prevailed for +several days while the king was lying there. Then the king applied to +Bishop Sigurd, and asked him if he knew any counsel about it; and the +bishop said he would try if God would give him power to conquer these +arts of the Devil. + + + + +87. OF RAUD'S BEING TORTURED. + +Bishop Sigurd took all his mass robes and went forward to the bow of +the king's ship; ordered tapers to be lighted, and incense to be brought +out. Then he set the crucifix upon the stem of the vessel, read the +Evangelist and many prayers, besprinkled the whole ship with holy water, +and then ordered the ship-tent to be stowed away, and to row into the +fjord. The king ordered all the other ships to follow him. Now when all +was ready on board the Crane to row, she went into the fjord without the +rowers finding any wind; and the sea was curled about their keel track +like as in a calm, so quiet and still was the water; yet on each side +of them the waves were lashing up so high that they hid the sight of +the mountains. And so the one ship followed the other in the smooth sea +track; and they proceeded this way the whole day and night, until they +reached Godey. Now when they came to Raud's house his great ship, the +dragon, was afloat close to the land. King Olaf went up to the house +immediately with his people; made an attack on the loft in which Raud +was sleeping, and broke it open. The men rushed in: Raud was taken +and bound, and of the people with him some were killed and some made +prisoners. Then the king's men went to a lodging in which Raud's house +servants slept, and killed some, bound others, and beat others. Then +the king ordered Raud to be brought before him, and offered him baptism. +"And," says the king, "I will not take thy property from thee, but +rather be thy friend, if thou wilt make thyself worthy to be so." Raud +exclaimed with all his might against the proposal, saying he would never +believe in Christ, and making his scoff of God. Then the king was wroth, +and said Raud should die the worst of deaths. And the king ordered him +to be bound to a beam of wood, with his face uppermost, and a round pin +of wood set between his teeth to force his mouth open. Then the king +ordered an adder to be stuck into the mouth of him; but the serpent +would not go into his mouth, but shrunk back when Raud breathed against +it. Now the king ordered a hollow branch of an angelica root to be stuck +into Raud's mouth; others say the king put his horn into his mouth, +and forced the serpent to go in by holding a red-hot iron before the +opening. So the serpent crept into the mouth of Raud and down his +throat, and gnawed its way out of his side; and thus Raud perished. King +Olaf took here much gold and silver, and other property of weapons, and +many sorts of precious effects; and all the men who were with Raud he +either had baptized, or if they refused had them killed or tortured. +Then the king took the dragonship which Raud had owned, and steered it +himself; for it was a much larger and handsomer vessel than the Crane. +In front it had a dragon's head, and aft a crook, which turned up, and +ended with the figure of the dragon's tail. The carved work on each side +of the stem and stern was gilded. This ship the king called the Serpent. +When the sails were hoisted they represented, as it were, the dragon's +wings; and the ship was the handsomest in all Norway. The islands on +which Raud dwelt were called Gylling and Haering; but the whole islands +together were called Godey Isles, and the current between the isles and +the mainland the Godey Stream. King Olaf baptized the whole people of +the fjord, and then sailed southwards along the land; and on this +voyage happened much and various things, which are set down in tales +and sagas,--namely, how witches and evil spirits tormented his men, and +sometimes himself; but we will rather write about what occurred when +King Olaf made Norway Christian, or in the other countries in which he +advanced Christianity. The same autumn Olaf with his fleet returned to +Throndhjem, and landed at Nidaros, where he took up his winter abode. +What I am now going to write about concerns the Icelanders. + + + + +88. OF THE ICELANDERS. + +Kjartan Olafson, a son's son of Hoskuld, and a daughter's son of Egil +Skallagrimson, came the same autumn (A.D. 999) from Iceland to Nidaros, +and he was considered to be the most agreeable and hopeful man of any +born in Iceland. There was also Haldor, a son of Gudmund of Modruveller; +and Kolbein, a son of Thord, Frey's gode, and a brother's son of +Brennuflose; together with Sverting, a son of the gode Runolf. All +these were heathens; and besides them there were many more,--some men +of power, others common men of no property. There came also from +Iceland considerable people, who, by Thangbrand's help, had been made +Christians; namely, Gissur the white, a son of Teit Ketilbjornson; +and his mother was Alof, daughter of herse Bodvar, who was the son of +Vikingakare. Bodvar's brother was Sigurd, father of Eirik Bjodaskalle, +whose daughter Astrid was King Olaf's mother. Hjalte Skeggjason was +the name of another Iceland man, who was married to Vilborg, Gissur the +White's daughter. Hjalte was also a Christian; and King Olaf was very +friendly to his relations Gissur and Hjalte, who live with him. But the +Iceland men who directed the ships, and were heathens, tried to sail +away as soon as the king came to the town of Nidaros, for they were told +the king forced all men to become Christians; but the wind came stiff +against them, and drove them back to Nidarholm. They who directed the +ships were Thorarin Nefjulson, the skald Halfred Ottarson, Brand the +Generous, and Thorleik, Brand's son. It was told the king that there +were Icelanders with ships there, and all were heathen, and wanted to +fly from a meeting with the king. Then the king sent them a message +forbidding them to sail, and ordering them to bring their ships up to +the town, which they did, but without discharging the cargoes. + +(They carried on their dealings and held a market at the king's pier. In +spring they tried three times to slip away, but never succeeded; so they +continued lying at the king's pier. It happened one fine day that +many set out to swim for amusement, and among them was a man who +distinguished himself above the others in all bodily exercises. Kjartan +challenged Halfred Vandredaskald to try himself in swimming against +this man, but he declined it. "Then will I make a trial," said Kjartan, +casting off his clothes, and springing into the water. Then he set after +the man, seizes hold of his foot, and dives with him under water. They +come up again, and without speaking a word dive again, and are much +longer under water than the first time. They come up again, and without +saying a word dive a third time, until Kjartan thought it was time to +come up again, which, however, he could in no way accomplish, which +showed sufficiently the difference in their strength. They were under +water so long that Kjartan was almost drowned. They then came up, and +swam to land. This Northman asked what the Icelander's name was. Kjartan +tells his name. + +He says, "Thou art a good swimmer; but art thou expert also in other +exercises?" + +Kjartan replied, that such expertness was of no great value. + +The Northman asks, "Why dost thou not inquire of me such things as I +have asked thee about?" + +Kjartan replies, "It is all one to me who thou art, or what thy name +is." + +"Then will I," says he, "tell thee: I am Olaf Trygvason." + +He asked Kjartan much about Iceland, which he answered generally, and +wanted to withdraw as hastily as he could; but the king said, "Here is a +cloak which I will give thee, Kjartan." And Kjartan took the cloak with +many thanks.) (1) + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The part included in parenthesis is not found in the + original text of "Heimskringla", but taken from "Codex + Frisianus". + + + + +89. BAPTISM OF THE ICELANDERS. + +When Michaelmas came, the king had high mass sung with great splendour. +The Icelanders went there, listening to the fine singing and the sound +of the bells; and when they came back to their ships every man told his +opinion of the Christian man's worship. Kjartan expressed his pleasure +at it, but most of the others scoffed at it; and it went according to +the proverb, "the king had many ears," for this was told to the king. +He sent immediately that very day a message to Kjartan to come to him. +Kjartan went with some men, and the king received him kindly. Kjartan +was a very stout and handsome man, and of ready and agreeable speech. +After the king and Kjartan had conversed a little, the king asked him to +adopt Christianity. Kjartan replies, that he would not say no to that, +if he thereby obtained the king's friendship; and as the king promised +him the fullest friendship, they were soon agreed. The next day Kjartan +was baptized, together with his relation Bolle Thorlakson, and all their +fellow-travelers. Kjartan and Bolle were the king's guests as long +as they were in their white baptismal clothes, and the king had much +kindness for them. Wherever they came they were looked upon as people of +distinction. + + + + +90. HALFRED VANDREDASKALD BAPTIZED. + +As King Olaf one day was walking in the street some men met him, and he +who went the foremost saluted the king. The king asked the man his name, +and he called himself Halfred. + +"Art thou the skald?" said the king. + +"I can compose poetry," replied he. + +"Wilt thou then adopt Christianity, and come into my service?" asked the +king. + +"If I am baptized," replies he, "it must be on one condition,--that thou +thyself art my godfather; for no other will I have." + +The king replies, "That I will do." And Halfred was baptized, the king +holding him during the baptism. + +Afterwards the king said, "Wilt thou enter into my service?" + +Halfred replied, "I was formerly in Earl Hakon's court; but now I will +neither enter into thine nor into any other service, unless thou promise +me it shall never be my lot to be driven away from thee." + +"It has been reported to me," said the king, "that thou are neither so +prudent nor so obedient as to fulfil my commands." + +"In that case," replied Halfred, "put me to death." + +"Thou art a skald who composes difficulties," says the king; "but into +my service, Halfred, thou shalt be received." + +Halfred says, "if I am to be named the composer of difficulties, what +cost thou give me, king, on my name-day?" + +The king gave him a sword without a scabbard, and said, "Now compose me +a song upon this sword, and let the word sword be in every line of the +strophe." Halfred sang thus: + + "This sword of swords is my reward. + For him who knows to wield a sword, + And with his sword to serve his lord, + Yet wants a sword, his lot is hard. + I would I had my good lord's leave + For this good sword a sheath to choose: + I'm worth three swords when men use, + But for the sword-sheath now I grieve." + +Then the king gave him the scabbard, observing that the word sword was +wanting in one line of his strophe. "But there instead are three +swords in one of the lines," says Halfred. "That is true," replies the +king.--Out of Halfred's lays we have taken the most of the true and +faithful accounts that are here related about Olaf Trygvason. + + + + +91. THANGBRAND RETURNS FROM ICELAND. + +The same harvest (A.D. 999) Thangbrand the priest came back from Iceland +to King Olaf, and told the ill success of his journey; namely, that the +Icelanders had made lampoons about him; and that some even sought to +kill him, and there was little hope of that country ever being made +Christian. King Olaf was so enraged at this, that he ordered all the +Icelanders to be assembled by sound of horn, and was going to kill all +who were in the town, but Kjartan, Gissur, and Hjalte, with the other +Icelanders who had become Christians, went to him, and said, "King, +thou must not fail from thy word--that however much any man may irritate +thee, thou wilt forgive him if he turn from heathenism and become +Christian. All the Icelanders here are willing to be baptized; and +through them we may find means to bring Christianity into Iceland: for +there are many amongst them, sons of considerable people in Iceland, +whose friends can advance the cause; but the priest Thangbrand proceeded +there as he did here in the court, with violence and manslaughter, and +such conduct the people there would not submit to." The king harkened +to those remonstrances; and all the Iceland men who were there were +baptized. + + + + +92. OF KING OLAF'S FEATS. + +King Olaf was more expert in all exercises than any man in Norway whose +memory is preserved to us in sagas; and he was stronger and more agile +than most men, and many stories are written down about it. One is that +he ascended the Smalsarhorn, and fixed his shield upon the very peak. +Another is, that one of his followers had climbed up the peak after him, +until he came to where he could neither get up nor down; but the king +came to his help, climbed up to him, took him under his arm, and bore +him to the flat ground. King Olaf could run across the oars outside of +the vessel while his men were rowing the Serpent. He could play with +three daggers, so that one was always in the air, and he took the one +falling by the handle. He could walk all round upon the ship's rails, +could strike and cut equally well with both hands, and could cast two +spears at once. King Olaf was a very merry frolicsome man; gay and +social; was very violent in all respects; was very generous; was very +finical in his dress, but in battle he exceeded all in bravery. He was +distinguished for cruelty when he was enraged, and tortured many of his +enemies. Some he burnt in fire; some he had torn in pieces by mad +dogs; some he had mutilated, or cast down from high precipices. On this +account his friends were attached to him warmly, and his enemies +feared him greatly; and thus he made such a fortunate advance in his +undertakings, for some obeyed his will out of the friendliest zeal, and +others out of dread. + + + + +93. BAPTISM OF LEIF EIRIKSON. + +Leif, a son of Eirik the Red, who first settled in Greenland, came this +summer (A.D. 999) from Greenland to Norway; and as he met King Olaf he +adopted Christianity, and passed the winter (A.D. 1000) with the king. + + + + +94. FALL OF KING GUDROD. + +Gudrod, a son of Eirik Bloodaxe and Gunhild, had been ravaging in the +west countries ever since he fled from Norway before the Earl Hakon. But +the summer before mentioned (A.D. 999), where King Olaf Trygvason had +ruled four years over Norway, Gudrod came to the country, and had many +ships of war with him. He had sailed from England; and when he thought +himself near to the Norway coast, he steered south along the land, to +the quarter where it was least likely King Olaf would be. Gudrod sailed +in this way south to Viken; and as soon as he came to the land he began +to plunder, to subject the people to him, and to demand that they should +accept of him as king. Now as the country people saw that a great army +was come upon them, they desired peace and terms. They offered King +Gudrod to send a Thing-message over all the country, and to accept of +him at the Thing as king, rather than suffer from his army; but +they desired delay until a fixed day, while the token of the Thing's +assembling was going round through the land. The king demanded +maintenance during the time this delay lasted. The bondes preferred +entertaining the king as a guest, by turns, as long as he required it; +and the king accepted of the proposal to go about with some of his men +as a guest from place to place in the land, while others of his men +remained to guard the ships. When King Olaf's relations, Hyrning and +Thorgeir, heard of this, they gathered men, fitted out ships, and went +northwards to Viken. They came in the night with their men to a place at +which King Gudrod was living as a guest, and attacked him with fire and +weapons; and there King Gudrod fell, and most of his followers. Of those +who were with his ships some were killed, some slipped away and fled to +great distances; and now were all the sons of Eirik and Gunhild dead. + + + + +95. BUILDING OF THE SHIP LONG SERPENT. + +The winter after, King Olaf came from Halogaland (A.D. 1000), he had a +great vessel built at Hladhamrar, which was larger than any ship in the +country, and of which the beam-knees are still to be seen. The length of +keel that rested upon the grass was seventy-four ells. Thorberg Skafhog +was the man's name who was the master-builder of the ship; but there +were many others besides,--some to fell wood, some to shape it, some to +make nails, some to carry timber; and all that was used was of the best. +The ship was both long and broad and high-sided, and strongly timbered. + +While they were planking the ship, it happened that Thorberg had to go +home to his farm upon some urgent business; and as he remained there a +long time, the ship was planked up on both sides when he came back. In +the evening the king went out, and Thorberg with him, to see how the +vessel looked, and everybody said that never was seen so large and so +beautiful a ship of war. Then the king returned to the town. Early next +morning the king returns again to the ship, and Thorberg with him. The +carpenters were there before them, but all were standing idle with their +arms across. The king asked, "what was the matter?" They said the ship +was destroyed; for somebody had gone from, stem to stern, and cut one +deep notch after the other down the one side of the planking. When the +king came nearer he saw it was so, and said, with an oath, "The man +shall die who has thus destroyed the vessel out of envy, if he can be +discovered, and I shall bestow a great reward on whoever finds him out." + +"I can tell you, king," said Thorberg, "who has done this piece of +work."-- + +"I don't think," replies the king, "that any one is so likely to find it +out as thou art." + +Thorberg says, "I will tell you, king, who did it. I did it myself." + +The king says, "Thou must restore it all to the same condition as +before, or thy life shall pay for it." + +Then Thorberg went and chipped the planks until the deep notches were +all smoothed and made even with the rest; and the king and all present +declared that the ship was much handsomer on the side of the hull which +Thorberg, had chipped, and bade him shape the other side in the same +way; and gave him great thanks for the improvement. Afterwards Thorberg +was the master builder of the ship until she was entirely finished. +The ship was a dragon, built after the one the king had captured +in Halogaland; but this ship was far larger, and more carefully put +together in all her parts. The king called this ship Serpent the Long, +and the other Serpent the Short. The long Serpent had thirty-four +benches for rowers. The head and the arched tail were both gilt, and the +bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. This ship was the best and +most costly ship ever made in Norway. + + + + +96. EARL EIRIK, THE SON OF HAKON. + +Earl Eirik, the son of Earl Hakon, and his brothers, with many other +valiant men their relations, had left the country after Earl Hakon's +fall. Earl Eirik went eastwards to Svithjod, to Olaf, the Swedish king, +and he and his people were well received. King Olaf gave the earl peace +and freedom in the land, and great fiefs; so that he could support +himself and his men well. Thord Kolbeinson speaks of this in the verses +before given. Many people who fled from the country on account of King +Olaf Trygvason came out of Norway to Earl Eirik; and the earl resolved +to fit out ships and go a-cruising, in order to get property for himself +and his people. First he steered to Gotland, and lay there long in +summer watching for merchant vessels sailing towards the land, or for +vikings. Sometimes he landed and ravaged all round upon the sea-coasts. +So it is told in the "Banda-drapa":-- + + "Eirik, as we have lately heard, + Has waked the song of shield and sword-- + Has waked the slumbering storm of shields + Upon the vikings' water-fields: + From Gotland's lonely shore has gone + Far up the land, and battles won: + And o'er the sea his name is spread, + To friends a shield, to foes a dread." + +Afterwards Earl Eirik sailed south to Vindland, and at Stauren found +some viking ships, and gave them battle. Eirik gained the victory, and +slew the vikings. So it is told in the "Banda-drapa":-- + + "Earl Eirik, he who stoutly wields + The battle-axe in storm of shields, + With his long ships surprised the foe + At Stauren, and their strength laid low + Many a corpse floats round the shore; + The strand with dead is studded o'er: + The raven tears their sea-bleached skins-- + The land thrives well when Eirik wins." + + + + +97. EIRIK'S FORAY ON THE BALTIC COASTS. + +Earl Eirik sailed back to Sweden in autumn, and staid there all winter +(A.D. 997); but in the spring fitted out his war force again, and sailed +up the Baltic. When he came to Valdemar's dominions he began to plunder +and kill the inhabitants, and burn the dwellings everywhere as he +came along, and to lay waste the country. He came to Aldeigiuburg, and +besieged it until he took the castle; and he killed many people, broke +down and burned the castle, and then carried destruction all around far +and wide in Gardarike. So it is told in the "Banda-drapa":-- + + "The generous earl, brave and bold, + Who scatters his bright shining gold, + Eirik with fire-scattering hand, + Wasted the Russian monarch's land,-- + With arrow-shower, and storm of war, + Wasted the land of Valdemar. + Aldeiga burns, and Eirik's might + Scours through all Russia by its light." + +Earl Eirik was five years in all on this foray; and when he returned +from Gardarike he ravaged all Adalsysla and Eysysla, and took there four +viking ships from the Danes and killed every man on board. So it is told +in the "Banda-drapa":-- + + "Among the isles flies round the word, + That Eirik's blood-devouring sword + Has flashed like fire in the sound, + And wasted all the land around. + And Eirik too, the bold in fight, + Has broken down the robber-might + Of four great vikings, and has slain + All of the crew--nor spared one Dane. + In Gautland he has seized the town, + In Syssels harried up and down; + And all the people in dismay + Fled to the forests far away. + By land or sea, in field or wave, + What can withstand this earl brave? + All fly before his fiery hand-- + God save the earl, and keep the land." + +When Eirik had been a year in Sweden he went over to Denmark (A.D. 996) +to King Svein Tjuguskeg, the Danish king, and courted his daughter Gyda. +The proposal was accepted, and Earl Eirik married Gyda; and a year after +(A.D. 997) they had a son, who was called Hakon. Earl Eirik was in +the winter in Denmark, or sometimes in Sweden; but in summer he went +a-cruising. + + + + +98. KING SVEIN'S MARRIAGE. + +The Danish king, Svein Tjuguskeg, was married to Gunhild, a daughter +of Burizleif, king of the Vinds. But in the times we have just been +speaking of it happened that Queen Gunhild fell sick and died. Soon +after King Svein married Sigrid the Haughty, a daughter of Skoglartoste, +and mother of the Swedish king Olaf; and by means of this relationship +there was great friendship between the kings and Earl Eirik, Hakon's +son. + + + + +99. KING BURIZLEIF'S MARRIAGE. + +Burizleif, the king of the Vinds, complained to his relation Earl +Sigvalde, that the agreement was broken which Sigvalde had made between +King Svein and King Burizleif, by which Burizleif was to get in marriage +Thyre, Harald's daughter, a sister of King Svein: but that marriage had +not proceeded, for Thyre had given positive no to the proposal to marry +her to an old and heathen king. "Now," said King Burizleif to Earl +Sigvalde, "I must have the promise fulfilled." And he told Earl Sigvalde +to go to Denmark, and bring him Thyre as his queen. Earl Sigvalde loses +no time, but goes to King Svein of Denmark, explains to him the case; +and brings it so far by his persuasion, that the king delivered his +sister Thyre into his hands. With her went some female attendants, and +her foster-father, by name Ozur Agason, a man of great power, and some +other people. In the agreement between the king and the earl, it was +settled that Thyre should have in property the possessions which Queen +Gunhild had enjoyed in Vindland, besides other great properties as +bride-gifts. Thyre wept sorely, and went very unwillingly. When the +earl came to Vindland, Burizleif held his wedding with Queen Thyre, +and received her in marriage; bus as long as she was among heathens she +would neither eat nor drink with them, and this lasted for seven days. + + + + +100. OLAF GETS THYRE IN MARRIAGE. + +It happened one night that Queen Thyre and Ozur ran away in the dark, +and into the woods, and, to be short in our story, came at last to +Denmark. But here Thyre did not dare to remain, knowing that if her +brother King Svein heard of her, he would send her back directly to +Vindland. She went on, therefore, secretly to Norway, and never stayed +her journey until she fell in with King Olaf, by whom she was kindly +received. Thyre related to the king her sorrows, and entreated +his advice in her need, and protection in his kingdom. Thyre was a +well-spoken woman, and the king had pleasure in her conversation. He saw +she was a handsome woman, and it came into his mind that she would be a +good match; so he turns the conversation that way, and asks if she will +marry him. Now, as she saw that her situation was such that she could +not help herself, and considered what a luck it was for her to marry so +celebrated a man, she bade him to dispose himself of her hand and fate; +and, after nearer conversation, King Olaf took Thyre in marriage. This +wedding was held in harvest after the king returned from Halogaland +(A.D. 999), and King Olaf and Queen Thyre remained all winter (A.D. +1000) at Nidaros. + +The following spring Queen Thyre complained often to King Olaf, and wept +bitterly over it, that she who had so great property in Vindland had no +goods or possessions here in the country that were suitable for a queen; +and sometimes she would entreat the king with fine words to get her +property restored to her, and saying that King Burizleif was so great +a friend of King Olaf that he would not deny King Olaf anything if they +were to meet. But when King Olaf's friends heard of such speeches, they +dissuaded him from any such expedition. It is related at the king one +day early in spring was walking in the street, and met a man in the +market with many, and, for that early season, remarkably large angelica +roots. The king took a great stalk of the angelica in his hand, and went +home to Queen Thyre's lodging. Thyre sat in her room weeping as the king +came in. The king said, "Set here, queen, is a great angelica stalk, +which I give thee." She threw it away, and said, "A greater present +Harald Gormson gave to my mother; and he was not afraid to go out of the +land and take his own. That was shown when he came here to Norway, and +laid waste the greater part of the land, and seized on all the scat and +revenues; and thou darest not go across the Danish dominions for this +brother of mine, King Svein." As she spoke thus, King Olaf sprang up, +and answered with loud oath, "Never did I fear thy brother King Svein; +and if we meet he shall give way before me!" + + + + +101. OLAF'S LEVY FOR WAR. + +Soon after the king convoked a Thing in the town, and proclaimed to all +the public, that in summer would go abroad upon an expedition out of the +country, and would raise both ships and men from every district; and at +the same time fixed how many ships would have from the whole Throndhjem +fjord. Then he sent his message-token south and north, both along the +sea-coast and up in the interior of the country, to let an army be +gathered. The king ordered the Long Serpent to be put into the water, +along with all his other ships both small and great. He himself steered +the Long Serpent. When the crews were taken out for the ships, they were +so carefully selected that no man on board the Long Serpent was older +than sixty or younger than twenty years, and all were men distinguished +for strength and courage. Those who were Olaf's bodyguard were in +particular chosen men, both of the natives and of foreigners, and the +boldest and strongest. + + + + +102. CREW ON BOARD OF THE LONG SERPENT. + +Ulf the Red was the name of the man who bore King Olaf's banner, and +was in the forecastle of the Long Serpent; and with him was Kolbjorn the +marshal, Thorstein Uxafot, and Vikar of Tiundaland, a brother of Arnliot +Gelline. By the bulkhead next the forecastle were Vak Raumason from Gaut +River, Berse the Strong, An Skyte from Jamtaland, Thrand the Strong from +Thelamork, and his brother Uthyrmer. Besides these were, of Halogaland +men, Thrand Skjalge and Ogmund Sande, Hlodver Lange from Saltvik, +and Harek Hvasse; together with these Throndhjem men--Ketil the High, +Thorfin Eisle, Havard and his brothers from Orkadal. The following were +in the fore-hold: Bjorn from Studla, Bork from the fjords. Thorgrim +Thjodolfson from Hvin, Asbjorn and Orm, Thord from Njardarlog, Thorstein +the White from Oprustadar, Arnor from More, Halstein and Hauk from the +Fjord district, Eyvind Snak, Bergthor Bestil, Halkel from Fialer, Olaf +Dreng, Arnfin from Sogn, Sigurd Bild, Einar from Hordaland, and Fin, and +Ketil from Rogaland and Grjotgard the Brisk. The following were in the +hold next the mast: Einar Tambaskelfer, who was not reckoned as fully +experienced, being only eighteen years old; Thorstein Hlifarson, +Thorolf, Ivar Smetta, and Orm Skogarnef. Many other valiant men were +in the Serpent, although we cannot tell all their names. In every half +division of the hold were eight men, and each and all chosen men; and in +the fore-hold were thirty men. It was a common saying among people, that +the Long Serpent's crew was as distinguished for bravery, strength, and +daring, among other men, as the Long Serpent was distinguished among +other ships. Thorkel Nefja, the king's brother, commanded the Short +Serpent; and Thorkel Dydril and Jostein, the king's mother's brothers, +had the Crane; and both these ships were well manned. King Olaf had +eleven large ships from Throndhjem, besides vessels with twenty rowers' +benches, smaller vessels, and provision-vessels. + + + + +103. ICELAND BAPTIZED. + +When King Olaf had nearly rigged out his fleet in Nidaros, he appointed +men over the Throndhjem country in all districts and communities. He +also sent to Iceland Gissur the White and Hjalte Skeggjason, to proclaim +Christianity there; and sent with them a priest called Thormod, along +with several men in holy orders. But he retained with him, as hostages, +four Icelanders whom he thought the most important; namely, Kjartan +Olafson, Haldor Gudmundson, Kolbein Thordson, and Sverting Runolfson. +Of Gissur and Hjalte's progress, it is related that they came to +Iceland before the Althing, and went to the Thing; and in that Thing +Christianity was introduced by law into Iceland, and in the course of +the summer all the people were baptized (A.D. 1000). + + + + +104. GREENLAND BAPTIZED + +The same spring King Olaf also sent Leif Eirikson (A.D. 1000) to +Greenland to proclaim Christianity there, and Leif went there that +summer. In the ocean he took up the crew of a ship which had been lost, +and who were clinging to the wreck. He also found Vinland the Good; +arrived about harvest in Greenland; and had with him for it a priest and +other teachers, with whom he went to Brattahild to lodge with his father +Eirik. People called him afterwards Leif the Lucky: but his father Eirik +said that his luck and ill luck balanced each other; for if Leif had +saved a wreck in the ocean, he had brought a hurtful person with him to +Greenland, and that was the priest. + + + + +105. RAGNVALD SENDS MESSENGERS TO OLAF. + +The winter after King Olaf had baptized Halogaland, he and Queen Thyre +were in Nidaros; and the summer before Queen Thyre had brought King Olaf +a boy child, which was both stout and promising, and was called +Harald, after its mother's father. The king and queen loved the infant +exceedingly, and rejoiced in the hope that it would grow up and inherit +after its father; but it lived barely a year after its birth, which both +took much to heart. In that winter were many Icelanders and other clever +men in King Olaf's house, as before related. His sister Ingebjorg, +Trygve's daughter, King Olaf's sister, was also at the court at that +time. She was beautiful in appearance, modest and frank with the people, +had a steady manly judgment, and was beloved of all. She was very fond +of the Icelanders who were there, but most of Kjartan Olafson, for he +had been longer than the others in the king's house; and he found it +always amusing to converse with her, for she had both understanding and +cleverness in talk. The king was always gay and full of mirth in his +intercourse with people; and often asked about the manners of the +great men and chiefs in the neighbouring countries, when strangers +from Denmark or Sweden came to see him. The summer before Halfred +Vandredaskald had come from Gautland, where he had been with Earl +Ragnvald, Ulf's son, who had lately come to the government of West +Gautland. Ulf, Ragnvald's father, was a brother of Sigurd the Haughty; +so that King Olaf the Swede and Earl Ragnvald were brother's and +sister's children. Halfred told Olaf many things about the earl: he said +he was an able chief, excellently fitted for governing, generous with +money, brave and steady in friendship. Halfred said also the earl +desired much the friendship of King Olaf, and had spoken of making court +Ingebjorg, Trygve's daughter. The same winter came ambassadors from +Gautland, and fell in with King Olaf in the north, in Nidaros, and +brought the message which Halfred had spoken of,--that the earl desired +to be King Olaf's entire friend, and wished to become his brother-in-law +by obtaining his sister Ingebjorg in marriage. Therewith the ambassadors +laid before the king sufficient tokens in proof that in reality they +came from the earl on this errand. The king listened with approbation +to their speech; but said that Ingebjorg must determine on his assent to +the marriage. The king then talked to his sister about the matter, and +asked her opinion about it. She answered to this effect,--"I have been +with you for some time, and you have shown brotherly care and tender +respect for me ever since you came to the country. I will agree +therefore to your proposal about my marriage, provided that you do not +marry me to a heathen man." The king said it should be as she wished. +The king then spoke to the ambassadors; and it was settled before they +departed that in summer Earl Ragnvald should meet the king in the east +parts of the country, to enter into the fullest friendship with each +other, and when they met they would settle about the marriage. With this +reply the earl's messengers went westward, and King Olaf remained all +winter in Nidaros in great splendour, and with many people about him. + + + + +106. OLAF SENDS EXPEDITION TO VINDLAND. + +King Olaf proceeded in summer with his ships and men southwards along +the land (and past Stad. With him were Queen Thyre and Ingebjorg, +Trygveis daughter, the king's sister). Many of his friends also joined +him, and other persons of consequence who had prepared themselves to +travel with the king. The first man among these was his brother-in-law, +Erling Skjalgson, who had with him a large ship of thirty benches of +rowers, and which was in every respect well equipt. His brothers-in-law +Hyrning and Thorgeir also joined him, each of whom for himself steered +a large vessel; and many other powerful men besides followed him. (With +all this war-force he sailed southwards along the land; but when he +came south as far as Rogaland he stopped there, for Erling Skjalgson had +prepared for him a splendid feast at Sole. There Earl Ragnvald, Ulf's +son, from Gautland, came to meet the king, and to settle the business +which had been proposed in winter in the messages between them, namely, +the marriage with Ingebjorg the king's sister. Olaf received him kindly; +and when the matter came to be spoken of, the king said he would keep +his word, and marry his sister Ingebjorg to him, provided he would +accept the true faith, and make all his subjects he ruled over in his +land be baptized; The earl agreed to this, and he and all his followers +were baptized. Now was the feast enlarged that Erling had prepared, for +the earl held his wedding there with Ingebjorg the king's sister. King +Olaf had now married off all his sisters. The earl, with Ingebjorg, set +out on his way home; and the king sent learned men with him to baptize +the people in Gautland, and to teach them the right faith and morals. +The king and the earl parted in the greatest friendship.) + + + + +107. OLAF'S EXPEDITION VINDLAND. + +(After his sister Ingebjorg's wedding, the king made ready in all haste +to leave the country with his army, which was both great and made up +of fine men.) When he left the land and sailed southwards he had sixty +ships of war, with which he sailed past Denmark, and in through the +Sound, and on to Vindland. He appointed a meeting with King Burizleif; +and when the kings met, they spoke about the property which King Olaf +demanded, and the conference went off peaceably, as a good account was +given of the properties which King Olaf thought himself entitled to +there. He passed here much of the summer, and found many of his old +friends. + + + + +108. CONSPIRACY AGAINST KING OLAF. + +The Danish king, Svein Tjuguskeg, was married, as before related, to +Sigrid the Haughty. Sigrid was King Olaf Trygvason's greatest enemy; the +cause of which, as before said, was that King Olaf had broken off with +her, and had struck her in the face. She urged King Svein much to give +battle to King Olaf Trygvason; saying that he had reason enough, as +Olaf had married his sister Thyre without his leave, "and that your +predecessors would not have submitted to." Such persuasions Sigrid +had often in her mouth; and at last she brought it so far that Svein +resolved firmly on doing so. Early in spring King Svein sent messengers +eastward into Svithjod, to his son-in-law Olaf, the Swedish king, and to +Earl Eirik; and informed them that King Olaf of Norway was levying men +for an expedition, and intended in summer to go to Vindland. To this +news the Danish king added an invitation to the Swedish king and Earl +Eirik to meet King Svein with an army, so that all together they might +make an attack; on King Olaf Trygvason. The Swedish king and Earl Eirik +were ready enough for this, and immediately assembled a great fleet +and an army through all Svithjod, with which they sailed southwards to +Denmark, and arrived there after King Olaf Trygvason had sailed to +the eastward. Haldor the Unchristian tells of this in his lay on Earl +Eirik:-- + + "The king-subduer raised a host + Of warriors on the Swedish coast. + The brave went southwards to the fight, + Who love the sword-storm's gleaming light; + The brave, who fill the wild wolf's mouth, + Followed bold Eirik to the south; + The brave, who sport in blood--each one + With the bold earl to sea is gone." + +The Swedish king and Earl Eirik sailed to meet the Danish king, and they +had all, when together, an immense force. + + + + +109. EARL SIGVALDE'S TREACHEROUS PLANS. + +At the same time that king Svein sent a message to Svithjod for an +army, he sent Earl Sigvalde to Vindland to spy out King Olaf Trygvason's +proceedings, and to bring it about by cunning devices that King Svein +and King Olaf should fall in with each other. So Sigvalde sets out to +go to Vindland. First, he came to Jomsborg, and then he sought out King +Olaf Trygvason. There was much friendship in their conversation, and +the earl got himself into great favour with the king. Astrid, the +Earl's wife, King Burizleif's daughter, was a great friend of King Olaf +Trygvason, particularly on account of the connection which had been +between them when Olaf was married to her sister Geira. Earl Sigvalde +was a prudent, ready-minded man; and as he had got a voice in King +Olaf's council, he put him off much from sailing homewards, finding +various reasons for delay. Olaf's people were in the highest degree +dissatisfied with this; for the men were anxious to get home, and they +lay ready to sail, waiting only for a wind. At last Earl Sigvalde got +a secret message from Denmark that the Swedish king's army was arrived +from the east, and that Earl Eirik's also was ready; and that all these +chiefs had resolved to sail eastwards to Vindland, and wait for King +Olaf at an island which is called Svold. They also desired the earl to +contrive matters so that they should meet King Olaf there. + + + + +110. KING OLAF'S VOYAGE FROM VINDLAND. + +There came first a flying report to Vindland that the Danish king, +Svein, had fitted out an army; and it was soon whispered that he +intended to attack King Olaf. But Earl Sigvalde says to King Olaf, "It +never can be King Svein's intention to venture with the Danish force +alone, to give battle to thee with such a powerful army; but if thou +hast any suspicion that evil is on foot, I will follow thee with my +force (at that time it was considered a great matter to have Jomsborg +vikings with an army), and I will give thee eleven well-manned ships." +The king accepted this offer; and as the light breeze of wind that +came was favourable, he ordered the ships to get under weigh, and the +war-horns to sound the departure. The sails were hoisted and all the +small vessels, sailing fastest, got out to sea before the others. The +earl, who sailed nearest to the king's ship, called to those on board to +tell the king to sail in his keel-track: "For I know where the water +is deepest between the islands and in the sounds, and these large ships +require the deepest." Then the earl sailed first with his eleven ships, +and the king followed with his large ships, also eleven in number; but +the whole of the rest of the fleet sailed out to sea. Now when Earl +Sigvalde came sailing close under the island Svold, a skiff rowed out +to inform the earl that the Danish king's army was lying in the harbour +before them. Then the earl ordered the sails of his vessels to be +struck, and they rowed in under the island. Haldor the Unchristian +says:-- + + "From out the south bold Trygve's son + With one-and-seventy ships came on, + To dye his sword in bloody fight, + Against the Danish foeman's might. + But the false earl the king betrayed; + And treacherous Sigvalde, it is said, + Deserted from King Olaf's fleet, + And basely fled, the Danes to meet." + +It is said here that King Olaf and Earl Sigvalde had seventy sail of +vessels: and one more, when they sailed from the south. + + + + +111. CONSULTATION OF THE KINGS. + +The Danish King Svein, the Swedish King Olaf, and Earl Eirik, were there +with all their forces (1000). The weather being fine and clear sunshine, +all these chiefs, with a great suite, went out on the isle to see the +vessels sailing out at sea, and many of them crowded together; and they +saw among them one large and glancing ship. The two kings said, "That is +a large and very beautiful vessel: that will be the Long Serpent." + +Earl Eirik replied, "That is not the Long Serpent." And he was right; +for it was the ship belonging to Eindride of Gimsar. + +Soon after they saw another vessel coming sailing along much larger than +the first; then says King Svein, "Olaf Trygvason must be afraid, for +he does not venture to sail with the figure-head of the dragon upon his +ship." + +Says Earl Eirik, "That is not the king's ship yet; for I know that +ship by the coloured stripes of cloth in her sail. That is Erling +Skialgson's. Let him sail; for it is the better for us that the ship is +away from Olaf's fleet, so well equipt as she is." + +Soon after they saw and knew Earl Sigvalde's ships, which turned in and +laid themselves under the island. Then they saw three ships coming along +under sail, and one of them very large. King Svein ordered his men to go +to their ships, "for there comes the Long Serpent." + +Earl Eirik says, "Many other great and stately vessels have they besides +the Long Serpent. Let us wait a little." + +Then said many, "Earl Eirik will not fight and avenge his father; and it +is a great shame that it should be told that we lay here with so great a +force, and allowed King Olaf to sail out to sea before our eyes." + +But when they had spoken thus for a short time, they saw four ships +coming sailing along, of which one had a large dragon-head richly gilt. +Then King Svein stood up and said, "That dragon shall carry me this +evening high, for I shall steer it." + +Then said many, "The Long Serpent is indeed a wonderfully large and +beautiful vessel, and it shows a great mind to have built such a ship." + +Earl Eirik said so loud that several persons heard him, "If King Olaf +had no ether vessels but only that one, King Svein would never take it +from him with the Danish force alone." + +Thereafter all the people rushed on board their ships, took down the +tents, and in all haste made ready for battle. + +While the chiefs were speaking among themselves as above related, they +saw three very large ships coming sailing along, and at last after them +a fourth, and that was the Long Serpent. Of the large ships which had +gone before, and which they had taken for the Long Serpent, the first +was the Crane; the one after that was the Short Serpent; and when they +really, saw the Long Serpent, all knew, and nobody had a word to say +against it, that it must be Olaf Trygvason who was sailing in such a +vessel; and they went to their ships to arm for the fight. + +An agreement had been concluded among the chiefs, King Svein, King Olaf +the Swede, and Earl Eirik, that they should divide Norway among them in +three parts, in case they succeeded against Olaf Trygvason; but that he +of the chiefs who should first board the Serpent should have her, and +all the booty found in her, and each should have the ships he cleared +for himself. Earl Eirik had a large ship of war which he used upon his +viking expeditions; and there was an iron beard or comb above on both +sides of the stem, and below it a thick iron plate as broad as the +combs, which went down quite to the gunnel. + + + + +112. OF KING OLAF'S PEOPLE. + +When Earl Sigvalde with his vessels rowed in under the island, Thorkel +Dydril of the Crane, and the other ship commanders who sailed with him, +saw that he turned his ships towards the isle, and thereupon let fall +the sails, and rowed after him, calling out, and asking why he sailed +that way. The Earl answered, that he was waiting for king Olaf, as he +feared there were enemies in the water. They lay upon their oars until +Thorkel Nefia came up with the Short Serpent and the three ships which +followed him. When they told them the same they too struck sail, and +let the ships drive, waiting for king Olaf. But when the king sailed in +towards the isle, the whole enemies' fleet came rowing within them out +to the Sound. When they saw this they begged the king to hold on his +way, and not risk battle with so great a force. The king replied, high +on the quarter-deck where he stood, "Strike the sails; never shall men +of mine think of flight. I never fled from battle. Let God dispose of my +life, but flight I shall never take." It was done as the king commanded. +Halfred tells of it thus:-- + + "And far and wide the saying bold + Of the brave warrior shall be told. + The king, in many a fray well tried, + To his brave champions round him cried, + 'My men shall never learn from me + From the dark weapon-cloud to flee.' + Nor were the brave words spoken then + Forgotten by his faithful men." + + + + +113. OLAF'S SHIPS PREPARED FOR BATTLE. + +King Olaf ordered the war-horns to sound for all his ships to close up +to each other. The king's ship lay in the middle of the line, and on +one side lay the Little Serpent, and on the other the Crane; and as they +made fast the stems together (1), the Long Serpent's stem and the short +Serpent's were made fast together; but when the king saw it he called +out to his men, and ordered them to lay the larger ship more in advance, +so that its stern should not lie so far behind in the fleet. + +Then says Ulf the Red, "If the Long Serpent is to lie as much more ahead +of the other ships as she is longer than them, we shall have hard work +of it here on the forecastle." + +The king replies, "I did not think I had a forecastle man afraid as well +as red." + +Says Ulf, "Defend thou the quarterdeck as I shall the forecastle." + +The king had a bow in his hands, and laid an arrow on the string, and +aimed at Ulf. + +Ulf said, "Shoot another way, king, where it is more needful: my work is +thy gain." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The mode of fighting in sea battles appears, from this and + many other descriptions, to have been for each party to bind + together the stems and sterns of their own ships, forming + them thus into a compact body as soon as the fleets came + within fighting distance, or within spears' throw. They + appear to have fought principally from the forecastles; and + to have used grappling irons for dragging a vessel out of + the line, or within boarding distance.--L. + + + + +114. OF KING OLAF. + +King Olaf stood on the Serpent's quarterdeck, high over the others. He +had a gilt shield, and a helmet inlaid with gold; over his armour he had +a short red coat, and was easy to be distinguished from other men. When +King Olaf saw that the scattered forces of the enemy gathered themselves +together under the banners of their ships, he asked, "Who is the chief +of the force right opposite to us?" + +He was answered, that it was King Svein with the Danish army. + +The king replies, "We are not afraid of these soft Danes, for there is +no bravery in them; but who are the troops on the right of the Danes?" + +He was answered, that it was King Olaf with the Swedish forces. + +"Better it were," says King Olaf, "for these Swedes to be sitting at +home killing their sacrifices, than to be venturing under our weapons +from the Long Serpent. But who owns the large ships on the larboard side +of the Danes?" + +"That is Earl Eirik Hakonson," say they. + +The king replies, "He, methinks, has good reason for meeting us; and we +may expect the sharpest conflict with these men, for they are Norsemen +like ourselves." + + + + +115. THE BATTLE BEGINS. + +The kings now laid out their oars, and prepared to attack (A.D. 1000). +King Svein laid his ship against the Long Serpent. Outside of him Olaf +the Swede laid himself, and set his ship's stern against the outermost +ship of King Olaf's line; and on the other side lay Earl Eirik. Then a +hard combat began. Earl Sigvalde held back with the oars on his ships, +and did not join the fray. So says Skule Thorsteinson, who at that time +was with Earl Eirik:-- + + "I followed Sigvalde in my youth, + And gallant Eirik, and in truth + The' now I am grown stiff and old, + In the spear-song I once was bold. + Where arrows whistled on the shore + Of Svold fjord my shield I bore, + And stood amidst the loudest clash + When swords on shields made fearful crash." + +And Halfred also sings thus:-- + + "In truth I think the gallant king, + Midst such a foemen's gathering, + Would be the better of some score + Of his tight Throndhjem lads, or more; + For many a chief has run away, + And left our brave king in the fray, + Two great kings' power to withstand, + And one great earl's, with his small band, + The king who dares such mighty deed + A hero for his skald would need." + + + + +116. FLIGHT OF SVEIN AND OLAF THE SWEDE. + +This battle was one of the severest told of, and many were the people +slain. The forecastle men of the Long Serpent, the Little Serpent, and +the Crane, threw grapplings and stem chains into King Svein's ship, and +used their weapons well against the people standing below them, for they +cleared the decks of all the ships they could lay fast hold of; and +King Svein, and all the men who escaped, fled to other vessels, and laid +themselves out of bow-shot. It went with this force just as King Olaf +Trygvason had foreseen. Then King Olaf the Swede laid himself in their +place; but when he came near the great ships it went with him as with +them, for he lost many men and some ships, and was obliged to get away. +But Earl Eirik laid his ship side by side with the outermost of King +Olaf's ships, thinned it of men, cut the cables, and let it drive. Then +he laid alongside of the next, and fought until he had cleared it of men +also. Now all the people who were in the smaller ships began to run into +the larger, and the earl cut them loose as fast as he cleared them of +men. The Danes and Swedes laid themselves now out of shooting distance +all around Olaf's ship; but Earl Eirik lay always close alongside of the +ships, and used hid swords and battle-axes, and as fast as people fell +in his vessel others, Danes and Swedes, came in their place. So says +Haldor, the Unchristian:-- + + "Sharp was the clang of shield and sword, + And shrill the song of spears on board, + And whistling arrows thickly flew + Against the Serpent's gallant crew. + And still fresh foemen, it is said, + Earl Eirik to her long side led; + Whole armies of his Danes and Swedes, + Wielding on high their blue sword-blades." + +Then the fight became most severe, and many people fell. But at last it +came to this, that all King Olaf Trygvason's ships were cleared of men +except the Long Serpent, on board of which all who could still carry +their arms were gathered. Then Earl Eirik lay with his ship by the side +of the Serpent, and the fight went on with battle-axe and sword. So says +Haldor:-- + + "Hard pressed on every side by foes, + The Serpent reels beneath the blows; + Crash go the shields around the bow! + Breast-plates and breasts pierced thro' and thro! + In the sword-storm the Holm beside, + The earl's ship lay alongside + The king's Long Serpent of the sea-- + Fate gave the earl the victory." + + + + +117. OF EARL EIRIK. + +Earl Eirik was in the forehold of his ship, where a cover of shields (1) +had been set up. In the fight, both hewing weapons, sword, and axe, and +the thrust of spears had been used; and all that could be used as weapon +for casting was cast. Some used bows, some threw spears with the hand. +So many weapons were cast into the Serpent, and so thick flew spears and +arrows, that the shields could scarcely receive them, for on all sides +the Serpent was surrounded by war-ships. Then King Olaf's men became so +mad with rage, that they ran on board of the enemies ships, to get at +the people with stroke of sword and kill them; but many did not lay +themselves so near the Serpent, in order to escape the close encounter +with battle-axe or sword; and thus the most of Olaf's men went overboard +and sank under their weapons, thinking they were fighting on plain +ground. So says Halfred:-- + + "The daring lads shrink not from death;-- + O'erboard they leap, and sink beneath + The Serpent's keel: all armed they leap, + And down they sink five fathoms deep. + The foe was daunted at the cheers; + The king, who still the Serpent steers, + In such a strait--beset with foes-- + Wanted but some more lads like those." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Both in land and sea fights the commanders appear to have + been protected from missile weapons,--stones, arrows, + spears,--by a shieldburg: that is, by a party of men + bearing shields surrounding them in such a way that the + shields were a parapet, covering those within the circle. + The Romans had a similar military arrangement of shields in + sieges--the testudo.--L. + + + + +118. OF EINAR TAMBARSKELVER. + +Einar Tambarskelver, one of the sharpest of bowshooters, stood by the +mast, and shot with his bow. Einar shot an arrow at Earl Eirik, which +hit the tiller end just above the earl's head so hard that it entered +the wood up to the arrow-shaft. The earl looked that way, and asked +if they knew who had shot; and at the same moment another arrow flew +between his hand and his side, and into the stuffing of the chief's +stool, so that the barb stood far out on the other side. Then said the +earl to a man called Fin,--but some say he was of Fin (Laplander) race, +and was a superior archer,--"Shoot that tall man by the mast." Fin shot; +and the arrow hit the middle of Einar's bow just at the moment that +Einar was drawing it, and the bow was split in two parts. + +"What is that," cried King Olaf, "that broke with such a noise?" + +"Norway, king, from thy hands," cried Einar. + +"No! not quite so much as that," says the king; "take my bow, and +shoot," flinging the bow to him. + +Einar took the bow, and drew it over the head of the arrow. "Too weak, +too weak," said he, "for the bow of a mighty king!" and, throwing the +bow aside, he took sword and shield, and fought Valiantly. + + + + +119. OLAF GIVES HIS MEN SHARP SWORDS. + +The king stood on the gangways of the Long Serpent, and shot the greater +part of the day; sometimes with the bow, sometimes with the spear, +and always throwing two spears at once. He looked down over the ship's +sides, and saw that his men struck briskly with their swords, and yet +wounded but seldom. Then he called aloud, "Why do ye strike so gently +that ye seldom cut?" One among the people answered, "The swords are +blunt and full of notches." Then the king went down into the forehold, +opened the chest under the throne, and took out many sharp swords, which +he handed to his men; but as he stretched down his right hand with them, +some observed that blood was running down under his steel glove, but no +one knew where he was wounded. + + + + +120. THE SERPENT BOARDED. + +Desperate was the defence in the Serpent, and there was the heaviest +destruction of men done by the forecastle crew, and those of the +forehold, for in both places the men were chosen men, and the ship was +highest, but in the middle of the ship the people were thinned. Now when +Earl Eirik saw there were but few people remaining beside the ship's +mast, he determined to board; and he entered the Serpent with four +others. Then came Hyrning, the king's brother-in-law, and some others +against him, and there was the most severe combat; and at last the earl +was forced to leap back on board his own ship again, and some who +had accompanied him were killed, and others wounded. Thord Kolbeinson +alludes to this:-- + + "On Odin's deck, all wet with blood, + The helm-adorned hero stood; + And gallant Hyrning honour gained, + Clearing all round with sword deep stained. + The high mountain peaks shall fall, + Ere men forget this to recall." + +Now the fight became hot indeed, and many men fell on board the Serpent; +and the men on board of her began to be thinned off, and the defence to +be weaker. The earl resolved to board the Serpent again, and again he +met with a warm reception. When the forecastle men of the Serpent saw +what he was doing, they went aft and made a desperate fight; but so many +men of the Serpent had fallen, that the ship's sides were in many places +quite bare of defenders; and the earl's men poured in all around into +the vessel, and all the men who were still able to defend the ship +crowded aft to the king, and arrayed themselves for his defence. So says +Haldor the Unchristian:-- + + "Eirik cheers on his men,-- + 'On to the charge again!' + The gallant few + Of Olaf's crew + Must refuge take + On the quarter-deck. + Around the king + They stand in ring; + Their shields enclose + The king from foes, + And the few who still remain + Fight madly, but in vain. + Eirik cheers on his men-- + 'On to the charge again!'" + + + + +121. THE SERPENT'S DECKS CLEARED. + +Kolbjorn the marshal, who had on clothes and arms like the kings, +and was a remarkably stout and handsome man, went up to king on the +quarter-deck. The battle was still going on fiercely even in the +forehold (1). But as many of the earl's men had now got into the Serpent +as could find room, and his ships lay all round her, and few were the +people left in the Serpent for defence against so great a force; and in +a short time most of the Serpent's men fell, brave and stout though they +were. King Olaf and Kolbjorn the marshal both sprang overboard, each on +his own side of the ship; but the earl's men had laid out boats around +the Serpent, and killed those who leaped overboard. Now when the king +had sprung overboard, they tried to seize him with their hands, and +bring him to Earl Eirik; but King Olaf threw his shield over his head, +and sank beneath the waters. Kolbjorn held his shield behind him to +protect himself from the spears cast at him from the ships which lay +round the Serpent, and he fell so upon his shield that it came under +him, so that he could not sink so quickly. He was thus taken and brought +into a boat, and they supposed he was the king. He was brought before +the earl; and when the earl saw it was Kolbjorn, and not the king, he +gave him his life. At the same moment all of King Olaf's men who were +in life sprang overboard from the Serpent; and Thorkel Nefia, the king's +brother, was the last of all the men who sprang overboard. It is thus +told concerning the king by Halfred:-- + + "The Serpent and the Crane + Lay wrecks upon the main. + On his sword he cast a glance,-- + With it he saw no chance. + To his marshal, who of yore + Many a war-chance had come o'er, + He spoke a word--then drew in breath, + And sprang to his deep-sea death." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) From the occasional descriptions of vessels in this and + other battles, it may be inferred that even the Long + Serpent, described in the 95th chapter as of 150 feet of + keel was only docked fore and aft; the thirty-four benches + for rowers occupying the open area in the middle, and + probably gangways running along the side for communicating + from the quarter-deck to the forcastle.--L. + + + + +122. REPORT AMONG THE PEOPLE. + +Earl Sigvalde, as before related, came from Vindland, in company with +King Olaf, with ten ships; but the eleventh ship was manned with the men +of Astrid, the king's daughter, the wife of Earl Sigvalde. Now when King +Olaf sprang overboard, the whole army raised a shout of victory; and +then Earl Sigvalde and his men put their oars in the water and rowed +towards the battle. Haldor the Unchristian tells of it thus:-- + + "Then first the Vindland vessels came + Into the fight with little fame; + The fight still lingered on the wave, + Tho' hope was gone with Olaf brave. + War, like a full-fed ravenous beast, + Still oped her grim jaws for the feast. + The few who stood now quickly fled, + When the shout told--'Olaf is dead!'" + +But the Vindland cutter, in which Astrid's men were, rowed back to +Vindland; and the report went immediately abroad and was told by many, +that King Olaf had cast off his coat-of-mail under water, and had swum, +diving under the longships, until he came to the Vindland cutter, and +that Astrid's men had conveyed him to Vindland: and many tales have been +made since about the adventures of Olaf the king. Halfred speaks thus +about it:-- + + "Does Olaf live? or is he dead? + Has he the hungry ravens fed? + I scarcely know what I should say, + For many tell the tale each way. + This I can say, nor fear to lie, + That he was wounded grievously-- + So wounded in this bloody strife, + He scarce could come away with life." + +But however this may have been, King Olaf Trygvason never came back +again to his kingdom of Norway. Halfred Vandredaskald speaks also thus +about it: + + "The witness who reports this thing + Of Trygvason, our gallant king, + Once served the king, and truth should tell, + For Olaf hated lies like hell. + If Olaf 'scaped from this sword-thing, + Worse fate, I fear, befel our king + Than people guess, or e'er can know, + For he was hemm'd in by the foe. + From the far east some news is rife + Of king sore wounded saving life; + His death, too sure, leaves me no care + For cobweb rumours in the air. + It never was the will of fate + That Olaf from such perilous strait + Should 'scape with life! this truth may grieve-- + 'What people wish they soon believe.'" + + + + +123. OF EARL EIRIK, THE SON OF HAKON. + +By this victory Earl Eirik Hakonson became owner of the Long Serpent, +and made a great booty besides; and he steered the Serpent from the +battle. So says Haldor:-- + + "Olaf, with glittering helmet crowned, + Had steered the Serpent through the Sound; + And people dressed their boats, and cheered + As Olaf's fleet in splendour steered. + But the descendent of great Heming, + Whose race tells many a gallant sea-king, + His blue sword in red life-blood stained, + And bravely Olaf's long ship gained." + +Svein, a son of Earl Hakon, and Earl Eirik's brother, was engaged at +this time to marry Holmfrid, a daughter of King Olaf the Swedish king. +Now when Svein the Danish king, Olaf the Swedish king, and Earl Eirik +divided the kingdom of Norway between them, King Olaf got four districts +in the Throndhjem country, and also the districts of More and Raumsdal; +and in the east part of the land he got Ranrike, from the Gaut river +to Svinasund. Olaf gave these dominions into Earl Svein's hands, on the +same conditions as the sub kings or earls had held them formerly from +the upper-king of the country. Earl Eirik got four districts in the +Throndhjem country, and Halogaland, Naumudal, the Fjord districts, Sogn, +Hordaland, Rogaland, and North Agder, all the way to the Naze. So says +Thord Kolbeinson:-- + + "All chiefs within our land + On Eirik's side now stand: + Erling alone, I know + Remains Earl Eirik's foe. + All praise our generous earl,-- + He gives, and is no churl: + All men are well content + Fate such a chief has sent. + From Veiga to Agder they, + Well pleased, the earl obey; + And all will by him stand, + To guard the Norsemen's land. + And now the news is spread + That mighty Svein is dead, + And luck is gone from those + Who were the Norsemen's foes." + +The Danish king Svein retained Viken as he had held it before, but he +gave Raumarike and Hedemark to Earl Eirik. Svein Hakonson got the title +of earl from Olaf the Swedish king. Svein was one of the handsomest +men ever seen. The earls Eirik and Svein both allowed themselves to +be baptized, and took up the true faith; but as long as they ruled in +Norway they allowed every one to do as he pleased in holding by his +Christianity. But, on the other hand, they held fast by the old laws, +and all the old rights and customs of the land, and were excellent men +and good rulers. Earl Eirik had most to say of the two brothers in all +matters of government. + + + + +SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSON. (1) + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Olaf Haraldson the Saint's Saga is the longest, the most important, and +the most finished of all the sagas in "Heimskringla". The life of Olaf +will be found treated more or less freely in "Agrip", in "Historia +Norvegiae", in "Thjodrek the Monk", in the legendary saga, and in +"Fagrskinna". Other old Norse literature relating to this epoch: + +Are's "Islendingabok", "Landnama", "Kristni Saga", "Biskupa-sogur", +"Njala", "Gunlaugs Saga", "Ormstungu", "Bjarnar Saga Hitdaelakappa", +"Hallfredar Thattr Vandraedaskalde", "Eyrbyggia", "Viga Styrs Saga", +"Laxdaela", "Fostbraedra", "Gretla", "Liosvetninga", "Faereyinga", +"Orkneyinga". + +Olaf Haraldson was born 995, went as a viking at the age of twelve, +1007; visited England, one summer and three winters, 1009-1012; in +France two summers and one winter, 1012-1013; spent the winter in +Normandy, 1014; returned to Norway and was recognized as King, April 3, +1015; fled from Norway the winter of 1028-1029; fell at Stiklestad, July +29 (or August 31), 1030. + +Skalds quoted in this saga are:--Ottar Svarte, Sigvat Skald, Thord +Kolbeinson, Berse Torfason, Brynjolf, Arnor Jarlaskald, Thord Siarekson, +Harek, Thorarin Loftunga, Halvard Hareksblese, Bjarne Gulbraskald, Jokul +Bardson, Thormod Kolbrunarskald, Gissur, Thorfin Mun, Hofgardaref. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) King Olaf the Saint reigned from about the year 1015 to + 1030. The death of King Olaf Trygvason was in the year + 1000: and Earl Eirik held the government for the Danish and + Swedish kings about fifteen years.--L. + + + + +1. OF SAINT OLAF'S BRINGING UP. + +Olaf, Harald Grenske's son, was brought up by his stepfather Sigurd Syr +and his mother Asta. Hrane the Far-travelled lived in the house of +Asta, and fostered this Olaf Haraldson. Olaf came early to manhood, was +handsome in countenance, middle-sized in growth, and was even when very +young of good understanding and ready speech. Sigurd his stepfather was +a careful householder, who kept his people closely to their work, and +often went about himself to inspect his corn-rigs and meadowland, the +cattle, and also the smith-work, or whatsoever his people had on hand to +do. + + + + +2. OF OLAF AND KING SIGURD SYR. + +It happened one day that King Sigurd wanted to ride from home, but there +was nobody about the house; so he told his stepson Olaf to saddle his +horse. Olaf went to the goats' pen, took out the he-goat that was the +largest, led him forth, and put the king's saddle on him, and then went +in and told King Sigurd he had saddled his riding horse. Now when King +Sigurd came out and saw what Olaf had done, he said "It is easy to see +that thou wilt little regard my orders; and thy mother will think +it right that I order thee to do nothing that is against thy own +inclination. I see well enough that we are of different dispositions, +and that thou art far more proud than I am." Olaf answered little, but +went his way laughing. + + + + +3. OF RING OLAF'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS. + +When Olaf Haraldson grew up he was not tall, but middle-sized in height, +although very thick, and of good strength. He had light brown hair, and +a broad face, which was white and red. He had particularly fine eyes, +which were beautiful and piercing, so that one was afraid to look him +in the face when he was angry. Olaf was very expert in all bodily +exercises, understood well to handle his bow, and was distinguished +particularly in throwing his spear by hand: he was a great swimmer, +and very handy, and very exact and knowing in all kinds of smithwork, +whether he himself or others made the thing. He was distinct and acute +in conversation, and was soon perfect in understanding and strength. He +was beloved by his friends and acquaintances, eager in his amusements, +and one who always liked to be the first, as it was suitable he should +be from his birth and dignity. He was called Olaf the Great. + + + + +4. KING OLAF'S WAR EXPEDITION. + +Olaf Haraldson was twelve years old when he, for the first time, went +on board a ship of war (A.D. 1007). His mother Asta got Hrane, who was +called the foster-father of kings, to command a ship of war and take +Olaf under his charge; for Hrane had often been on war expeditions. +When Olaf in this way got a ship and men, the crew gave him the title of +king; for it was the custom that those commanders of troops who were of +kingly descent, on going out upon a viking cruise, received the title of +king immediately although they had no land or kingdom. Hrane sat at the +helm; and some say that Olaf himself was but a common rower, although he +was king of the men-at-arms. They steered east along the land, and came +first to Denmark. So says Ottar Svarte, in his lay which he made about +King Olaf:-- + + "Young was the king when from his home + He first began in ships to roam, + His ocean-steed to ride + To Denmark o'er the tide. + Well exercised art thou in truth-- + In manhood's earnest work, brave youth! + Out from the distant north + Mighty hast thou come forth." + +Towards autumn he sailed eastward to the Swedish dominions, and there +harried and burnt all the country round; for he thought he had good +cause of hostility against the Swedes, as they killed his father Harald. +Ottar Svarte says distinctly that he came from the east, out by way of +Denmark:-- + + "Thy ship from shore to shore, + With many a well-plied car, + Across the Baltic foam is dancing.-- + Shields, and spears, and helms glancing! + Hoist high the swelling sail + To catch the freshening gale! + There's food for the raven-flight + Where thy sail-winged ship shall light; + Thy landing-tread + The people dread; + And the wolf howls for a feast + On the shore-side in the east." + + + + +5. OLAF'S FIRST BATTLE. + +The same autumn Olaf had his first battle at Sotasker, which lies in the +Swedish skerry circle. He fought there with some vikings, whose leader +was Sote. Olaf had much fewer men, but his ships were larger, and he +had his ships between some blind rocks, which made it difficult for the +vikings to get alongside; and Olaf's men threw grappling irons into the +ships which came nearest, drew them up to their own vessels, and cleared +them of men. The vikings took to flight after losing many men. Sigvat +the skald tells of this fight in the lay in which he reckons up King +Olaf's battles:-- + + "They launch his ship where waves are foaming-- + To the sea shore + Both mast and oar, + And sent his o'er the seas a-roaming. + Where did the sea-king first draw blood? + In the battle shock + At Sote's rock; + The wolves howl over their fresh food." + + + + +6. FORAY IN SVITHJOD. + +King Olaf steered thereafter eastwards to Svithjod, and into the Lag +(the Maelar lake), and ravaged the land on both sides. He sailed all +the way up to Sigtuna, and laid his ships close to the old Sigtuna. +The Swedes say the stone-heaps are still to be seen which Olaf had laid +under the ends of the gangways from the shore to the ships. When autumn +was advanced, Olaf Haraldson heard that Olaf the Swedish king was +assembling an army, and also that he had laid iron chains across +Stoksund (the channel between the Maelar lake and the sea), and had laid +troops there; for the Swedish king thought that Olaf Haraldson would +be kept in there till frost came, and he thought little of Olaf's force +knowing he had but few people. Now when King Olaf Haraldson came to +Stoksund he could not get through, as there was a castle west of the +sound, and men-at-arms lay on the south; and he heard that the Swedish +king was come there with a great army and many ships. He therefore dug a +canal across the flat land Agnafit out to the sea. Over all Svithjod all +the running waters fall into the Maelar lake; but the only outlet of it +to the sea is so small that many rivers are wider, and when much rain or +snow falls the water rushes in a great cataract out by Stoksund, and +the lake rises high and floods the land. It fell heavy rain just at +this time; and as the canal was dug out to the sea, the water and stream +rushed into it. Then Olaf had all the rudders unshipped and hoisted all +sail aloft. It was blowing a strong breeze astern, and they steered with +their oars, and the ships came in a rush over all the shallows, and +got into the sea without any damage. Now went the Swedes to their king, +Olaf, and told him that Olaf the Great had slipped out to sea; on which +the king was enraged against those who should have watched that Olaf did +not get away. This passage has since been called King's Sound; but large +vessels cannot pass through it, unless the waters are very high. Some +relate that the Swedes were aware that Olaf had cut across the tongue of +land, and that the water was falling out that way; and they flocked to +it with the intention to hinder Olaf from getting away, but the water +undermined the banks on each side so that they fell in with the people, +and many were drowned: but the Swedes contradict this as a false report, +and deny the loss of people. The king sailed to Gotland in harvest, and +prepared to plunder; but the Gotlanders assembled, and sent men to the +king, offering him a scat. The king found this would suit him, and +he received the scat, and remained there all winter. So says Ottar +Svarte:-- + + "Thou seaman-prince! thy men are paid: + The scat on Gotlanders is laid; + Young man or old + To our seamen bold + Must pay, to save his head: + The Yngling princes fled, + Eysvssel people bled; + Who can't defend the wealth they have + Must die, or share with the rover brave." + + + + +7. THE SECOND BATTLE. + +It is related here that King Olaf, when spring set in, sailed east to +Eysyssel, and landed and plundered; the Eysyssel men came down to the +strand and grave him battle. King Olaf gained the victory, pursued those +who fled, and laid waste the land with fire and sword. It is told that +when King Olaf first came to Eysvssel they offered him scat, and when +the scat was to be brought down to the strand the king came to meet it +with an armed force, and that was not what the bondes there expected; +for they had brought no scat, but only their weapons with which they +fought against the king, as before related. So says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "With much deceit and bustle + To the heath of Eysyssel + The bondes brought the king, + To get scat at their weapon-thing. + But Olaf was too wise + To be taken by surprise; + Their legs scarce bore them off + O'er the common test enough." + + + + +8. THE THIRD BATTLE. + +After this they sailed to Finland and plundered there, and went up the +country. All the people fled to the forest, and they had emptied their +houses of all household goods. The king went far up the country, and +through some woods, and came to some dwellings in a valley called +Herdaler,--where, however, they made but small booty, and saw no people; +and as it was getting late in the day, the king turned back to his +ships. Now when they came into the woods again people rushed upon them +from all quarters, and made a severe attack. The king told his men to +cover themselves with their shields, but before they got out of the +woods he lost many people, and many were wounded; but at last, late +in the evening, he got to the ships. The Finlanders conjured up in the +night, by their witchcraft, a dreadful storm and bad weather on the sea; +but the king ordered the anchors to be weighed and sail hoisted, and +beat off all night to the outside of the land. The king's luck prevailed +more than the Finlanders' witchcraft; for he had the luck to beat round +the Balagard's side in the night, and so got out to sea. But the Finnish +army proceeded on land, making the same progress as the king made with +his ships. So says Sigvat:-- + + "The third fight was at Herdaler, where + The men of Finland met in war + The hero of the royal race, + With ringing sword-blades face to face. + Off Balagard's shore the waves + Ran hollow; but the sea-king saves + His hard-pressed ship, and gains the lee + Of the east coast through the wild sea." + + + + +9. THE FOURTH BATTLE IN SUDERVIK. + +King Olaf sailed from thence to Denmark, where he met Thorkel the Tall, +brother of Earl Sigvalde, and went into partnership with him; for he was +just ready to set out on a cruise. They sailed southwards to the Jutland +coast, to a place called Sudervik, where they overcame many viking +ships. The vikings, who usually have many people to command, give +themselves the title of kings, although they have no lands to rule over. +King Olaf went into battle with them, and it was severe; but King Olaf +gained the victory, and a great booty. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Hark! hark! The war-shout + Through Sudervik rings, + And the vikings bring out + To fight the two kings. + Great honour, I'm told, + Won these vikings so bold: + But their bold fight was vain, + For the two brave kings gain." + + + + +10. THE FIFTH BATTLE IN FRIESLAND. + +King Olaf sailed from thence south to Friesland, and lay under the +strand of Kinlima in dreadful weather. The king landed with his men; but +the people of the country rode down to the strand against them, and he +fought them. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Under Kinlima's cliff, + This battle is the fifth. + The brave sea-rovers stand + All on the glittering sand; + And down the horsemen ride + To the edge of the rippling tide: + But Olaf taught the peasant band + To know the weight of a viking's hand." + + + + +11. DEATH OF KING SVEIN FORKED BEARD. + +The king sailed from thence westward to England. It was then the case +that the Danish king, Svein Forked Beard, was at that time in England +with a Danish army, and had been fixed there for some time, and had +seized upon King Ethelred's kingdom. The Danes had spread themselves +so widely over England, that it was come so far that King Ethelred +had departed from the country, and had gone south to Valland. The same +autumn that King Olaf came to England, it happened that King Svein died +suddenly in the night in his bed; and it is said by Englishmen that +Edmund the Saint killed him, in the same way that the holy Mercurius +had killed the apostate Julian. When Ethelred, the king of the English, +heard this in Flanders, he returned directly to England; and no sooner +was he come back, than he sent an invitation to all the men who would +enter into his pay, to join him in recovering the country. Then many +people flocked to him; and among others, came King Olaf with a great +troop of Northmen to his aid. They steered first to London, and sailed +into the Thames with their fleet; but the Danes had a castle within. On +the other side of the river is a great trading place, which is called +Sudvirke. There the Danes had raised a great work, dug large ditches, +and within had built a bulwark of stone, timber, and turf, where they +had stationed a strong army. King Ethelred ordered a great assault; +but the Danes defended themselves bravely, and King Ethelred could make +nothing of it. Between the castle and Southwark (Sudvirke) there was a +bridge, so broad that two wagons could pass each other upon it. On the +bridge were raised barricades, both towers and wooden parapets, in the +direction of the river, which were nearly breast high; and under the +bridge were piles driven into the bottom of the river. Now when the +attack was made the troops stood on the bridge everywhere, and defended +themselves. King Ethelred was very anxious to get possession of the +bridge, and he called together all the chiefs to consult how they should +get the bridge broken down. Then said King Olaf he would attempt to lay +his fleet alongside of it, if the other ships would do the same. It was +then determined in this council that they should lay their war forces +under the bridge; and each made himself ready with ships and men. + + + + +12. THE SIXTH BATTLE. + +King Olaf ordered great platforms of floating wood to be tied together +with hazel bands, and for this he took down old houses; and with these, +as a roof, he covered over his ships so widely, that it reached over the +ships' sides. Under this screen he set pillars so high and stout, that +there both was room for swinging their swords, and the roofs were strong +enough to withstand the stones cast down upon them. Now when the fleet +and men were ready, they rode up along the river; but when they came +near the bridge, there were cast down upon them so many stones and +missile weapons, such as arrows and spears, that neither helmet nor +shield could hold out against it; and the ships themselves were so +greatly damaged, that many retreated out of it. But King Olaf, and the +Northmen's fleet with him, rowed quite up under the bridge, laid their +cables around the piles which supported it, and then rowed off with all +the ships as hard as they could down the stream. The piles were thus +shaken in the bottom, and were loosened under the bridge. Now as the +armed troops stood thick of men upon the bridge, and there were likewise +many heaps of stones and other weapons upon it, and the piles under it +being loosened and broken, the bridge gave way; and a great part of the +men upon it fell into the river, and all the ethers fled, some into the +castle, some into Southwark. Thereafter Southwark was stormed and +taken. Now when the people in the castle saw that the river Thames was +mastered, and that they could not hinder the passage of ships up +into the country, they became afraid, surrendered the tower, and took +Ethelred to be their king. So says Ottar Svarte:-- + + "London Bridge is broken down.-- + Gold is won, and bright renown. + Shields resounding, + War-horns sounding, + Hild is shouting in the din! + Arrows singing, + Mail-coats ringing-- + Odin makes our Olaf win!" + +And he also composed these:-- + + "King Ethelred has found a friend: + Brave Olaf will his throne defend-- + In bloody fight + Maintain his right, + Win back his land + With blood-red hand, + And Edmund's son upon his throne replace-- + Edmund, the star of every royal race!" + +Sigvat also relates as follows:-- + + "At London Bridge stout Olaf gave + Odin's law to his war-men brave-- + 'To win or die!' + And their foemen fly. + Some by the dyke-side refuge gain-- + Some in their tents on Southwark plain! + The sixth attack + Brought victory back." + + + + +13. THE SEVENTH BATTLE. + +King Olaf passed all the winter with King Ethelred, and had a great +battle at Hringmara Heath in Ulfkel's land, the domain which Ulfkel +Snilling at that time held; and here again the king was victorious. So +says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "To Ulfkel's land came Olaf bold, + A seventh sword-thing he would hold. + The race of Ella filled the plain-- + Few of them slept at home again! + Hringmara heath + Was a bed of death: + Harfager's heir + Dealt slaughter there." + +And Ottar sings of this battle thus:-- + + "From Hringmara field + The chime of war, + Sword striking shield, + Rings from afar. + The living fly; + The dead piled high + The moor enrich; + Red runs the ditch." + +The country far around was then brought in subjection to King Ethelred: +but the Thingmen (1) and the Danes held many castles, besides a great +part of the country. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Thing-men were hired men-at-arms; called Thing-men + probably from being men above the class of thralls or unfree men, + and entitled to appear at Things, as being udal-born to land at + home. + + + + +14. EIGHTH AND NINTH BATTLES OF OLAF. + +King Olaf was commander of all the forces when they went against +Canterbury; and they fought there until they took the town, killing many +people and burning the castle. So says Ottar Svarte:-- + + "All in the grey of morn + Broad Canterbury's forced. + Black smoke from house-roofs borne + Hides fire that does its worst; + And many a man laid low + By the battle-axe's blow, + Waked by the Norsemen's cries, + Scarce had time to rub his eyes." + +Sigvat reckons this King Olaf's eighth battle:-- + + "Of this eighth battle I can tell + How it was fought, and what befell, + The castle tower + With all his power + He could not take, + Nor would forsake. + The Perthmen fought, + Nor quarter sought; + By death or flight + They left the fight. + Olaf could not this earl stout + From Canterbury quite drive out." + +At this time King Olaf was entrusted with the whole land defence of +England, and he sailed round the land with his ships of War. He laid his +ships at land at Nyjamoda, where the troops of the Thingmen were, and +gave them battle and gained the victory. So says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "The youthful king stained red the hair + Of Angeln men, and dyed his spear + At Newport in their hearts' dark blood: + And where the Danes the thickest stood-- + Where the shrill storm round Olaf's head + Of spear and arrow thickest fled. + There thickest lay the Thingmen dead! + Nine battles now of Olaf bold, + Battle by battle, I have told." + +King Olaf then scoured all over the country, taking scat of the people +and plundering where it was refused. So says Ottar:-- + + "The English race could not resist thee, + With money thou madest them assist thee; + Unsparingly thou madest them pay + A scat to thee in every way; + Money, if money could be got-- + Goods, cattle, household gear, if not. + Thy gathered spoil, borne to the strand, + Was the best wealth of English land." + +Olaf remained here for three years (A.D. 1010-1012). + + + + +15. THE TENTH BATTLE. + +The third year King Ethelred died, and his sons Edmund and Edward took +the government (A.D. 1012). Then Olaf sailed southwards out to sea, and +had a battle at Hringsfjord, and took a castle situated at Holar, where +vikings resorted, and burnt the castle. So says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "Of the tenth battle now I tell, + Where it was fought, and what befell. + Up on the hill in Hringsfjord fair + A robber nest hung in the air: + The people followed our brave chief, + And razed the tower of the viking thief. + Such rock and tower, such roosting-place, + Was ne'er since held by the roving race." + + + + +16. ELEVENTH, TWELFTH AND THIRTEENTH BATTLES. + +Then King Olaf proceeded westwards to Grislupollar, and fought there +with vikings at Williamsby; and there also King Olaf gained the victory. +So says Sigvat:-- + + "The eleventh battle now I tell, + Where it was fought, and what befell. + At Grislupol our young fir's name + O'ertopped the forest trees in fame: + Brave Olaf's name--nought else was heard + But Olaf's name, and arm, and sword. + Of three great earls, I have heard say, + His sword crushed helm and head that day." + +Next he fought westward on Fetlafjord, as Sigvat tells:-- + + "The twelfth fight was at Fetlafjord, + Where Olaf's honour-seeking sword + Gave the wild wolf's devouring teeth + A feast of warriors doomed to death." + +From thence King Olaf sailed southwards to Seljupollar, where he had a +battle. He took there a castle called Gunvaldsborg, which was very large +and old. He also made prisoner the earl who ruled over the castle and +who was called Geirfin. After a conference with the men of the castle, +he laid a scat upon the town and earl, as ransom, of twelve thousand +gold shillings: which was also paid by those on whom it was imposed. So +says Sigvat:-- + + "The thirteenth battle now I tell, + Where it was fought, and what befell. + In Seljupol was fought the fray, + And many did not survive the day. + The king went early to the shore, + To Gunvaldsborg's old castle-tower; + And a rich earl was taken there, + Whose name was Geridin, I am sure." + + + + +17. FOURTEENTH BATTLE AND OLAF'S DREAM. + +Thereafter King Olaf steered with his fleet westward to Karlsar, and +tarried there and had a fight. And while King Olaf was lying in Karlsa +river waiting a wind, and intending to sail up to Norvasund, and then on +to the land of Jerusalem, he dreamt a remarkable dream--that there came +to him a great and important man, but of a terrible appearance withal, +who spoke to him, and told him to give up his purpose of proceeding to +that land. "Return back to thy udal, for thou shalt be king over Norway +for ever." He interpreted this dream to mean that he should be king over +the country, and his posterity after him for a long time. + + + + +18. FIFTEENTH BATTLE. + +After this appearance to him he turned about, and came to Poitou, where +he plundered and burnt a merchant town called Varrande. Of this Ottar +speaks:-- + + "Our young king, blythe and gay, + Is foremost in the fray: + Poitou he plunders, Tuskland burns,-- + He fights and wins where'er he turns." + +And also Sigvat says:-- + + "The Norsemen's king is on his cruise, + His blue steel staining, + Rich booty gaining, + And all men trembling at the news. + The Norsemen's kings up on the Loire: + Rich Partheney + In ashes lay; + Far inland reached the Norsemen's spear." + + + + +19. OF THE EARLS OF ROUEN. + +King Olaf had been two summers and one winter in the west in Valland on +this cruise; and thirteen years had now passed since the fall of King +Olaf Trygvason. During this time earls had ruled over Norway; first +Hakon's sons Eirik and Svein, and afterwards Eirik's sons Hakon and +Svein. Hakon was a sister's son of King Canute, the son of Svein. During +this time there were two earls in Valland, William and Robert; their +father was Richard earl of Rouen. They ruled over Normandy. Their sister +was Queen Emma, whom the English king Ethelred had married; and their +sons were Edmund, Edward the Good, Edwy, and Edgar. Richard the earl of +Rouen was a son of Richard the son of William Long Spear, who was the +son of Rolf Ganger, the earl who first conquered Normandy; and he again +was a son of Ragnvald the Mighty, earl of More, as before related. From +Rolf Ganger are descended the earls of Rouen, who have long reckoned +themselves of kin to the chiefs in Norway, and hold them in such respect +that they always were the greatest friends of the Northmen; and every +Northman found a friendly country in Normandy, if he required it. To +Normandy King Olaf came in autumn (A.D. 1013), and remained all winter +(A.D. 1014) in the river Seine in good peace and quiet. + + + + +20. OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER. + +After Olaf Trygvason's fall, Earl Eirik gave peace to Einar +Tambaskelfer, the son of Eindride Styrkarson; and Einar went north with +the earl to Norway. It is said that Einar was the strongest man and the +best archer that ever was in Norway. His shooting was sharp beyond all +others; for with a blunt arrow he shot through a raw, soft ox-hide, +hanging over a beam. He was better than any man at running on +snow-shoes, was a great man at all exercises, was of high family, and +rich. The earls Eirik and Svein married their sister Bergliot to Einar. +Their son was named Eindride. The earls gave Einar great fiefs in +Orkadal, so that he was one of the most powerful and able men in the +Throndhjem country, and was also a great friend of the earls, and a +great support and aid to them. + + + + +21. OF ERLING SKIALGSON. + +When Olaf Trygvason ruled over Norway, he gave his brother-in-law Erling +half of the land scat, and royal revenues between the Naze and Sogn. His +other sister he married to the Earl Ragnvald Ulfson, who long ruled +over West Gautland. Ragnvald's father, Ulf, was a brother of Sigrid the +Haughty, the mother of Olaf the Swedish king. Earl Eirik was ill pleased +that Erling Skialgson had so large a dominion, and he took to himself +all the king's estates, which King Olaf had given to Erling. But +Erling levied, as before, all the land scat in Rogaland; and thus the +inhabitants had often to pay him the land scat, otherwise he laid waste +their land. The earl made little of the business, for no bailiff of his +could live there, and the earl could only come there in guest-quarters, +when he had a great many people with him. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Olaf the king + Thought the bonde Erling + A man who would grace + His own royal race. + One sister the king + Gave the bonde Erling; + And one to an earl, + And she saved him in peril." + +Earl Eirik did not venture to fight with Erling, because he had very +powerful and very many friends, and was himself rich and popular, and +kept always as many retainers about him as if he held a king's court. +Erling was often out in summer on plundering expeditions, and procured +for himself means of living; for he continued his usual way of high and +splendid living, although now he had fewer and less convenient fiefs +than in the time of his brother-in-law King Olaf Trygvason. Erling was +one of the handsomest, largest, and strongest men; a better warrior than +any other; and in all exercises he was like King Olaf himself. He was, +besides, a man of understanding, jealous in everything he undertook, and +a deadly man at arms. Sigvat talks thus of him:-- + + "No earl or baron, young or old, + Match with this bonde brave can hold. + Mild was brave Erling, all men say, + When not engaged in bloody fray: + His courage he kept hid until + The fight began, then foremost still + Erling was seen in war's wild game, + And famous still is Erling's name." + +It was a common saying among the people, that Erling had been the most +valiant who ever held lands under a king in Norway. Erlings and Astrid s +children were these--Aslak, Skialg, Sigurd, Lodin, Thorer, and Ragnhild, +who was married to Thorberg Arnason. Erling had always with him ninety +free-born men or more, and both winter and summer it was the custom in +his house to drink at the mid-day meal according to a measure (1), but +at the night meal there was no measure in drinking. When the earl was in +the neighbourhood he had 200 (2) men or more. He never went to sea with +less than a fully-manned ship of twenty benches of rowers. Erling had +also a ship of thirty-two benches of rowers, which was besides, very +large for that size, and which he used in viking cruises, or on an +expedition; and in it there were 200 men at the very least. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) There were silver-studs in a row from the rim to the + bottom of the drinking born or cup; and as it went round each drank + till the stud appeared above the liquor. This was drinking + by measure.--L. +(2) I.e., 240. + + + + +22. OF THE HERSE ERLING SKIALGSON. + +Erling had always at home on his farm thirty slaves, besides other +serving-people. He gave his slaves a certain day's work; but after it he +gave them leisure, and leave that each should work in the twilight and +at night for himself, and as he pleased. He gave them arable land to sow +corn in, and let them apply their crops to their own use. He laid upon +each a certain quantity of labour to work themselves free by doing it; +and there were many who bought their freedom in this way in one year, or +in the second year, and all who had any luck could make themselves free +within three years. With this money he bought other slaves: and to some +of his freed people he showed how to work in the herring-fishery, to +others he showed some useful handicraft; and some cleared his outfields +and set up houses. He helped all to prosperity. + + + + +23. OF EARL EIRIK. + +When Earl Eirik had ruled over Norway for twelve years, there came a +message to him from his brother-in-law King Canute, the Danish king, +that he should go with him on an expedition westward to England; for +Eirik was very celebrated for his campaigns, as he had gained the +victory in the two hardest engagements which had ever been fought in +the north countries. The one was that in which the Earls Hakon and Eirik +fought with the Jomsborg vikings; the other that in which Earl Eirik +fought with King Olaf Trygvason. Thord Kolbeinson speaks of this:-- + + "A song of praise + Again I raise. + To the earl bold + The word is told, + That Knut the Brave + His aid would crave; + The earl, I knew, + To friend stands true." + +The earl would not sleep upon the message of the king, but sailed +immediately out of the country, leaving behind his son Earl Hakon to +take care of Norway; and, as he was but seventeen years of age, Einar +Tambaskelfer was to be at his hand to rule the country for him. + +Eirik met King Canute in England, and was with him when he took the +castle of London. Earl Eirik had a battle also to the westward of +the castle of London, and killed Ulfkel Snilling. So says Thord +Kolbeinson:-- + + "West of London town we passed, + And our ocean-steeds made fast, + And a bloody fight begin, + England's lands to lose or win. + Blue sword and shining spear + Laid Ulfkel's dead corpse there, + Our Thingmen hear the war-shower sounding + Our grey arrows from their shields rebounding." + +Earl Eirik was a winter in England, and had many battles there. The +following autumn he intended to make a pilgrimage to Rome, but he died +in England of a bloody flux. + + + + +24. THE MURDER OF EDMUND. + +King Canute came to England the summer that King Ethelred died, and had +many battles with Ethelred's sons, in which the victory was sometimes +on one side, sometimes on the other. Then King Canute took Queen Emma in +marriage; and their children were Harald, Hardacanute, and Gunhild. King +Canute then made an agreement with King Edmund, that each of them should +have a half of England. In the same month Henry Strion murdered King +Edmund. King Canute then drove all Ethelred's sons out of England. So +says Sigvat:-- + + "Now all the sons of Ethelred + Were either fallen, or had fled: + Some slain by Canute,--some they say, + To save their lives had run away." + + + + +25. OLAF AND ETHELRED'S SONS. + +King Ethelred's sons came to Rouen in Valland from England, to their +mother's brother, the same summer that King Olaf Haraldson came from +the west from his viking cruise, and they were all during the winter in +Normandy together. They made an agreement with each other that King Olaf +should have Northumberland, if they could succeed in taking England from +the Danes. Therefore about harvest, Olaf sent his foster-father Hrane to +England to collect men-at-arms; and Ethelred's sons sent tokens to their +friends and relations with him. King Olaf, besides, gave him much money +with him to attract people to them. Hrane was all winter in England, and +got promises from many powerful men of fidelity, as the people of the +country would rather have native kings over them; but the Danish power +had become so great in England, that all the people were brought under +their dominion. + + + + +26. BATTLE OF KING OLAF. + +In spring (A.D. 1014) King Olaf and King Ethelred's sons set out +together to the west, and came to a place in England called Jungufurda, +where they landed with their army and moved forward against the castle. +Many men were there who had promised them their aid. They took the +castle; and killed many people. Now when King Canute's men heard of this +they assembled an army, and were soon in such force that Ethelred's sons +could not stand against it; and they saw no other way left but to return +to Rouen. Then King Olaf separated from them, and would not go back +to Valland, but sailed northwards along England, all the way to +Northumberland, where he put into a haven at a place called Valde; +and in a battle there with the townspeople and merchants he gained the +victory, and a great booty. + + + + +27. OLAF'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. + +King Olaf left his long-ships there behind, but made ready two ships of +burden; and had with him 220 men in them, well-armed, and chosen people. +He sailed out to sea northwards in harvest, but encountered a tremendous +storm and they were in danger of being lost; but as they had a chosen +crew, and the king s luck with them, all went on well. So says Ottar:-- + + "Olaf, great stem of kings, is brave-- + Bold in the fight, bold on the wave. + No thought of fear + Thy heart comes near. + Undaunted, 'midst the roaring flood, + Firm at his post each shipman stood; + And thy two ships stout + The gale stood out." + +And further he says:-- + + "Thou able chief! with thy fearless crew + Thou meetest, with skill and courage true, + The wild sea's wrath + On thy ocean path. + Though waves mast-high were breaking round. + Thou findest the middle of Norway's ground, + With helm in hand + On Saela's strand." + +It is related here that King Olaf came from the sea to the very middle +of Norway; and the isle is called Saela where they landed, and is +outside of Stad. King Olaf said he thought it must be a lucky day for +them, since they had landed at Saela in Norway; and observed it was a +good omen that it so happened. As they were going up in the isle, +the king slipped with one foot in a place where there was clay, but +supported himself with the other foot. Then said he "The king falls." +"Nay," replies Hrane, "thou didst not fall, king, but set fast foot +in the soil." The king laughed thereat, and said, "It may be so if God +will." They went down again thereafter to their ships, and sailed to +Ulfasund, where they heard that Earl Hakon was south in Sogn, and was +expected north as soon as wind allowed with a single ship. + + + + +28. HAKON TAKEN PRISONER BY OLAF. + +King Olaf steered his ships within the ordinary ships' course when he +came abreast of Fjaler district, and ran into Saudungssund. There he +laid his two vessels one on each side of the sound with a thick cable +between them. At the same moment Hakon, Earl Eirik's son, came rowing +into the sound with a manned ship; and as they thought these were but +two merchant-vessels that were lying in the sound, they rowed between +them. Then Olaf and his men draw the cable up right under Hakon's ship's +keel and wind it up with the capstan. As soon as the vessel's course was +stopped her stern was lifted up, and her bow plunged down; so that the +water came in at her fore-end and over both sides, and she upset. King +Olaf's people took Earl Hakon and all his men whom they could get hold +of out of the water, and made them prisoners; but some they killed with +stones and other weapons, and some were drowned. So says Ottar:-- + + "The black ravens wade + In the blood from thy blade. + Young Hakon so gay, + With his ship, is thy prey: + His ship, with its gear, + Thou hast ta'en; and art here, + Thy forefather's land + From the earl to demand." + +Earl Hakon was led up to the king's ship. He was the handsomest man that +could be seen. He had long hair, as fine as silk, bound about his bead +with a gold ornament. + +When he sat down in the fore-hold, the king said to him, "It is not +false what is said of your family, that ye are handsome people to look +at; but now your luck has deserted you." + +Hakon the earl replied, "It has always been the case that success is +changeable; and there is no luck in the matter. It has gone with your +family as with mine, to have by turns the better lot. I am little +beyond childhood in years; and at any rate we could not have defended +ourselves, as we did not expect any attack on the way. It may turn out +better with us another time." + +Then said King Olaf, "Dost thou not apprehend that thou art in that +condition that, hereafter, there can be neither victory nor defeat for +thee?" + +The earl replies, "That is what thou only canst determine, king, +according to thy pleasure." + +Olaf says, "What wilt thou give me, earl, if for this time I let thee +go, whole and unhurt?" + +The earl asks what he would take. + +"Nothing," says the king, "except that thou shalt leave the country, +give up thy kingdom, and take an oath that thou shalt never go into +battle against me." + +The earl answered, that he would do so. And now Earl Hakon took the oath +that he would never fight against Olaf, or seek to defend Norway against +him, or attack him; and King Olaf thereupon gave him and all his men +life and peace. The earl got back the ship which had brought him there, +and he and his men rowed their way. Thus says Sigvat of him:-- + + "In old Saudungs sound + The king Earl Hakon found, + Who little thought that there + A foeman was so near. + The best and fairest youth + Earl Hakon was in truth, + That speaks the Danish tongue, + And of the race of great Hakon." + + + + +29. HAKON'S DEPARTURE FROM NORWAY. + +After this (A.D. 1014) the earl made ready as fast as possible to leave +the country and sail over to England. He met King Canute, his mother's +brother, there, and told him all that had taken place between him and +King Olaf. King Canute received him remarkably well, placed him in his +court in his own house, and gave him great power in his kingdom. Earl +Hakon dwelt a long time with King Canute. During the time Svein and +Hakon ruled over Norway, a reconciliation with Erling Skialgson was +effected, and secured by Aslak, Erling's son, marrying Gunhild, Earl +Svein's daughter; and the father and son, Erling and Aslak, retained +all the fiefs which King Olaf Trygvason had given to Erling. Thus Erling +became a firm friend of the earl's, and their mutual friendship was +confirmed by oath. + + + + +30. ASTA RECEIVES HER SON OLAF. + +King Olaf went now eastward along the land, holding Things with the +bondes all over the country. Many went willingly with him; but some, +who were Earl Svein's friends or relations, spoke against him. Therefore +King Olaf sailed in all haste eastward to Viken; went in there with his +ships; set them on the land; and proceeded up the country, in order +to meet his stepfather, Sigurd Syr. When he came to Vestfold he was +received in a friendly way by many who had been his father's friends or +acquaintances; and also there and in Folden were many of his family. In +autumn (A.D. 1014) he proceeded up the country to his stepfather King +Sigurd's, and came there one day very early. As Olaf was coming near to +the house, some of the servants ran beforehand to the house, and into +the room. Olaf's mother, Asta, was sitting in the room, and around her +some of her girls. When the servants told her of King Olaf's approach, +and that he might soon be expected, Asta stood up directly, and ordered +the men and girls to put everything in the best order. She ordered four +girls to bring out all that belonged to the decoration of the room and +put it in order with hangings and benches. Two fellows brought straw +for the floor, two brought forward four-cornered tables and the +drinking-jugs, two bore out victuals and placed the meat on the table, +two she sent away from the house to procure in the greatest haste all +that was needed, and two carried in the ale; and all the other serving +men and girls went outside of the house. Messengers went to seek King +Sigurd wherever he might be, and brought to him his dress-clothes, and +his horse with gilt saddle, and his bridle, which was gilt and set +with precious stones. Four men she sent off to the four quarters of the +country to invite all the great people to a feast, which she prepared as +a rejoicing for her son's return. All who were before in the house she +made to dress themselves with the best they had, and lent clothes to +those who had none suitable. + + + + +31. KING SIGURD'S DRESS. + +King Sigurd Syr was standing in his corn-field when the messengers came +to him and brought him the news, and also told him all that Asta was +doing at home in the house. He had many people on his farm. Some +were then shearing corn, some bound it together, some drove it to the +building, some unloaded it and put it in stack or barn; but the king, +and two men with him, went sometimes into the field, sometimes to the +place where the corn was put into the barn. His dress, it is told, was +this:--he had a blue kirtle and blue breeches; shoes which were laced +about the legs; a grey cloak, and a grey wide-brimmed hat; a veil before +his face; a staff in his hand with a gilt-silver head on it and a silver +ring around it. Of Sigurd's living and disposition it is related that +he was a very gain-making man who attended carefully to his cattle and +husbandry, and managed his housekeeping himself. He was nowise given +to pomp, and was rather taciturn. But he was a man of the best +understanding in Norway, and also excessively wealthy in movable +property. Peaceful he was, and nowise haughty. His wife Asta was +generous and high-minded. Their children were, Guthorm, the eldest; then +Gunhild; the next Halfdan, Ingerid, and Harald. The messengers said to +Sigurd, "Asta told us to bring thee word how much it lay at her heart +that thou shouldst on this occasion comport thyself in the fashion of +great men, and show a disposition more akin to Harald Harfager's race +than to thy mother's father's, Hrane Thin-nose, or Earl Nereid the Old, +although they too were very wise men." The king replies, "The news ye +bring me is weighty, and ye bring it forward in great heat. Already +before now Asta has been taken up much with people who were not so near +to her; and I see she is still of the same disposition. She takes this +up with great warmth; but can she lead her son out of the business with +the same splendour she is leading him into it? If it is to proceed so +methinks they who mix themselves up in it regard little property or +life. For this man, King Olaf, goes against a great superiority of +power; and the wrath of the Danish and Swedish kings lies at the foot of +his determination, if he ventures to go against them." + + + + +32. OF THE FEAST. + +When the king had said this he sat down, and made them take off his +shoes, and put corduvan boots on, to which he bound his gold spurs. +Then he put off his cloak and coat, and dressed himself in his finest +clothes, with a scarlet cloak over all; girded on his sword, set +a gilded helmet upon his head, and mounted his horse. He sent his +labouring people out to the neighbourhood, and gathered to him thirty +well-clothed men, and rode home with them. As they rode up to the house, +and were near the room, they saw on the other side of the house the +banners of Olaf coming waving; and there was he himself, with about +100 men all well equipped. People were gathered over all upon the +house-tops. King Sigurd immediately saluted his stepson from horseback +in a friendly way, and invited him and his men to come in and drink a +cup with him. Asta, on the contrary, went up and kissed her son, and +invited him to stay with her; and land, and people, and all the good she +could do for him stood at his service. King Olaf thanked her kindly for +her invitation. Then she took him by the hand, and led him into the room +to the high-seat. King Sigurd got men to take charge of their clothes, +and give their horses corn; and then he himself went to his high-seat, +and the feast was made with the greatest splendour. + + + + +33. CONVERSATION OF OLAF AND SIGURD. + +King Olaf had not been long here before he one day called his stepfather +King Sigurd, his mother Asta, and his foster-father Hrane to a +conference and consultation. Olaf began thus: "It has so happened," said +he, "as is well known to you, that I have returned to this country after +a very long sojourn in foreign parts, during all which time I and my men +have had nothing for our support but what we captured in war, for which +we have often hazarded both life and soul: for many an innocent man have +we deprived of his property, and some of their lives; and foreigners are +now sitting in the possessions which my father, his father, and their +forefathers for a long series of generations owned, and to which I have +udal right. They have not been content with this, but have taken to +themselves also the properties of all our relations who are descended +from Harald Harfager. To some they have left little, to others nothing +at all. Now I will disclose to you what I have long concealed in my own +mind, that I intend to take the heritage of my forefathers; but I will +not wait upon the Danish or Swedish king to supplicate the least thing +from them, although they for the time call that their property which was +Harald Harfager's heritage. To say the truth, I intend rather to seek +my patrimony with battle-axe and sword, and that with the help of all +my friends and relations, and of those who in this business will take my +side. And in this matter I will so lay hand to the work that one of two +things shall happen,--either I shall lay all this kingdom under my rule +which they got into their hands by the slaughter of my kinsman Olaf +Trygvason, or I shall fall here upon my inheritance in the land of my +fathers. Now I expect of thee, Sigurd, my stepfather, as well as +other men here in the country who have udal right of succession to the +kingdom, according to the law made by King Harald Harfager, that nothing +shall be of such importance to you as to prevent you from throwing off +the disgrace from our family of being slow at supporting the man who +comes forward to raise up again our race. But whether ye show any +manhood in this affair or not, I know the inclination of the people +well,--that all want to be free from the slavery of foreign masters, +and will give aid and strength to the attempt. I have not proposed +this matter to any before thee, because I know thou art a man of +understanding, and can best judge how this my purpose shall be brought +forward in the beginning, and whether we shall, in all quietness, talk +about it to a few persons, or instantly declare it to the people at +large. I have already shown my teeth by taking prisoner the Earl Hakon, +who has now left the country, and given me, under oath, the part of the +kingdom which he had before; and I think it will be easier to have +Earl Svein alone to deal with, than if both were defending the country +against us." + +King Sigurd answers, "It is no small affair, King Olaf, thou hast in thy +mind; and thy purpose comes more, methinks, from hasty pride than from +prudence. But it may be there is a wide difference between my humble +ways and the high thoughts thou hast; for whilst yet in thy childhood +thou wast full always of ambition and desire of command, and now thou +art experienced in battles, and hast formed thyself upon the manner of +foreign chiefs. I know therefore well, that as thou hast taken this into +thy head, it is useless to dissuade thee from it; and also it is not +to be denied that it goes to the heart of all who have courage in them, +that the whole Harfager race and kingdom should go to the ground. But +I will not bind myself by any promise, before I know the views and +intentions of other Upland kings; but thou hast done well in letting +me know thy purpose, before declaring it publicly to the people. I will +promise thee, however, my interest with the kings, and other chiefs, and +country people; and also, King Olaf, all my property stands to thy +aid, and to strengthen thee. But we will only produce the matter to the +community so soon as we see some progress, and expect some strength to +this undertaking; for thou canst easily perceive that it is a daring +measure to enter into strife with Olaf the Swedish king, and Canute, who +is king both of Denmark and England; and thou requirest great support +under thee, if it is to succeed. It is not unlikely, in my opinion, that +thou wilt get good support from the people, as the commonalty always +loves what is new; and it went so before, when Olaf Trygvason came here +to the country, that all rejoiced at it, although he did not long enjoy +the kingdom." + +When the consultation had proceeded so far, Asta took up the word. "For +my part, my son, I am rejoiced at thy arrival, but much more at thy +advancing thy honour. I will spare nothing for that purpose that stands +in my power, although it be but little help that can be expected from +me. But if a choice could be made, I would rather that thou shouldst be +the supreme king of Norway, even if thou shouldst not sit longer in +thy kingdom than Olaf Trygvason did, than that thou shouldst not be a +greater king than Sigurd Syr is, and die the death of old age." With +this the conference closed. King Olaf remained here a while with all his +men. King Sigurd entertained them, day about, the one day with fish and +milk, the other day with flesh-meat and ale. + + + + +34. KINGS IN THE UPLAND DISTRICTS. + +At that time there were many kings in the Uplands who had districts to +rule over, and the most of them were descended from Harald Harfager. In +Hedemark two brothers ruled--Hrorek and Ring; in Gudbrandsdal, Gudrod; +and there was also a king in Raumarike; and one had Hadaland and Thoten; +and in Valders also there was a king. With these district-kings Sigurd +had a meeting up in Hadaland, and Olaf Haraldson also met with them. To +these district-kings whom Sigurd had assembled he set forth his stepson +Olaf's purpose, and asked their aid, both of men and in counsel and +consent; and represented to them how necessary it was to cast off the +yoke which the Danes and Swedes had laid upon them. He said that there +was now a man before them who could head such an enterprise; and he +recounted the many brave actions which Olaf had achieved upon his +war-expeditions. + +Then King Hrorek says, "True it is that Harald Harfager's kingdom has +gone to decay, none of his race being supreme king over Norway. But +the people here in the country have experienced many things. When King +Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, was king, all were content; but when +Gunhild's sons ruled over the country, all were so weary of their +tyranny and injustice that they would rather have foreign men as kings, +and be themselves more their own rulers; for the foreign kings were +usually abroad and cared little about the customs of the people if the +scat they laid on the country was paid. When enmity arose between +the Danish king Harald and Earl Hakon, the Jomsborg vikings made an +expedition against Norway; then the whole people arose, and threw the +hostilities from themselves; and thereafter the people encouraged Earl +Hakon to keep the country, and defend it with sword and spear against +the Danish king. But when he had set himself fast in the kingdom with +the help of the people, he became so hard and overbearing towards the +country-folks, that they would no longer suffer him. The Throndhjem +people killed him, and raised to the kingly power Olaf Trygvason, who +was of the udal succession to the kingdom, and in all respects well +fitted to be a chief. The whole country's desire was to make him supreme +king, and raise again the kingdom which Harald Harfager had made for +himself. But when King Olaf thought himself quite firmly seated in his +kingdom, no man could rule his own concerns for him. With us small kings +he was so unreasonable, as to take to himself not only all the scat and +duties which Harald Harfager had levied from us, but a great deal more. +The people at last had so little freedom under him, that it was not +allowed to every man to believe in what god he pleased. Now since he +has been taken away we have kept friendly with the Danish king; have +received great help from him when we have had any occasion for it; and +have been allowed to rule ourselves, and live in peace and quiet in the +inland country, and without any overburden. I am therefore content that +things be as they are, for I do not see what better rights I am to enjoy +by one of my relations ruling over the country; and if I am to be no +better off, I will take no part in the affair." + +Then said King Ring, his brother, "I will also declare my opinion that +it is better for me, if I hold the same power and property as now, that +my relative is king over Norway, rather than a foreign chief, so that +our family may again raise its head in the land. It is, besides, my +opinion about this man Olaf, that his fate and luck must determine +whether he is to obtain the kingdom or not; and if he succeed in making +himself supreme king, then he will be the best off who has best deserved +his friendship. At present he has in no respect greater power than any +of us; nay, indeed, he has less; as we have lands and kingdoms to rule +over, and he has nothing, and we are equally entitled by the udal right +to the kingdom as he is himself. Now, if we will be his men, give him +our aid, allow him to take the highest dignity in the country, and stand +by him with our strength, how should he not reward us well, and hold +it in remembrance to our great advantage, if he be the honourable man +I believe him to be, and all say he is? Therefore let us join the +adventure, say I, and bind ourselves in friendship with him." + +Then the others, one after the other, stood up and spoke; and the +conclusion was, that the most of them determined to enter into a league +with King Olaf. He promised them his perfect friendship, and that he +would hold by and improve the country's laws and rights, if he became +supreme king of Norway. This league was confirmed by oath. + + + + +35. OLAF GETS THE TITLE OF KING FROM THE THING. + +Thereafter the kings summoned a Thing, and there King Olaf set forth +this determination to all the people, and his demand on the kingly +power. He desires that the bondes should receive him as king; and +promises, on the other hand, to allow them to retain their ancient laws, +and to defend the land from foreign masters and chiefs. On this point he +spoke well, and long; and he got great praise for his speech. Then the +kings rose and spoke, the one after the other, and supported his cause, +and this message to the people. At last it came to this, that King Olaf +was proclaimed king over the whole country, and the kingdom adjudged to +him according to law in the Uplands (A.D. 1014). + + + + +36. KING OLAF TRAVELS IN THE UPLANDS. + +King Olaf began immediately his progress through the country, appointing +feasts before him wherever there were royal farms. First he travelled +round in Hadaland, and then he proceeded north to Gudbrandsdal. And now +it went as King Sigurd Syr had foretold, that people streamed to him +from all quarters; and he did not appear to have need for half of them, +for he had nearly 300 men. But the entertainments bespoken did not +half serve; for it had been the custom that kings went about in +guest-quarters in the Uplands with 60 or 70 men only, and never with +more than 100 men. The king therefore hastened over the country, only +stopping one night at the same place. When he came north to Dovrefield, +he arranged his journey so that he came over the mountain and down upon +the north side of it, and then came to Opdal, where he remained all +night. Afterwards he proceeded through Opdal forest, and came out at +Medaldal, where he proclaimed a Thing, and summoned the bondes to meet +him at it. The king made a speech to the Thing, and asked the bondes to +accept him as king; and promised, on his part, the laws and rights which +King Olaf Trygvason had offered them. The bondes had no strength to +make opposition to the king; so the result was that they received him as +king, and confirmed it by oath: but they sent word to Orkadal and Skaun +of all that they knew concerning Olaf's proceedings. + + + + +37. LEVY AGAINST OLAF IN THRONDHJEM. + +Einar Tambaskelfer had a farm and house at Husaby in Skaun; and now when +he got news of Olaf's proceedings, he immediately split up a war-arrow, +and sent it out as a token to the four quarters--north, south, east, +west,--to call together all free and unfree men in full equipment of +war: therewith the message, that they were to defend the land against +King Olaf. The message-stick went to Orkadal, and thence to Gaulardal, +where the whole war-force was to assemble. + + + + +38. OLAF'S PROGRESS IN THRONDHJEM. + +King Olaf proceeded with his men down into Orkadal, and advanced in +peace and with all gentleness; but when he came to Griotar he met the +assembled bondes, amounting to more than 700 men. Then the king arrayed +his army, for he thought the bondes were to give battle. When the bondes +saw this, they also began to put their men in order; but it went on +very slowly, for they had not agreed beforehand who among them should be +commander. Now when King Olaf saw there was confusion among the bondes, +he sent to them Thorer Gudbrandson; and when he came he told them King +Olaf did not want to fight them, but named twelve of the ablest men in +their flock of people, who were desired to come to King Olaf. The bondes +agreed to this; and the twelve men went over a rising ground which is +there, and came to the place where the king's army stood in array. The +king said to them, "Ye bondes have done well to give me an opportunity +to speak with you, for now I will explain to you my errand here to the +Throndhjem country. First I must tell you, what ye already must have +heard, that Earl Hakon and I met in summer; and the issue of our meeting +was, that he gave me the whole kingdom he possessed in the Throndhjem +country, which, as ye know, consists of Orkadal, Gaulardal, Strind, and +Eyna district. As a proof of this, I have here with me the very men who +were present, and saw the earl's and my own hands given upon it, and +heard the word and oath, and witnessed the agreement the earl made +with me. Now I offer you peace and law, the same as King Olaf Trygvason +offered before me." + +The king spoke well, and long; and ended by proposing to the bondes two +conditions--either to go into his service and be subject to him, or to +fight him. Thereupon the twelve bondes went back to their people, and +told the issue of their errand, and considered with the people what they +should resolve upon. Although they discussed the matter backwards and +forwards for a while, they preferred at last to submit to the king; and +it was confirmed by the oath of the bondes. The king now proceeded on +his journey, and the bondes made feasts for him. The king then proceeded +to the sea-coast, and got ships; and among others he got a long-ship of +twenty benches of rowers from Gunnar of Gelmin; another ship of twenty +benches he got from Loden of Viggia; and three ships of twenty benches +from the farm of Angrar on the ness which farm Earl Hakon had possessed, +but a steward managed it for him, by name Bard White. The king had, +besides, four or five boats; and with these vessels he went in all haste +into the fjord of Throndhjem. + + + + +39. OF EARL SVEIN'S PROCEEDINGS. + +Earl Svein was at that time far up in the Throndhjem fjord at Steinker, +which at that time was a merchant town, and was there preparing for +the yule festival (A.D. 1015). When Einar Tambaskelfer heard that the +Orkadal people had submitted to King Olaf, he sent men to Earl Svein +to bring him the tidings. They went first to Nidaros, and took a +rowing-boat which belonged to Einar, with which they went out into the +fjord, and came one day late in the evening to Steinker, where they +brought to the earl the news about all King Olaf's proceedings. The earl +owned a long-ship, which was lying afloat and rigged just outside the +town: and immediately, in the evening, he ordered all his movable goods, +his people's clothes, and also meat and drink, as much as the +vessel could carry, to be put on board, rowed immediately out in the +night-time, and came with daybreak to Skarnsund. There he saw King Olaf +rowing in with his fleet into the fjord. The earl turned towards the +land within Masarvik, where there was a thick wood, and lay so near the +rocks that the leaves and branches hung over the vessel. They cut down +some large trees, which they laid over the quarter on the sea-side, +so that the ship could not be seen for leaves, especially as it was +scarcely clear daylight when the king came rowing past them. The weather +was calm, and the king rowed in among the islands; and when the king's +fleet was out of sight the earl rowed out of the fjord, and on to +Frosta, where his kingdom lay, and there he landed. + + + + +40. EARL SVEIN'S AND EINAR'S CONSULTATIONS. + +Earl Svein sent men out to Gaulardal to his brother-in-law, Einar +Tambaskelfer; and when Einar came the earl told him how it had been with +him and King Olaf, and that now he would assemble men to go out against +King Olaf, and fight him. + +Einar answers, "We should go to work cautiously, and find out what King +Olaf intends doing; and not let him hear anything concerning us but +that we are quiet. It may happen that if he hears nothing about our +assembling people, he may sit quietly where he is in Steinker all the +Yule; for there is plenty prepared for him for the Yule feast: but if he +hears we are assembling men, he will set right out of the fjord with his +vessels, and we shall not get hold of him." Einar's advice was taken; +and the earl went to Stjoradal, into guest-quarters among the bondes. + +When King Olaf came to Steinker he collected all the meat prepared for +the Yule feast, and made it be put on board, procured some transport +vessels, took meat and drink with him, and got ready to sail as fast as +possible, and went out all the way to Nidaros. Here King Olaf Trygvason +had laid the foundation of a merchant town, and had built a king's +house: but before that Nidaros was only a single house, as before +related. When Earl Eirik came to the country, he applied all his +attention to his house of Lade, where his father had had his main +residence, and he neglected the houses which Olaf had erected at the +Nid; so that some were fallen down, and those which stood were scarcely +habitable. King Olaf went now with his ships up the Nid, made all the +houses to be put in order directly that were still standing, and built +anew those that had fallen down, and employed in this work a great +many people. Then he had all the meat and drink brought on shore to the +houses, and prepared to hold Yule there; so Earl Svein and Einar had to +fall upon some other plan. + + + + +41. OF SIGVAT THE SKALD. + +There was an Iceland man called Thord Sigvaldaskald, who had been long +with Earl Sigvalde, and afterwards with the earl's brother, Thorkel the +Tall; but after the earl's death Thord had become a merchant. He +met King Olaf on his viking cruise in the west, and entered into his +service, and followed him afterwards. He was with the king when the +incidents above related took place. Thord had a son called Sigvat +fostered in the house of Thorkel at Apavatn, in Iceland. When he was +nearly a grown man he went out of the country with some merchants; and +the ship came in autumn to the Throndhjem country, and the crew lodged +in the hered (district). The same winter King Olaf came to Throndhjem, +as just now related by us. Now when Sigvat heard that his father Thord +was with the king, he went to him, and stayed a while with him. Sigvat +was a good skald at an early age. He made a lay in honour of King Olaf, +and asked the king to listen to it. The king said he did not want poems +composed about him, and said he did not understand the skald's craft. +Then Sigvat sang:-- + + "Rider of dark-blue ocean's steeds! + Allow one skald to sing thy deeds; + And listen to the song of one + Who can sing well, if any can. + For should the king despise all others, + And show no favour to my brothers, + Yet I may all men's favour claim, + Who sing, still of our great king's fame." + +King Olaf gave Sigvat as a reward for his verse a gold ring that weighed +half a mark, and Sigvat was made one of King Olaf's court-men. Then +Sigvat sang:-- + + "I willingly receive this sword-- + By land or sea, on shore, on board, + I trust that I shall ever be + Worthy the sword received from thee. + A faithful follower thou hast bound-- + A generous master I have found; + Master and servant both have made + Just what best suits them by this trade." + +Earl Svein had, according to custom, taken one half of the harbour-dues +from the Iceland ship-traders about autumn (A.D. 1014); for the Earls +Eirik and Hakon had always taken one half of these and all other +revenues in the Throndhjem country. Now when King Olaf came there, he +sent his men to demand that half of the tax from the Iceland traders; +and they went up to the king's house and asked Sigvat to help them. He +went to the king, and sang:-- + + "My prayer, I trust, will not be vain-- + No gold by it have I to gain: + All that the king himself here wins + Is not red gold, but a few skins. + it is not right that these poor men + Their harbour-dues should pay again. + That they paid once I know is true; + Remit, great king, what scarce is due." + + + + +42. OF EARL SVEIN. + +Earl Svein and Einar Tambaskelfer gathered a large armed force, with +which they came by the upper road into Gaulardal, and so down to +Nidaros, with nearly 2000 men. King Olaf's men were out upon the Gaular +ridge, and had a guard on horseback. They became aware that a force was +coming down the Gaulardal, and they brought word of it to the king about +midnight. The king got up immediately, ordered the people to be wakened, +and they went on board of the ships, bearing all their clothes and arms +on board, and all that they could take with them, and then rowed out of +the river. Then came the earl's men to the town at the same moment, took +all the Christmas provision, and set fire to the houses. King Olaf went +out of the fjord down to Orkadal, and there landed the men from +their ships. From Orkadal they went up to the mountains, and over the +mountains eastwards into Gudbrandsdal. In the lines composed about Kleng +Brusason, it is said that Earl Eirik burned the town of Nidaros:-- + + "The king's half-finished hall, + Rafters, root, and all, + Is burned down by the river's side; + The flame spreads o'er the city wide." + + + + +43. OF KING OLAF. + +King Olaf went southwards through Gudbrandsdal, and thence out +to Hedemark. In the depth of winter (A.D. 1015) he went about in +guest-quarters; but when spring returned he collected men, and went to +Viken. He had with him many people from Hedemark, whom the kings had +given him; and also many powerful people from among the bondes joined +him, among whom Ketil Kalf from Ringanes. He had also people from +Raumarike. His stepfather, Sigurd Syr, gave him the help also of a great +body of men. They went down from thence to the coast, and made ready +to put to sea from Viken. The fleet, which was manned with many fine +fellows, went out then to Tunsberg. + + + + +44. OF EARL SVEIN'S FORCES. + +After Yule (A.D. 1015) Earl Svein gathers all the men of the Throndhjem +country, proclaims a levy for an expedition, and fits out ships. At that +time there were in the Throndhjem country a great number of lendermen; +and many of them were so powerful and well-born, that they descended +from earls, or even from the royal race, which in a short course of +generations reckoned to Harald Harfager, and they were also very rich. +These lendermen were of great help to the kings or earls who ruled +the land; for it was as if the lenderman had the bonde-people of each +district in his power. Earl Svein being a good friend of the lendermen, +it was easy for him to collect people. His brother-in-law, Einar +Tambaskelfer, was on his side, and with him many other lendermen; and +among them many, both lendermen and bondes, who the winter before had +taken the oath of fidelity to King Olaf. When they were ready for sea +they went directly out of the fjord, steering south along the land, and +drawing men from every district. When they came farther south, abreast +of Rogaland, Erling Skialgson came to meet them, with many people and +many lendermen with him. Now they steered eastward with their whole +fleet to Viken, and Earl Svein ran in there towards the end of Easter. +The earl steered his fleet to Grenmar, and ran into Nesjar (A.D. 1015). + + + + +45. KING OLAF S FORCES. + +King Olaf steered his fleet out from Viken, until the two fleets were +not far from each other, and they got news of each other the Saturday +before Palm Sunday. King Olaf himself had a ship called the Carl's Head, +on the bow of which a king's head was carved out, and he himself had +carved it. This head was used long after in Norway on ships which kings +steered themselves. + + + + +46. KING OLAF'S SPEECH. + +As soon as day dawned on Sunday morning, King Olaf got up, put on his +clothes, went to the land, and ordered to sound the signal for the whole +army to come on shore. Then he made a speech to the troops, and told the +whole assembly that he had heard there was but a short distance between +them and Earl Svein. "Now," said he, "we shall make ready; for it can be +but a short time until we meet. Let the people arm, and every man be at +the post that has been appointed him, so that all may be ready when I +order the signal to sound for casting off from the land. Then let us row +off at once; and so that none go on before the rest of the ships, and +none lag behind when I row out of the harbour: for we cannot tell if we +shall find the earl where he was lying, or if he has come out to meet +us. When we do meet, and the battle begins, let people be alert to bring +all our ships in close order, and ready to bind them together. Let us +spare ourselves in the beginning, and take care of our weapons, that +we do not cast them into the sea, or shoot them away in the air to +no purpose. But when the fight becomes hot and the ships are bound +together, then let each man show what is in him of manly spirit." + + + + +47. OF THE BATTLE AT NESJAR. + +King Olaf had in his ship 100 men armed in coats of ring-mail, and in +foreign helmets. The most of his men had white shields, on which the +holy cross was gilt; but some had painted it in blue or red. He had also +had the cross painted in front on all the helmets, in a pale colour. He +had a white banner on which was a serpent figured. He ordered a mass +to be read before him, went on board ship, and ordered his people to +refresh themselves with meat and drink. He then ordered the war-horns to +sound to battle, to leave the harbour, and row off to seek the earl. Now +when they came to the harbour where the earl had lain, the earl's men +were armed, and beginning to row out of the harbour; but when they saw +the king's fleet coming they began to bind the ships together, to set up +their banners, and to make ready for the fight. When King Olaf saw this +he hastened the rowing, laid his ship alongside the earl's, and the +battle began. So says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "Boldly the king did then pursue + Earl Svein, nor let him out of view. + The blood ran down the reindeer's flank + Of each sea-king--his vessel's plank. + Nor did the earl's stout warriors spare + In battle-brunt the sword and spear. + Earl Svein his ships of war pushed on, + And lashed their stout stems one to one." + +It is said that King Olaf brought his ships into battle while Svein was +still lying in the harbour. Sigvat the skald was himself in the fight; +and in summer, just after the battle, he composed a lay, which is called +the "Nesjar Song", in which he tells particularly the circumstances:-- + + "In the fierce fight 'tis known how near + The scorner of the ice-cold spear + Laid the Charles' head the earl on board, + All eastward of the Agder fjord." + +Then was the conflict exceedingly sharp, and it was long before it could +be seen how it was to go in the end. Many fell on both sides, and many +were the wounded. So says Sigvat:-- + + "No urging did the earl require, + Midst spear and sword--the battle's fire; + No urging did the brave king need + The ravens in this shield-storm to feed. + Of limb-lopping enough was there, + And ghastly wounds of sword and spear. + Never, I think, was rougher play + Than both the armies had that day." + +The earl had most men, but the king had a chosen crew in his ship, who +had followed him in all his wars; and, besides, they were so excellently +equipped, as before related, that each man had a coat of ring-mail, so +that he could not be wounded. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Our lads, broad-shouldered, tall, and hale, + Drew on their cold shirts of ring-mail. + Soon sword on sword was shrilly ringing, + And in the air the spears were singing. + Under our helms we hid our hair, + For thick flew arrows through the air. + Right glad was I our gallant crew, + Steel-clad from head to foot, to view." + + + + +48. EARL SVEIN'S FLIGHT. + +When the men began to fall on board the earl's ships, and many appeared +wounded, so that the sides of the vessels were but thinly beset with +men, the crew of King Olaf prepared to board. Their banner was brought +up to the ship that was nearest the earl's, and the king himself +followed the banner. So says Sigvat:-- + + "'On with the king!' his banners waving: + 'On with the king!' the spears he's braving! + 'On, steel-clad men! and storm the deck, + Slippery with blood and strewed with wreck. + A different work ye have to share, + His banner in war-storm to bear, + From your fair girl's, who round the hall + Brings the full mead-bowl to us all.'" + +Now was the severest fighting. Many of Svein's men fell, and some sprang +overboard. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Into the ship our brave lads spring,-- + On shield and helm their red blades ring; + The air resounds with stroke on stroke,-- + The shields are cleft, the helms are broke. + The wounded bonde o'er the side + Falls shrieking in the blood-stained tide-- + The deck is cleared with wild uproar-- + The dead crew float about the shore." + +And also these lines:-- + + "The shields we brought from home were white, + Now they are red-stained in the fight: + This work was fit for those who wore + Ringed coats-of-mail their breasts before. + Where for the foe blunted the best sword + I saw our young king climb on board. + He stormed the first; we followed him-- + The war-birds now in blood may swim." + +Now defeat began to come down upon the earl's men. The king's men +pressed upon the earl's ship and entered it; but when the earl saw how +it was going, he called out to his forecastle-men to cut the cables +and cast the ship loose, which they did. Then the king's men threw +grapplings over the timber heads of the ship, and so held her fast to +their own; but the earl ordered the timber heads to be cut away, which +was done. So says Sigvat:-- + + "The earl, his noble ship to save, + To cut the posts loud order gave. + The ship escaped: our greedy eyes + Had looked on her as a clear prize. + The earl escaped; but ere he fled + We feasted Odin's fowls with dead:-- + With many a goodly corpse that floated + Round our ship's stern his birds were bloated." + +Einar Tambaskelfer had laid his ship right alongside the earl's. They +threw an anchor over the bows of the earl's ship, and thus towed her +away, and they slipped out of the fjord together. Thereafter the whole +of the earl's fleet took to flight, and rowed out of the fjord. The +skald Berse Torfason was on the forecastle of the earl's ship; and as it +was gliding past the king's fleet, King Olaf called out to him--for he +knew Berse, who was distinguished as a remarkably handsome man, always +well equipped in clothes and arms--"Farewell, Berse!" He replied, +"Farewell, king!" So says Berse himself, in a poem he composed when he +fell into King Olaf's power, and was laid in prison and in fetters on +board a ship:-- + + "Olaf the Brave + A 'farewell' gave, + (No time was there to parley long,) + To me who knows the art of song. + The skald was fain + 'Farewell' again + In the same terms back to send-- + The rule in arms to foe or friend. + Earl Svein's distress + I well can guess, + When flight he was compelled to take: + His fortunes I will ne'er forsake, + Though I lie here + In chains a year, + In thy great vessel all forlorn, + To crouch to thee I still will scorn: + I still will say, + No milder sway + Than from thy foe this land e'er knew: + To him, my early friend, I'm true." + + + + +49. EARL SVEIN LEAVES THE COUNTRY. + +Now some of the earl's men fled up the country, some surrendered at +discretion; but Svein and his followers rowed out of the fjord, and the +chiefs laid their vessels together to talk with each other, for the earl +wanted counsel from his lendermen. Erling Skialgson advised that they +should sail north, collect people, and fight King Olaf again; but as +they had lost many people, the most were of opinion that the earl should +leave the country, and repair to his brother-in-law the Swedish King, +and strengthen himself there with men. Einar Tambaskelfer approved also +of that advice, as they had no power to hold battle against Olaf. So +they discharged their fleet. The earl sailed across Folden, and with +him Einar Tambaskelfer. Erling Skialgson again, and likewise many other +lendermen who would not abandon their udal possessions, went north to +their homes; and Erling had many people that summer about him. + + + + +50. OLAF'S AND SIGURD'S CONSULTATION. + +When King Olaf and his men saw that the earl had gathered his ships +together, Sigurd Syr was in haste for pursuing the earl, and letting +steel decide their cause. But King Olaf replies, that he would first see +what the earl intended doing--whether he would keep his force together +or discharge his fleet. Sigurd Syr said, "It is for thee, king, to +command; but," he adds, "I fear, from thy disposition and wilfulness, +that thou wilt some day be betrayed by trusting to those great people, +for they are accustomed of old to bid defiance to their sovereigns." +There was no attack made, for it was soon seen that the earl's fleet was +dispersing. Then King Olaf ransacked the slain, and remained there some +days to divide the booty. At that time Sigvat made these verses:-- + + "The tale I tell is true + To their homes returned but few + Of Svein's men who came to meet + King Olaf's gallant fleet. + From the North these warmen came + To try the bloody game,-- + On the waves their corpses borne + Show the game that Sunday morn. + The Throndhjem girls so fair + Their jeers, I think, will spare, + For the king's force was but small + That emptied Throndhjem's hall. + But if they will have their jeer, + They may ask their sweethearts dear, + Why they have returned shorn + Who went to shear that Sunday morn." + +And also these:-- + + "Now will the king's power rise, + For the Upland men still prize + The king who o'er the sea + Steers to bloody victory. + Earl Svein! thou now wilt know + That our lads can make blood flow-- + That the Hedemarkers hale + Can do more than tap good ale." + +King Olaf gave his stepfather King Sigurd Syr, and the other chiefs +who had assisted him, handsome presents at parting. He gave Ketil of +Ringanes a yacht of fifteen benches of rowers, which Ketil brought up +the Raum river and into the Mjosen lake. + + + + +51. OF KING OLAF. + +King Olaf sent spies out to trace the earl's doings (A.D. 1015); and +when he found that the earl had left the country he sailed out west, and +to Viken, where many people came to him. At the Thing there he was taken +as king, and so he proceeded all the way to the Naze; and when he heard +that Erling Skialgson had gathered a large force, he did not tarry +in North Agder, but sailed with a steady fair wind to the Throndhjem +country; for there it appeared to him was the greatest strength of the +land, if he could subdue it for himself while the earl was abroad. When +Olaf came to Throndhjem there was no opposition, and he was elected +there to be king. In harvest (A.D. 1015) he took his seat in the town +of Nidaros, and collected the needful winter provision (A.D. 1016). He +built a king's house, and raised Clement's church on the spot on which +it now stands. He parcelled out building ground, which he gave to +bondes, merchants, or others who he thought would build. There he sat +down with many men-at-arms around him; for he put no great confidence +in the Throndhjem people, if the earl should return to the country. The +people of the interior of the Throndhjem country showed this clearly, +for he got no land-scat from them. + + + + +52. PLAN OF SVEIN AND THE SWEDISH KING. + +Earl Svein went first to Svithjod to his brother-in-law Olaf the Swedish +king, told him all that had happened between him and Olaf the Thick, and +asked his advice about what he should now undertake. The king said that +the earl should stay with him if he liked, and get such a portion of his +kingdom to rule over as should seem to him sufficient; "or otherwise," +says he, "I will give thee help of forces to conquer the country again +from Olaf." The earl chose the latter; for all those among his men who +had great possessions in Norway, which was the case with many who were +with him, were anxious to get back; and in the council they held about +this, it was resolved that in winter they should take the land-way over +Helsingjaland and Jamtaland, and so down into the Throndhjem land; +for the earl reckoned most upon the faithful help and strength of the +Throndhjem people of the interior as soon as he should appear there. In +the meantime, however, it was determined to take a cruise in summer in +the Baltic to gather property. + + + + +53. EARL SVEIN'S DEATH. + +Earl Svein went eastward with his forces to Russia, and passed the +summer (A.D. 1015) in marauding there; but on the approach of autumn +returned with his ships to Svithjod. There he fell into a sickness, +which proved fatal. After the earl's death some of the people who had +followed him remained in Svithjod; others went to Helsingjaland, thence +to Jamtaland, and so from the east over the dividing ridge of the +country to the Throndhjem district, where they told all that had +happened upon their journey: and thus the truth of Earl Svein's death +was known (A.D. 1016). + + + + +54. OF THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE. + +Einar Tambaskelfer, and the people who had followed him went in winter +to the Swedish king, and were received in a friendly manner. There were +also among them many who had followed the earl. The Swedish king took it +much amiss that Olaf the Thick had set himself down in his scat-lands, +and driven the earl out of them, and therefore he threatened the king +with his heaviest vengeance when opportunity offered. He said that Olaf +ought not to have had the presumption to take the dominions which the +earl had held of him; and all the Swedish king's men agreed with him. +But the Throndhjem people, when they heard for certain that the earl was +dead. and could not be expected back to Norway, turned all to obedience +to King Olaf. Many came from the interior of the Throndhjem country, +and became King Olaf's men; others sent word and tokens that they would +service him. Then, in autumn, he went into the interior of Throndhjem, +and held Things with the bondes, and was received as king in each +district. He returned to Nidaros, and brought there all the king's scat +and revenue, and had his winter-seat provided there (A.D. 1016). + + + + +55. OF KING OLAF'S HOUSEHOLD. + +King Olaf built a king's house in Nidaros, and in it was a large room +for his court, with doors at both ends. The king's high-seat was in the +middle of the room; and within sat his court-bishop, Grimkel, and next +him his other priests; without them sat his counsellors; and in the +other high-seat opposite to the king sat his marshal, Bjorn, and next +to him his pursuivants. When people of importance came to him, they also +had a seat of honour. The ale was drunk by the fire-light. He divided +the service among his men after the fashion of other kings. He had in +his house sixty court-men and thirty pursuivants; and to them he gave +pay and certain regulations. He had also thirty house-servants to do +the needful work about the house, and procure what was required. He had, +besides, many slaves. At the house were many outbuildings, in which the +court-men slept. There was also a large room, in which the king held his +court-meetings. + + + + +56. OF KING OLAF'S HABITS. + +It was King Olaf's custom to rise betimes in the morning, put on his +clothes, wash his hands, and then go to the church and hear the matins +and morning mass. Thereafter he went to the Thing-meeting, to bring +people to agreement with each other, or to talk of one or the other +matter that appeared to him necessary. He invited to him great and small +who were known to be men of understanding. He often made them recite to +him the laws which Hakon Athelstan's foster-son had made for Throndhjem; +and after considering them with those men of understanding, he ordered +laws adding to or taking from those established before. But Christian +privileges he settled according to the advice of Bishop Grimbel and +other learned priests; and bent his whole mind to uprooting heathenism, +and old customs which he thought contrary to Christianity. And he +succeeded so far that the bondes accepted of the laws which the king +proposed. So says Sigvat:-- + + "The king, who at the helm guides + His warlike ship through clashing tides, + Now gives one law for all the land-- + A heavenly law, which long will stand." + +King Olaf was a good and very gentle man, of little speech, and +open-handed although greedy of money. Sigvat the skald, as before +related, was in King Olaf's house, and several Iceland men. The king +asked particularly how Christianity was observed in Iceland, and it +appeared to him to be very far from where it ought to be; for, as +to observing Christian practices, it was told the king that it was +permitted there to eat horse-flesh, to expose infants as heathens do, +besides many other things contrary to Christianity. They also told the +king about many principal men who were then in Iceland. Skapte Thorodson +was then the lagman of the country. He inquired also of those who were +best acquainted with it about the state of people in other distant +countries; and his inquiries turned principally on how Christianity was +observed in the Orkney, Shetland, and Farey Islands: and, as far as +he could learn, it was far from being as he could have wished. Such +conversation was usually carried on by him; or else he spoke about the +laws and rights of the country. + + + + +57. KING OLAF'S MESSENGERS. + +The same winter (A.D. 1016) came messengers from the Swedish king, +Olaf the Swede, out of Svithjod: and their leaders were two brothers, +Thorgaut Skarde and Asgaut the bailiff; and they, had twenty-four men +with them, when they came from the eastward, over the ridge of the +country down into Veradal, they summoned a Thing of the bondes, talked +to them, and demanded of them scat and duties upon account of the king +of Sweden. But the bondes, after consulting with each other, determined +only to pay the scat which the Swedish king required in so far as King +Olaf required none upon his account, but refused to pay scat to both. +The messengers proceeded farther down the valley; but received at every +Thing they held the same answer, and no money. They went forward to +Skaun, held a Thing there, and demanded scat; but it went there as +before. Then they came to Stjoradal, and summoned a Thing, but the +bondes would not come to it. Now the messengers saw that their business +was a failure; and Thorgaut proposed that they should turn about, and go +eastward again. "I do not think," says Asgaut, "that we have performed +the king's errand unless we go to King Olaf the Thick, since the bondes +refer the matter to him." He was their commander; so they proceeded to +the town (Nidaros), and took lodging there. The day after they presented +themselves to the king, just as he was seated at table, saluted him, and +said they came with a message of the Swedish king. The king told them to +come to him next day. Next day the king, having heard mass, went to his +Thing-house, ordered the messengers of the Swedish king to be called, +and told them to produce their message. Then Thorgaut spoke, and told +first what his errand was, and next how the Throndhjem people of +the interior had replied to it; and asked the king's decision on the +business, that they might know what result their errand there was to +have. The king answers, "While the earls ruled over the country, it was +not to be wondered at if the country people thought themselves bound to +obey them, as they were at least of the royal race of the kingdom. But +it would have been more just if those earls had given assistance and +service to the kings who had a right to the country, rather than to +foreign kings, or to stir up opposition to their lawful kings, depriving +them of their land and kingdom. With regard to Olaf the Swede, who +calls himself entitled to the kingdom of Norway, I, who in fact am so +entitled, can see no ground for his claim; but well remember the skaith +and damage we have suffered from him and his relations." + +Then says Asgaut. "It is not wonderful that thou art called Olaf the +Thick, seeing thou answerest so haughtily to such a prince's message, +and canst not see clearly how heavy the king's wrath will be for thee +to support, as many have experienced who had greater strength than thou +appearest to have. But if thou wishest to keep hold of thy kingdom, it +will be best for thee to come to the king, and be his man; and we shall +beg him to give thee this kingdom in fief under him." + +The king replies with all gentleness, "I will give thee an advice, +Asgaut, in return. Go back to the east again to thy king, and tell him +that early in spring I will make myself ready, and will proceed eastward +to the ancient frontier that divided formerly the kingdom of the kings +of Norway from Sweden. There he may come if he likes, that we may +conclude a peace with each other; and each of us will retain the kingdom +to which he is born." + +Now the messengers turned back to their lodging, and prepared for their +departure, and the king went to table. The messengers came back soon +after to the king's house; but the doorkeepers saw it, and reported it +to the king, who told them not to let the messengers in. "I will not +speak with them," said he. Then the messengers went off, and Thorgaut +said he would now return home with his men; but Asgaut insisted still +that he would go forward with the king's errand: so they separated. +Thorgaut proceeded accordingly through Strind; but Asgaut went into +Gaulardal and Orkadal, and intended proceeding southwards to More, to +deliver his king's message. When King Olaf came to the knowledge of this +he sent out his pursuivants after them, who found them at the ness in +Stein, bound their hands behind their backs, and led them down to the +point called Gaularas, where they raised a gallows, and hanged them so +that they could be seen by those who travelled the usual sea-way out of +the fjord. Thorgaut heard this news before he had travelled far on his +way home through the Throndhjem country; and he hastened on his journey +until he came to the Swedish king, and told him how it had gone with +them. The king was highly enraged when he heard the account of it; and +he had no lack of high words. + + + + +58. OLAF AND ERLING RECONCILED. + +The spring thereafter (A.D. 1016) King Olaf Haraldson calls out an army +from the Throndhjem land, and makes ready to proceed eastward. Some of +the Iceland traders were then ready to sail from Norway. With them King +Olaf sent word and token to Hjalte Skeggjason, and summoned him to come +to him, and at the same time sent a verbal message to Skapte the lagman, +and other men who principally took part in the lawgiving of Iceland, to +take out of the law whatever appeared contrary to Christianity. He sent, +besides, a message of friendship to the people in general. The king +then proceeded southwards himself along the coast, stopping at every +district, and holding Things with the bondes; and in each Thing he +ordered the Christian law to be read, together with the message of +salvation thereunto belonging, and with which many ill customs and much +heathenism were swept away at once among the common people: for the +earls had kept well the old laws and rights of the country; but with +respect to keeping Christianity, they had allowed every man to do as he +liked. It was thus come so far that the people were baptized in the most +places on the sea-coast, but the most of them were ignorant of Christian +law. In the upper ends of the valleys, and in the habitations among the +mountains, the greater part of the people were heathen; for when the +common man is left to himself, the faith he has been taught in his +childhood is that which has the strongest hold over his inclination. But +the king threatened the most violent proceedings against great or small, +who, after the king's message, would not adopt Christianity. In the +meantime Olaf was proclaimed king in every Law Thing in the country, +and no man spoke against him. While he lay in Karmtsund messengers went +between him and Erling Skjalgson, who endeavoured to make peace between +them; and the meeting was appointed in Whitings Isle. When they met +they spoke with each other about agreement together; but Erling found +something else than he expected in the conversation: for when he +insisted on having all the fiefs which Olaf Trygvason, and afterwards +the Earls Svein and Hakon, had given him, and on that condition would +be his man and dutiful friend, the king answered, "It appears to me, +Erling, that it would be no bad bargain for thee to get as great fiefs +from me for thy aid and friendship as thou hadst from Earl Eirik, a man +who had done thee the greatest injury by the bloodshed of thy men; +but even if I let thee remain the greatest lenderman in Norway, I will +bestow my fiefs according to my own will, and not act as if ye lendermen +had udal right to my ancestor's heritage, and I was obliged to buy your +services with manifold rewards." Erling had no disposition to sue for +even the smallest thing; and he saw that the king was not easily dealt +with. He saw also that he had only two conditions before him: the one +was to make no agreement with the king, and stand by the consequences; +the other to leave it entirely to the king's pleasure. Although it was +much against his inclination, he chose the latter, and merely said to +the king, "The service will be the most useful to thee which I give with +a free will." And thus their conference ended. Erling's relations and +friends came to him afterwards, and advised him to give way, and proceed +with more prudence and less pride. "Thou wilt still," they said, "be the +most important and most respected lenderman in Norway, both on account +of thy own and thy relations' abilities and great wealth." Erling found +that this was prudent advice, and that they who gave it did so with a +good intention, and he followed it accordingly. Erling went into the +king's service on such conditions as the king himself should determine +and please. Thereafter they separated in some shape reconciled, and Olaf +went his way eastward along the coast (A.D. 1016). + + + + +59. EILIF OF GAUTLAND'S MURDER. + +As soon as it was reported that Olaf had come to Viken, the Danes who +had offices under the Danish king set off for Denmark, without waiting +for King Olaf. But King Olaf sailed in along Viken, holding Things +with the bondes. All the people of the country submitted to him, and +thereafter he took all the king's taxes, and remained the summer (A.D. +1016) in Viken. He then sailed east from Tunsberg across the fjord, and +all the way east to Svinasund. There the Swedish king's dominions begin, +and he had set officers over this country; namely, Eilif Gautske over +the north part, and Hroe Skialge over the east part, all the way to the +Gaut river. Hroe had family friends on both sides of the river, and also +great farms on Hising Island, and was besides a mighty and very rich +man. Eilif was also of great family, and very wealthy. Now when King +Olaf came to Ranrike he summoned the people to a Thing, and all who +dwelt on the sea-coast or in the out-islands came to him. Now when the +Thing was seated the king's marshal, Bjorn, held a speech to them, in +which he told the bondes to receive Olaf as their king, in the same +way as had been done in all other parts of Norway. Then stood up a bold +bonde by name Brynjolf Ulfalde, and said, "We bondes know where the +division-boundaries between the Norway and Danish and Swedish kings' +lands have stood by rights in old times; namely, that the Gaut river +divided their lands between the Vener lake and the sea; but towards the +north the forests until Eid forest, and from thence the ridge of the +country all north to Finmark. We know, also, that by turns they have +made inroads upon each other's territories, and that the Swedes have +long had power all the way to Svinasund. But, sooth to say, I know that +it is the inclination of many rather to serve the king of Norway, +but they dare not; for the Swedish king's dominions surround us, both +eastward, southwards, and also up the country; and besides, it may be +expected that the king of Norway must soon go to the north, where the +strength of his kingdom lies, and then we have no power to withstand the +Gautlanders. Now it is for the king to give us good counsel, for we have +great desire to be his men." After the Thing, in the evening, Brynjolf +was in the king's tent, and the day after likewise, and they had much +private conversation together. Then the king proceeded eastwards +along Viken. Now when Eilif heard of his arrival, he sent out spies +to discover what he was about; but he himself, with thirty men, kept +himself high up in the habitations among the hills, where he had +gathered together bondes. Many of the bondes came to King Olaf, but some +sent friendly messages to him. People went between King Olaf and Eilif, +and they entreated each separately to hold a Thing-meeting between +themselves, and make peace in one way or another. They told Eilif that +they might expect violent treatment from King Olaf if they opposed his +orders; but promised Eilif he should not want men. It was determined +that they should come down from the high country, and hold a thing +with the bondes and the king. King Olaf thereupon sent the chief of his +pursuivants, Thorer Lange, with six men, to Brynjolf. They were equipped +with their coats-of-mail under their cloaks, and their hats over their +helmets. The following day the bondes came in crowds down with Eilif; +and in his suite was Brynjolf, and with him Thorer. The king laid his +ships close to a rocky knoll that stuck out into the sea, and upon it +the king went with his people, and sat down. Below was a flat field, on +which the bondes' force was; but Eilif's men were drawn up, forming a +shield-fence before him. Bjorn the marshal spoke long and cleverly upon +the king's account, and when he sat down Eilif arose to speak; but at +the same moment Thorer Lange rose, drew his sword, and struck Eilif on +the neck, so that his head flew off. Then the whole bonde-force started +up; but the Gautland men set off in full flight and Thorer with his +people killed several of them. Now when the crowd was settled again, +and the noise over the king stood up, and told the bondes to seat +themselves. They did so, and then much was spoken. The end of it was +that they submitted to the king, and promised fidelity to him; and he, +on the other hand, promised not to desert them, but to remain at hand +until the discord between him and the Swedish Olaf was settled in one +way or other. King Olaf then brought the whole northern district under +his power, and went in summer eastward as far as the Gaut river, and got +all the king's scat among the islands. But when summer (A.D. 1016) was +drawing towards an end he returned north to Viken, and sailed up the +Raum river to a waterfall called Sarp. On the north side of the fall, a +point of land juts out into the river. There the king ordered a rampart +to be built right across the ness, of stone, turf, and wood, and a ditch +to be dug in front of it; so that it was a large earthen fort or burgh, +which he made a merchant town of. He had a king's house put up, and +ordered the building of Mary church. He also laid out plans for other +houses, and got people to build on them. In harvest (A.D. 1016) he let +everything be gathered there that was useful for his winter residence +(A.D. 1017), and sat there with a great many people, and the rest he +quartered in the neighbouring districts. The king prohibited all exports +from Viken to Gautland of herrings and salt, which the Gautland people +could ill do without. This year the king held a great Yule feast, to +which he invited many great bondes. + + + + +60. THE HISTORY OF EYVIND URARHORN. + +There was a man called Eyvind Urarhorn, who was a great man, of high +birth, who had his descent from the East Agder country. Every summer he +went out on a viking cruise, sometimes to the West sea, sometimes to +the Baltic, sometimes south to Flanders, and had a well-armed cutter +(snekkia) of twenty benches of rowers. He had been also at Nesjar, and +given his aid to the king; and when they separated the king promised +him his favour, and Eyvind, again, promised to come to the king's aid +whenever he was required. This winter (A.D. 1017) Eyvind was at the Yule +feast of the king, and received goodly gifts from him. Brynjolf Ulfalde +was also with the king, and he received a Yule present from the king of +a gold-mounted sword, and also a farm called Vettaland, which is a very +large head-farm of the district. Brynjolf composed a song about these +gifts, of which the refrain was-- + + "The song-famed hero to my hand + Gave a good sword, and Vettaland." + +The king afterwards gave him the title of Lenderman, and Brynjolf was +ever after the king's greatest friend. + + + + +61. THRAND WHITE'S MURDER. + +This winter (A.D. 1017) Thrand White from Throndhjem went east to +Jamtaland, to take up scat upon account of King Olaf. But when he had +collected the scat he was surprised by men of the Swedish king, who +killed him and his men, twelve in all, and brought the scat to the +Swedish king. King Olaf was very ill-pleased when he heard this news. + + + + +62. CHRISTIANITY PROCLAIMED IN VIKEN. + +King Olaf made Christian law to be proclaimed in Viken, in the same way +as in the North country. It succeeded well, because the people of Viken +were better acquainted with the Christian customs than the people in the +north; for, both winter and summer, there were many merchants in Viken, +both Danish and Saxon. The people of Viken, also, had much trading +intercourse with England, and Saxony, and Flanders, and Denmark; and +some had been on viking expeditions, and had had their winter abode in +Christian lands. + + + + +63. HROE'S FALL. + +About spring-time (A.D. 1017) King Olaf sent a message that Eyvind +Urarhorn should come to him; and they spake together in private for a +long time. Thereafter Eyvind made himself ready for a viking cruise. He +sailed south towards Viken, and brought up at the Eikreys Isles without +Hising Isle. There he heard that Hroe Skialge had gone northwards +towards Ordost, and had there made a levy of men and goods on account +of the Swedish king, and was expected from the north. Eyvind rowed in +by Haugasund, and Hroe came rowing from the north, and they met in the +sound and fought. Hroe fell there, with nearly thirty men; and Eyvind +took all the goods Hroe had with him. Eyvind then proceeded to the +Baltic, and was all summer on a viking cruise. + + + + +64. FALL OF GUDLEIK AND THORGAUT. + +There was a man called Gudleik Gerske, who came originally from Agder. +He was a great merchant, who went far and wide by sea, was very +rich, and drove a trade with various countries. He often went east +to Gardarike (Russia), and therefore was called Gudleik Gerske (the +Russian). This spring (A.D. 1017) Gudleik fitted out his ship, and +intended to go east in summer to Russia. King Olaf sent a message to +him that he wanted to speak to him; and when Gudleik came to the king he +told him he would go in partnership with him, and told him to purchase +some costly articles which were difficult to be had in this country. +Gudleik said that it should be according to the king's desire. The +king ordered as much money to be delivered to Gudleik as he thought +sufficient, and then Gudleik set out for the Baltic. They lay in a sound +in Gotland; and there it happened, as it often does, that people cannot +keep their own secrets, and the people of the country came to know +that in this ship was Olaf the Thick's partner. Gudleik went in summer +eastwards to Novgorod, where he bought fine and costly clothes, which +he intended for the king as a state dress; and also precious furs, and +remarkably splendid table utensils. In autumn (A.D. 1017), as Gudleik +was returning from the east, he met a contrary wind, and lay for a long +time at the island Eyland. There came Thorgaut Skarde, who in autumn +had heard of Gudleik's course, in a long-ship against him, and gave him +battle. They fought long, and Gudleik and his people defended themselves +for a long time; but the numbers against them were great, and Gudleik +and many of his ship's crew fell, and a great many of them were wounded. +Thorgaut took all their goods, and King Olaf's, and he and his comrades +divided the booty among them equally; but he said the Swedish king ought +to have the precious articles of King Olaf, as these, he said, should +be considered as part of the scat due to him from Norway. Thereafter +Thorgaut proceeded east to Svithjod. These tidings were soon known; and +as Eyvind Urarhorn came soon after to Eyland, he heard the news, and +sailed east after Thorgaut and his troop, and overtook them among the +Swedish isles on the coast, and gave battle. There Thorgaut and the most +of his men were killed, and the rest sprang overboard. Eyvind took +all the goods and all the costly articles of King Olaf which they had +captured from Gudleik, and went with these back to Norway in autumn, and +delivered to King Olaf his precious wares. The king thanked him in the +most friendly way for his proceeding, and promised him anew his favour +and friendship. At this time Olaf had been three years king over Norway +(A.D. 1015-1017). + + + + +65. MEETING OF OLAF AND RAGNVALD. + +The same summer (A.D. 1017) King Olaf ordered a levy, and went out +eastwards to the Gaut river, where he lay a great part of the summer. +Messages were passing between King Olaf, Earl Ragnvald, and the earl's +wife, Ingebjorg, the daughter of Trygve. She was very zealous about +giving King Olaf of Norway every kind of help, and made it a matter of +her deepest interest. For this there were two causes. She had a great +friendship for King Olaf; and also she could never forget that the +Swedish king had been one at the death of her brother, Olaf Trygvason; +and also that he, on that account only, had any presence to rule over +Norway. The earl, by her persuasion, turned much towards friendship with +King Olaf; and it proceeded so far that the earl and the king appointed +a meeting, and met at the Gaut river. They talked together of many +things, but especially of the Norwegian and Swedish kings' relations +with each other; both agreeing, as was the truth also, that it was the +greatest loss, both to the people of Viken and of Gautland, that there +was no peace for trade between the two countries; and at last both +agreed upon a peace, and still-stand of arms between them until next +summer; and they parted with mutual gifts and friendly speeches. + + + + +66. KING OLAF THE SWEDE. + +The king thereupon returned north to Viken, and had all the royal +revenues up to the Gaut river; and all the people of the country there +had submitted to him. King Olaf the Swede had so great a hatred of Olaf +Haraldson, that no man dared to call him by his right name in the king's +hearing. They called him the thick man; and never named him without some +hard by-name. + + + + +67. ACCOUNT OF THEIR RECONCILIATION. + +The bondes in Viken spoke with each other about there being nothing for +it but that the kings should make peace and a league with each other, +and insisted upon it that they were badly used by the kings going to +war; but nobody was so bold as to bring these murmurs before the king. +At last they begged Bjorn the marshal to bring this matter before the +king, and entreat him to send messengers to the Swedish king to offer +peace on his side. Bjorn was disinclined to do this, and put it off from +himself with excuses; but on the entreaties of many of his friends, he +promised at last to speak of it to the king; but declared, at the same +time, that he knew it would be taken very ill by the king to propose +that he should give way in anything to the Swedish king. The same +summer (A.D. 1017) Hjalte Skeggjason came over to Norway from Iceland, +according to the message sent him by King Olaf, and went directly to +the king. He was well received by the king, who told him to lodge in his +house, and gave him a seat beside Bjorn the marshal, and Hjalte became +his comrade at table. There was good-fellowship immediately between +them. + +Once, when King Olaf had assembled the people and bondes to consult upon +the good of the country, Bjorn the marshal said, "What think you, king, +of the strife that is between the Swedish king and you? Many people +have fallen on both sides, without its being at all more determined than +before what each of you shall have of the kingdom. You have now been +sitting in Viken one winter and two summers, and the whole country +to the north is lying behind your back unseen; and the men who have +property or udal rights in the north are weary of sitting here. Now it +is the wish of the lendermen, of your other people, and of the bondes +that this should come to an end. There is now a truce, agreement, and +peace with the earl, and the West Gautland people who are nearest to us; +and it appears to the people it would be best that you sent messengers +to the Swedish king to offer a reconciliation on your side; and, without +doubt, many who are about the Swedish king will support the proposal, +for it is a common gain for those who dwell in both countries, both here +and there." This speech of Bjorn's received great applause. + +Then the king said, "It is fair, Bjorn, that the advice thou hast given +should be carried out by thyself. Thou shalt undertake this embassy +thyself, and enjoy the good of it, if thou hast advised well; and if it +involve any man in danger, thou hast involved thyself in it. Moreover, +it belongs to thy office to declare to the multitude what I wish to have +told." Then the king stood up, went to the church, and had high mass +sung before him; and thereafter went to table. + +The following day Hjalte said to Bjorn, "Why art thou so melancholy, +man? Art thou sick, or art thou angry at any one?" Bjorn tells Hjalte +his conversation with the king, and says it is a very dangerous errand. + +Hjalte says, "It is their lot who follow kings that they enjoy high +honours, and are more respected than other men, but stand often in +danger of their lives: and they must understand how to bear both parts +of their lot. The king's luck is great; and much honour will be gained +by this business, if it succeed." + +Bjorn answered, "Since thou makest so light of this business in thy +speech, wilt thou go with me? The king has promised that I shall have +companions with me on the journey." + +"Certainly," says Hjalte; "I will follow thee, if thou wilt: for never +again shall I fall in with such a comrade if we part." + + + + +68. JOURNEY OF BJORN THE MARSHAL. + +A few days afterwards, when the king was at a Thing-meeting, Bjorn came +with eleven others. He says to the king that they were now ready to +proceed on their mission, and that their horses stood saddled at the +door. "And now," says he, "I would know with what errand I am to go, or +what orders thou givest us." + +The king replies, "Ye shall carry these my words to the Swedish +king--that I will establish peace between our countries up to the +frontier which Olaf Trygvason had before me; and each shall bind himself +faithfully not to trespass over it. But with regard to the loss of +people, no man must mention it if peace there is to be; for the Swedish +king cannot with money pay for the men the Swedes have deprived us of." +Thereupon the king rose, and went out with Bjorn and his followers; and +he took a gold-mounted sword and a gold ring, and said, in handing over +the sword to Bjorn, "This I give thee: it was given to me in summer by +Earl Ragnvald. To him ye shall go; and bring him word from me to advance +your errand with his counsel and strength. This thy errand I will think +well fulfilled if thou hearest the Swedish king's own words, be they +yea or nay: and this gold ring thou shalt give Earl Ragnvald. These are +tokens (1) he must know well." + +Hjalte went up to the king, saluted him, and said, "We need much, king, +that thy luck attend us;" and wished that they might meet again in good +health. + +The king asked where Hjalte was going. + +"With Bjorn," said he. + +The king said, "It will assist much to the good success of the journey +that thou goest too, for thy good fortune has often been proved; and be +assured that I shall wish that all my luck, if that be of any weight, +may attend thee and thy company." + +Bjorn and his followers rode their way, and came to Earl Ragnvald's +court, where they were well received. Bjorn was a celebrated and +generally known man,--known by sight and speech to all who had ever +seen King Olaf; for at every Thing, Bjorn stood up and told the king's +message. Ingebjorg, the earl's wife, went up to Hjalte and looked +at him. She recognized him, for she was living with her brother Olaf +Trygvason when Hjalte was there: and she knew how to reckon up the +relationship between King Olaf and Vilborg, the wife of Hjalte; for +Eirik Bjodaskalle father of Astrid, King Olaf Trygvason's mother, and +Bodvar father of Olaf, mother of Gissur White the father of Vilborg, +were brother's sons of the lenderman Vikingakare of Vors. + +They enjoyed here good entertainment. One day Bjorn entered into +conversation with the earl and Ingebjorg, in which he set forth his +errand, and produced to the earl his tokens. + +The earl replies, "What hast thou done, Bjorn, that the king wishes thy +death? For, so far from thy errand having any success, I do not think a +man can be found who could speak these words to the Swedish king without +incurring wrath and punishment. King Olaf, king of Sweden, is too proud +for any man to speak to him on anything he is angry at." + +Then Bjorn says, "Nothing has happened to me that King Olaf is offended +at; but many of his disposition act both for themselves and others, in +a way that only men who are daring can succeed in. But as yet all his +plans have had good success, and I think this will turn out well too; so +I assure you, earl, that I will actually travel to the Swedish king, +and not turn back before I have brought to his ears every word that King +Olaf told me to say to him, unless death prevent me, or that I am in +bonds, and cannot perform my errand; and this I must do, whether you +give any aid or no aid to me in fulfilling the king's wishes." + +Then said IngebJorg, "I will soon declare my opinion. I think, earl, +thou must turn all thy attention to supporting King Olaf the king of +Norway's desire that this message be laid before the Swedish king, in +whatever way he may answer it. Although the Swedish king's anger should +be incurred, and our power and property be at stake, yet will I rather +run the risk, than that it should be said the message of King Olaf was +neglected from fear of the Swedish king. Thou hast that birth, strength +of relations, and other means, that here in the Swedish land it is free +to thee to tell thy mind, if it be right and worthy of being heard, +whether it be listened to by few or many, great or little people, or by +the king himself." + +The earl replies, "It is known to every one how thou urgest me: it may +be, according to thy counsel, that I should promise the king's men to +follow them, so that they may get their errand laid before the Swedish +king, whether he take it ill or take it well. But I will have my own +counsel followed, and will not run hastily into Bjorn's or any other +man's measures, in such a highly important matter. It is my will that ye +all remain here with me, so long as I think it necessary for the purpose +of rightly forwarding this mission." Now as the earl had thus given them +to understand that he would support them in the business, Bjorn thanked +him most kindly, and with the assurance that his advice should rule them +altogether. Thereafter Bjorn and his fellow-travellers remained very +long in the earl's house. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Before writing was a common accomplishment in courts, the + only way of accrediting a special messenger between kings + and great men was by giving the messenger a token; that is. + some article well known by the person receiving the message + to be the property of and valued by the person sending it. + + + + +69. CONVERSATION OF BJORN AND INGEBJORG. + +Ingebjorg was particularly kind to them; and Bjorn often spoke with her +about the matter, and was ill at ease that their journey was so long +delayed. Hjalte and the others often spoke together also about the +matter; and Hjalte said; "I will go to the king if ye like; for I am not +a man of Norway, and the Swedes can have nothing to say to me. I +have heard that there are Iceland men in the king's house who are my +acquaintances, and are well treated; namely, the skalds Gissur Black +and Ottar Black. From them I shall get out what I can about the Swedish +king; and if the business will really be so difficult as it now appears, +or if there be any other way of promoting it, I can easily devise some +errand that may appear suitable for me." + +This counsel appeared to Bjorn and Ingebjorg to be the wisest, and they +resolved upon it among themselves. Ingebjorg put Hjalte in a position to +travel; gave him two Gautland men with him, and ordered them to follow +him, and assist him with their service, and also to go wherever he might +have occasion to send them. Besides, Ingebjorg gave him twenty marks of +weighed silver money for travelling expenses, and sent word and token by +him to the Swedish king Olaf's daughter, Ingegerd, that she should give +all her assistance to Hjalte's business, whenever he should find himself +under the necessity of craving her help. Hjalte set off as soon as he +was ready. When he came to King Olaf he soon found the skalds Gissur and +Ottar, and they were very glad at his coming. Without delay they went to +the king, and told him that a man was come who was their countryman, +and one of the most considerable in their native land, and requested +the king to receive him well. The king told them to take Hjalte and his +fellow-travellers into their company and quarters. Now when Hjalte had +resided there a short time, and got acquainted with people, he was much +respected by everybody. The skalds were often in the king's house, for +they were well-spoken men; and often in the daytime they sat in front of +the king's high-seat, and Hjalte, to whom they paid the highest respect +in all things, by their side. He became thus known to the king, who +willingly entered into conversation with him, and heard from him news +about Iceland. + + + + +70. OF SIGVAT THE SKALD. + +It happened that before Bjorn set out from home he asked Sigvat the +skald, who at that time was with King Olaf, to accompany him on his +journey. It was a journey for which people had no great inclination. +There was, however, great friendship between Bjorn and Sigvat. Then +Sigvat sang:-- + + "With the king's marshals all have I, + In days gone by, + Lived joyously,-- + With all who on the king attend, + And knee before him humbly bend, + Bjorn, thou oft hast ta'en my part-- + Pleaded with art, + And touched the heart. + Bjorn! brave stainer of the sword, + Thou art my friend--I trust thy word." + +While they were riding up to Gautland, Sigvat made these verses:-- + + "Down the Fjord sweep wind and rain, + Our stout ship's sails and tackle strain; + Wet to the skin. + We're sound within, + And gaily o'er the waves are dancing, + Our sea-steed o'er the waves high prancing! + Through Lister sea + Flying all free; + Off from the wind with swelling sail, + We merrily scud before the gale, + And reach the sound + Where we were bound. + And now our ship, so gay and grand, + Glides past the green and lovely land, + And at the isle + Moors for a while. + Our horse-hoofs now leave hasty print; + We ride--of ease there's scanty stint-- + In heat and haste + O'er Gautland's waste: + Though in a hurry to be married, + The king can't say that we have tarried." + +One evening late they were riding through Gautland, and Sigvat made +these verses:-- + + "The weary horse will at nightfall + Gallop right well to reach his stall; + When night meets day, with hasty hoof + He plies the road to reach a roof. + Far from the Danes, we now may ride + Safely by stream or mountain-side; + But, in this twilight, in some ditch + The horse and rider both may pitch." + +They rode through the merchant town of Skara, and down the street to the +earl's house. He sang:-- + + "The shy sweet girls, from window high + In wonder peep at the sparks that fly + From our horses heels, as down the street + Of the earl's town we ride so fleet. + Spur on!--that every pretty lass + May hear our horse-hoofs as we pass + Clatter upon the stones so hard, + And echo round the paved court-yard." + + + + +71. HJALTE SKEGGJASON WHILE HE WAS IN SVITHIOD. + +One day Hjalte, and the skalds with him, went before the king, and he +began thus:--"It has so happened, king, as is known to you, that I +have come here after a long and difficult journey; but when I had once +crossed the ocean and heard of your greatness, it appeared to me unwise +to go back without having seen you in your splendour and glory. Now it +is a law between Iceland and Norway, that Iceland men pay landing due +when they come into Norway, but while I was coming across the sea I took +myself all the landing dues from my ship's people; but knowing that thou +have the greatest right to all the power in Norway, I hastened hither to +deliver to you the landing dues." With this he showed the silver to the +king, and laid ten marks of silver in Gissur Black's lap. + +The king replies, "Few have brought us any such dues from Norway for +some time; and now, Hjalte, I will return you my warmest thanks for +having given yourself so much trouble to bring us the landing dues, +rather than pay them to our enemies. But I will that thou shouldst take +this money from me as a gift, and with it my friendship." + +Hjalte thanked the king with many words, and from that day set himself +in great favour with the king, and often spoke with him; for the king +thought, what was true, that he was a man of much understanding and +eloquence. Now Hjalte told Gissur and Ottar that he was sent with +tokens to the king's daughter Ingegerd, to obtain her protection and +friendship; and he begged of them to procure him some opportunity to +speak with her. They answered, that this was an easy thing to do; and +went one day to her house, where she sat at the drinking table with many +men. She received the skalds in a friendly manner, for they were known +to her. Hjalte brought her a salutation from the earl's wife, Ingebjorg; +and said she had sent him here to obtain friendly help and succour +from her, and in proof whereof produced his tokens. The king's +daughter received him also kindly, and said he should be welcome to her +friendship. They sat there till late in the day drinking. The king's +daughter made Hjalte tell her much news, and invited him to come often +and converse with her. He did so: came there often, and spoke with the +king's daughter; and at last entrusted her with the purpose of Bjorn's +and his comrade's journey, and asked her how she thought the Swedish +king would receive the proposal that there should be a reconciliation +between the kings. The king's daughter replied, that, in her opinion, +it would be a useless attempt to propose to the king any reconciliation +with Olaf the Thick; for the king was so enraged against him, that he +would not suffer his name to be mentioned before him. It happened one +day that Hjalte was sitting with the king and talking to him, and the +king was very merry and drunk. Then Hjalte said, "Manifold splendour and +grandeur have I seen here; and I have now witnessed with my eyes what I +have often heard of, that no monarch in the north is so magnificent: but +it is very vexatious that we who come so far to visit it have a road +so long and troublesome, both on account of the great ocean, but more +especially because it is not safe to travel through Norway for those who +are coming here in a friendly disposition. But why is there no one to +bring proposals for a peace between you and King Olaf the Thick? I heard +much in Norway, and in west Gautland, of the general desire that this +peace should have taken place; and it has been told me for truth, as the +Norway king's words, that he earnestly desires to be reconciled to you; +and the reason I know is, that he feels how much less his power is than +yours. It is even said that he intends to pay his court to your daughter +Ingegerd; and that would lead to a useful peace, for I have heard from +people of credit that he is a remarkably distinguished man." + +The king answers. "Thou must not speak thus, Hjalte; but for this time +I will not take it amiss of thee, as thou dost not know what people have +to avoid here. That fat fellow shall not be called king in my court, and +there is by no means the stuff in him that people talk of: and thou must +see thyself that such a connection is not suitable; for I am the tenth +king in Upsala who, relation after relation, has been sole monarch over +the Swedish, and many other great lands, and all have been the superior +kings over other kings in the northern countries. But Norway is little +inhabited, and the inhabitants are scattered. There have only been small +kings there; and although Harald Harfager was the greatest king in that +country, and strove against the small kings, and subdued them, yet he +knew so well his position that he did not covet the Swedish dominions, +and therefore the Swedish kings let him sit in peace, especially as +there was relationship between them. Thereafter, while Hakon Athelstan's +foster-son was in Norway he sat in peace, until he began to maraud in +Gautland and Denmark; on which a war-force came upon him, and took +from him both life and land. Gunhild's sons also were cut off when they +became disobedient to the Danish kings; and Harald Gormson joined Norway +to his own dominions, and made it subject to scat to him. And we reckon +Harald Gormson to be of less power and consideration than the Upsala +kings, for our relation Styrbjorn subdued him, and Harald became his +man; and yet Eirik the Victorious, my father, rose over Styrbjorn's head +when it came to a trial between them. When Olaf Trygvason came to Norway +and proclaimed himself king, we would not permit it, but we went with +King Svein, and cut him off; and thus we have appropriated Norway, as +thou hast not heard, and with no less right than if I had gained it in +battle, and by conquering the kings who ruled it before. Now thou canst +well suppose, as a man of sense, that I will not let slip the kingdom of +Norway for this thick fellow. It is wonderful he does not remember how +narrowly he made his escape, when we had penned him in in the Malar +lake. Although he slipped away with life from thence, he ought, +methinks, to have something else in his mind than to hold out against us +Swedes. Now, Hjalte, thou must never again open thy mouth in my presence +on such a subject." + +Hjalte saw sufficiently that there was no hope of the king's listening +to any proposal of a peace, and desisted from speaking of it, and turned +the conversation to something else. When Hjalte, afterwards, came +into discourse with the king's daughter Ingegerd, he tells her his +conversation with the king. She told him she expected such an answer +from the king. Hjalte begged of her to say a good word to the king about +the matter, but she thought the king would listen as little to what she +said: "But speak about it I will, if thou requirest it." Hjalte assured +her he would be thankful for the attempt. One day the king's daughter +Ingegerd had a conversation with her father Olaf; and as she found her +father was in a particularly good humour, she said, "What is now thy +intention with regard to the strife with Olaf the Thick? There are many +who complain about it, having lost their property by it; others have +lost their relations by the Northmen, and all their peace and quiet; so +that none of your men see any harm that can be done to Norway. It would +be a bad counsel if thou sought the dominion over Norway; for it is a +poor country, difficult to come at, and the people dangerous: for the +men there will rather have any other for their king than thee. If I +might advise, thou wouldst let go all thoughts about Norway, and not +desire Olaf's heritage; and rather turn thyself to the kingdoms in the +East country, which thy forefathers the former Swedish kings had, and +which our relation Styrbjorn lately subdued, and let the thick Olaf +possess the heritage of his forefathers and make peace with him." + +The king replies in a rage, "It is thy counsel, Ingegerd, that I should +let slip the kingdom of Norway, and give thee in marriage to this thick +Olaf."--"No," says he, "something else shall first take place. Rather +than that, I shall, at the Upsala Thing in winter, issue a proclamation +to all Swedes, that the whole people shall assemble for an expedition, +and go to their ships before the ice is off the waters; and I will +proceed to Norway, and lay waste the land with fire and sword, and burn +everything, to punish them for their want of fidelity." + +The king was so mad with rage that nobody ventured to say a word, and +she went away. Hjalte, who was watching for her, immediately went to her +and asked how her errand to the king had turned out. She answered, it +turned out as she had expected; that none could venture to put in a word +with the king; but, on the contrary, he had used threats; and she begged +Hjalte never to speak of the matter again before the king. As Hjalte and +Ingegerd spoke together often, Olaf the Thick was often the subject, and +he told her about him and his manners; and Hjalte praised the king of +Norway what he could, but said no more than was the truth, and she could +well perceive it. Once, in a conversation, Hjalte said to her, "May I be +permitted, daughter of the king, to tell thee what lies in my mind?" + +"Speak freely," says she; "but so that I alone can hear it." + +"Then," said Hjalte, "what would be thy answer, if the Norway king Olaf +sent messengers to thee with the errand to propose marriage to thee?" + +She blushed, and answered slowly but gently, "I have not made up my mind +to answer to that; but if Olaf be in all respects so perfect as thou +tellest me, I could wish for no other husband; unless, indeed, thou hast +gilded him over with thy praise more than sufficiently." + +Hjalte replied, that he had in no respect spoken better of the king than +was true. They often spoke together on the same subject. Ingegerd begged +Hjalte to be cautious not to mention it to any other person, for the +king would be enraged against him if it came to his knowledge. Hjalte +only spoke of it to the skalds Gissur and Ottar, who thought it was the +most happy plan, if it could but be carried into effect. Ottar, who was +a man of great power of conversation, and much beloved in the court, +soon brought up the subject before the king's daughter, and recounted +to her, as Hjalte had done, all King Olaf's excellent qualities. Often +spoke Hjalte and the others about him; and now that Hjalte knew +the result of his mission, he sent those Gautland men away who had +accompanied him, and let them return to the earl with letters (1) which +the king's daughter Ingegerd sent to the earl and Ingebjorg. Hjalte also +let them give a hint to the earl about the conversation he had had with +Ingegerd, and her answer thereto: and the messengers came with it to the +earl a little before Yule. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) This seems the first notice we have in the sagas of + written letters being sent instead of tokens and verbal messages. + --L. + + + + +72. OLAF'S JOURNEY TO THE UPLANDS. + +When King Olaf had despatched Bjorn and his followers to Gautland, he +sent other people also to the Uplands, with the errand that they should +have guest-quarters prepared for him, as he intended that winter (A.D. +1018) to live as guest in the Uplands; for it had been the custom of +former kings to make a progress in guest-quarters every third year in +the Uplands. In autumn he began his progress from Sarpsborg, and went +first to Vingulmark. He ordered his progress so that he came first to +lodge in the neighbourhood of the forest habitations, and summoned to +him all the men of the habitations who dwelt at the greatest distance +from the head-habitations of the district; and he inquired particularly +how it stood with their Christianity, and, where improvement was +needful, he taught them the right customs. If any there were who would +not renounce heathen ways, he took the matter so zealously that he drove +some out of the country, mutilated others of hands or feet, or stung +their eyes out; hung up some, cut down some with the sword; but let none +go unpunished who would not serve God. He went thus through the whole +district, sparing neither great nor small. He gave them teachers, and +placed these as thickly in the country as he saw needful. In this manner +he went about in that district, and had 300 deadly men-at-arms with him; +and then proceeded to Raumarike. He soon perceived that Christianity was +thriving less the farther he proceeded into the interior of the country. +He went forward everywhere in the same way, converting all the people to +the right faith, and severely punishing all who would not listen to his +word. + + + + +73. TREACHERY OF THE UPLAND KINGS. + +Now when the king who at that time ruled in Raumarike heard of this, he +thought it was a very bad affair; for every day came men to him, both +great and small, who told him what was doing. Therefore this king +resolved to go up to Hedemark, and consult King Hrorek, who was the +most eminent for understanding of the kings who at that time were in the +country. Now when these kings spoke with each other, they agreed to +send a message to Gudrod, the valley-king north in the Gudbrandsdal, +and likewise to the king who was in Hadaland, and bid them to come to +Hedemark, to meet Hrorek and the other kings there. They did not spare +their travelling; for five kings met in Hedemark, at a place called +Ringsaker. Ring, King Hrorek's brother, was the fifth of these kings. +The kings had first a private conference together, in which he who +came from Raumarike first took up the word, and told of King Olaf's +proceedings, and of the disturbance he was causing both by killing and +mutilating people. Some he drove out of the country, some he deprived +of their offices or property if they spoke anything against him; and, +besides, he was travelling over the country with a great army, not +with the number of people fixed by law for a royal progress in +guest-quarters. He added, that he had fled hither upon account of this +disturbance, and many powerful people with him had fled from their udal +properties in Raumarike. "But although as yet the evil is nearest to +us, it will be but a short time before ye will also be exposed to it; +therefore it is best that we all consider together what resolution we +shall take." When he had ended his speech, Hrorek was desired to speak; +and he said, "Now is the day come that I foretold when we had had our +meeting at Hadaland, and ye were all so eager to raise Olaf over our +heads; namely, that as soon as he was the supreme master of the country +we would find it hard to hold him by the horns. We have but two things +now to do: the one is, to go all of us to him, and let him do with us as +he likes, which I think is the best thing we can do; or the other is, +to rise against him before he has gone farther through the country. +Although he has 300 or 400 men, that is not too great a force for us to +meet, if we are only all in movement together: but, in general, there is +less success and advantage to be gained when several of equal strength +are joined together, than when one alone stands at the head of his own +force; therefore it is my advice, that we do not venture to try our luck +against Olaf Haraldson." + +Thereafter each of the kings spoke according to his own mind some +dissuading from going out against King Olaf, others urging it; and no +determination was come to, as each had his own reasons to produce. + +Then Gudrod, the valley-king, took up the word, and spoke:--"It appears +wonderful to me, that ye make such a long roundabout in coming to a +resolution; and probably ye are frightened for him. We are here five +kings, and none of less high birth than Olaf. We gave him the strength +to fight with Earl Svein, and with our forces he has brought the country +under his power. But if he grudges each of us the little kingdom he had +before, and threatens us with tortures, or gives us ill words, then, say +I for myself, that I will withdraw myself from the king's slavery; and I +do not call him a man among you who is afraid to cut him off, if he come +into your hands here up in Hedemark. And this I can tell you, that we +shall never bear our heads in safety while Olaf is in life." After this +encouragement they all agreed to his determination. + +Then said Hrorek, "With regard to this determination, it appears to me +necessary to make our agreement so strong that no one shall fail in his +promise to the other. Therefore, if ye determine upon attacking Olaf at +a fixed time, when he comes here to Hedemark, I will not trust much to +you if some are north in the valleys, others up in Hedemark; but if +our resolution is to come to anything, we must remain here assembled +together day and night." + +This the kings agreed to, and kept themselves there all assembled, +ordering a feast to be provided for them at Ringsaker, and drank there a +cup to success; sending out spies to Raumarike, and when one set came +in sending out others, so that day and night they had intelligence of +Olaf's proceedings, and of the numbers of his men. King Olaf went +about in Raumarike in guest-quarters, and altogether in the way before +related; but as the provision of the guest-quarter was not always +sufficient, upon account of his numerous followers, he laid it upon the +bondes to give additional contributions wherever he found it necessary +to stay. In some places he stayed longer, in others, shorter than was +fixed; and his journey down to the lake Miosen was shorter than had +been fixed on. The kings, after taking their resolution, sent out +message-tokens, and summoned all the lendermen and powerful bondes from +all the districts thereabout; and when they had assembled the kings had +a private meeting with them, and made their determination known, setting +a day for gathering together and carrying it into effect; and it was +settled among them that each of the kings should have 300 (1) men. Then +they sent away the lendermen to gather the people, and meet all at the +appointed place. The most approved of the measure; but it happened +here, as it usually does, that every one has some friend even among his +enemies. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) I.e., 360. + + + + +74. MUTILATING OF THE UPLAND KINGS. + +Ketil of Ringanes was at this meeting. Now when he came home in the +evening he took his supper, put on his clothes, and went down with his +house-servants to the lake; took a light vessel which he had, the same +that King Olaf had made him a present of, and launched it on the water. +They found in the boat-house everything ready to their hands; betook +themselves to their oars, and rowed out into the lake. Ketil had forty +well-armed men with him, and came early in the morning to the end of the +lake. He set off immediately with twenty men, leaving the other twenty +to look after the ship. King Olaf was at that time at Eid, in the upper +end of Raumarike. Thither Ketil arrived just as the king was coming from +matins. The king received Ketil kindly. He said he must speak with the +king in all haste; and they had a private conference together. There +Ketil tells the king the resolution which the kings had taken, and their +agreement, which he had come to the certain knowledge of. When the king +learnt this he called his people together, and sent some out to collect +riding-horses in the country; others he sent down to the lake to take +all the rowing-vessels they could lay hold of, and keep them for his +use. Thereafter he went to the church, had mass sung before him, and +then sat down to table. After his meal he got ready, and hastened down +to the lake, where the vessels were coming to meet him. He himself went +on board the light vessel, and as many men with him as it could stow, +and all the rest of his followers took such boats as they could get hold +of; and when it was getting late in the evening they set out from the +land, in still and calm weather. He rowed up the water with 400 men, and +came with them to Ringsaker before day dawned; and the watchmen were not +aware of the army before they were come into the very court. Ketil knew +well in what houses the kings slept, and the king had all these houses +surrounded and guarded, so that nobody could get out; and so they stood +till daylight. The kings had not people enough to make resistance, but +were all taken prisoners, and led before the king. Hrorek was an able +but obstinate man, whose fidelity the king could not trust to if he made +peace with him; therefore he ordered both his eyes to be punched out, +and took him in that condition about with him. He ordered Gudrod's +tongue to be cut out; but Ring and two others he banished from Norway, +under oath never to return. Of the lendermen and bondes who had actually +taken part in the traitorous design, some he drove out of the country, +some he mutilated, and with others he made peace. Ottar Black tells of +this:-- + + "The giver of rings of gold, + The army leader bold, + In vengeance springs + On the Hedemark kings. + Olaf the bold and great, + Repays their foul deceit-- + In full repays + Their treacherous ways. + He drives with steel-clad hand + The small kings from the land,-- + Greater by far + In deed of war. + The king who dwelt most north + Tongueless must wander forth: + All fly away + In great dismay. + King Olaf now rules o'er + What five kings ruled before. + To Eid's old bound + Extends his ground. + No kings in days of yore + E'er won so much before: + That this is so + All Norsemen know." + +King Olaf took possession of the land these five kings had possessed, +and took hostages from the lendermen and bondes in it. He took money +instead of guest-quarters from the country north of the valley district, +and from Hedemark; and then returned to Raumarike, and so west to +Hadaland. This winter (A.D. 1018) his stepfather Sigurd Syr died; and +King Olaf went to Ringerike, where his mother Asta made a great feast +for him. Olaf alone bore the title of king now in Norway. + + + + +75. KING OLAF'S HALF-BROTHERS. + +It is told that when King Olaf was on his visit to his mother Asta, +she brought out her children, and showed them to him. The king took his +brother Guthorm on the one knee, and his brother Halfdan on the other. +The king looked at Guthorm, made a wry face, and pretended to be angry +at them: at which the boys were afraid. Then Asta brought her youngest +son, called Harald, who was three years old, to him. The king made a wry +face at him also; but he looked the king in the face without regarding +it. The king took the boy by the hair, and plucked it; but the boy +seized the king's whiskers, and gave them a tug. "Then," said the king, +"thou wilt be revengeful, my friend, some day." The following day the +king was walking with his mother about the farm, and they came to +a playground, where Asta's sons, Guthorm and Halfdan, were amusing +themselves. They were building great houses and barns in their play, and +were supposing them full of cattle and sheep; and close beside them, in +a clay pool, Harald was busy with chips of wood, sailing them, in +his sport along the edge. The king asked him what these were; and he +answered, these were his ships of war. The king laughed, and said, "The +time may come, friend, when thou wilt command ships." + +Then the king called to him Halfdan and Guthorm; and first he asked +Guthorm, "What wouldst thou like best to have?" + +"Corn land," replied he. + +"And how great wouldst thou like thy corn land to be?" + +"I would have the whole ness that goes out into the lake sown with corn +every summer." On that ness there are ten farms. + +The king replies, "There would be a great deal of corn there." And, +turning to Halfdan, he asked, "And what wouldst thou like best to have?" + +"Cows," he replied. + +"How many wouldst thou like to have?" + +"When they went to the lake to be watered I would have so many, that +they stood as tight round the lake as they could stand." + +"That would be a great housekeeping," said the king; "and therein ye +take after your father." + +Then the king says to Harald, "And what wouldst thou like best to have?" + +"House-servants." + +"And how many wouldst thou have?" + +"Oh! so many I would like to have as would eat up my brother Halfdan's +cows at a single meal." + +The king laughed, and said to Asta, "Here, mother, thou art bringing up +a king." And more is not related of them on this occasion. + + + + +76. THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY. + +In Svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathenism prevailed, that +the chief sacrifice took place in Goe month at Upsala. Then sacrifice +was offered for peace, and victory to the king; and thither came people +from all parts of Svithjod. All the Things of the Swedes, also, were +held there, and markets, and meetings for buying, which continued for +a week: and after Christianity was introduced into Svithjod, the Things +and fairs were held there as before. After Christianity had taken +root in Svithjod, and the kings would no longer dwell in Upsala, the +market-time was moved to Candlemas, and it has since continued so, and +it lasts only three days. There is then the Swedish Thing also, and +people from all quarters come there. Svithjod is divided into many +parts. One part is West Gautland, Vermaland, and the Marks, with what +belongs to them; and this part of the kingdom is so large, that the +bishop who is set over it has 1100 churches under him. The other part is +East Gautland, where there is also a bishop's seat, to which the islands +of Gotland and Eyland belong; and forming all together a still greater +bishopric. In Svithjod itself there is a part of the country called +Sudermanland, where there is also a bishopric. Then comes Westmanland, +or Fiathrundaland, which is also a bishopric. The third portion of +Svithjod proper is called Tiundaland; the fourth Attandaland; the +fifth Sialand, and what belongs to it lies eastward along the coast. +Tiundaland is the best and most inhabited part of Svithjod, under which +the other kingdoms stand. There Upsala is situated, the seat of the king +and archbishop; and from it Upsala-audr, or the domain of the Swedish +kings, takes its name. Each of these divisions of the country has its +Lag-thing, and its own laws in many parts. Over each is a lagman, who +rules principally in affairs of the bondes: for that becomes law which +he, by his speech, determines them to make law: and if king, earl, or +bishop goes through the country, and holds a Thing with the bondes, the +lagmen reply on account of the bondes, and they all follow their lagmen; +so that even the most powerful men scarcely dare to come to their +Al-thing without regarding the bondes' and lagmen's law. And in all +matters in which the laws differ from each other, Upsala-law is the +directing law; and the other lagmen are under the lagman who dwells in +Tiundaland. + + + + +77. OF THE LAGMAN THORGNY. + +In Tiundaland there was a lagman who was called Thorgny, whose father +was called Thorgny Thorgnyson. His forefathers had for a long course of +years, and during many kings' times, been lagmen of Tiundaland. At this +time Thorgny was old, and had a great court about him. He was considered +one of the wisest men in Sweden, and was Earl Ragnvald's relation and +foster-father. + + + + +78. MEETING OF RAGNVALD AND INGEGERD. + +Now we must go back in our story to the time when the men whom the +king's daughter Ingegerd and Hjalte had sent from the east came to Earl +Ragnvald. They relate their errand to the earl and his wife Ingebjorg, +and tell how the king's daughter had oft spoken to the Swedish king +about a peace between him and King Olaf the Thick, and that she was a +great friend of King Olaf; but that the Swedish king flew into a passion +every time she named Olaf, so that she had no hopes of any peace. The +Earl told Bjorn the news he had received from the east; but Bjorn gave +the same reply, that he would not turn back until he had met the Swedish +king, and said the earl had promised to go with him. Now the winter was +passing fast, and immediately after Yule the earl made himself ready +to travel with sixty men, among whom where the marshal Bjorn and his +companions. The earl proceeded eastward all the way to Svithjod; but +when he came a little way into the country he sent his men before him +to Upsala with a message to Ingegerd the king's daughter to come out +to meet him at Ullaraker, where she had a large farm. When the king's +daughter got the earl's message she made herself ready immediately to +travel with a large attendance, and Hjalte accompanied her. But before +he took his departure he went to King Olaf, and said, "Continue always +to be the most fortunate of monarchs! Such splendour as I have seen +about thee I have in truth never witnessed elsewhere, and wheresoever I +come it shall not be concealed. Now, king, may I entreat thy favour and +friendship in time to come?" + +The king replies, "Why art thou in so great a haste, and where art thou +going?" + +Hjalte replies, "I am to ride out to Ullaraker with Ingegerd thy +daughter." + +The king says, "Farewell, then: a man thou art of understanding and +politeness, and well suited to live with people of rank." + +Thereupon Hjalte withdrew. + +The king's daughter Ingegerd rode to her farm in Ullaraker, and ordered +a great feast to be prepared for the earl. When the earl arrived he was +welcomed with gladness, and he remained there several days. The earl and +the king's daughter talked much, and of many things, but most about the +Swedish and Norwegian kings; and she told the earl that in her opinion +there was no hope of peace between them. + +Then said the earl, "How wouldst thou like it, my cousin, if Olaf king +of Norway were to pay his addresses to thee? It appears to us that it +would contribute most towards a settled peace if there was relationship +established between the kings; but I would not support such a matter if +it were against thy inclination." + +She replies, "My father disposes of my hand; but among all my other +relations thou art he whose advice I would rather follow in weighty +affairs. Dost thou think it would be advisable?" The earl recommended +it to her strongly, and reckoned up many excellent achievements of King +Olaf's. He told her, in particular, about what had lately been done; +that King Olaf in an hours time one morning had taken five kings +prisoners, deprived them all of their governments, and laid their +kingdoms and properties under his own power. Much they talked about the +business, and in all their conversations they perfectly agreed with each +other. When the earl was ready he took leave, and proceeded on his way, +taking Hjalte with him. + + + + +79. RAGNVALD AND THORGNY. + +Earl Ragnvald came towards evening one day to the house of Lagman +Thorgny. It was a great and stately mansion, and many people stood +outside, who received the earl kindly, and took care of the horses +and baggage. The earl went into the room, where there was a number of +people. In the high-seat sat an old man; and never had Bjorn or his +companions seen a man so stout. His beard was so long that it lay upon +his knee, and was spread over his whole breast; and the man, moreover, +was handsome and stately in appearance. The earl went forward and +saluted him. Thorgny received him joyfully and kindly, and bade him go +to the seat he was accustomed to take. The earl seated himself on the +other side, opposite Thorgny. They remained there some days before the +earl disclosed his errand, and then he asked Thorgny to go with him into +the conversing room. Bjorn and his followers went there with the earl. +Then the earl began, and told how Olaf king of Norway had sent these men +hither to conclude a peaceful agreement. He showed at great length what +injury it was of to the West Gautland people, that there was hostility +between their country and Norway. He further related that Olaf the king +of Norway had sent ambassadors, who were here present, and to whom he +had promised he would attend them to the Swedish king; but he added, +"The Swedish king takes the matter so grievously, that he has uttered +menaces against those who entertain it. Now so it is, my foster-father, +that I do not trust to myself in this matter; but am come on a visit to +thee to get good counsel and help from thee in the matter." + +Now when the earl had done speaking Thorgny sat silent for a while, +and then took up the word. "Ye have curious dispositions who are so +ambitious of honour and renown, and yet have no prudence or counsel in +you when you get into any mischief. Why did you not consider, before +you gave your promise to this adventure, that you had no power to stand +against King Olaf? In my opinion it is not a less honourable condition +to be in the number of bondes and have one's words free, and be able +to say what one will, even if the king be present. But I must go to the +Upsala Thing, and give thee such help that without fear thou canst speak +before the king what thou findest good." + +The earl thanked him for the promise, remained with Thorgny, and rode +with him to the Upsala Thing. There was a great assemblage of people at +the Thing, and King Olaf was there with his court. + + + + +80. OF THE UPSALA THING. + +The first day the Thing sat, King Olaf was seated on a stool, and his +court stood in a circle around him. Right opposite to him sat Earl +Ragnvald and Thorgny in the Thing upon one stool, and before them the +earl's court and Thorgny's house-people. Behind their stool stood the +bonde community, all in a circle around them. Some stood upon hillocks +and heights, in order to hear the better. Now when the king's messages, +which are usually handled in the Things, were produced and settled, the +marshal Bjorn rose beside the earl's stool, and said aloud, "King Olaf +sends me here with the message that he will offer to the Swedish king +peace, and the frontiers that in old times were fixed between Norway and +Svithjod." He spoke so loud that the Swedish king could distinctly hear +him; but at first, when he heard King Olaf's name spoken, he thought the +speaker had some message or business of his own to execute; but when he +heard of peace, and the frontiers between Norway and Svithjod, he saw +from what root it came, and sprang up, and called out that the man +should be silent, for that such speeches were useless. Thereupon Bjorn +sat down; and when the noise had ceased Earl Ragnvald stood up and made +a speech. + +He spoke of Olaf the Thick's message, and proposal of peace to Olaf the +Swedish king; and that all the West Gautland people sent their entreaty +to Olaf that he would make peace with the king of Norway. He recounted +all the evils the West Gautlanders were suffering under; that they must +go without all the things from Norway which were necessary in their +households; and, on the other hand, were exposed to attack and hostility +whenever the king of Norway gathered an army and made an inroad on them. +The earl added, that Olaf the Norway king had sent men hither with the +intent to obtain Ingegerd the king's daughter in marriage. + +When the earl had done speaking Olaf the Swedish king stood up and +replied, and was altogether against listening to any proposals of peace, +and made many and heavy reproaches against the earl for his impudence +in entering into a peaceful truce with the thick fellow, and making up +a peaceful friendship with him, and which in truth he considered treason +against himself. He added, that it would be well deserved if Earl +Ragnvald were driven out of the kingdom. The earl had, in his opinion, +the influence of his wife Ingebjorg to thank for what might happen; and +it was the most imprudent fancy he could have fallen upon to take up +with such a wife. The king spoke long and bitterly, turning his speech +always against Olaf the Thick. When he sat down not a sound was to be +heard at first. + + + + +81. THORGNY'S SPEECH. + +Then Thorgny stood up; and when he arose all the bondes stood up who +had before been sitting, and rushed together from all parts to listen to +what Lagman Thorgny would say. At first there was a great din of people +and weapons; but when the noise was settled into silent listening, +Thorguy made his speech. "The disposition of Swedish kings is different +now from what it has been formerly. My grandfather Thorgny could well +remember the Upsala king Eirik Eymundson, and used to say of him that +when he was in his best years he went out every summer on expeditions +to different countries, and conquered for himself Finland, Kirjalaland, +Courland, Esthonia, and the eastern countries all around; and at the +present day the earth-bulwarks, ramparts, and other great works which he +made are to be seen. And, more over, he was not so proud that he would +not listen to people who had anything to say to him. My father, again, +was a long time with King Bjorn, and was well acquainted with his ways +and manners. In Bjorn's lifetime his kingdom stood in great power, and +no kind of want was felt, and he was gay and sociable with his friends. +I also remember King Eirik the Victorious, and was with him on many +a war-expedition. He enlarged the Swedish dominion, and defended it +manfully; and it was also easy and agreeable to communicate our opinions +to him. But the king we have now got allows no man to presume to talk +with him, unless it be what he desires to hear. On this alone he applies +all his power, while he allows his scat-lands in other countries to +go from him through laziness and weakness. He wants to have the Norway +kingdom laid under him, which no Swedish king before him ever desired, +and therewith brings war and distress on many a man. Now it is our will, +we bondes, that thou King Olaf make peace with the Norway king, Olaf +the Thick, and marry thy daughter Ingegerd to him. Wilt thou, however, +reconquer the kingdoms in the east countries which thy relations and +forefathers had there, we will all for that purpose follow thee to the +war. But if thou wilt not do as we desire, we will now attack thee, +and put thee to death; for we will no longer suffer law and peace to be +disturbed. So our forefathers went to work when they drowned five +kings in a morass at the Mula-thing, and they were filled with the same +insupportable pride thou hast shown towards us. Now tell us, in all +haste, what resolution thou wilt take." Then the whole public approved, +with clash of arms and shouts, the lagman's speech. + +The king stands up and says he will let things go according to the +desire of the bondes. "All Swedish kings," he said, "have done so, and +have allowed the bondes to rule in all according to their will." The +murmur among the bondes then came to an end, and the chiefs, the +king, the earl, and Thorgny talked together, and concluded a truce and +reconciliation, on the part of the Swedish king, according to the terms +which the king of Norway had proposed by his ambassadors; and it was +resolved at the Thing that Ingegerd, the king's daughter, should be +married to Olaf Haraldson. The king left it to the earl to make the +contract feast, and gave him full powers to conclude this marriage +affair; and after this was settled at the Thing, they separated. When +the earl returned homewards, he and the king's daughter Ingegerd had a +meeting, at which they talked between themselves over this matter. She +sent Olaf a long cloak of fine linen richly embroidered with gold, and +with silk points. The earl returned to Gautland, and Bjorn with him; and +after staying with him a short time, Bjorn and his company returned to +Norway. When he came to King Olaf he told him the result of his errand, +and the king returned him many thanks for his conduct, and said +Bjorn had had great success in bringing his errand to so favourabie a +conclusion against such animosity. + + + + +82. OF KING HROREK'S TREACHERY. + +On the approach of spring (A.D. 1018) King Olaf went down to the coast, +had his ships rigged out, summoned troops to him, and proceeded in +spring out from Viken to the Naze, and so north to Hordaland. He then +sent messages to all the lendermen, selected the most considerable men +in each district, and made the most splendid preparations to meet his +bride. The wedding-feast was to be in autumn, at the Gaut river, on the +frontiers of the two countries. King Olaf had with him the blind king +Hrorek. When his wound was healed, the king gave him two men to serve +him, let him sit in the high-seat by his side, and kept him in meat and +clothes in no respect Norse than he had kept himself before. Hrorek was +taciturn, and answered short and cross when any one spoke to him. It was +his custom to make his footboy, when he went out in the daytime, lead +him away from people, and then to beat the lad until he ran away. He +would then complain to King Olaf that the lad would not serve him. The +king changed his servants, but it was as before; no servant would hold +it out with King Hrorek. Then the king appointed a man called Svein +to wait upon and serve King Hrorek. He was Hrorek's relation, and +had formerly been in his service. Hrorek continued with his habits of +moroseness, and of solitary walks; but when he and Svein were alone +together, he was merry and talkative. He used to bring up many things +which had happened in former days when he was king. He alluded, too, +to the man who had, in his former days, torn him from his kingdom and +happiness, and made him live on alms. "It is hardest of all," says he, +"that thou and my other relations, who ought to be men of bravery, are +so degenerated that thou wilt not avenge the shame and disgrace brought +upon our race." Such discourse he often brought out. Svein said, they +had too great a power to deal with, while they themselves had but little +means. Hrorek said, "Why should we live longer as mutilated men with +disgrace? I, a blind man, may conquer them as well as they conquered +me when I was asleep. Come then, let us kill this thick Olaf. He is not +afraid for himself at present. I will lay the plan, and would not +spare my hands if I could use them, but that I cannot by reason of my +blindness; therefore thou must use the weapons against him, and as soon +as Olaf is killed I can see well enough that his power must come into +the hands of his enemies, and it may well be that I shall be king, and +thou shalt be my earl." So much persuasion he used that Svein at last +agreed to join in the deed. The plan was so laid that when the king was +ready to go to vespers, Svein stood on the threshold with a drawn dagger +under his cloak. Now when the king came out of the room, it so happened +that he walked quicker than Svein expected; and when he looked the king +in the face he grew pale, and then white as a corpse, and his hand sank +down. The king observed his terror and said, "What is this, Svein? Wilt +thou betray me?" Svein threw down his cloak and dagger, and fell at the +king's feet, saying, "All is in Gods hands and thine, king!" The king +ordered his men to seize Svein, and he was put in irons. The king +ordered Hrorek's seat to be moved to another bench. He gave Svein his +life, and he left the country. The king appointed a different lodging +for Hrorek to sleep in from that in which he slept himself, and in which +many of his court-people slept. He set two of his court-men, who had +been long with him, and whose fidelity he had proof of, to attend Hrorek +day and night; but it is not said whether they were people of high +birth or not. King Hrorek's mood was very different at different times. +Sometimes he would sit silent for days together, so that no man could +get a word out of him; and sometimes he was so merry and gay, that +people found a joke in every word he said. Sometimes his words were very +bitter. He was sometimes in a mood that he would drink them all under +the benches, and made all his neighbours drunk; but in general he drank +but little. King Olaf gave him plenty of pocket-money. When he went to +his lodgings he would often, before going to bed, have some stoups of +mead brought in, which he gave to all the men in the house to drink, so +that he was much liked. + + + + +83. OF LITTLE FIN. + +There was a man from the Uplands called Fin the Little, and some said of +him that he was of Finnish (1) race. He was a remarkable little man, but +so swift of foot that no horse could overtake him. He was a particularly +well-excercised runner with snow-shoes, and shooter with the bow. He had +long been in the service of King Hrorek, and often employed in errands +of trust. He knew the roads in all the Upland hills, and was well known +to all the great people. Now when King Hrorek was set under guards on +the journey Fin would often slip in among the men of the guard, and +followed, in general, with the lads and serving-men; but as often as he +could he waited upon Hrorek, and entered into conversation with him. The +king, however, only spoke a word or two with him at a time, to prevent +suspicion. In spring, when they came a little way beyond Viken, Fin +disappeared from the army for some days, but came back, and stayed +with them a while. This happened often, without anyone observing it +particularly; for there were many such hangers-on with the army. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The Laplanders are called Fins In Norway and Sweden.--L. + + + + +84. MURDER OF OLAF'S COURT-MEN. + +King Olaf came to Tunsberg before Easter (A.D. 1018), and remained +there late in spring. Many merchant vessels came to the town, both from +Saxon-land and Denmark, and from Viken, and from the north parts of the +country. There was a great assemblage of people; and as the times were +good, there was many a drinking meeting. It happened one evening that +King Hrorek came rather late to his lodging; and as he had drunk a great +deal, he was remarkably merry. Little Fin came to him with a stoup of +mead with herbs in it, and very strong. The king made every one in the +house drunk, until they fell asleep each in his berth. Fin had gone +away, and a light was burning in the lodging. Hrorek waked the men who +usually followed him, and told them he wanted to go out into the yard. +They had a lantern with them, for outside it was pitch dark. Out in the +yard there was a large privy standing upon pillars, and a stair to go +up to it. While Hrorek and his guards were in the yard they heard a man +say, "Cut down that devil;" and presently a crash, as if somebody fell. +Hrorek said, "These fellows must be dead drunk to be fighting with each +other so: run and separate them." They rushed out; but when they came +out upon the steps both of them were killed: the man who went out the +last was the first killed. There were twelve of Hrorek's men there, and +among them Sigurd Hit, who had been his banner-man, and also little +Fin. They drew the dead bodies up between the houses, took the king with +them, ran out to a boat they had in readiness, and rowed away. Sigvat +the skald slept in King Olaf's lodgings. He got up in the night, and his +footboy with him, and went to the privy. But as they were returning, on +going down the stairs Sigvat's foot slipped, and he fell on his knee; +and when he put out his hands he felt the stairs wet. "I think," said +he, laughing, "the king must have given many of us tottering legs +tonight." When they came into the house in which light was burning the +footboy said, "Have you hurt yourself that you are all over so bloody?" +He replied, "I am not wounded, but something must have happened here." +Thereupon he wakened Thord Folason, who was standard-bearer, and his +bedfellow. They went out with a light, and soon found the blood. They +traced it, and found the corpses, and knew them. They saw also a great +stump of a tree in which clearly a gash had been cut, which, as was +afterwards known, had been done as a stratagem to entice those out +who had been killed. Sigvat and Thord spoke together and agreed it +was highly necessary to let the king know of this without delay. They +immediately sent a lad to the lodging where Hrorek had been. All the men +in it were asleep; but the king was gone. He wakened the men who were in +the house, and told them what had happened. The men arose, and ran out +to the yard where the bodies were; but, however needful it appeared to +be that the king should know it, nobody dared to waken him. + +Then said Sigvat to Thord, "What wilt thou rather do, comrade, waken the +king, or tell him the tidings?" + +Thord replies, "I do not dare to waken him, and I would rather tell him +the news." + +Then said Sigvat, "There is minch of the night still to pass, and before +morning Hrorek may get himself concealed in such a way that it may be +difficult to find him; but as yet he cannot be very far off, for the +bodies are still warm. We must never let the disgrace rest upon us of +concealing this treason from the king. Go thou, up to the lodging, and +wait for me there." + +Sigvat then went to the church, and told the bell-ringer to toll for +the souls of the king's court-men, naming the men who were killed. +The-bell-ringer did as he was told. The king awoke at the ringing, sat +up in his bed, and asked if it was already the hours of matins. + +Thord replies, "It is worse than that, for there has occurred a very +important affair. Hrorek is fled, and two of the court-men are killed." + +The king asked how this had taken place, and Thord told him all he knew. +The king got up immediately, ordered to sound the call for a meeting of +the court, and when the people were assembled he named men to go out +to every quarter from the town, by sea and land, to search for Hrorek. +Thorer Lange took a boat, and set off with thirty men; and when day +dawned they saw two small boats before them in the channel, and when +they saw each other both parties rowed as hard as they could. King +Hrorek was there with thirty men. When they came quite close to each +other Hrorek and his men turned towards the land, and all sprang on +shore except the king, who sat on the aft seat. He bade them farewell, +and wished they might meet each other again in better luck. At the same +moment Thorer with his company rowed to the land. Fin the Little shot +off an arrow, which hit Thorer in the middle of the body, and was his +death; and Sigurd Hit, with his men, ran up into the forest. Thorer's +men took his body, and transported it, together with Hrorek, to +Tunsberg. King Olaf undertook himself thereafter to look after King +Hrorek, made him be carefully guarded, and took good care of his +treason, for which reason he had a watch over him night and day. King +Hrorek thereafter was very gay, and nobody could observe but that he was +in every way well satisfied. + + + + +85. OF HROREK'S ASSAULT. + +It happened on Ascension-day that King Olaf went to high mass, and the +bishop went in procession around the church, and conducted the king; and +when they came back to the church the bishop led the king to his seat +on the north side of the choir. There Hrorek sat next to the king, +and concealed his countenance in his upper cloak. When Olaf had seated +himself Hrorek laid his hand on the king's shoulder, and felt it. + +"Thou hast fine clothes on, cousin, today," said he. + +King Olaf replies, "It is a festival today, in remembrance that Jesus +Christ ascended to heaven from earth." + +King Hrorek says, "I understand nothing about it so as to hold in my +mind what ye tell me about Christ. Much of what ye tell me appears to me +incredible, although many wonderful things may have come to pass in old +times." + +When the mass was finished Olaf stood up, held his hands up over his +head, and bowed down before the altar, so that his cloak hung down +behind his shoulders. Then King Hrorek started up hastily and sharply, +and struck at the king with a long knife of the kind called ryting; but +the blow was received in the upper cloak at the shoulder, because the +king was bending himself forwards. The clothes were much cut, but the +king was not wounded. When the king perceived the attack he sprang upon +the floor; and Hrorek struck at him again with the knife, but did not +reach him, and said, "Art thou flying, Olaf, from me, a blind men?" The +king ordered his men to seize him and lead him out of the church, which +was done. After this attempt many hastened to King Olaf, and advised +that King Hrorek should be killed. "It is," said they, "tempting your +luck in the highest degree, king, to keep him with you, and protect him, +whatever mischief he may undertake; for night and day he thinks upon +taking your life. And if you send him away, we know no one who can watch +him so that he will not in all probability escape; and if once he gets +loose he will assemble a great multitude, and do much evil." + +The king replies, "You say truly that many a one has suffered death for +less offence than Hrorek's; but willingly I would not darken the victory +I gained over the Upland kings, when in one morning hour I took five +kings prisoners, and got all their kingdoms: but yet, as they were my +relations, I should not be their murderer but upon need. As yet I can +scarcely see whether Hrorek puts me in the necessity of killing him or +not." + +It was to feel if King Olaf had armour on or not that Hrorek had laid +his hand on the king's shoulder. + + + + +86. KING HROREK'S JOURNEY TO ICELAND. + +There was an Iceland man, by name Thorarin Nefiulfson, who had his +relations in the north of the country. He was not of high birth, but +particularly prudent, eloquent, and agreeable in conversation with +people of distinction. He was also a far-travelled man, who had been +long in foreign parts. Thorarin was a remarkably ugly man, principally +because he had very ungainly limbs. He had great ugly hands, and +his feet were still uglier. Thorarin was in Tunsberg when this event +happened which has just been related, and he was known to King Olaf by +their having had conversations together. Thorarin was just then done +with rigging out a merchant vessel which he owned, and with which he +intended to go to Iceland in summer. King Olaf had Thorarin with him as +a guest for some days, and conversed much with him; and Thorarin even +slept in the king's lodgings. One morning early the king awoke while +the others were still sleeping. The sun had newly risen in the sky, and +there was much light within. The king saw that Thorarin had stretched +out one of his feet from under the bed-clothes, and he looked at the +foot a while. In the meantime the others in the lodging awoke; and the +king said to Thorarin, "I have been awake for a while, and have seen a +sight which was worth seeing; and that is a man's foot so ugly that I +do not think an uglier can be found in this merchant town." Thereupon he +told the others to look at it, and see if it was not so; and all agreed +with the king. When Thorarin observed what they were talking about, he +said, "There are few things for which you cannot find a match, and that +may be the case here." + +The king says, "I would rather say that such another ugly foot cannot be +found in the town, and I would lay any wager upon it." + +Then said Thorarin, "I am willing to bet that I shall find an uglier +foot still in the town." + +The king--"Then he who wins shall have the right to get any demand from +the other he chooses to make." + +"Be it so," said Thorarin. Thereupon he stretches out his other foot +from under the bed-clothes, and it was in no way handsomer than the +other, and moreover, wanted the little toe. "There," said Thorarin, "see +now, king, my other foot, which is so much uglier; and, besides, has no +little toe. Now I have won." + +The king replies, "That other foot was so much uglier than this one by +having five ugly toes upon it, and this has only four; and now I have +won the choice of asking something from thee." + +"The sovereign's decision must be right," says Thorarin; "but what does +the king require of me?" + +"To take Hrorek," said the king, "to Greenland, and deliver him to Leif +Eirikson." + +Thorarin replies, "I have never been in Greenland." + +The king--"Thou, who art a far-travelled man, wilt now have an +opportunity of seeing Greenland, if thou hast never been there before." + +At first Thorarin did not say much about it; but as the king insisted +on his wish he did not entirely decline, but said, "I will let you hear, +king, what my desire would have been had I gained the wager. It would +have been to be received into your body of court-men; and if you +will grant me that, I will be the more zealous now in fulfilling your +pleasure." The king gave his consent, and Thorarin was made one of the +court-men. Then Thorarin rigged out his vessel, and when he was ready +he took on board King Hrorek. When Thorarin took leave of King Olaf, +he said, "Should it now turn out, king, as is not improbable, and often +happens, that we cannot effect the voyage to Greenland, but must run for +Iceland or other countries, how shall I get rid of this king in a way +that will be satisfactory to you?" + +The king--"If thou comest to Iceland, deliver him into the hands of +Gudmund Eyolfson, or of Skapte, the lagman, or of some other chief who +will receive my tokens and message of friendship. But if thou comest to +other countries nearer to this, do so with him that thou canst know with +certainty that King Hrorek never again shall appear in Norway; but do so +only when thou seest no other way of doing whatsoever." + +When Thorarin was ready for sea, and got a wind, he sailed outside of +all the rocks and islands, and when he was to the north of the Naze set +right out into the ocean. He did not immediately get a good wind, but +he avoided coming near the land. He sailed until he made land which he +knew, in the south part of Iceland, and sailed west around the land out +into the Greenland ocean. + +There he encountered heavy storms, and drove long about upon the ocean; +but when summer was coming to an end he landed again in Iceland in +Breidafjord. Thorgils Arason (1) was the first man of any consequence +who came to him. Thorarin brings him the king's salutation, message, +and tokens, with which was the desire about King Hrorek's reception. +Thorgils received these in a friendly way, and invited King Hrorek to +his house, where he stayed all winter. But he did not like being there, +and begged that Thorgils would let him go to Gudmund; saying he had +heard some time or other that there in Gudmund's house, was the most +sumptuous way of living in Iceland, and that it was intended he should +be in Gudmund's hands. Thorgils let him have his desire, and conducted +him with some men to Gudmund at Modruveller. Gudmund received Hrorek +kindly on account of the king's message, and he stayed there the next +winter. He did not like being there either; and then Gudmund gave him a +habitation upon a small farm called Kalfskin, where there were but few +neighbours. There Hrorek passed the third winter, and said that since he +had laid down his kingdom he thought himself most comfortably situated +here; for here he was most respected by all. The summer after Hrorek +fell sick, and died; and it is said he is the only king whose bones +rest in Iceland. Thorarin Nefiulfson was afterwards for a long time upon +voyages; but sometimes he was with King Olaf. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Thorgils was the son of Are Marson, who visited America + (Vindland). Thorgils, who was still alive in the year 1024, + was noted for his kindness toward all persecuted persons. + + + + +87. BATTLE IN ULFREKS-FJORD. + +The summer that Thorarin went with Hrorek to Iceland, Hjalte Skeggjason +went also to Iceland, and King Olaf gave him many friendly gifts +with him when they parted. The same summer Eyvind Urarhorn went on an +expedition to the west sea, and came in autumn to Ireland, to the Irish +king Konofogor (1). In autumn Einar earl of Orkney and this Irish king +met in Ulfreks-fjord, and there was a great battle, in which Konofogor +gained the victory, having many more people. The earl fled with a single +ship and came back about autumn to Orkney, after losing most of his men +and all the booty they had made. The earl was much displeased with his +expedition, and threw the blame upon the Northmen, who had been in the +battle on the side of the Irish king, for making him lose the victory. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Konofogor's Irish name was Connor. + + + + +88. OLAF PREPARES FOR HIS BRIDAL JOURNEY. + +Now we begin again our story where we let it slip--at King Olaf's +travelling to his bridal, to receive his betrothed Ingegerd the king's +daughter. The king had a great body of men with him, and so chosen a +body that all the great people he could lay hold of followed him; and +every man of consequence had a chosen band of men with him distinguished +by birth or other qualifications. The whole were well appointed, +and equipped in ships, weapons, and clothes. They steered the fleet +eastwards to Konungahella; but when they arrived there they heard +nothing of the Swedish king and none of his men had come there. King +Olaf remained a long time in summer (A.D. 1018) at Konungahella, and +endeavored carefully to make out what people said of the Swedish king's +movements, or what were his designs; but no person could tell him +anything for certain about it. Then he sent men up to Gautland to Earl +Ragnvald, to ask him if he knew how it came to pass that the Swedish +king did not come to the meeting agreed on. The earl replies, that he +did not know. "But as soon," said he, "as I hear, I shall send some of +my men to King Olaf, to let him know if there be any other cause for +the delay than the multitude of affairs; as it often happens that the +Swedish king's movements are delayed by this more than he could have +expected." + + + + +89. OF THE SWEDISH KING'S CHILDREN. + +This Swedish king, Olaf Eirikson, had first a concubine who was called +Edla, a daughter of an earl of Vindland, who had been captured in war, +and therefore was called the king's slave-girl. Their children were +Emund, Astrid, Holmfrid.... They had, besides, a son, who was born the +day before St. Jacob's-day. When the boy was to be christened the bishop +called him Jacob, which the Swedes did not like, as there never had been +a Swedish king called Jacob. All King Olaf's children were handsome in +appearance, and clever from childhood. The queen was proud, and did not +behave well towards her step-children; therefore the king sent his son +Emund to Vindland, to be fostered by his mother's relations, where he +for a long time neglected his Christianity. The king's daughter, Astrid, +was brought up in West Gautland, in the house of a worthy man called +Egil. She was a very lovely girl: her words came well into her +conversation; she was merry, but modest, and very generous. When she was +grown up she was often in her father's house, and every man thought well +of her. King Olaf was haughty and harsh in his speech. He took very ill +the uproar and clamour the country people had raised against him at the +Upsala Thing, as they had threatened him with violence, for which he +laid the chief blame on Earl Ragnvald. He made no preparation for the +bridal, according to the agreement to marry his daughter Ingegerd +to Olaf the king of Norway, and to meet him on the borders for that +purpose. As the summer advanced many of his men were anxious to know +what the kings intentions were; whether to keep to the agreement with +King Olaf, or break his word, and with it the peace of the country. But +no one was so bold as to ask the king, although they complained of it +to Ingegerd, and besought her to find out what the king intended. She +replied "I have no inclination to speak to the king again about the +matters between him and King Olaf; for he answered me ill enough once +before when I brought forward Olaf's name." In the meantime Ingegerd, +the king's daughter, took it to heart, became melancholy and sorrowful +and yet very curious to know what the king intended. She had much +suspicion that he would not keep his word and promise to King Olaf; for +he appeared quite enraged whenever Olaf the Thick's name was in any way +mentioned. + + + + +90. OF THE SWEDISH KING OLAF'S HUNTING. + +One morning early the king rode out with his dogs and falcons, and his +men around him. When they let slip the falcons the king's falcon killed +two black-cocks in one flight, and three in another. The dogs ran and +brought the birds when they had fallen to the ground. The king ran after +them, took the game from them himself, was delighted with his sport, and +said, "It will be long before the most of you have such success." They +agreed in this; adding, that in their opinion no king had such luck in +hunting as he had. Then the king rode home with his followers in high +spirits. Ingegerd, the king's daughter, was just going out of her +lodging when the king came riding into the yard, and she turned round +and saluted him. He saluted her in return, laughing; produced the birds, +and told her the success of his chase. + +"Dost thou know of any king," said he, "who made so great a capture in +so short a time?" + +"It is indeed," replied she, "a good morning's hunting, to have got five +black-cocks; but it was a still better when, in one morning, the king of +Norway, Olaf, took five kings, and subdued all their kingdoms." + +When the king heard this he sprang from his horse, turned to Ingegerd, +and said, "Thou shalt know, Ingegerd, that however great thy love may +be for this man, thou shalt never get him, nor he get thee. I will marry +thee to some chief with whom I can be in friendship; but never can I be +a friend of the man who has robbed me of my kingdom, and done me great +mischief by marauding and killing through the land." With that their +conversation broke off, and each went away. + + + + +91. OLAF THE NORWAY KING'S COUNSELS. + +Ingegerd, the king's daughter, had now full certainty of King Olaf's +intention, and immediately sent men to West Gautland to Earl Ragnvald, +and let him know how it stood with the Swedish king, and that the +agreement made with the king of Norway was broken; and advising the earl +and people of West Gautland to be upon their guard, as no peace from the +people of Norway was to be expected. When the earl got this news he sent +a message through all his kingdom, and told the people to be cautious, +and prepared in case of war or pillage from the side of Norway. He also +sent men to King Olaf the Thick, and let him know the message he had +received, and likewise that he wished for himself to hold peace and +friendship with King Olaf; and therefore he begged him not to pillage in +his kingdom. When this message came to King Olaf it made him both angry +and sorry; and for some days nobody got a word from him. He then held +a House-Thing with his men, and in it Bjorn arose, and first took the +word. He began his speech by telling that he had proceeded eastward last +winter to establish a peace, and he told how kindly Earl Ragnvald +had received him; and, on the other hand, how crossly and heavily the +Swedish king had accepted the proposal. "And the agreement," said he, +"which was made, was made more by means of the strength of the people, +the power of Thorgny, and the aid of the earl, than by the king's +good-will. Now, on these grounds, we know for certain that it is the +king who has caused the breach of the agreement; therefore we ought +by no means to make the earl suffer, for it is proved that he is King +Olaf's firm friend." The king wished now to hear from the chiefs and +other leaders of troops what course he should adopt. "Whether shall we +go against Gautland, and maraud there with such men as we have got; or +is there any other course that appears to you more advisable?" He spoke +both long and well. + +Thereafter many powerful men spoke, and all were at last agreed in +dissuading from hostilities. They argued thus:--"Although we are a +numerous body of men who are assembled here, yet they are all only +people of weight and power; but, for a war expedition, young men who are +in quest of property and consideration are more suitable. It is also +the custom of people of weight and power, when they go into battle or +strife, to have many people with them whom they can send out before +them for their defence; for the men do not fight worse who have little +property, but even better than those who are brought up in the midst of +wealth." After these considerations the king resolved to dismiss this +army from any expedition, and to give every man leave to return home; +but proclaimed, at the same time, that next summer the people over +the whole country would be called out in a general levy, to march +immediately against the Swedish king, and punish him for his want of +faith. All thought well of this plan. Then the king returned northwards +to Viken, and took his abode at Sarpsborg in autumn, and ordered all +things necessary for winter provision to be collected there; and he +remained there all winter (A.D. 1019) with a great retinue. + + + + +92. SIGVAT THE SKALD'S JOURNEY EASTWARDS. + +People talked variously about Earl Ragnvald; some said he was King +Olaf's sincere friend; others did not think this likely, and thought it +stood in his power to warn the Swedish king to keep his word, and the +agreement concluded on between him and King Olaf. Sigvat the poet often +expressed himself in conversation as Earl Ragnvald's great friend, and +often spoke of him to King Olaf; and he offered to the king to travel to +Earl Ragnvald's and spy after the Swedish kings doings, and to attempt, +if possible, to get the settlement of the agreement. The king thought +well of this plan; for he oft, and with pleasure, spoke to his +confidential friends about Ingegerd, the king's daughter. Early +in winter (A.D. 1019) Sigvat the skald, with two companions, left +Sarpsborg, and proceeded eastwards over the moors to Gautland. Before +Sigvat and King Olaf parted he composed these verses:-- + + "Sit happy in thy hall, O king! + Till I come back, and good news bring: + The skald will bid thee now farewell, + Till he brings news well worth to tell. + He wishes to the helmed hero + Health, and long life, and a tull flow + Of honour, riches, and success-- + And, parting, ends his song with this. + The farewell word is spoken now __ + The word that to the heart lies nearest; + And yet, O king! before I go, + One word on what I hold the dearest, + I fain would say, "O! may God save + To thee the bravest of the brave, + The land, which is thy right by birth!" + This is my dearest with on earth." + +Then they proceeded eastwards towards Eid, and had difficulty in +crossing the river in a little cobble; but they escaped, though with +danger: and Sigvat sang:-- + + "On shore the crazy boat I drew, + Wet to the skin, and frightened too; + For truly there was danger then; + The mocking hill elves laughed again. + To see us in this cobble sailing, + And all our sea-skill unavailing. + But better did it end, you see, + Than any of us could foresee." + +Then they went through the Eid forest, and Sigvat sang:-- + + "A hundred miles through Eid's old wood, + And devil an alehouse, bad or good,-- + A hundred miles, and tree and sky + Were all that met the weary eye. + With many a grumble, many a groan. + A hundred miles we trudged right on; + And every king's man of us bore + On each foot-sole a bleeding sore." + +They came then through Gautland, and in the evening reached a farm-house +called Hof. The door was bolted so that they could not come in; and the +servants told them it was a fast-day, and they could not get admittance. +Sigvat sang:-- + + "Now up to Hof in haste I hie, + And round the house and yard I pry. + Doors are fast locked--but yet within, + Methinks, I hear some stir and din. + I peep, with nose close to the ground. + Below the door, but small cheer found. + My trouble with few words was paid-- + "'Tis holy time,' the house-folkd said. + Heathens! to shove me thus away! + I' the foul fiend's claws may you all lay." + +Then they came to another farm, where the good-wife was standing at the +door, and told them not to come in, for they were busy with a sacrifice +to the elves. Sigvat sang of it thus:-- + + "'My poor lad, enter not, I pray!' + Thus to me did the old wife say; + 'For all of us are heathens here, + And I for Odin's wrath do fear.' + The ugly witch drove me away, + Like scared wolf sneaking from his prey. + When she told me that there within + Was sacrifice to foul Odin." + +Another evening, they came to three bondes, all of them of the name of +Olver, who drove them away. Sigvat sang:-- + + "Three of one name, + To their great shame, + The traveller late + Drove from their gate! + Travellers may come + From our viking-home, + Unbidden guests + At these Olvers' feasts." + +They went on farther that evening, and came to a fourth bonde, who was +considered the most hospitable man in the country; but he drove them +away also. Then Sigvat sang:-- + + "Then on I went to seek night's rest + From one who was said to be the best, + The kindest host in the land around, + And there I hoped to have quarters found. + But, faith,'twas little use to try; + For not so much as raise an eye + Would this huge wielder of the spade: + If he's the hest, it must be said + Bad is the best, and the skald's praise + Cannot be given to churls like these. + I almost wished that Asta's son + In the Eid forest had been one + When we, his men, were even put + Lodging to crave in a heathen's hut. + I knew not where the earl to find; + Four times driven off by men unkind, + I wandered now the whole night o'er, + Driven like a dog from door to door." + +Now when they came to Earl Ragnvald's the earl said they must have had a +severe journey. Then Sigvat sang:-- + + "The message-bearers of the king + From Norway came his words to bring; + And truly for their master they + Hard work have done before to-day. + We did not loiter on the road, + But on we pushed for thy abode: + Thy folk, in sooth, were not so kind + That we cared much to lag hehind. + But Eid to rest safe we found, + From robbers free to the eastern bound: + This praise to thee, great earl, is due-- + The skald says only what is true." + +Earl Ragnvald gave Sigvat a gold arm-ring, and a woman said "he had not +made the journey with his black eyes for nothing." Sigvat sang:-- + + "My coal-black eyes + Dost thou despise? + They have lighted me + Across the sea + To gain this golden prize: + They have lighted me, + Thy eyes to see, + O'er Iceland's main, + O'er hill and plain: + Where Nanna's lad would fear to be + They have lighted me." + +Sigvat was long entertained kindly and well in the house of Earl +Ragnvald. The earl heard by letters, sent by Ingegerd the king's +daughter, that ambassadors from King Jarisleif were come from Russia to +King Olaf of Svithjod to ask his daughter Ingegerd in marriage, and that +King Olaf had given them hopes that he would agree to it. About the same +time King Olaf's daughter Astrid came to Earl Ragnvald's court, and +a great feast was made for her. Sigvat soon became acquainted by +conversation with the king's daughter, and she knew him by name and +family, for Ottar the skald, Sigvat's sister's son, had long intimate +acquaintance with King Olaf, the Swedish king. Among other things talked +of, Earl Ragnvald asked Sigvat if the king of Norway would not marry the +king's daughter Astrid. "If he would do that," said he, "I think we need +not ask the Swedish king for his consent." Astrid, the kings daughter, +said exactly the same. Soon after Sigvat returns home, and comes to King +Olaf at Sarpsborg a little before Yule. + +When Sigvat came home to King Olaf he went into the hall, and, looking +around on the walls, he sang:-- + + "When our men their arms are taking + The raven's wings with greed are shaking; + When they come back to drink in hall + Brave spoil they bring to deck the wall-- + Shield, helms, and panzers (1), all in row, + Stripped in the field from lifeless fow. + In truth no royal nail comes near + Thy splendid hall in precious gear." + +Afterwards Sigvat told of his journey, and sang these verses:-- + + "The king's court-guards desire to hear + About our journey and our cheer, + Our ships in autumn reach the sound, + But long the way to Swedish ground. + With joyless weather, wind and raind, + And pinching cold, and feet in pain-- + With sleep, fatigue, and want oppressed, + No songs had we--we scarce had rest." + +And when he came into conversation with the king he sang:-- + + "When first I met the earl I told + How our king loved a friend so bold; + How in his heart he loved a man + With hand to do, and head to plan. + Thou generous king! with zeal and care + I sought to advance thy great affair; + For messengers from Russian land + Had come to ask Ingegerd's hand. + The earl, thy friend, bids thee, who art + So mild and generous of heart, + His servants all who here may come + To cherish in thy royal home; + And thine who may come to the east + In Ragnvald's hall shall find a feast-- + In Ragnvald's house shall find a home-- + At Ragnvald's court be still welcome. + When first I came the people's mind + Incensed by Eirik's son I find; + And he refused the wish to meet, + Alleging treachery and deceit. + But I explained how it was here, + For earl and king, advantage clear + With thee to hold the strictest peace, + And make all force and foray cease. + The earl is wise, and understands + The need of peace for both the lands; + And he entreats thee not to break + The present peace for vengeance's sake!" + +He immediately tells King Olaf the news he had heard; and at first the +king was much cast down when he heard of King Jarisleif's suit, and he +said he expected nothing but evil from King Olaf; but wished he might +be able to return it in such a way as Olaf should remember. A while +afterwards the king asks Sigvat about various news from Gautland. Sigvat +spoke a great deal about Astrid, the kings daughter; how beautiful she +was, how agreeable in her conversation; and that all declared she was in +no respect behind her sister Ingegerd. The king listened with pleasure +to this. Then Sigvat told him the conversation he and Astrid had had +between themselves, and the king was delighted at the idea. "The +Swedish king," said he, "will scarcely think that I will dare to marry +a daughter of his without his consent." But this speech of his was not +known generally. King Olaf and Sigvat the skald often spoke about +it. The king inquired particularly of Sigvat what he knew about Earl +Ragnvald, and "if he be truly our friend," said the king. Sigvat said +that the earl was King Olaf's best friend, and sang these verses:-- + + "The mighty Olaf should not cease + With him to hold good terms and peace; + For this good earl unwearied shows + He is thy friend where all are foes. + Of all who dwell by the East Sea + So friendly no man is as he: + At all their Things he takes thy part, + And is thy firm friend, hand and heart." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The Pantzer--a complete suit of plate-armour. + + + + +93. RAGNVALD AND ASTRA'S JOURNEY. + +After Yule (A.D. 1019), Thord Skotakol, a sister's son of Sigvat, +attended by one of Sigvat's footboys, who had been with Sigvat the +autumn before in Gautland, went quite secretly from the court, and +proceeded to Gautland. When they came to Earl Ragnvald's court, they +produced the tokens which Olaf himself had sent to the earl, that he +might place confidence in Thord. Without delay the earl made himself +ready for a journey, as did Astrid, the king's daughter; and the earl +took with him 120 men, who were chosen both from among his courtmen and +the sons of great bondes, and who were carefully equipped in all things, +clothes, weapons, and horses. Then they rode northwards to Sarpsborg, +and came there at Candlemas. + + + + +94. OF KING OLAF'S MARRIAGE. + +King Olaf had put all things in order in the best style. There were +all sorts of liquors of the best that could be got, and all other +preparations of the same quality. Many people of consequence were +summoned in from their residences. When the earl arrived with his +retinue the king received him particularly well; and the earl was shown +to a large, good, and remarkably well-furnished house for his lodging; +and serving-men and others were appointed to wait on him; and nothing +was wanting, in any respect, that could grace a feast. Now when the +entertainment had lasted some days, the king, the earl, and Astrid had +a conference together; and the result of it was, that Earl Ragnvald +contracted Astrid, daughter of the Swedish king Olaf, to Olaf king +of Norway, with the same dowry which had before been settled that her +sister Ingegerd should have from home. King Olaf, on his part, should +give Astrid the same bride-gift that had been intended for her sister +Ingegerd. Thereupon an eke was made to the feast, and King Olaf and +Queen Astrid's wedding was drunk in great festivity. Earl Ragnvald then +returned to Gautland, and the king gave the earl many great and good +gifts at parting; and they parted the dearest of friends, which they +continued to be while they lived. + + + + +95. THE AGREEMENT BROKEN BY OLAF. + +The spring (A.D. 1019) thereafter came ambassadors from King Jarisleif +in Novgorod to Svithjod, to treat more particularly about the promise +given by King Olaf the preceding summer to marry his daughter Ingegerd +to King Jarisleif. King Olaf tallied about the business with Ingegerd, +and told her it was his pleasure that she should marry King Jarisleif. +She replied. "If I marry King Jarisleif, I must have as my bride-gift +the town and earldom of Ladoga." The Russian ambassadors agreed to this, +on the part of their sovereign. Then said Ingegerd, "If I go east to +Russia, I must choose the man in Svithjod whom I think most suitable +to accompany me; and I must stipulate that he shall not have any less +title, or in any respect less dignity, privilege, and consideration +there, than he has, here." This the king and the ambassadors agreed to, +and gave their hands upon it in confirmation of the condition. + +"And who," asked the king, "is the man thou wilt take with thee as thy +attendant?" + +"That man," she replied, "is my relation Earl Ragnvald." + +The king replies, "I have resolved to reward Earl Ragnvald in a +different manner for his treason against his master in going to Norway +with my daughter, and giving her as a concubine to that fellow, who he +knew was my greatest enemy. I shall hang him up this summer." + +Then Ingegerd begged her father to be true to the promise he had made +her, and had confirmed by giving his hand upon it. By her entreaties it +was at last agreed that the king should promise to let Earl Ragnvald +go in peace from Svithjod, but that he should never again appear in the +king's presence, or come back to Svithjod while Olaf reigned. Ingegerd +then sent messengers to the earl to bring him these tidings, and to +appoint a place of meeting. The earl immediately prepared for his +journey; rode up to East Gautland; procured there a vessel, and, with +his retinue, joined Ingegerd, and they proceeded together eastward to +Russia. There Ingegerd was married to King Jarisleif; and their children +were Valdemar, Vissivald, and Holte the Bold. Queen Ingegerd gave Earl +Ragnvald the town of Ladoga, and earldom belonging to it. Earl +Ragnvald was there a long time, and was a celebrated man. His sons and +Ingebjorg's were Earl Ulf and Earl Eilif. + + + + +96. HISTORY OF THE LAGMAN EMUND. + +There was a man called Emund of Skara, who was lagman of west Gautland, +and was a man of great understanding and eloquence, and of high birth, +great connection, and very wealthy; but was considered deceitful, and +not to be trusted. He was the most powerful man in West Gautland after +the earl was gone. The same spring (A.D. 1019) that Earl Ragnvald left +Gautland the Gautland people held a Thing among themselves, and often +expressed their anxiety to each other about what the Swedish king +might do. They heard he was incensed because they had rather held in +friendship with the king of Norway than striven against him; and he +was also enraged against those who had attended his daughter Astrid to +Norway. Some proposed to seek help and support from the king of Norway, +and to offer him their services; others dissuaded from this measure, as +West Gautland had no strength to oppose to the Swedes. "And the king of +Norway," said they, "is far from us, the chief strength of his country +very distant; and therefore let us first send men to the Swedish king +to attempt to come to some reconciliation with him. If that fail, we +can still turn to the king of Norway." Then the bondes asked Emund to +undertake this mission, to which he agreed; and he proceeded with +thirty men to East Gautland, where there were many of his relations and +friends, who received him hospitably. He conversed there with the most +prudent men about this difficult business; and they were all unanimous +on one point,--that the king's treatment of them was against law and +reason. From thence Emund went into Svithjod, and conversed with many +men of consequence, who all expressed themselves in the same way. Emund +continued his journey thus, until one day, towards evening, he arrived +at Upsala, where he and his retinue took a good lodging, and stayed +there all night. The next day Emund waited upon the king, who was just +then sitting in the Thing surrounded by many people. Emund went before +him, bent his knee, and saluted him. The king looked at him, saluted +him, and asked him what news he brought. + +Emund replies, "There is little news among us Gautlanders; but it +appears to us a piece of remarkable news that the proud, stupid Atte, in +Vermaland, whom we look upon as a great sportsman, went up to the forest +in winter with his snow-shoes and his bow. After he had got as many +furs in the mountains as filled his hand-sledge so full that he could +scarcely drag it, he returned home from the woods. But on the way he saw +a squirrel in the trees, and shot at it, but did not hit; at which he +was so angry, that he left the sledge to run after the squirrel: but +still the squirrel sprang where the wood was thickest, sometimes among +the roots of the trees, sometimes in the branches, sometimes among the +arms that stretch from tree to tree. When Atte shot at it the arrows +flew too high or too low, and the squirrel never jumped so that Atte +could get a fair aim at him. He was so eager upon this chase that he ran +the whole day after the squirrel, and yet could not get hold of it. It +was now getting dark; so he threw himself down upon the snow, as he was +wont, and lay there all night in a heavy snow-storm. Next day Atte got +up to look after his sledge, but never did he find it again; and so he +returned home. And this is the only news, king, I have to tell." + +The king says, "This is news of but little importance, if it be all thou +hast to tell." + +Ernund replies, "Lately something happened which may well be called +news. Gaute Tofason went with five warships out of the Gaut river, +and when he was lying at the Eikrey Isles there came five large Danish +merchant-ships there. Gaute and his men immediately took four of the +great vessels, and made a great booty without the loss of a man: but the +fifth vessel slipped out to sea, and sailed away. Gaute gave chase with +one ship, and at first came nearer to them; but as the wind increased, +the Danes got away. Then Gaute wanted to turn back; but a storm came on +so that he lost his ship at Hlesey, with all the goods, and the greater +part of his crew. In the meantime his people were waiting for him at the +Eikrey Isles: but the Danes came over in fifteen merchant-ships, killed +them all, and took all the booty they had made. So but little luck had +they with their greed of plunder." + +The king replied. "That is great news, and worth being told; but what +now is thy errand here?" + +Emund replies, "I travel, sire, to obtain your judgment in a difficult +case, in which our law and the Upsala law do not agree." + +The king asks, "What is thy appeal case?" + +Emund replies, "There were two noble-born men of equal birth, but +unequal in property and disposition. They quarrelled about some land, +and did each other much damage; but most was done to him who was the +more powerful of the two. This quarrel, however, was settled, and judged +of at a General Thing; and the judgment was, that the most powerful +should pay a compensation. But at the first payment, instead of paying +a goose, he paid a gosling; for an old swine he paid a sucking pig; and +for a mark of stamped gold only a half-mark, and for the other half-mark +nothing but clay and dirt; and, moreover, threatened, in the most +violent way, the people whom he forced to receive such goods in payment. +Now, sire, what is your judgment?" + +The king replies, "He shall pay the full equivalent whom the judgment +ordered to do so, and that faithfully; and further, threefold to his +king: and if payment be not made within a year and a day, he shall be +cut off from all his property, his goods confiscated, and half go the +king's house, and half to the other party." + +Emund took witnesses to this judgment among the most considerable of +the men who were present, according to the laws which were held in the +Upsala Thing. He then saluted the king, and went his way; and other men +brought their cases before the king, and he sat late in the day upon +the cases of the people. Now when the king came to table, he asked where +Lagman Emund was. It was answered, he was home at his lodgings. "Then," +said the king, "go after him, and tell him to be my guest to-day." +Thereafter the dishes were borne in; then came the musicians with harps, +fiddles, and musical instruments; and lastly, the cup-bearers. The king +was particularly merry, and had many great people at table with him, so +that he thought little of Emund. The king drank the whole day, and slept +all the night after; but in the morning the king awoke, and recollected +what Emund had said the day before: and when he had put on his clothes, +he let his wise men be summoned to him; for he had always twelve of the +wisest men who sat in judgment with him, and treated the more difficult +cases; and that was no easy business, for the king was ill-pleased if +the judgment was not according to justice, and yet it was of no use +to contradict him. In this meeting the king ordered Lagman Emund to +be called before them. The messenger returned, and said, "Sire, Lagman +Emund rode away yesterday as soon as he had dined." "Then," said the +king, "tell me, ye good chiefs, what may have been the meaning of that +law-case which Emund laid before us yesterday?" + +They replied, "You must have considered it yourself, if you think there +was any other meaning under it than what he said." + +The king replied, "By the two noble-born men whom he spoke of, who were +at variance, and of whom one was more powerful than the other, and who +did each other damage, he must have meant us and Olaf the Thick." + +They answered, "It is, sire, as you say." + +The king--"Our case was judged at the Upsala Thing. But what was his +meaning when he said that bad payment was made; namely, a gosling for +a goose, a pig for a swine, and clay and dirt for half of the money +instead of gold?" + +Arnvid the Blind replied, "Sire, red gold and clay are things very +unlike; but the difference is still greater between king and slave. You +promised Olaf the Thick your daughter Ingegerd, who, in all branches of +her descent, is born of kings, and of the Upland Swedish race of kings, +which is the most noble in the North; for it is traced up to the gods +themselves. But now Olaf has got Astrid; and although she is a king's +child, her mother was but a slave-woman, and, besides, of Vindish race. +Great difference, indeed, must there be between these kings, when the +one takes thankfully such a match; and now it is evident, as might be +expected, that no Northman is to be placed by the side of the Upsala +kings. Let us all give thanks that it has so turned out; for the gods +have long protected their descendants, although many now neglect this +faith." + +There were three brothers:--Arnvid the Blind, who had a great +understanding, but was so weak-sighted that he was scarcely fit for +war; the second was Thorvid the Stammerer, who could not utter two words +together at one time, but was remarkably bold and courageous; the third +was Freyvid the Deaf, who was hard of hearing. All these brothers were +rich and powerful men, of noble birth, great wisdom, and all very dear +to the king. + +Then said King Olaf, "What means that which Emund said about Atte the +Dull?" + +None made any reply, but the one looked at the other. + +"Speak freely," said the king. + +Then said Thorvid the Stammerer, +"Atte--quarrel--some--greedy--jealous--deceitful--dull." + +Then said the king, "To whom are these words of reproach and mockery +applied?" + +Freyvid the Deaf replied, "We will speak more clearly if we have your +permission." + +The king--"Speak freely, Freyvid, what you will." + +Freyvid took up the word, and spoke. "My brother Thorvid, who +is considered to be the wisest of us brothers, holds the words +'quarrelsome, greedy, jealous, dull,' to be one and the same thing; for +it applies to him who is weary of peace, longs for small things without +attaining them, while he lets great and useful things pass away as they +came. I am deaf; yet so loud have many spoken out, that I can perceive +that all men, both great and small, take it ill that you have not kept +your promise to the king of Norway; and, worse than that, that you broke +the decision of the community as it was delivered at Upsala Thing. You +need not fear either the king of Norway, or the king of Denmark, or any +other, so long as the Swedish army will follow you; but if the people +of the country unanimously turn against you, we, your friends, see no +counsel that can be of advantage to you." + +The king asks, "Who is the chief who dares to betray the country and +me?" + +Freyvid replies, "All Swedes desire to have the ancient laws, and their +full rights. Look but here, sire, how many chiefs are sitting in +council with you. I think, in truth, we are but six whom you call your +councillors: all the others, so far as I know, have ridden forth through +the districts to hold Things with the people; and we will not conceal +it from you, that the message-token has gone forth to assemble a +Retribution-thing (1). All of us brothers have been invited to take part +in the decisions of this council, but none of us will bear the name of +traitor to the sovereign; for that our father never was." + +Then the king said, "What council shall we take in this dangerous affair +that is in our hands? Good chiefs give me council, that I may keep my +kingdom, and the heritage of my forefathers; for I cannot enter into +strife against the whole Swedish force." + +Arnvid the Blind replies, "Sire, it is my advice that you ride down to +Aros with such men as will follow you; take your ship there and go out +into the Maeler lake; summon all people to meet you; proceed no longer +with haughtiness, but promise every man the law and rights of old +established in the country; keep back in this way the message-token, +for it cannot as yet, in so short a time have travelled far through the +land. Send, then those of your men in whom you have the most confidence +to those who have this business on hand, and try if this uproar can be +appeased." + +The king says that he will adopt this advice. "I will," says he, "that +ye brothers undertake this business; for I trust to you the most among +my men." + +Thorvid the Stammerer said, "I remain behind. Let Jacob, your son, go +with them, for that is necessary." + +Then said Freyvid, "Let us do as Thorvid says: he will not leave you, +and I and Arnvid must travel." + +This counsel was followed. Olaf went to his ships, and set out into +the Maelar lake, and many people came to him. The brothers Arnvid and +Freyvid rode out to Ullaraker, and had with them the king's son Jacob; +but they kept it a secret that he was there. The brothers observed that +there was a great concourse and war-gathering, for the bondes held the +Thing night and day. When Arnvid and Freyvid met their relations and +friends, they said they would join with the people; and many agreed to +leave the management of the business in the hands of the brothers. But +all, as one man, declared they would no longer have King Olaf over them, +and no longer suffer his unlawful proceedings, and over-weening pride +which would not listen to any man's remonstrances, even when the great +chiefs spoke the truth to him. When Freyvid observed the heat of the +people, he saw in what a bad situation the king's cause was. He +summoned the chiefs of the land to a meeting with him and addressed them +thus:--"It appears to me, that if we are to depose Olaf Eirikson from +his kingdom, we Swedes of the Uplands should be the leading men in it: +for so it has always been, that the counsel which the Upland chiefs have +resolved among themselves has always been followed by the men of the +rest of the country. Our forefathers did not need to take advice from +the West Gautlanders about the government of the Swedes. Now we will +not be so degenerate as to need Emund to give us counsel; but let us, +friends and relations, unite ourselves for the purpose of coming to +a determination." All agreed to this, and thought it was well said. +Thereafter the people joined this union which the Upland chiefs made +among themselves, and Freyvid and Arnvid were chiefs of the whole +assemblage. When Emund heard this he suspected how the matter would end, +and went to both the brothers to have a conversation with them. Then +Freyvid asked Emund, "Who, in your opinion, should we take for king, in +case Olaf Eirikson's days are at an end?" + +Emund--"He whom we think best suited to it, whether he be of the race of +chiefs or not." + +Freyvid answers, "We Uplanders will not, in our time, have the kingdom +go out of the old race of our ancestors, which has given us kings for a +long course of generations, so long as we have so good a choice as now. +King Olaf has two sons, one of whom we will choose for king, although +there is a great difference between them. The one is noble-born, and +of Swedish race on both sides; the other is a slave-woman's son, and of +Vindish race on the mother's side." + +This decision was received with loud applause, and all would have Jacob +for king. + +Then said Emund. "Ye Upland Swedes have the power this time to +determinate the matter; but I will tell you what will happen:--some of +those who now will listen to nothing but that the kingdom remain in the +old race will live to see the day when they will wish the kingdom in +another race, as being of more advantage." + +Thereupon the brothers Freyvid and Arnvid led the king's son Jacob into +the Thing, and saluted him with the title of king; and the Swedes gave +him the name of Onund, which he afterwards retained as long as he lived. +He was then ten or twelve years old. Thereafter King Onund took a court, +and chose chiefs to be around him; and they had as many attendants +in their suite as were thought necessary, so that he gave the whole +assemblage of bondes leave to return home. After that ambassadors went +between the two kings; and at last they had a meeting, and came to an +agreement. Olaf was to remain king over the country as long as he lived; +but should hold peace and be reconciled with King Olaf of Norway, and +also with all who had taken part in this business. Onund should also +be king, and have a part of the land, such as the father and son should +agree upon; but should be bound to support the bondes in case King Olaf +did anything which the bondes would not suffer. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Refsithing--a Thing for punishment by penalty or death for + crimes and misdemeanours.--L. + + + + +97. MEETING OF RECONCILIATION BETWEEN THE KINGS, AND THEIR GAME AT DICE. + +Thereafter ambassadors were sent to Norway to King Olaf, with the errand +that he should come with his retinue to a meeting at Konungahella with +the Swedish kings, and that the Swedish kings would there confirm their +reconciliation. When King Olaf heard this message, he was willing, now +as formerly, to enter into the agreement, and proceeded to the appointed +place. There the Swedish kings also came; and the relations, when they +met, bound themselves mutually to peace and agreement. Olaf the Swedish +king was then remarkably mild in manner, and agreeable to talk with. +Thorstein Frode relates of this meeting, that there was an inhabited +district in Hising which had sometimes belonged to Norway, and sometimes +to Gautland. The kings came to the agreement between themselves that +they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this +property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. +The Swedish king threw two sixes, and said King Olaf need scarcely +throw. He replied, while shaking the dice in his hand, "Although there +be two sixes on the dice, it would be easy, sire, for God Almighty to +let them turn up in my favour." Then he threw, and had sixes also. Now +the Swedish king threw again, and had again two sixes. Olaf king of +Norway then threw, and had six upon one dice, and the other split in +two, so as to make seven eyes in all upon it; and the district was +adjudged to the king of Norway. We have heard nothing else of any +interest that took place at this meeting; and the kings separated the +dearest of friends with each other. + + + + +98. OF OLAF OF NORWAY, AFTER THE MEETING. + +After the events now related Olaf returned with his people to Viken. +He went first to Tunsberg, and remained there a short time, and then +proceeded to the north of the country. In harvest-time he sailed north +to Throndhjem, and had winter provision laid in there, and remained +there all winter (A.D. 1090). Olaf Haraldson was now sole and supreme +king of Norway, and the whole of that sovereignty, as Harald Harfager +had possessed it, and had the advantage over that monarch of being the +only king in the land. By a peaceful agreement he had also recovered +that part of the country which Olaf the Swedish king had before +occupied; and that part of the country which the Danish king had got +he retook by force, and ruled over it as elsewhere in the country. The +Danish king Canute ruled at that time both over Denmark and England; +but he himself was in England for the most part, and set chiefs over the +country in Denmark, without at that time making any claim upon Norway. + + + + +99. HISTORY OF THE EARLS OF ORKNEY. + +It is related that in the days of Harald Harfager, the king of Norway, +the islands of Orkney, which before had been only a resort for vikings, +were settled. The first earl in the Orkney Islands was called Sigurd, +who was a son of Eystein Giumra, and brother of Ragnvald earl of +More. After Sigurd his son Guthorm was earl for one year. After him +Torf-Einar, a son of Ragnvald, took the earldom, and was long earl, +and was a man of great power. Halfdan Haleg, a son of Harald Harfager, +assaulted Torf-Einar, and drove him from the Orkney Islands; but Einar +came back and killed Halfdan in the island Ronaldsha. Thereafter King +Harald came with an army to the Orkney Islands. Einar fled to Scotland, +and King Harald made the people of the Orkney Islands give up their udal +properties, and hold them under oath from him. Thereafter the king and +earl were reconciled, so that the earl became the king's man, and +took the country as a fief from him; but that it should pay no scat or +feu-duty, as it was at that time much plundered by vikings. The earl +paid the king sixty marks of gold; and then King Harald went to plunder +in Scotland, as related in the "Glym Drapa". After Torf-Einar, his sons +Arnkel, Erlend, and Thorfin Hausakljufer (1) ruled over these lands. In +their days came Eirik Blood-axe from Norway, and subdued these earls. +Arnkel and Erlend fell in a war expedition; but Thorfin ruled the +country long, and became an old man. His sons were Arnfin, Havard, +Hlodver, Liot, and Skule. Their mother was Grelad, a daughter of Earl +Dungad of Caithness. Her mother was Groa, a daughter of Thorstein Raud. +In the latter days of Earl Thorfin came Eirik Blood-axe's sons, who +had fled from Earl Hakon out of Norway, and committed great excesses in +Orkney. Earl Thorfin died on a bed of sickness, and his sons after him +ruled over the country, and there are many stories concerning them. +Hlodver lived the longest of them, and ruled alone over this country. +His son was Sigurd the Thick, who took the earldom after him, and became +a powerful man and a great warrior. In his days came Olaf Trygvason from +his viking expedition in the western ocean, with his troops, landed in +Orkney and took Earl Sigurd prisoner in South Ronaldsha, where he lay +with one ship. King Olaf allowed the earl to ransom his life by letting +himself be baptized, adopting the true faith, becoming his man, and +introducing Christianity into all the Orkney Islands. As a hostage, +King Olaf took his son, who was called Hunde or Whelp. Then Olaf went to +Norway, and became king; and Hunde was several years with King Olaf in +Norway, and died there. After his death Earl Sigurd showed no obedience +or fealty to King Olaf. He married a daughter of the Scottish king +Malcolm, and their son was called Thorfin. Earl Sigurd had, besides, +older sons; namely, Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar Rangmund. Four or five +years after Olaf Tryrgvason's fall Earl Sigurd went to Ireland, leaving +his eldest sons to rule the country, and sending Thorfin to his mother's +father, the Scottish king. On this expedition Earl Sigurd fell in +Brian's battle (l). When the news was received in Orkney, the brothers +Sumarlide, Bruse, and Einar were chosen earls, and the country was +divided into three parts among them. Thorfin Sigurdson was five years +old when Earl Sigurd fell. When the Scottish king heard of the earl's +death he gave his relation Thorfin Caithness and Sutherland, with the +title of earl, and appointed good men to rule the land for him. Earl +Thorfin was ripe in all ways as soon as he was grown up: he was stout +and strong, but ugly; and as soon as he was a grown man it was easy to +see that he was a severe and cruel but a very clever man. So says Arnor, +the earls' skald:-- + + "Under the rim of heaven no other, + So young in years as Einar's brother, + In battle had a braver hand, + Or stouter, to defend the land." + + + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Hausakljufer--the splitter of skulls.--L. + (2) Brian's battle is supposed to have taken place on the 23rd + April 1014, at Clontart, near Dublin; and is known in Irish + history as the battle of Clontarf, and was one of the + bloodiest of the age. It was fought between a viking called + Sigtryg and Brian king of Munster, who gained the victory, + but lost his life.--L. + + + + +100. OF THE EARLS EINAR AND BRUSE. + +The brothers Einar and Bruse were very unlike in disposition. Bruse +was a soft-minded, peaceable man,--sociable, eloquent, and of good +understanding. Einar was obstinate, taciturn, and dull; but ambitious, +greedy of money, and withal a great warrior. Sumarlide, the eldest of +the brothers, was in disposition like Bruse, and lived not long, but +died in his bed. After his death Thorfin claimed his share of the Orkney +Islands. Einar replied, that Thorfin had the dominions which their +father Sigurd had possessed, namely, Caithness and Sutherland, which +he insisted were much larger than a third part of Orkney; therefore he +would not consent to Thorfin's having any share. Bruse, on the other +hand, was willing, he said, to divide with him. "I do not-desire," he +said, "more than the third part of the land, and which of right belongs +to me." Then Einar took possession of two parts of the country, by which +he became a powerful man, surrounded by many followers. He was often in +summer out on marauding expeditions, and called out great numbers of the +people to join him; but it went always unpleasantly with the division of +the booty made on his viking cruises. Then the bondes grew weary of all +these burdens; but Earl Einar held fast by them with severity, calling +in all services laid upon the people, and allowing no opposition from +any man; for he was excessively proud and overbearing. And now there +came dearth and scarcity in his lands, in consequence of the services +and money outlay exacted from the bondes; while in the part of the +country belonging to Bruse there were peace and plenty, and therefore he +was the best beloved by the bondes. + + + + +101. OF THORKEL AMUNDASON. + +There was a rich and powerful man who was called Amunde, who dwelt in +Hrossey at Sandvik, in Hlaupandanes. His son, called Thorkel, was one +of the ablest men in the islands. Amunde was a man of the best +understanding, and most respected in Orkney. One spring Earl Einar +proclaimed a levy for an expedition, as usual. The bondes murmured +greatly against it, and applied to Amunde with the entreaty that he +would intercede with the earl for them. He replied, that the earl was +not a man who would listen to other people, and insisted that it was of +no use to make any entreaty to the earl about it. "As things now stand, +there is a good understanding between me and the earl; but, in my +opinion, there would be much danger of our quarrelling, on account of +our different dispositions and views on both sides; therefore I will +have nothing to do with it." They then applied to Thorkel, who was also +very loath to interfere, but promised at last to do so, in consequence +of the great entreaty of the people. Amunde thought he had given his +promise too hastily. Now when the earl held a Thing, Thorkel spoke on +account of the people, and entreated the earl to spare the people from +such heavy burdens, recounting their necessitous condition. The earl +replies favourably, saying that he would take Thorkel's advice. "I had +intended to go out from the country with six ships, but now I will only +take three with me; but thou must not come again, Thorkel, with any such +request." The bondes thanked Thorkel for his assistance, and the earl +set out on a viking cruise, and came back in autumn. The spring after, +the earl made the same levy as usual, and held a Thing with the bondes. +Then Thorkel again made a speech, in which he entreated the earl to +spare the people. The earl now was angry, and said the lot of the bondes +should be made worse in consequence of his intercession; and worked +himself up into such a rage, that he vowed they should not both come +next spring to the Thing in a whole skin. Then the Thing was closed. +When Amunde heard what the earl and Thorkel had said at the Thing, he +told Thorkel to leave the country, and he went over to Caithness to Earl +Thorfin. Thorkel was afterwards a long time there, and brought up the +earl in his youth, and was on that account called Thorkel the Fosterer; +and he became a very celebrated man. + + + + +102. THE AGREEMENT OF THE EARLS. + +There were many powerful men who fled from their udal properties in +Orkney on account of Earl Einar's violence, and the most fled over to +Caithness to Earl Thorfin: but some fled from the Orkney Islands to +Norway, and some to other countries. When Earl Thorfin was grown up +he sent a message to his brother Einar, and demanded the part of the +dominion which he thought belonged to him in Orkney; namely, a third of +the islands. Einar was nowise inclined to diminish his possessions. When +Thorfin found this he collected a warforce in Caithness, and proceeded +to the islands. As soon as Earl Einar heard of this he collected people, +and resolved to defend his country. Earl Bruse also collected men, and +went out to meet them, and bring about some agreement between them. An +agreement was at last concluded, that Thorfin should have a third part +of the islands, as of right belonging to him, but that Bruse and Einar +should lay their two parts together, and Einar alone should rule over +them; but if the one died before the other, the longest liver should +inherit the whole. This agreement seemed reasonable, as Bruse had a son +called Ragnvald, but Einar had no son. Earl Thorfin set men to rule +over his land in Orkney, but he himself was generally in Caithness. +Earl Einar was generally on viking expeditions to Ireland, Scotland, and +Bretland. + + + + +103. EYVIND URARHORN'S MURDER. + +One summer (A.D. 1018) that Earl Einar marauded in Ireland, he fought in +Ulfreks-fjord with the Irish king Konofogor, as has been related before, +and suffered there a great defeat. The summer after this (A.D. 1019) +Eyvind Urarhorn was coming from the west from Ireland, intending to go +to Norway; but the weather was boisterous, and the current against him, +so he ran into Osmundwall, and lay there wind-bound for some time. When +Earl Einar heard of this, he hastened thither with many people, took +Eyvind prisoner, and ordered him to be put to death, but spared the +lives of most of his people. In autumn they proceeded to Norway to King +Olaf, and told him Eyvind was killed. The king said little about it, but +one could see that he considered it a great and vexatious loss; for he +did not usually say much if anything turned out contrary to his wishes. +Earl Thorfin sent Thorkel Fosterer to the islands to gather in his scat. +Now, as Einar gave Thorkel the greatest blame for the dispute in which +Thorfin had made claim to the islands, Thorkel came suddenly back to +Caithness from Orkney, and told Earl Thorfin that he had learnt that +Earl Einar would have murdered him if his friends and relations had not +given him notice to escape. "Now," says he, "it is come so far between +the earl and me, that either some thing decisive between us must take +place if we meet, or I must remove to such a distance that his power +will not reach me." The earl encouraged Thorkel much to go east to +Norway to King Olaf. "Thou wilt be highly respected," says he, "wherever +thou comest among honourable men; and I know so well thy disposition +and the earl's, that it will not be long before ye come to extremities." +Thereupon Thorkel made himself ready, and proceeded in autumn to Norway, +and then to King Olaf, with whom he stayed the whole winter (A.D. 1020), +and was in high favour. The king often entered into conversation with +him, and he thought, what was true, that Thorkel was a high-minded man, +of good understanding. In his conversations with Thorkel, the king found +a great difference in his description of the two earls; for Thorkel was +a great friend of Earl Thorfin, but had much to say against Einar. Early +in spring (A.D. 1020) the king sent a ship west over the sea to Earl +Thorfin, with the invitation to come east and visit him in Norway. +The earl did not decline the invitation, for it was accompanied by +assurances of friendship. + + + + +104. EARL EINAR'S MURDER. + +Earl Thorfin went east to Norway, and came to King Olaf, from whom he +received a kind reception, and stayed till late in the summer. When he +was preparing to return westwards again, King Olaf made him a present of +a large and fully-rigged long-ship. Thorkel the Fosterer joined company +with the earl, who gave him the ship which he brought with him from the +west. The king and the earl took leave of each other tenderly. In autumn +Earl Thorfin came to Orkney, and when Earl Einar heard of it he went on +board his ships with a numerous band of men. Earl Bruse came up to his +two brothers, and endeavoured to mediate between them, and a peace was +concluded and confirmed by oath. Thorkel Fosterer was to be in peace and +friendship with Earl Einar; and it was agreed that each of them should +give a feast to the other, and that the earl should first be Thorkel's +guest at Sandwick. When the earl came to the feast he was entertained in +the best manner; but the earl was not cheerful. There was a great room, +in which there were doors at each end. The day the earl should depart +Thorkel was to accompany him to the other feast; and Thorkel sent men +before, who should examine the road they had to travel that day. The +spies came back, and said to Thorkel they had discovered three ambushes. +"And we think," said they, "there is deceit on foot." When Thorkel heard +this he lengthened out his preparations for the journey, and gathered +people about him. The earl told him to get ready, as it was time to be +on horseback. Thorkel answered, that he had many things to put in order +first, and went out and in frequently. There was a fire upon the +floor. At last he went in at one door, followed by an Iceland man from +Eastfjord, called Halvard, who locked the door after him. Thorkel went +in between the fire and the place where the earl was sitting. The earl +asked, "Art thou ready at last, Thorkel?" + +Thorkel answers, "Now I am ready;" and struck the earl upon the head so +that he fell upon the floor. + +Then said the Icelander, "I never saw people so foolish as not to drag +the earl out of the fire;" and took a stick, which he set under the +earl's neck, and put him upright on the bench. Thorkel and his two +comrades then went in all haste out of the other door opposite to that +by which they went in, and Thorkel's men were standing without fully +armed. The earl's men now went in, and took hold of the earl. He was +already dead, so nobody thought of avenging him: and also the whole was +done so quickly; for nobody expected such a deed from Thorkel, and all +supposed that there really was, as before related, a friendship fixed +between the earl and Thorkel. The most who were within were unarmed, and +they were partly Thorkel's good friends; and to this may be added, that +fate had decreed a longer life to Thorkel. When Thorkel came out he had +not fewer men with him than the earl's troop. Thorkel went to his ship, +and the earl's men went their way. The same day Thorkel sailed out +eastwards into the sea. This happened after winter; but he came safely +to Norway, went as fast as he could to Olaf, and was well received by +him. The king expressed his satisfaction at this deed, and Thorkel was +with him all winter (A.D. 1091). + + + + +105. AGREEMENT BETWEEN KING OLAF AND EARL BRUSE. + +After Earl Einar's fall Bruse took the part of the country which he had +possessed; for it was known to many men on what conditions Einar and +Bruse had entered into a partnership. Although Thorfin thought it would +be more just that each of them had half of the islands, Bruse retained +the two-thirds of the country that winter (A.D. 1021). In spring, +however, Thorfin produced his claim, and demanded the half of the +country; but Bruse would not consent. They held Things and meetings +about the business; and although their friends endeavoured to settle it, +Thorfin would not be content with less than the half of the islands, and +insisted that Bruse, with his disposition, would have enough even with +a third part. Bruse replies, "When I took my heritage after my father +I was well satisfied with a third part of the country, and there was +nobody to dispute it with me; and now I have succeeded to another third +in heritage after my brother, according to a lawful agreement between +us; and although I am not powerful enough to maintain a feud against +thee, my brother, I will seek some other way, rather than willingly +renounce my property." With this their meeting ended. But Bruse saw that +he had no strength to contend against Thorfin, because Thorfin had both +a greater dominion and also could have aid from his mother's brother, +the Scottish king. He resolved, therefore, to go out of the country; and +he went eastward to King Olaf, and had with him his son Ragnvald, then +ten years old. When the earl came to the king he was well received. The +earl now declared his errand, and told the king the circumstances of the +whole dispute between him and his brother, and asked help to defend his +kingdom of Orkney; promising, in return, the fullest friendship towards +King Olaf. In his answer, the king began with showing how Harald +Harfager had appropriated to himself all udal rights in Orkney, and that +the earls, since that time, have constantly held the country as a fief, +not as their udal property. "As a sufficient proof of which," said he, +"when Eirik Blood-axe and his sons were in Orkney the earls were subject +to them; and also when my relation Olaf Trygvason came there thy father, +Earl Sigurd, became his man. Now I have taken heritage after King Olaf, +and I will give thee the condition to become my man and then I will give +thee the islands as a fief; and we shall try if I cannot give thee aid +that will be more to the purpose than Thorfin can get from the Scottish +king. If thou wilt not accept of these terms, then will I win back my +udal property there in the West, as our forefathers and relations of old +possessed it." + +The earl carefully considered this speech, laid it before his friends, +and demanded their advice if he should agree to it, and enter into such +terms with King Olaf and become his vassal. "But I do not see what my +lot will be at my departure if I say no; for the king has clearly enough +declared his claim upon Orkney; and from his great power, and our being +in his hands, it is easy for him to make our destiny what he pleases." + +Although the earl saw that there was much to be considered for and +against it he chose the condition to deliver himself and his dominion +into the king's power. Thereupon the king took the earl's power, and +the government over all the earl's lands, and the earl became his vassal +under oath of fealty. + + + + +106. THE EARL'S AGREEMENT TO THE KING'S TERMS. + +Thorfin the earl heard that his brother Bruse had gone east to King Olaf +to seek support from him; but as Thorfin had been on a visit to King +Olaf before, and had concluded a friendship with him, he thought his +case would stand well with the king, and that many would support it; but +he believed that many more would do so if he went there himself. Earl +Thorfin resolved, therefore, to go east himself without delay; and he +thought there would be so little difference between the time of his +arrival and Bruse's, that Bruse's errand could not be accomplished +before he came to King Olaf. But it went otherwise than Earl Thorfin had +expected; for when he came to the king the agreement between the king +and Bruse was already concluded and settled, and Earl Thorfin did not +know a word about Bruse's having surrendered his udal domains until he +came to King Olaf. As soon as Earl Thorfin and King Olaf met, the king +made the same demand upon the kingdom of Orkney that he had done to Earl +Bruse, and required that Thorfin should voluntarily deliver over to the +king that part of the country which he had possessed hitherto. The earl +answered in a friendly and respectful way, that the king's friendship +lay near to his heart: "And if you think, sire, that my help against +other chiefs can be of use, you have already every claim to it; but I +cannot be your vessel for service, as I am an earl of the Scottish king, +and owe fealty to him." + +As the king found that the earl, by his answer, declined fulfilling the +demand he had made, he said, "Earl, if thou wilt not become my vassal, +there is another condition; namely, that I will place over the Orkney +Islands the man I please, and require thy oath that thou wilt make no +claim upon these lands, but allow whoever I place over them to sit in +peace. If thou wilt not accept of either of these conditions, he who is +to rule over these lands may expect hostility from thee, and thou must +not think it strange if like meet like in this business." + +The earl begged of the king some time to consider the matter. The king +did so, and gave the earl time to take the counsel of his friends on +the choosing one or other of these conditions. Then the earl requested a +delay until next summer, that he might go over the sea to the west, for +his proper counsellors were all at home, and he himself was but a child +in respect of age; but the king required that he should now make his +election of one or other of the conditions. Thorkel Fosterer was then +with the king, and he privately sent a person to Earl Thorfin, and told +him, whatever his intentions might be, not to think of leaving Olaf +without being reconciled with him, as he stood entirely in Olaf's power. +From such hints the earl saw there was no other way than to let the king +have his own will. It was no doubt a hard condition to have no hope of +ever regaining his paternal heritage, and moreover to bind himself by +oath to allow those to enjoy in peace his domain who had no hereditary +right to it; but seeing it was uncertain how he could get away, he +resolved to submit to the king and become his vassal, as Bruse had done. +The king observed that Thorfin was more high-minded, and less disposed +to suffer subjection than Bruse, and therefore he trusted less to +Thorfin than to Bruse; and he considered also that Thorfin would trust +to the aid of the Scottish king, if he broke the agreement. The king +also had discernment enough to perceive that Bruse, although slow to +enter into an agreement, would promise nothing but what he intended +to keep; but as to Thorfin when he had once made up his mind he went +readily into every proposal and made no attempt to obtain any alteration +of the king's first conditions: therefore the king had his suspicions +that the earl would infringe the agreement. + + + + +107. EARL THORFIN'S DEPARTURE, AND RECONCILIATION WITH THORKEL. + +When the king had carefully considered the whole matter by himself, he +ordered the signal to sound for a General Thing, to which he called in +the earls. Then said the king, "I will now make known to the public our +agreement with the Orkney earls. They have now acknowledged my right of +property to Orkney and Shetland, and have both become my vassals, all +which they have confirmed by oath; and now I will invest them with these +lands as a fief: namely, Bruse with one third part and Thorfin with one +third, as they formerly enjoyed them; but the other third which Einar +Rangmund had, I adjudge as fallen to my domain, because he killed Eyvind +Urarhorn, my court-man, partner, and dear friend; and that part of the +land I will manage as I think proper. I have also my earls, to tell you +it is my pleasure that ye enter into an agreement with Thorkel Amundason +for the murder of your brother Einar, for I will take that business, if +ye agree thereto, within my own jurisdiction." The earls agreed to this, +as to everything else that the king proposed. Thorkel came forward, and +surrendered to the king's judgment of the case, and the Thing concluded. +King Olaf awarded as great a penalty for Earl Einar's murder as for +three lendermen; but as Einar himself was the cause of the act, one +third of the mulct fell to the ground. Thereafter Earl Thorfin asked the +king's leave to depart, and as soon as he obtained it made ready for sea +with all speed. It happened one day, when all was ready for the +voyage, the earl sat in his ship drinking; and Thorkel Amundason came +unexpectedly to him, laid his head upon the earl's knee, and bade him +do with him what he pleased. The earl asked why he did so. "We are, you +know, reconciled men, according to the king's decision; so stand up, +Thorkel." + +Thorkel replied, "The agreement which the king made as between me and +Bruse stands good; but what regards the agreement with thee thou alone +must determine. Although the king made conditions for my property and +safe residence in Orkney, yet I know so well thy disposition that there +is no going to the islands for me, unless I go there in peace with thee, +Earl Thorfin; and therefore I am willing to promise never to return to +Orkney, whatever the king may desire." + +The earl remained silent; and first, after a long pause, he said, "If +thou wilt rather, Thorkel, that I shall judge between us than trust to +the king's judgment, then let the beginning of our reconciliation be, +that you go with me to the Orkney Islands, live with me, and never leave +me but with my will, and be bound to defend my land, and execute all +that I want done, as long as we both are in life." + +Thorkel replies, "This shall be entirely at thy pleasure, earl, as well +as everything else in my power." Then Thorkel went on, and solemnly +ratified this agreement. The earl said he would talk afterwards about +the mulct of money, but took Thorkel's oath upon the conditions. Thorkel +immediately made ready to accompany the earl on his voyage. The earl set +off as soon as all was ready, and never again were King Olaf and Thorfin +together. + + + + +108. EARL BRUSE'S DEPARTURE. + +Earl Bruse remained behind, and took his time to get ready. Before his +departure the king sent for him, and said, "It appears to me, earl, that +in thee I have a man on the west side of the sea on whose fidelity I +can depend; therefore I intend to give thee the two parts of the +country which thou formerly hadst to rule over; for I will not that +thou shouldst be a less powerful man after entering into my service than +before: but I will secure thy fidelity by keeping thy son Ragnvald with +me. I see well enough that with two parts of the country and my +help, thou wilt be able to defend what is thy own against thy brother +Thorfin." Bruse was thankful for getting two thirds instead of one third +of the country, and soon after he set out, and came about autumn to +Orkney; but Ragnvald, Bruse's son, remained behind in the East with King +Olaf. Ragnvald was one of the handsomest men that could be seen,--his +hair long, and yellow as silk; and he soon grew up, stout and tall, +and he was a very able and superb man, both of great understanding and +polite manners. He was long with King Olaf. Otter Svarte speaks of these +affairs in the poem he composed about King Olaf:-- + + "From Shetland, far off in the cold North Sea, + Come chiefs who desire to be subject to thee: + No king so well known for his will, and his might, + To defend his own people from scaith or unright. + These isles of the West midst the ocean's wild roar, + Scarcely heard the voice of their sovereign before; + Our bravest of sovereigns before could scarce bring + These islesmen so proud to acknowledge their king." + + + + +109. OF THE EARLS THORFIN AND BRUSE. + +The brothers Thorfin and Bruse came west to Orkney; and Bruse took the +two parts of the country under his rule, and Thorfin the third part. +Thorfin was usually in Caithness and elsewhere in Scotland; but placed +men of his own over the islands. It was left to Bruse alone to defend +the islands, which at that time were severely scourged by vikings; for +the Northmen and Danes went much on viking cruises in the west sea, +and frequently touched at Orkney on the way to or from the west, and +plundered, and took provisions and cattle from the coast. Bruse often +complained of his brother Thorfin, that he made no equipment of war for +the defence of Orkney and Shetland, yet levied his share of the scat and +duties. Then Thorfin offered to him to exchange, and that Bruse should +have one third and Thorfin two thirds of the land, but should undertake +the defence of the land, for the whole. Although this exchange did not +take place immediately, it is related in the saga of the earls that it +was agreed upon at last; and that Thorfin had two parts and Bruse +only one, when Canute the Great subdued Norway and King Olaf fled +the country. Earl Thorfin Sigurdson has been the ablest earl of these +islands, and has had the greatest dominion of all the Orkney earls; for +he had under him Orkney, Shetland, and the Hebudes, besides very great +possessions in Scotland and Ireland. Arnor, the earls' skald, tells of +his possessions:-- + + "From Thurso-skerry to Dublin, + All people hold with good Thorfin-- + All people love his sway, + And the generous chief obey." + +Thorfin was a very great warrior. He came to the earldom at five years +of age, ruled more than sixty years, and died in his bed about the +last days of Harald Sigurdson. But Bruse died in the days of Canute the +Great, a short time after the fall of Saint Olaf. + + + + +110. OF HAREK OF THJOTTA. + +Having now gone through this second story, we shall return to that which +we left,--at King Olaf Haraldson having concluded peace with King Olaf +the Swedish king, and having the same summer gone north to Throndhjem +(1019). He had then been king in Norway five years (A.D. 1015-1019). In +harvest time he prepared to take his winter residence at Nidaros, and +he remained all winter there (A.D. 1020). Thorkel the Fosterer, Amunde's +son, as before related, was all that winter with him. King Olaf inquired +very carefully how it stood with Christianity throughout the land, and +learnt that it was not observed at all to the north of Halogaland, +and was far from being observed as it should be in Naumudal, and the +interior of Throndhjem. There was a man by name Harek, a son of Eyvind +Skaldaspiller, who dwelt in an island called Thjotta in Halogaland. +Eyvind had not been a rich man, but was of high family and high mind. In +Thjotta, at first, there dwelt many small bondes; but Harek began with +buying a farm not very large and lived on it, and in a few years he had +got all the bondes that were there before out of the way; so that he had +the whole island, and built a large head-mansion. He soon became very +rich; for he was a very prudent man, and very successful. He had long +been greatly respected by the chiefs; and being related to the kings +of Norway, had been raised by them to high dignities. Harek's father's +mother Gunhild was a daughter of Earl Halfdan, and Ingebjorg, Harald +Harfager's daughter. At the time the circumstance happened which we are +going to relate he was somewhat advanced in years. Harek was the most +respected man in Halogaland, and for a long time had the Lapland trade, +and did the king's business in Lapland; sometimes alone, sometimes with +others joined to him. He had not himself been to wait on King Olaf, +but messages had passed between them, and all was on the most friendly +footing. This winter (A.D. 1020) that Olaf was in Nidaros, messengers +passed between the king and Harek of Thjotta. Then the king made it +known that he intended going north to Halogaland, and as far north as +the land's end; but the people of Halogaland expected no good from this +expedition. + + + + +111. OF THE PEOPLE OF HALOGALAND. + +Olaf rigged out five ships in spring (A.D. 1020), and had with him about +300 men. When he was ready for sea he set northwards along the land; and +when he came to Naumudal district he summoned the bondes to a Thing, and +at every Thing was accepted as king. He also made the laws to be +read there as elsewhere, by which the people are commanded to observe +Christianity; and he threatened every man with loss of life, and +limbs, and property who would not subject himself to Christian law. He +inflicted severe punishments on many men, great as well as small, and +left no district until the people had consented to adopt the holy faith. +The most of the men of power and of the great bondes made feasts for +the king, and so he proceeded all the way north to Halogaland. Harek +of Thjotta also made a feast for the king, at which there was a great +multitude of guests, and the feast was very splendid. Harek was made +lenderman, and got the same privileges he had enjoyed under the former +chiefs of the country. + + + + +112. OF ASMUND GRANKELSON. + +There was a man called Grankel, or Granketil, who was a rich bonde, and +at this time rather advanced in age. In his youth he had been on +viking cruises, and had been a powerful fighter; for he possessed great +readiness in all sorts of bodily exercises. His son Asmund was equal +to his father in all these, and in some, indeed, he excelled him. There +were many who said that with respect to comeliness, strength, and bodily +expertness, he might be considered the third remarkably distinguished +for these that Norway had ever produced. The first was Hakon Athelstan's +foster-son; the second, Olaf Trygvason. Grankel invited King Olaf to a +feast, which was very magnificent; and at parting Grankel presented +the king with many honourable gifts and tokens of friendship. The king +invited Asmund, with many persuasions, to follow him; and as Asmund +could not decline the honours offered him, he got ready to travel with +the king, became his man, and stood in high favour with him. The king +remained in Halogaland the greater part of the summer, went to all the +Things, and baptized all the people. Thorer Hund dwelt at that time in +the island Bjarkey. He was the most powerful man in the North, and also +became one of Olaf's lendermen. Many sons of great bondes resolved also +to follow King Olaf from Halogaland. Towards the end of summer King Olaf +left the North, and sailed back to Throndhjem, and landed at Nidaros, +where he passed the winter (A.D. 1021). It was then that Thorkel the +Fosterer came from the West from Orkney, after killing Einar Rangmumd, +as before related. This autumn corn was dear in Throndhjem, after a long +course of good seasons, and the farther north the dearer was the corn; +but there was corn enough in the East country, and in the Uplands, and +it was of great help to the people of Throndhjem that many had old corn +remaining beside them. + + + + +113. OF THE SACRIFICES OF THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE. + +In autumn the news was brought to King Olaf that the bondes had had a +great feast on the first winter-day's eve, at which there was a numerous +attendance and much drinking; and it was told the king that all the +remembrance-cups to the Asas, or old gods, were blessed according to +the old heathen forms; and it was added, that cattle and horses had been +slain, and the altars sprinkled with their blood, and the sacrifices +accompanied with the prayer that was made to obtain good seasons. It was +also reported that all men saw clearly that the gods were offended at +the Halogaland people turning Christian. Now when the king heard this +news he sent men into the Throndhjem country, and ordered several +bondes, whose names he gave, to appear before him. There was a man +called Olver of Eggja, so called after his farm on which he lived. He +was powerful, of great family, and the head-man of those who on account +of the bondes appeared before the king. Now, when they came to the king, +he told them these accusations; to which Olver, on behalf of the bondes, +replied, that they had had no other feasts that harvest than their usual +entertainments, and social meetings, and friendly drinking parties. "But +as to what may have been told you of the words which may have fallen +from us Throndhjem people in our drinking parties, men of understanding +would take good care not to use such language; but I cannot hinder +drunken or foolish people's talk." Olver was a man of clever speech, and +bold in what he said, and defended the bondes against such accusations. +In the end, the king said the people of the interior of Thorndhjem must +themselves give the best testimony to their being in the right faith. +The bondes got leave to return home, and set off as soon as they were +ready. + + + + +114. OF THE SACRIFICES BY THE PEOPLE OF THE INTERIOR OF THE THRONDHJEM DISTRICT. + +Afterwards, when winter was advanced, it was told the king that the +people of the interior of Throndhjem had assembled in great number at +Maerin, and that there was a great sacrifice in the middle of winter, +at which they sacrificed offerings for peace and a good season. Now +when the king knew this on good authority to be true, he sent men and +messages into the interior, and summoned the bondes whom he thought +of most understanding into the town. The bondes held a council among +themselves about this message; and all those who had been upon the same +occasion in the beginning of winter were now very unwilling to make +the journey. Olver, however, at the desire of all the bondes, allowed +himself to be persuaded. When he came to the town he went immediately +before the king, and they talked together. The king made the same +accusation against the bondes, that they had held a mid-winter +sacrifice. Olver replies, that this accusation against the bondes was +false. "We had," said he, "Yule feasts and drinking feasts wide +around in the districts; and the bondes do not prepare their feasts so +sparingly, sire, that there is not much left over, which people consume +long afterwards. At Maerin there is a great farm, with a large house on +it, and a great neighbourhood all around it, and it is the great delight +of the people to drink many together in company." The king said little +in reply, but looked angry, as he thought he knew the truth of the +matter better than it was now represented. He ordered the bondes to +return home. "I shall some time or other," said he, "come to the truth +of what you are now concealing, and in such a way that ye shall not be +able to contradict it. But, however, that may be, do not try such things +again." The bondes returned home, and told the result of their journey, +and that the king was altogether enraged. + + + + +115. MURDER OF OLVER OF EGGJA. + +At Easter (A.D. 1021) the king held a feast, to which he had invited +many of the townspeople as well as bondes. After Easter he ordered his +ships to be launched into the water, oars and tackle to be put on board, +decks to be laid in the ships, and tilts (1) and rigging to be set up, +and to be laid ready for sea at the piers. Immediately after Easter +he sent men into Veradal. There was a man called Thoralde, who was the +king's bailiff, and who managed the king's farm there at Haug; and +to him the king sent a message to come to him as quickly as possible. +Thoralde did not decline the journey, but went immediately to the town +with the messenger. The king called him in and in a private conversation +asked him what truth there was in what had been told him of the +principles and living of the people of the interior of Throndhjem, and +if it really was so that they practised sacrifices to heathen gods. "I +will," says the king, "that thou declare to me the things as they are, +and as thou knowest to be true; for it is thy duty to tell me the truth, +as thou art my man." + +Thoralde replies, "Sire, I will first tell you that I have brought here +to the town my two children, my wife, and all my loose property that I +could take with me, and if thou desirest to know the truth it shall be +told according to thy command; but if I declare it, thou must take care +of me and mine." + +The king replies, "Say only what is true on what I ask thee, and I will +take care that no evil befall thee." + +Then said Thoralde, "If I must say the truth, king, as it is, I must +declare that in the interior of the Throndhjem land almost all the +people are heathen in faith, although some of them are baptized. It is +their custom to offer sacrifice in autumn for a good winter, a second at +mid-winter, and a third in summer. In this the people of Eyna, Sparby, +Veradal, and Skaun partake. There are twelve men who preside over these +sacrifice-feasts; and in spring it is Olver who has to get the feast in +order, and he is now busy transporting to Maerin everything needful for +it." Now when the king had got to the truth with a certainty, he +ordered the signal to be sounded for his men to assemble, and for the +men-at-arms to go on board ship. He appointed men to steer the ships, +and leaders for the people, and ordered how the people should be divided +among the vessels. All was got ready in haste, and with five ships and +300 men he steered up the fjord. The wind was favourable, the ships +sailed briskly before it, and nobody could have thought that the king +would be so soon there. The king came in the night time to Maerin, and +immediately surrounded the house with a ring of armed men. Olver was +taken, and the king ordered him to be put to death, and many other men +besides. Then the king took all the provision for the feast, and had it +brought to his ships; and also all the goods, both furniture, clothes, +and valuables, which the people had brought there, and divided the +booty among his men. The king also let all the bondes he thought had the +greatest part in the business be plundered by his men-at-arms. Some were +taken prisoners and laid in irons, some ran away, and many were robbed +of their goods. Thereafter the bondes were summoned to a Thing; but +because he had taken many powerful men prisoners, and held them in his +power, their friends and relations resolved to promise obedience to +the king, so that there was no insurrection against the king on this +occasion. He thus brought the whole people back to the right faith, gave +them teachers, and built and consecrated churches. The king let Olver +lie without fine paid for his bloodshed, and all that he possessed was +adjudged to the king; and of the men he judged the most guilty, some +he ordered to be executed, some he maimed, some he drove out of the +country, and took fines from others. The king then returned to Nidaros. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The ships appear to have been decked fore and aft only; + and in the middle, where the rowers sat, to have had tilts or + tents set up at night to sleep under.--L. + + + + +116. OF THE SONS OF ARNE. + +There was a man called Arne Arnmodson, who was married to Thora, +Thorstein Galge's daughter. Their children were Kalf, Fin, Thorberg, +Amunde, Kolbjorn, Arnbjorn, and Arne. Their daughter, who was called +Ragnhild, was married to Harek of Thjotta. Arne was a lenderman, +powerful, and of ability, and a great friend of King Olaf. At that time +his sons Kalf and Fin were with the king, and in great favour. The wife +whom Olver of Eggja had left was young and handsome, of great family, +and rich, so that he who got her might be considered to have made an +excellent marriage; and her land was in the gift of the king. She and +Olver had two sons, who were still in infancy. Kalf Arneson begged of +the king that he would give him to wife the widow of Olver; and out of +friendship the king agreed to it, and with her he got all the property +Olver had possessed. The king at the same time made him his lenderman, +and gave him an office in the interior of the Throndhjem country. Kalf +became a great chief, and was a man of very great understanding. + + + + +117. KING OLAF'S JOURNEY TO THE UPLANDS. + +When King Olaf had been seven years (A.D. 1015-1021) in Norway the earls +Thorfin and Bruse came to him, as before related, in the summer, from +Orkney, and he became master of their land. The same summer Olaf went +to North and South More, and in autumn to Raumsdal. He left his ships +there, and came to the Uplands, and to Lesjar. Here he laid hold of +all the best men, and forced them, both at Lesjar and Dovre, either to +receive Christianity or suffer death, if they were not so lucky as to +escape. After they received Christianity, the king took their sons in +his hands as hostages for their fidelity. The king stayed several +nights at a farm in Lesjar called Boar, where he placed priests. Then he +proceeded over Orkadal and Lorodal, and came down from the Uplands at +a place called Stafabrekka. There a river runs along the valley, called +the Otta, and a beautiful hamlet, by name Loar, lies on both sides of +the river, and the king could see far down over the whole neighbourhood. +"A pity it is," said the king, "so beautiful a hamlet should be burnt." +And he proceeded down the valley with his people, and was all night on +a farm called Nes. The king took his lodging in a loft, where he slept +himself; and it stands to the present day, without anything in it +having been altered since. The king was five days there, and summoned +by message-token the people to a Thing, both for the districts of Vagar, +Lear, and Hedal; and gave out the message along with the token, that +they must either receive Christianity and give their sons as hostages, +or see their habitations burnt. They came before the king, and submitted +to his pleasure; but some fled south down the valley. + + + + +118. THE STORY OF DALE-GUDBRAND. + +There was a man called Dale-Gudbrand, who was like a king in the valley +(Gudbrandsdal), but was only herse in title. Sigvat the skald compared +him for wealth and landed property to Erling Skjalgson. Sigvat sang thus +concerning Erling:-- + + "I know but one who can compare + With Erling for broad lands and gear-- + Gudbrand is he, whose wide domains + Are most like where some small king reigns. + These two great bondes, I would say, + Equal each other every way. + He lies who says that he can find + One by the other left behind." + +Gudbrand had a son, who is here spoken of. Now when Gudbrand received +the tidings that King Olaf was come to Lear, and obliged people to +accept Christianity, he sent out a message-token, and summoned all the +men in the valley to meet him at a farm called Hundthorp. All came, +so that the number could not be told; for there is a lake in the +neighbourhood called Laugen, so that people could come to the place both +by land and by water. There Gudbrand held a Thing with them, and said, +"A man is come to Loar who is called Olaf, and will force upon us +another faith than what we had before, and will break in pieces all our +gods. He says that he has a much greater and more powerful god; and it +is wonderful that the earth does not burst asunder under him, or that +our god lets him go about unpunished when he dares to talk such things. +I know this for certain, that if we carry Thor, who has always stood by +us, out of our temple that is standing upon this farm, Olaf's god will +melt away, and he and his men be made nothing so soon as Thor looks upon +them." Then the bondes all shouted as one person that Olaf should never +get away with life if he came to them; and they thought he would never +dare to come farther south through the valley. They chose out 700 men to +go northwards to Breida, to watch his movements. The leader of this band +was Gudbrand's son, eighteen years of age, and with him were many other +men of importance. When they came to a farm called Hof they heard of the +king; and they remained three nights there. People streamed to them from +all parts, from Lesjar, Loar, and Vagar, who did not wish to receive +Christianity. The king and Bishop Sigurd fixed teachers in Loaf and +in Vagar. From thence they went round Vagarost, and came down into the +valley at Sil, where they stayed all night, and heard the news that a +great force of men were assembled against them. The bondes who were in +Breida heard also of the king's arrival, and prepared for battle. As +soon as the king arose in the morning he put on his armour, and went +southwards over the Sil plains, and did not halt until he came to +Breida, where he saw a great army ready for battle. Then the king drew +up his troops, rode himself at the head of them, and began a speech +to the bondes, in which he invited them to adopt Christianity. They +replied, "We shall give thee something else to do to-day than to be +mocking us;" and raised a general shout, striking also upon their +shields with their weapons. Then the king's men ran forward and threw +their spears; but the bondes turned round instantly and fled, so that +only few men remained behind. Gudbrand's son was taken prisoner; but the +king gave him his life, and took him with him. The king was four days +here. Then the king said to Gudbrand's son, "Go home now to thy father, +and tell him I expect to be with him soon." + +He went accordingly, and told his father the news, that they had fallen +in with the king, and fought with him; but that their whole army, in the +very beginning, took flight. "I was taken prisoner," said he, "but the +king gave me my life and liberty, and told me to say to thee that he +will soon be here. And now we have not 200 men of the force we raised +against him; therefore I advise thee, father, not to give battle to that +man." + +Says Gudbrand, "It is easy to see that all courage has left thee, and it +was an unlucky hour ye went out to the field. Thy proceeding will live +long in the remembrance of people, and I see that thy fastening thy +faith on the folly that man is going about with has brought upon thee +and thy men so great a disgrace." + +But the night after, Gudbrand dreamt that there came to him a man +surrounded by light, who brought great terror with him, and said to him, +"Thy son made no glorious expedition against King Olaf; but still less +honour wilt thou gather for thyself by holding a battle with him. Thou +with all thy people wilt fall; wolves will drag thee, and all thine, +away; ravens wilt tear thee in stripes." At this dreadful vision he was +much afraid, and tells it to Thord Istermage, who was chief over the +valley. He replies, "The very same vision came to me." In the morning +they ordered the signal to sound for a Thing, and said that it appeared +to them advisable to hold a Thing with the man who had come from the +north with this new teaching, to know if there was any truth in it. +Gudbrand then said to his son, "Go thou, and twelve men with thee, to +the king who gave thee thy life." He went straightway, and found the +king, and laid before him their errand; namely, that the bondes would +hold a Thing with him, and make a truce between them and him. The king +was content; and they bound themselves by faith and law mutually to hold +the peace so long as the Thing lasted. After this was settled the men +returned to Gudbrand and Thord, and told them there was made a firm +agreement for a truce. The king, after the battle with the son of +Gudbrand, had proceeded to Lidstad, and remained there for five days: +afterwards he went out to meet the bondes, and hold a Thing with them. +On that day there fell a heavy rain. When the Thing was seated, the +king stood up and said that the people in Lesjar, Loaf, and Vagar +had received Christianity, broken down their houses of sacrifice, and +believed now in the true God who had made heaven and earth and knows all +things. + +Thereupon the king sat down, and Gudbrand replies, "We know nothing of +him whom thou speakest about. Dost thou call him God, whom neither thou +nor any one else can see? But we have a god who call be seen every day, +although he is not out to-day, because the weather is wet, and he will +appear to thee terrible and very grand; and I expect that fear will mix +with your very blood when he comes into the Thing. But since thou sayest +thy God is so great, let him make it so that to-morrow we have a cloudy +day but without rain, and then let us meet again." + +The king accordingly returned home to his lodging, taking Gudbrand's +son as a hostage; but he gave them a man as hostage in exchange. In +the evening the king asked Gudbrand's son what like their god was. He +replied, that he bore the likeness of Thor; had a hammer in his hand; +was of great size, but hollow within; and had a high stand, upon which +he stood when he was out. "Neither gold nor silver are wanting about +him, and every day he receives four cakes of bread, besides meat." They +then went to bed, but the king watched all night in prayer. When day +dawned the king went to mass, then to table, and from thence to the +Thing. The weather was such as Gudbrand desired. Now the bishop stood up +in his choir-robes, with bishop's coif upon his head, and bishop's staff +in his hands. He spoke to the bondes of the true faith, told the many +wonderful acts of God, and concluded his speech well. + +Thord Istermage replies, "Many things we are told of by this horned man +with the staff in his hand crooked at the top like a ram's horn; but +since ye say, comrades, that your god is so powerful, and can do so many +wonders, tell him to make it clear sunshine to-morrow forenoon, and then +we shall meet here again, and do one of two things,--either agree with +you about this business, or fight you." And they separated for the day. + + + + +119. DALE-GUDBRAND IS BAPTIZED. + +There was a man with King Olaf called Kolbein Sterke (the strong), who +came from a family in the Fjord district. Usually he was so equipped +that he was girt with a sword, and besides carried a great stake, +otherwise called a club, in his hands. The king told Kolbein to stand +nearest to him in the morning; and gave orders to his people to go down +in the night to where the ships of the bondes lay and bore holes in +them, and to set loose their horses on the farms where they were; all +which was done. Now the king was in prayer all the night, beseeching God +of His goodness and mercy to release him from evil. When mass was ended, +and morning was grey, the king went to the Thing. When he came there +some bondes had already arrived, and they saw a great crowd coming +along, and bearing among them a huge man's image glancing with gold and +silver. When the bondes who were at the Thing saw it they started up, +and bowed themselves down before the ugly idol. Thereupon it was set +down upon the Thing-field; and on the one side of it sat the bondes, and +on the other the king and his people. + +Then Dale-Gudbrand stood up, and said, "Where now, king, is thy god? I +think he will now carry his head lower; and neither thou, nor the man +with the horn whom ye call bishop, and sits there beside thee, are so +bold to-day as on the former days; for now our god, who rules over all, +is come, and looks on you with an angry eye; and now I see well enough +that ye are terrified, and scarcely dare to raise your eyes. Throw away +now all your opposition, and believe in the god who has all your fate in +his hands." + +The king now whispers to Kolbein Sterke, without the bondes perceiving +it, "If it come so in the course of my speech that the bondes look +another way than towards their idol, strike him as hard as thou canst +with thy club." + +The king then stood up and spoke. "Much hast thou talked to us this +morning, and greatly hast thou wondered that thou canst not see our God; +but we expect that he will soon come to us. Thou wouldst frighten us +with thy god, who is both blind and deaf, and can neither save himself +nor others, and cannot even move about without being carried; but now +I expect it will be but a short time before he meets his fate: for turn +your eyes towards the east,--behold our God advancing in great light." + +The sun was rising, and all turned to look. At that moment Kolbein gave +their god a stroke, so that the idol burst asunder; and there ran out of +it mice as big almost as cats, and reptiles, and adders. The bondes were +so terrified that some fled to their ships; but when they sprang out +upon them they filled with water, and could not get away. Others ran to +their horses, but could not find them. The king then ordered the bondes +to be called together, saying he wanted to speak with them; on which the +bondes came back, and the Thing was again seated. + +The king rose up and said, "I do not understand what your noise and +running mean. Ye see yourselves what your god can do,--the idol ye +adorned with gold and silver, and brought meat and provisions to. Ye +see now that the protecting powers who used it were the mice and adders, +reptiles and paddocks; and they do ill who trust to such, and will not +abandon this folly. Take now your gold and ornaments that are lying +strewed about on the grass, and give them to your wives and daughters; +but never hang them hereafter upon stock or stone. Here are now two +conditions between us to choose upon,--either accept Christianity, +or fight this very day; and the victory be to them to whom the God we +worship gives it." + +Then Dale-Gudbrand stood up and said, "We have sustained great damage +upon our god; but since he will not help us, we will believe in the God +thou believest in." + +Then all received Christianity. The bishop baptized Gudbrand and his +son. King Olaf and Bishop Sigurd left behind them teachers, and they +who met as enemies parted as friends; and Gudbrand built a church in the +valley. + + + + +120. HEDEMARK BAPTIZED. + +King Olaf proceeded from thence to Hedemark, and baptized there; but +as he had formerly carried away their kings as prisoners, he did not +venture himself, after such a deed, to go far into the country with few +people at that time, but a small part of Hedemark was baptized; but +the king did not desist from his expedition before he had introduced +Christianity over all Hedemark, consecrated churches, and placed +teachers. He then went to Hadaland and Thoten, improving the customs of +the people, and persisting until all the country was baptized. He then +went to Ringerike, where also all people went over to Christianity. The +people of Raumarike then heard that Olaf intended coming to them, and +they gathered a great force. They said among themselves that the journey +Olaf had made among them the last time was not to be forgotten, and he +should never proceed so again. The king, notwithstanding, prepared for +the journey. Now when the king went up into Raumarike with his forces, +the multitude of bondes came against him at a river called Nitja; and +the bondes had a strong army, and began the battle as soon as they met; +but they soon fell short, and took to flight. They were forced by this +battle into a better disposition, and immediately received Christianity; +and the king scoured the whole district, and did not leave it until +all the people were made Christians. He then went east to Soleys, and +baptized that neighbourhood. The skald Ottar Black came to him there, +and begged to be received among his men. Olaf the Swedish king had died +the winter before (A.D. 1021), and Onund, the son of Olaf, was now the +sole king over all Sweden. King Olaf returned, when the winter (A.D. +1022) was far advanced, to Raumarike. There he assembled a numerous +Thing, at a place where the Eidsvold Things have since been held. He +made a law, that the Upland people should resort to this Thing, and that +Eidsvold laws should be good through all the districts of the Uplands, +and wide around in other quarters, which also has taken place. As spring +was advancing, he rigged his ships, and went by sea to Tunsberg. +He remained there during the spring, and the time the town was most +frequented, and goods from other countries were brought to the town for +sale. There had been a good year in Viken, and tolerable as far north as +Stad; but it was a very dear time in all the country north of there. + + + + +121. RECONCILIATION OF THE KING AND EINAR. + +In spring (A.D. 1022) King Olaf sent a message west to Agder, and north +all the way to Hordaland and Rogaland, prohibiting the exporting or +selling of corn, malt, or meal; adding, that he, as usual, would come +there with his people in guest-quarters. The message went round all the +districts; but the king remained in Viken all summer, and went east +to the boundary of the country. Einar Tambaskelfer had been with the +Swedish king Olaf since the death of his relation Earl Svein, and had, +as the khag's man, received great fiefs from him. Now that the king was +dead, Einar had a great desire to come into friendship agreement with +Olaf; and the same spring messages passed between them about it. While +the king was lying in the Gaut river, Einar Tambaskelfer came there with +some men; and after treating about an agreement, it was settled that +Einar should go north to Throndhjem, and there take possession of all +the lands and property which Bergliot had received in dower. Thereupon +Einar took his way north; but the king remained behind in Viken, and +remained long in Sarpsborg in autumn (A.D. 1022), and during the first +part of winter. + + + + +122. RECONCILIATION OF THE KING AND ERLING. + +Erling Skjalgson held his dominion so, that all north from Sogn Lake, +and east to the Naze, the bondes stood under him; and although he had +much smaller royal fiefs than formerly, still so great a dread of him +prevailed that nobody dared to do anything against his will, so that +the king thought his power too great. There was a man called Aslak +Fitiaskalle, who was powerful and of high birth. Erling's father Skjalg, +and Aslak's father Askel, were brother's sons. Aslak was a great friend +of King Olaf, and the king settled him in South Hordaland, where he gave +him a great fief, and great income, and ordered him in no respect to +give way to Erling. But this came to nothing when the king was not in +the neighbourhood; for then Erling would reign as he used to do, and was +not more humble because Aslak would thrust himself forward as his equal. +At last the strife went so far that Aslak could not keep his place, but +hastened to King Olaf, and told him the circumstances between him and +Erling. The king told Aslak to remain with him until he should meet +Erling; and sent a message to Erling that he should come to him in +spring at Tunsberg. When they all arrived there they held a meeting at +which the king said to him, "It is told me concerning thy government, +Erling, that no man from Sogn Lake to the Naze can enjoy his freedom for +thee; although there are many men there who consider themselves born +to udal rights, and have their privileges like others born as they are. +Now, here is your relation Aslak, who appears to have suffered great +inconvenience from your conduct; and I do not know whether he himself is +in fault, or whether he suffers because I have placed him to defend what +is mine; and although I name him, there are many others who have brought +the same complaint before us, both among those who are placed in office +in our districts, and among the bailiffs who have our farms to manage, +and are obliged to entertain me and my people." + +Erling replies to this, "I will answer at once. I deny altogether that I +have ever injured Aslak, or any one else, for being in your service; but +this I will not deny, that it is now, as it has long been, that each of +us relations will willingly be greater than the other: and, moreover, +I freely acknowledge that I am ready to bow my neck to thee, King Olaf; +but it is more difficult for me to stoop before one who is of slave +descent in all his generation, although he is now your bailiff, or +before others who are but equal to him in descent, although you bestow +honours on them." + +Now the friends of both interfered, and entreated that they would be +reconciled; saying, that the king never could have such powerful aid as +from Erling, "if he was your friend entirely." On the other hand, they +represent to Erling that he should give up to the king; for if he was +in friendship with the king, it would be easy to do with all the others +what he pleased. The meeting accordingly ended so that Erling should +retain the fiefs he formerly had, and every complaint the king had +against Erling should be dropped; but Skjalg, Erling's son, should +come to the king, and remain in his power. Then Aslak returned to his +dominions, and the two were in some sort reconciled. Erling returned +home also to his domains, and followed his own way of ruling them. + + + + +123. HERE BEGINS THE STORY OF ASBJORN SELSBANE. + +There was a man named Sigurd Thoreson, a brother of Thorer Hund of +Bjarkey Island. Sigurd was married to Sigrid Skjalg's daughter, a sister +of Erling. Their son, called Asbjorn, became as he grew up a very +able man. Sigurd dwelt at Omd in Thrandarnes, and was a very rich and +respected man. He had not gone into the king's service; and Thorer in so +far had attained higher dignity than his brother, that he was the king's +lenderman. But at home, on his farm, Sigurd stood in no respect behind +his brother in splendour and magnificence. As long as heathenism +prevailed, Sigurd usually had three sacrifices every year: one on +winter-night's eve, one on mid-winter's eve, and the third in summer. +Although he had adopted Christianity, he continued the same custom with +his feasts: he had, namely, a great friendly entertainment at harvest +time; a Yule feast in winter, to which he invited many; the third feast +he had about Easter, to which also he invited many guests. He continued +this fashion as long as he lived. Sigurd died on a bed of sickness when +Asbjorn was eighteen years old. He was the only heir of his father, and +he followed his father's custom of holding three festivals every year. +Soon after Asbjorn came to his heritage the course of seasons began to +grow worse, and the corn harvests of the people to fail; but Asbjorn +held his usual feasts, and helped himself by having old corn, and an old +provision laid up of all that was useful. But when one year had passed +and another came, and the crops were no better than the year before, +Sigrid wished that some if not all of the feasts should be given up. +That Asbjorn would not consent to, but went round in harvest among his +friends, buying corn where he could get it, and some he received in +presents. He thus kept his feasts this winter also; but the spring after +people got but little seed into the ground, for they had to buy +the seed-corn. Then Sigurd spoke of diminishing the number of their +house-servants. That Asbjorn would not consent to, but held by the old +fashion of the house in all things. In summer (A.D. 1022) it appeared +again that there would be a bad year for corn; and to this came the +report from the south that King Olaf prohibited all export of corn, +malt, or meal from the southern to the northern parts of the country. +Then Asbjorn perceived that it would be difficult to procure what was +necessary for a house-keeping, and resolved to put into the water a +vessel for carrying goods which he had, and which was large enough to +go to sea with. The ship was good, all that belonged to her was of the +best, and in the sails were stripes of cloth of various colours. Asbjorn +made himself ready for a voyage, and put to sea with twenty men. They +sailed from the north in summer; and nothing is told of their voyage +until one day, about the time the days begin to shorten, they came to +Karmtsund, and landed at Augvaldsnes. Up in the island Karmt there is +a large farm, not far from the sea, and a large house upon it called +Augvaldsnes, which was a king's house, with an excellent farm, which +Thorer Sel, who was the king's bailiff, had under his management. Thorer +was a man of low birth, but had swung himself up in the world as an +active man; and he was polite in speech, showy in clothes, and fond +of distinction, and not apt to give way to others, in which he was +supported by the favour of the king. He was besides quick in speech, +straightforward, and free in conversation. Asbjorn, with his company, +brought up there for the night; and in the morning, when it was light, +Thorer went down to the vessel with some men, and inquired who commanded +the splendid ship. Asbjorn named his own and his father's name. Thorer +asks where the voyage was intended for, and what was the errand. + +Asbjorn replies, that he wanted to buy corn and malt; saying, as was +true, that it was a very dear time north in the country. "But we are +told that here the seasons are good; and wilt thou, farmer, sell us +corn? I see that here are great corn stacks, and it would be very +convenient if we had not to travel farther." + +Thorer replies, "I will give thee the information that thou needst not +go farther to buy corn, or travel about here in Rogaland; for I can tell +thee that thou must turn about, and not travel farther, for the king +forbids carrying corn out of this to the north of the country. Sail back +again, Halogalander, for that will be thy safest course." + +Asbjorn replies, "If it be so, bonde, as thou sayest, that we can get +no corn here to buy, I will, notwithstanding, go forward upon my errand, +and visit my family in Sole, and see my relation Erling's habitation." + +Thorer: "How near is thy relationship to Erling?" + +Asbjorn: "My mother is his sister." + +Thorer: "It may be that I have spoken heedlessly, if so be that thou art +sister's son of Erling." + +Thereupon Asbjorn and his crew struck their tents, and turned the ship +to sea. Thorer called after them. "A good voyage, and come here again on +your way back." Asbjorn promised to do so, sailed away, and came in the +evening to Jadar. Asbjorn went on shore with ten men; the other ten +men watched the ship. When Asbjorn came to the house he was very +well received, and Erling was very glad to see him, placed him beside +himself, and asked him all the news in the north of the country. Asbjorn +concealed nothing of his business from him; and Erling said it happened +unfortunately that the king had just forbid the sale of corn. "And I +know no man here." says he, "who has courage to break the king's order, +and I find it difficult to keep well with the king, so many are trying +to break our friendship." + +Asbjorn replies, "It is late before we learn the truth. In my childhood +I was taught that my mother was freeborn throughout her whole descent, +and that Erling of Sole was her boldest relation; and now I hear thee +say that thou hast not the freedom, for the king's slaves here in Jadar, +to do with thy own corn what thou pleasest." + +Erling looked at him, smiled through his teeth, and said, "Ye +Halogalanders know less of the king's power than we do here; but a bold +man thou mayst be at home in thy conversation. Let us now drink, my +friend, and we shall see tomorrow what can be done in thy business." + +They did so, and were very merry all the evening. The following day +Erling and Asbjorn talked over the matter again, and Erling said. "I +have found out a way for you to purchase corn, Asbjorn. It is the same +thing to you whoever is the seller." He answered that he did not care of +whom he bought the corn, if he got a good right to his purchase. Erling +said. "It appears to me probable that my slaves have quite as much +corn as you require to buy; and they are not subject to law, or land +regulation, like other men." Asbjorn agreed to the proposal. The slaves +were now spoken to about the purchase, and they brought forward corn and +malt, which they sold to Asbjorn, so that he loaded his vessel with what +he wanted. When he was ready for sea Erling followed him on the road, +made him presents of friendship, and they took a kind farewell of each +other. Asbjorn got a good breeze, landed in the evening at Karmtsund, +near to Augvaldsnes, and remained there for the night. Thorer Sel had +heard of Asbjorn's voyage, and also that his vessel was deeply laden. +Thorer summoned people to him in the night, so that before daylight he +had sixty men; and with these he went against Asbjorn as soon as it was +light, and went out to the ship just as Asbjorn and his men were putting +on their clothes. Asbjorn saluted Thorer, and Thorer asked what kind of +goods Asbjorn had in the vessel. + +He replied, "Corn and malt." + +Thorer said, "Then Erling is doing as he usually does, and despising the +king's orders, and is unwearied in opposing him in all things, insomuch +that it is wonderful the king suffers it." + +Thorer went on scolding in this way, and when he was silent Asbjorn said +that Erling's slaves had owned the corn. + +Thorer replied hastily, that he did not regard Erling's tricks. "And +now, Asbjorn, there is no help for it; ye must either go on shore, or we +will throw you overboard; for we will not be troubled with you while we +are discharging the cargo." + +Asbjorn saw that he had not men enough to resist Thorer; therefore +he and his people landed, and Thorer took the whole cargo out of the +vessel. When the vessel was discharged Thorer went through the ship, and +observed. "Ye Halogalanders have good sails: take the old sail of our +vessel and give it them; it is good enough for those who are sailing +in a light vessel." Thus the sails were exchanged. When this was done +Asbjorn and his comrades sailed away north along the coast, and did not +stop until they reached home early in whiter. This expedition was talked +of far and wide, and Asbjorn had no trouble that winter in making feasts +at home. Thorer Hund invited Asbjorn and his mother, and also all whom +they pleased to take along with him, to a Yule feast; but Asbjorn sat +at home, and would not travel, and it was to be seen that Thorer thought +Asbjorn despised his invitation, since he would not come. Thorer scoffed +much at Asbjorn's voyage. "Now," said he, "it is evident that Asbjorn +makes a great difference in his respect towards his relations; for in +summer he took the greatest trouble to visit his relation Erling in +Jadar, and now will not take the trouble to come to me in the next +house. I don't know if he thinks there may be a Thorer Sel in his way +upon every holm." Such words, and the like sarcasms, Asbjorn heard of; +and very ill satisfied he was with his voyage, which had thus made him +a laughing-stock to the country, and he remained at home all winter, and +went to no feasts. + + + + +124. MURDER OF THORER SEL. + +Asbjorn had a long-ship standing in the noust (shipshed), and it was +a snekke (cutter) of twenty benches; and after Candlemas (February +2, 1023), he had the vessel put in the water, brought out all his +furniture, and rigged her out. He then summoned to him his friends and +people, so that he had nearly ninety men all well armed. When he was +ready for sea, and got a wind, he sailed south along the coast, but as +the wind did not suit, they advanced but slowly. When they came farther +south they steered outside the rocks, without the usual ships' channel, +keeping to sea as much as it was possible to do so. Nothing is related +of his voyage before the fifth day of Easter (April 18, 1023), when, +about evening, they came on the outside of Karmt Island. This island is +so shaped that it is very long, but not broad at its widest part; and +without it lies the usual ships' channel. It is thickly inhabited; +but where the island is exposed to the ocean great tracts of it are +uncultivated. Asbjorn and his men landed at a place in the island that +was uninhabited. After they had set up their ship-tents Asbjorn said, +"Now ye must remain here and wait for me. I will go on land in the isle, +and spy what news there may be which we know nothing of." Asbjorn had +on mean clothes, a broadbrimmed hat, a fork in his hand, but had girt on +his sword under his clothes. He went up to the land, and in through the +island; and when he came upon a hillock, from which he could see the +house on Augvaldsnes, and on as far as Karmtsund, he saw people in all +quarters flocking together by land and by sea, and all going up to the +house of Augvaldsnes. This seemed to him extraordinary; and therefore +he went up quietly to a house close by, in which servants were cooking +meat. From their conversation he discovered immediately that the king +Olaf had come there to a feast, and that he had just sat down to table. +Asbjorn turned then to the feasting-room, and when he came into the +ante-room one was going in and another coming out; but nobody took +notice of him. The hall-door was open, and he saw that Thorer Sel stood +before the table of the high-seat. It was getting late in the evening, +and Asbjorn heard people ask Thorer what had taken place between him +and Asbjorn; and Thorer had a long story about it, in which he evidently +departed from the truth. Among other things he heard a man say, "How did +Asbjorn behave when you discharged his vessel?" Thorer replied, "When we +were taking out the cargo he bore it tolerably, but not well; and when +we took the sail from him he wept." When Asbjorn heard this he suddenly +drew his sword, rushed into the hall, and cut at Thorer. The stroke took +him in the neck, so that the head fell upon the table before the king, +and the body at his feet, and the table-cloth was soiled with blood from +top to bottom. The king ordered him to be seized and taken out. This +was done. They laid hands on Asbjorn, and took him from the hall. The +table-furniture and table-cloths were removed, and also Thorer's corpse, +and all the blood wiped up. The king was enraged to the highest; but +remained quiet in speech, as he always was when in anger. + + + + +125. OF SKJALG, THE SON OF ERLING SKJALGSON. + +Skjalg Erlingson stood up, went before the king, and said, "Now may it +go, as it often does, that every case will admit of alleviation. I will +pay thee the mulct for the bloodshed on account of this man, so that +he may retain life and limbs. All the rest determine and do, king, +according to thy pleasure." + +The king replies, "Is it not a matter of death, Skjalg, that a man +break the Easter peace; and in the next place that he kills a man in +the king's lodging; and in the third that he makes my feet his +execution-block, although that may appear a small matter to thee and thy +father?" + +Skjalg replies, "It is ill done, king, in as far as it displeases thee; +but the deed is, otherwise, done excellently well. But if the deed +appear to thee so important, and be so contrary to thy will, yet may I +expect something for my services from thee; and certainly there are many +who will say that thou didst well." + +The king replies, "Although thou hast made me greatly indebted to thee, +Skjalg, for thy services, yet I will not for thy sake break the law, or +cast away my own dignity." + +Then Skjalg turned round, and went out of the hall. Twelve men who had +come with Skjalg all followed him, and many others went out with him. +Skjalg said to Thorarin Nefiulfson, "If thou wilt have me for a friend, +take care that this man be not killed before Sunday." Thereupon Skjalg +and his men set off, took a rowing boat which he had, and rowed south as +fast as they could, and came to Jadar with the first glimpse of morning. +They went up instantly to the house, and to the loft in which Erling +slept. Skjalg rushed so hard against the door that it burst asunder at +the nails. Erling and the others who were within started up. He was in +one spring upon his legs, grasped his shield and sword, and rushed to +the door, demanding who was there. Skjalg named himself, and begs him to +open the door. Erling replies, "It was most likely to be thee who +hast behaved so foolishly; or is there any one who is pursuing thee?" +Thereupon the door was unlocked. Then said Skjalg, "Although it appears +to thee that I am so hasty, I suppose our relation Asbjorn will not +think my proceedings too quick; for he sits in chains there in the north +at Augvaldsnes, and it would be but manly to hasten back and stand by +him." The father and son then had a conversation together, and Skjalg +related the whole circumstances of Thorer Sel's murder. + + + + +126. OF THORARIN NEFIULFSON. + +King Olaf took his seat again when everything in the hall was put in +order, and was enraged beyond measure. He asked how it was with the +murderer. He was answered, that he was sitting out upon the doorstep +under guard. + +The king says, "Why is he not put to death?" + +Thorarin Nefiulfson replies, "Sire, would you not call it murder to kill +a man in the night-time?" + +The king answers, "Put him in irons then, and kill him in the morning." + +Then Asbjorn was laid in chains, and locked up in a house for the night. +The day after the king heard the morning mass, and then went to the +Thing, where he sat till high mass. As he was going to mass he said +to Thorarin, "Is not the sun high enough now in the heavens that your +friend Asbjorn may be hanged?" + +Thorarin bowed before the king, and said, "Sire, it was said by Bishop +Sigurd on Friday last, that the King who has all things in his power +had to endure great temptation of spirit; and blessed is he who rather +imitates him, than those who condemned the man to death, or those +who caused his slaughter. It is not long till tomorrow, and that is a +working day." + +The king looked at him, and said, "Thou must take care then that he is +not put to death to-day; but take him under thy charge, and know for +certain that thy own life shall answer for it if he escape in any way." + +Then the king went away. Thorarin went also to where Asbjorn lay in +irons, took off his chains, and brought him to a small room, where +he had meat and drink set before him, and told him what the king had +determined in case Asbjorn ran away. Asbjorn replies, that Thorarin need +not be afraid of him. Thorarin sat a long while with him during the day, +and slept there all night. On Saturday the king arose and went to the +early mass, and from thence he went to the Thing, where a great many +bondes were assembled, who had many complaints to be determined. The +king sat there long in the day, and it was late before the people went +to high mass. Thereafter the king went to table. When he had got meat he +sat drinking for a while, so that the tables were not removed. Thorarin +went out to the priest who had the church under his care, and gave him +two marks of silver to ring in the Sabbath as soon as the king's table +was taken away. When the king had drunk as much as he wished the tables +were removed. Then said the king, that it was now time for the slaves +to go to the murderer and put him to death. In the same moment the bell +rang in the Sabbath. + +Then Thorarin went before the king, and said, "The Sabbath-peace this +man must have, although he has done evil." + +The king said, "Do thou take care, Thorarin, that he do not escape." + +The king then went to the church, and attended the vesper service, and +Thorarin sat the whole day with Asbjorn. On Sunday the bishop visited +Asbjorn, confessed him, and gave him orders to hear high mass. Thorarin +then went to the king, and asked him to appoint men to guard the +murderer. "I will now," he said, "be free of this charge." The king +thanked him for his care, and ordered men to watch over Asbjorn, who was +again laid in chains. When the people went to high mass Asbjorn was led +to the church, and he stood outside of the church with his guard; but +the king and all the people stood in the church at mass. + + + + +127. ERLING'S RECONCILIATION WITH KING OLAF. + +Now we must again take up our story where we left it,--that Erling +and his son Skjalg held a council on this affair, and according to +the resolution of Erling, and of Skjalg and his other sons, it was +determined to assemble a force and send out message-tokens. A great +multitude of people accordingly came together. They got ready with all +speed, rigged their ships, and when they reckoned upon their force they +found they had nearly 1500 men. With this war-force they set off, and +came on Sunday to Augvaldsnes on Karmt Island. They went straight up to +the house with all the men, and arrived just as the Scripture lesson was +read. They went directly to the church, took Asbjorn, and broke off +his chains. At the tumult and clash of arms all who were outside of the +church ran into it; but they who were in the church looked all towards +them, except the king, who stood still, without looking around him. +Erling and his sons drew up their men on each side of the path which led +from the church to the hall, and Erling with his sons stood next to the +hall. When high mass was finished the king went immediately out of the +church, and first went through the open space between the ranks drawn +up, and then his retinue, man by man; and as he came to the door Erling +placed himself before the door, bowed to the king, and saluted him. The +king saluted him in return, and prayed God to help him. Erling took up +the word first, and said, "My relation, Asbjorn, it is reported to me, +has been guilty of misdemeanor, king; and it is a great one, if he has +done anything that incurs your displeasure. Now I am come to entreat for +him peace, and such penalties as you yourself may determine; but that +thereby he redeem life and limb, and his remaining here in his native +land." + +The king replies, "It appears to me, Erling, that thou thinkest the case +of Asbjorn is now in thy own power, and I do not therefore know why thou +speakest now as if thou wouldst offer terms for him. I think thou hast +drawn together these forces because thou are determined to settle what +is between us." + +Erling replies, "Thou only, king, shalt determine, and determine so that +we shall be reconciled." + +The king: "Thinkest thou, Erling, to make me afraid? And art thou come +here in such force with that expectation? No, that shall not be; and if +that be thy thought, I must in no way turn and fly." + +Erling replies, "Thou hast no occasion to remind me how often I have +come to meet thee with fewer men than thou hadst. But now I shall not +conceal what lies in my mind, namely, that it is my will that we now +enter into a reconciliation; for otherwise I expect we shall never meet +again." Erling was then as red as blood in the face. + +Now Bishop Sigurd came forward to the king and said, "Sire, I entreat +you on God Almighty's account to be reconciled with Erling according to +his offer,--that the man shall retain life and limb, but that thou shalt +determine according to thy pleasure all the other conditions." + +The king replies, "You will determine." + +Then said the bishop, "Erling, do thou give security for Asbjorn, such +as the king thinks sufficient, and then leave the conditions to the +mercy of the king, and leave all in his power." + +Erling gave a surety to the king on his part, which he accepted. + +Thereupon Asbjorn received his life and safety, and delivered himself +into the king's power, and kissed his hand. + +Erling then withdrew with his forces, without exchanging salutation with +the king; and the king went into the hall, followed by Asbjorn. The king +thereafter made known the terms of reconciliation to be these:--"In the +first place, Asbjorn, thou must submit to the law of the land, which +commands that the man who kills a servant of the king must undertake +his service, if the king will. Now I will that thou shalt undertake the +office of bailiff which Thorer Sel had, and manage my estate here in +Augvaldsnes." Asbjorn replies, that it should be according to the king's +will; "but I must first go home to my farm, and put things in order +there." The king was satisfied with this, and proceeded to another +guest-quarter. Asbjorn made himself ready with his comrades, who all +kept themselves concealed in a quiet creek during the time Asbjorn was +away from them. They had had their spies out to learn how it went with +him, and would not depart without having some certain news of him. + + + + +128. OF THORER HUND AND ASBJORN SELSBANE. + +Asbjorn then set out on his voyage, and about spring (A.D. 1023) got +home to his farm. After this exploit he was always called Asbjorn +Selsbane. Asbjorn had not been long at home before he and his relation +Thorer met and conversed together, and Thorer asked Asbjorn particularly +all about his journey, and about all the circumstances which had +happened on the course of it. Asbjorn told everything as it had taken +place. + +Then said Thorer, "Thou thinkest that thou hast well rubbed out the +disgrace of having been plundered in last harvest." + +"I think so," replies Asbjorn; "and what is thy opinion, cousin?" + +"That I will soon tell thee," said Thorer. "Thy first expedition to the +south of the country was indeed very disgraceful, and that disgrace has +been redeemed; but this expedition is both a disgrace to thee and to thy +family, if it end in thy becoming the king's slave, and being put on +a footing with that worst of men, Thorer Sel. Show that thou art manly +enough to sit here on thy own property, and we thy relations shall so +support thee that thou wilt never more come into such trouble." + +Asbjorn found this advice much to his mind; and before they parted it +was firmly, determined that Asbjorn should remain on his farm, and not +go back to the king or enter into his service. And he did so, and sat +quietly at home on his farm. + + + + +129. KING OLAF BAPTIZES IN VORS AND VALDERS. + +After King Olaf and Erling Skjalgson had this meeting at Augvaldsnes, +new differences arose between them, and increased so much that they +ended in perfect enmity. In spring (A.D. 1023) the king proceeded to +guest-quarters in Hordaland, and went up also to Vors, because he heard +there was but little of the true faith among the people there. He held +a Thing with the bondes at a place called Vang, and a number of bondes +came to it fully armed. The king ordered them to adopt Christianity; but +they challenged him to battle, and it proceeded so far that the men +were drawn up on both sides. But when it came to the point such a fear +entered into the blood of the bondes that none would advance or command, +and they chose the part which was most to their advantage; namely, to +obey the king and receive Christianity; and before the king left them +they were all baptized. One day it happened that the king was riding on +his way a singing of psalms, and when he came right opposite some hills +he halted and said, "Man after man shall relate these my words, that +I think it not advisable for any king of Norway to travel hereafter +between these hills." And it is a saying among the people that the +most kings since that time have avoided it. The king proceeded to +Ostrarfjord, and came to his ships, with which he went north to Sogn, +and had his living in guest-quarters there in summer (A.D. 1023); when +autumn approached he turned in towards the Fjord district, and went +from thence to Valders, where the people were still heathen. The king +hastened up to the lake in Valders, came unexpectedly on the bondes, +seized their vessels, and went on board of them with all his men. He +then sent out message-tokens, and appointed a Thing so near the lake +that he could use the vessels if he found he required them. The bondes +resorted to the Thing in a great and well-armed host; and when he +commanded them to accept Christianity the bondes shouted against him, +told him to be silent, and made a great uproar and clashing of weapons. +But when the king saw that they would not listen to what he would teach +them, and also that they had too great a force to contend with, he +turned his discourse, and asked if there were people at the Thing who +had disputes with each other which they wished him to settle. It was +soon found by the conversation of the bondes that they had many quarrels +among themselves, although they had all joined in speaking against +Christianity. When the bondes began to set forth their own cases, each +endeavored to get some upon his side to support him; and this lasted +the whole day long until evening, when the Thing was concluded. When the +bondes had heard that the king had travelled to Valders, and was come +into their neighborhood, they had sent out message-tokens summoning +the free and the unfree to meet in arms, and with this force they had +advanced against the king; so that the neighbourhood all around was left +without people. When the Thing was concluded the bondes still remained +assembled; and when the king observed this he went on board his ships, +rowed in the night right across the water, landed in the country there, +and began to plunder and burn. The day after the king's men rowed +from one point of land to another, and over all the king ordered the +habitations to be set on fire. Now when the bondes who were assembled +saw what the king was doing, namely, plundering and burning, and saw the +smoke and flame of their houses, they dispersed, and each hastened to +his own home to see if he could find those he had left. As soon as there +came a dispersion among the crowd, the one slipped away after the other, +until the whole multitude was dissolved. Then the king rowed across +the lake again, burning also on that side of the country. Now came the +bondes to him begging for mercy, and offering to submit to him. He gave +every man who came to him peace if he desired it, and restored to him +his goods; and nobody refused to adopt Christianity. The king then had +the people christened, and took hostages from the bondes. He ordered +churches to be built and consecrated, and placed teachers in them. He +remained a long time here in autumn, and had his ships drawn across the +neck of land between the two lakes. The king did not go far from the +sides of the lakes into the country, for he did not much trust the +bondes. When the king thought that frost might be expected, he went +further up the country, and came to Thoten. Arnor, the earl's skald, +tells how King Olaf burnt in the Uplands, in the poem he composed +concerning the king's brother King Harald:-- + + "Against the Upland people wroth, + Olaf, to most so mild, went forth: + The houses burning, + All people mourning; + Who could not fly + Hung on gallows high. + It was, I think, in Olaf's race + The Upland people to oppress." + +Afterwards King Olaf went north through the valleys to Dovrefield, and +did not halt until he reached the Throndhjem district and arrived at +Nidaros, where he had ordered winter provision to be collected, and +remained all winter (A.D. 1024). This was the tenth year of his reign. + + + + +130. OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER. + +The summer before Einar Tambaskelfer left the country, and went westward +to England (A.D. 1023). There he met his relative Earl Hakon, and stayed +some time with him. He then visited King Canute, from whom he received +great presents. Einar then went south all the way to Rome, and came back +the following summer (A.D. 1024), and returned to his house and land. +King Olaf and Einar did not meet this time. + + + + +131. THE BIRTH OF KING MAGNUS. + +There was a girl whose name was Alfhild, and who was usually called +the king's slave-woman, although she was of good descent. She was +a remarkably handsome girl, and lived in King Olaf's court. It was +reported this spring that Alfhild was with child, and the king's +confidential friends knew that he was father of the child. It happened +one night that Alfhild was taken ill, and only few people were at hand; +namely, some women, priests, Sigvat the skald, and a few others. Alfhild +was so ill that she was nearly dead; and when she was delivered of a +man-child, it was some time before they could discover whether the child +was in life. But when the infant drew breath, although very weak, the +priest told Sigvat to hasten to the king, and tell him of the event. + +He replies, "I dare not on any account waken the king; for he has forbid +that any man should break his sleep until he awakens of himself." + +The priest replies, "It is of necessity that this child be immediately +baptized, for it appears to me there is but little life in it." + +Sigvat said, "I would rather venture to take upon me to let thee baptize +the child, than to awaken the king; and I will take it upon myself if +anything be amiss, and will give the child a name." + +They did so; and the child was baptized, and got the name of Magnus. +The next morning, when the king awoke and had dressed himself, the +circumstance was told him. He ordered Sigvat to be called, and said. +"How camest thou to be so bold as to have my child baptized before I +knew anything about it?" + +Sigvat replies, "Because I would rather give two men to God than one to +the devil." + +The king--"What meanest thou?" + +Sigvat--"The child was near death, and must have been the devil's if it +had died as a heathen, and now it is God's. And I knew besides that if +thou shouldst be so angry on this account that it affected my life, I +would be God's also." + +The king asked, "But why didst thou call him Magnus, which is not a name +of our race?" + +Sigvat--"I called him after King Carl Magnus, who, I knew, had been the +best man in the world." + +Then said the king, "Thou art a very lucky man, Sigvat; but it is not +wonderful that luck should accompany understanding. It is only wonderful +how it sometimes happens that luck attends ignorant men, and that +foolish counsel turns out lucky." The king was overjoyed at the +circumstance. The boy grew up, and gave good promise as he advanced in +age. + + + + +132. THE MURDER OF ASBJORN SELSBANE. + +The same spring (A.D. 1024) the king gave into the hands of Asmund +Grankelson the half of the sheriffdom of the district of Halogaland, +which Harek of Thjotta had formerly held, partly in fief, partly for +defraying the king's entertainment in guest-quarters. Asmund had a ship +manned with nearly thirty well-armed men. When Asmund came north he +met Harek, and told him what the king had determined with regard to +the district, and produced to him the tokens of the king's full powers. +Harek said, "The king had the right to give the sheriffdom to whom he +pleased; but the former sovereigns had not been in use to diminish our +rights who are entitled by birth to hold powers from the king, and to +give them into the hands of the peasants who never before held such +offices." But although it was evident that it was against Harek's +inclination, he allowed Asmund to take the sheriffdom according to the +king's order. Then Asmund proceeded home to his father, stayed there a +short time, and then went north to Halogaland to his sheriffdom; and +he came north to Langey Island, where there dwelt two brothers called +Gunstein and Karle, both very rich and respectable men. Gunstein, the +eldest of the brothers, was a good husbandman. Karle was a handsome +man in appearance, and splendid in his dress; and both were, in many +respects, expert in all feats. Asmund was well received by them, +remained with them a while, and collected such revenues of his +sheriffdom as he could get. Karle spoke with Asmund of his wish to go +south with him and take service in the court of King Olaf, to which +Asmund encouraged him much, promising his influence with the king +for obtaining for Karle such a situation as he desired; and Karle +accordingly accompanied Asmund. Asmund heard that Asbjorn, who had +killed Thorer Sel, had gone to the market-meeting of Vagar with a +large ship of burden manned with nearly twenty men, and that he was now +expected from the south. Asmund and his retinue proceeded on their way +southwards along the coast with a contrary wind, but there was little of +it. They saw some of the fleet for Vagar sailing towards them; and they +privately inquired of them about Asbjorn, and were told he was upon +the way coming from the south. Asmund and Karle were bedfellows, and +excellent friends. One day, as Asmund and his people were rowing through +a sound, a ship of burden came sailing towards them. The ship was easily +known, having high bulwarks, was painted with white and red colours, and +coloured cloth was woven in the sail. Karle said to Asmund, "Thou hast +often said thou wast curious to see Asbjorn who killed Thorer Sel; and +if I know one ship from another, that is his which is coming sailing +along." + +Asmund replies, "Be so good, comrade, and tell me which is he when thou +seest him." + +When the ships came alongside of each other, "That is Asbjorn," said +Karle; "the man sitting at the helm in a blue cloak." + +Asmund replies, "I shall make his blue cloak red;" threw a spear at +Asbjorn, and hit him in the middle of the body, so that it flew through +and through him, and stuck fast in the upper part of the stern-post; +and Asbjorn fell down dead from the helm. Then each vessel sailed on its +course, and Asbjorn's body was carried north to Thrandarnes. Then Sigrid +sent a message to Bjarkey Isle to Thorer Hund, who came to her while +they were, in the usual way, dressing the corpse of Asbjorn. When he +returned Sigrid gave presents to all her friends, and followed Thorer +to his ship; but before they parted she said, "It has so fallen out, +Thorer, that my son has suffered by thy friendly counsel, but he did not +retain life to reward thee for it; but although I have not his ability +yet will I show my good will. Here is a gift I give thee, which I expect +thou wilt use. Here is the spear which went through Asbjorn my son, and +there is still blood upon it, to remind thee that it fits the wound +thou hast seen on the corpse of thy brother's son Asbjorn. It would be +a manly deed, if thou shouldst throw this spear from thy hand so that +it stood in Olaf's breast; and this I can tell thee, that thou wilt be +named coward in every man's mouth, if thou dost not avenge Asbjorn." +Thereupon she turned about, and went her way. + +Thorer was so enraged at her words that he could not speak. He neither +thought of casting the spear from him, nor took notice of the gangway; +so that he would have fallen into the sea, if his men had not laid hold +of him as he was going on board his ship. It was a feathered spear; not +large, but the handle was gold-mounted. Now Thorer rowed away with his +people, and went home to Bjarkey Isle. Asmund and his companions also +proceeded on their way until they came south to Throndhjem, where +they waited on King Olaf; and Asmund related to the king all that had +happened on the voyage. Karle became one of the king's court-men, and +the friendship continued between him and Asmund. They did not keep +secret the words that had passed between Asmund and Karle before Asbjorn +was killed; for they even told them to the king. But then it happened, +according to the proverb, that every one has a friend in the midst of +his enemies. There were some present who took notice of the words, and +they reached Thorer Hund's ears. + + + + +133. OF KING OLAF. + +When spring (A.D. 1024) was advanced King Olaf rigged out his ships, +and sailed southwards in summer along the land. He held Things with the +bondes on the way, settled the law business of the people, put to rights +the faith of the country, and collected the king's taxes wherever he +came. In autumn he proceeded south to the frontier of the country; and +King Olaf had now made the people Christians in all the great districts, +and everywhere, by laws, had introduced order into the country. He had +also, as before related, brought the Orkney Islands under his power, and +by messages had made many friends in Iceland, Greenland, and the Farey +Islands. King Olaf had sent timber for building a church to Iceland, of +which a church was built upon the Thing-field where the General Thing is +held, and had sent a bell for it, which is still there. This was after +the Iceland people had altered their laws, and introduced Christianity, +according to the word King Olaf had sent them. After that time, many +considerable persons came from Iceland, and entered into King Olaf's +service; as Thorkel Eyjolfson, and Thorleif Bollason, Thord Kolbeinson, +Thord Barkarson, Thorgeir Havarson, Thormod Kalbrunar-skald. King Olaf +had sent many friendly presents to chief people in Iceland; and they +in return sent him such things as they had which they thought most +acceptable. Under this show of friendship which the king gave Iceland +were concealed many things which afterwards appeared. + + + + +134. KING OLAF'S MESSAGE TO ICELAND, AND THE COUNSELS OF THE ICELANDERS. + +King Olaf this summer (A.D. 1024) sent Thorarin Nefiulfson to Iceland +on his errands; and Thorarin went out of Throndhjem fjord along with the +king, and followed him south to More. From thence Thorarin went out +to sea, and got such a favourable breeze that after four days sail he +landed at the Westman Isles, in Iceland. He proceeded immediately to the +Althing, and came just as the people were upon the Lawhillock, to which +he repaired. When the cases of the people before the Thing had been +determined according to law, Thorarin Nefiulfson took up the word as +follows:--"We parted four days ago from King Olaf Haraldson, who sends +God Almighty's and his own salutation to all the chiefs and principal +men of the land; as also to all the people in general, men and women, +young and old, rich and poor. He also lets you know that he will be your +sovereign if ye will become his subjects, so that he and you will be +friends, assisting each other in all that is good." + +The people replied in a friendly way, that they would gladly be the +king's friends, if he would be a friend of the people of their country. + +Then Thorarin again took up the word:--"This follows in addition to the +king's message, that he will in friendship desire of the people of the +north district that they give him the island, or out-rock, which lies at +the mouth of Eyfjord, and is called Grimsey, for which he will give you +from his country whatever good the people of the district may desire. +He sends this message particularly to Gudmund of Modruvellir to support +this matter, because he understands that Gudmund has most influence in +that quarter." + +Gudmund replies, "My inclination is greatly for King Olaf's friendship, +and that I consider much more useful than the out-rock he desires. But +the king has not heard rightly if he think I have more power in this +matter than any other, for the island is a common. We, however, who have +the most use of the isle, will hold a meeting among ourselves about it." + +Then the people went to their tent-houses; and the Northland people had +a meeting among themselves, and talked over the business, and every one +spoke according to his judgment. Gudmund supported the matter, and many +others formed their opinions by his. Then some asked why his brother +Einar did not speak on the subject. "We think he has the clearest +insight into most things." + +Einar answers, "I have said so little about the matter because nobody +has asked me about it; but if I may give my opinion, our countrymen +might just as well make themselves at once liable to land-scat to King +Olaf, and submit to all his exactions as he has them among his people in +Norway; and this heavy burden we will lay not only upon ourselves, but +on our sons, and their sons, and all our race, and on all the community +dwelling and living in this land, which never after will be free from +this slavery. Now although this king is a good man, as I well believe +him to be, yet it must be hereafter, when kings succeed each other, that +some will be good, and some bad. Therefore if the people of this country +will preserve the freedom they have enjoyed since the land was first +inhabited, it is not advisable to give the king the smallest spot to +fasten himself upon the country by, and not to give him any kind of scat +or service that can have the appearance of a duty. On the other hand, +I think it very proper that the people send the king such friendly +presents of hawks or horses, tents or sails, or such things which are +suitable gifts; and these are well applied if they are repaid with +friendship. But as to Grimsey Isle, I have to say, that although nothing +is drawn from it that can serve for food, yet it could support a great +war-force cruising from thence in long-ships; and then, I doubt not, +there would be distress enough at every poor peasant's door." + +When Einar had thus explained the proper connection of the matter, +the whole community were of one mind that such a thing should not be +permitted; and Thorarin saw sufficiently well what the result of his +errand was to be. + + + + +135. THE ANSWER OF THE ICELANDERS. + +The day following, Thorarin went again to the Lawhill, and brought +forward his errand in the following words:--"King Olaf sends his message +to his friends here in the country, among whom he reckons Gudmund +Eyjolfson, Snorre Gode, Thorkel Eyjolfson, Skapte the lagman, and +Thorstein Halson, and desires them by me to come to him on a friendly +visit; and adds, that ye must not excuse yourselves, if you regard his +friendship as worth anything." In their answer they thanked the king for +his message and added, that they would afterwards give a reply to it +by Thorarin when they had more closely considered the matter with their +friends. The chiefs now weighed the matter among themselves, and each +gave his own opinion about the journey. Snorre and Skapte dissuaded from +such a dangerous proceeding with the people of Norway; namely, that +all the men who had the most to say in the country should at once leave +Iceland. They added, that from this message, and from what Einar had +said, they had the suspicion that the king intended to use force and +strong measures against the Icelanders if he ruled in the country. +Gudmund and Thorkel Eyjolfson insisted much that they should follow King +Olaf's invitation, and called it a journey of honour. But when they had +considered the matter on all sides, it was at last resolved that they +should not travel themselves, but that each of them should send in +his place a man whom they thought best suited for it. After this +determination the Thing was closed, and there was no journey that +summer. Thorarin made two voyages that summer, and about harvest was +back again at King Olaf's, and reported the result of his mission, +and that some of the chiefs, or their sons, would come from Iceland +according to his message. + + + + +136. OF THE PEOPLE OF THE FAREY ISLANDS. + +The same summer (A.D. 1024) there came from the Farey Islands to Norway, +on the king's invitation, Gille the lagman, Leif Ossurson, Thoralf of +Dimun, and many other bondes' sons. Thord of Gata made himself ready for +the voyage; but just as he was setting out he got a stroke of palsy, +and could not come, so he remained behind. Now when the people from +the Farey Isles arrived at King Olaf's, he called them to him to a +conference, and explained the purpose of the journey he had made them +take, namely, that he would have scat from the Farey Islands, and also +that the people there should be subject to the laws which the king +should give them. In that meeting it appeared from the king's words that +he would make the Farey people who had come answerable, and would bind +them by oath to conclude this union. He also offered to the men whom he +thought the ablest to take them into his service, and bestow honour and +friendship on them. These Farey men understood the king's words so, that +they must dread the turn the matter might take if they did not submit to +all that the king desired. Although they held several meetings about +the business before it ended, the king's desire at last prevailed. +Leif, Gille, and Thoralf went into the king's service, and became his +courtmen; and they, with all their travelling companions, swore the oath +to King Olaf, that the law and land privilege which he set them should +be observed in the Farey Islands, and also the scat be levied that he +laid upon them. Thereafter the Farey people prepared for their return +home, and at their departure the king gave those who had entered into +his service presents in testimony of his friendship, and they went their +way. Now the king ordered a ship to be rigged, manned it, and sent men +to the Farey Islands to receive the scat from the inhabitants which they +should pay him. It was late before they were ready; but they set off at +last: and of their journey all that is to be told is, that they did not +come back, and no scat either, the following summer; for nobody had come +to the Farey Isles, and no man had demanded scat there. + + + + +137. OF THE MARRIAGE OF KETIL AND OF THORD TO THE KING'S SISTERS. + +King Olaf proceeded about harvest time to Viken, and sent a message +before him to the Uplands that they should prepare guest-quarters for +him, as he intended to be there in winter. Afterwards he made ready for +his journey, and went to the Uplands, and remained the winter there; +going about in guest-quarters, and putting things to rights where he saw +it needful, advancing also the cause of Christianity wheresoever it was +requisite. It happened while King Olaf was in Hedemark that Ketil Kalf +of Ringanes courted Gunhild, a daughter of Sigurd Syr and of King +Olaf's mother Asta. Gunhild was a sister of King Olaf, and therefore it +belonged to the king to give consent and determination to the business. +He took it in a friendly way; for he know Ketil, that he was of high +birth, wealthy, and of good understanding, and a great chief; and also +he had long been a great friend of King Olaf, as before related. All +these circumstances induced the king to approve of the match, and so it +was that Ketil got Gunhild. King Olaf was present at the wedding. From +thence the king went north to Gudbrandsdal, where he was entertained in +guest-quarters. There dwelt a man, by name Thord Guthormson, on a farm +called Steig; and he was the most powerful man in the north end of the +valley. When Thord and the king met, Thord made proposals for Isrid, +the daughter of Gudbrand, and the sister of King Olaf's mother, as it +belonged to the king to give consent. After the matter was considered, +it was determined that the marriage should proceed, and Thord got +Isrid. Afterwards Thord was the king's faithful friend, and also many of +Thord's relations and friends, who followed his footsteps. From thence +King Olaf returned south through Thoten and Hadaland, from thence to +Ringerike, and so to Viken. In spring (A.D. 1025) he went to Tunsberg, +and stayed there while there was the market-meeting, and a great resort +of people. He then had his vessels rigged out, and had many people about +him. + + + + +138. OF THE ICELANDERS. + +The same summer (A.D. 1025) came Stein, a son of the lagman Skapte, from +Iceland, in compliance with King Olaf's message; and with him Thorod, +a son of Snorre the gode, and Geller, a son of Thorkel Eyjolfson, and +Egil, a son of Hal of Sida, brother of Thorstein Hal. Gudmund Eyjolfson +had died the winter before. These Iceland men repaired to King Olaf as +soon as they had opportunity; and when they met the king they were well +received, and all were in his house. The same summer King Olaf heard +that the ship was missing which he had sent the summer before to the +Farey Islands after the scat, and nobody knew what had become of it. +The king fitted out another ship, manned it, and sent it to the Farey +Islands for the scat. They got under weigh, and proceeded to sea; but +as little was ever heard of this vessel as of the former one, and many +conjectures were made about what had become of them. + + + + +139. HERE BEGINS THE STORY OF CANUTE THE GREAT. + +During this time Canute the Great, called by some Canute the Old, +was king of England and Denmark. Canute the Great was a son of +Svein Haraldson Forkedbeard, whose forefathers, for a long course +of generations, had ruled over Denmark. Harald Gormson, Canute's +grandfather, had conquered Norway after the fall of Harald Grafeld, +Gunhild's son, had taken scat from it, and had placed Earl Hakon the +Great to defend the country. The Danish King, Svein Haraldson, ruled +also over Norway, and placed his son-in-law Earl Eirik, the son of Earl +Hakon, to defend the country. The brothers Eirik and Svein, Earl Hakon's +sons, ruled the land until Earl Eirik went west to England, on the +invitation of his brother-in-law Canute the Great, when he left behind +his son Earl Hakon, sister's son of Canute the Great, to govern Norway. +But when Olaf the Thick came first to Norway, as before related, he took +prisoner Earl Hakon the son of Eirik, and deposed him from the kingdom. +Then Hakon proceeded to his mother's brother, Canute the Great, and had +been with him constantly until the time to which here in our saga we +have now come. Canute the Great had conquered England by blows and +weapons, and had a long struggle before the people of the land were +subdued. But when he had set himself perfectly firm in the government of +the country, he remembered that he also had right to a kingdom which he +had not brought under his authority; and that was Norway. He thought he +had hereditary right to all Norway; and his sister's son Hakon, who had +held a part of it, appeared to him to have lost it with disgrace. The +reason why Canute and Hakon had remained quiet with respect to their +claims upon Norway was, that when King Olaf Haraldson landed in Norway +the people and commonalty ran together in crowds, and would hear of +nothing but that Olaf should be king over all the country, although some +afterwards, who thought that the people upon account of his power had +no self-government left to them, went out of the country. Many powerful +men, or rich bondes sons, had therefore gone to Canute the Great, and +pretended various errands; and every one who came to Canute and desired +his friendship was loaded with presents. With Canute, too, could be +seen greater splendour and pomp than elsewhere, both with regard to the +multitude of people who were daily in attendance, and also to the other +magnificent things about the houses he owned and dwelt in himself. +Canute the Great drew scat and revenue from the people who were the +richest of all in northern lands; and in the same proportion as he had +greater revenues than other kings, he also made greater presents than +other kings. In his whole kingdom peace was so well established, that +no man dared break it. The people of the country kept the peace towards +each other, and had their old country law: and for this he was greatly +celebrated in all countries. And many of those who came from Norway +represented their hardships to Earl Hakon, and some even to King Canute +himself; and that the Norway people were ready to turn back to the +government of King Canute, or Earl Hakon, and receive deliverance from +them. This conversation suited well the earl's inclination, and he +carried it to the king, and begged of him to try if King Olaf would not +surrender the kingdom, or at least come to an agreement to divide it; +and many supported the earl's views. + + + + +140. CANUTE'S MESSAGE TO KING OLAF. + +Canute the Great sent men from the West, from England, to Norway, and +equipped them magnificently for the journey. They were bearers of the +English king Canute's letter and seal. They came about spring (A.D. +1025) to the king of Norway, Olaf Haraldson, in Tunsberg. Now when it +was told the king that ambassadors had arrived from Canute the Great +he was ill at ease, and said that Canute had not sent messengers hither +with any messages that could be of advantage to him or his people; and +it was some days before the ambassadors could come before the king. But +when they got permission to speak to him they appeared before the king, +and made known King Canute's letter, and their errand which accompanied +it; namely, "that King Canute considers all Norway as his property, and +insists that his forefathers before him have possessed that kingdom; but +as King Canute offers peace to all countries, he will also offer peace +to all here, if it can be so settled, and will not invade Norway with +his army if it can be avoided. Now if King Olaf Haraldson wishes to +remain king of Norway, he will come to King Canute, and receive his +kingdom as a fief from him, become his vassal, and pay the scat which +the earls before him formerly paid." Thereupon they presented their +letters, which contained precisely the same conditions. + +Then King Olaf replies, "I have heard say, by old stories, that the +Danish king Gorm was considered but a small king of a few people, for he +ruled over Denmark alone; but the kings who succeeded him thought that +was too little. It has since come so far that King Canute rules over +Denmark and England, and has conquered for himself a great part of +Scotland. Now he claims also my paternal heritage, and will then show +some moderation in his covetousness. Does he wish to rule over all the +countries of the North? Will he eat up all the kail in England? He shall +do so, and reduce that country to a desert, before I lay my head in his +hands, or show him any other kind of vassalage. Now ye shall tell him +these my words,--I will defend Norway with battle-axe and sword as long +as life is given me, and will pay scat to no man for my kingdom." + +After this answer King Canute's ambassadors made themselves ready for +their journey home, and were by no means rejoiced at the success of +their errand. + +Sigvat the skald had been with King Canute, who had given him a gold +ring that weighed half a mark. The skald Berse Skaldtorfason was also +there, and to him King Canute gave two gold rings, each weighing two +marks, and besides a sword inlaid with gold. Sigvat made this song about +it:-- + + "When we came o'er the wave, you cub, + When we came o'er the wave, + To me one ring, to thee two rings, + The mighty Canute gave: + One mark to me, + Four marks to thee,-- + A sword too, fine and brave. + Now God knows well, + And skalds can tell, + What justice here would crave." + +Sigvat the skald was very intimate with King Canute's messengers, and +asked them many questions. They answered all his inquiries about their +conversation with King Olaf, and the result of their message. They said +the king listened unwillingly to their proposals. "And we do not know," +say they, "to what he is trusting when he refuses becoming King Canute's +vassal, and going to him, which would be the best thing he could do; for +King Canute is so mild that however much a chief may have done against +him, he is pardoned if he only show himself obedient. It is but lately +that two kings came to him from the North, from Fife in Scotland, and he +gave up his wrath against them, and allowed them to retain all the lands +they had possessed before, and gave them besides very valuable gifts." +Then Sigvat sang:-- + + "From the North land, the midst of Fife, + Two kings came begging peace and life; + Craving from Canute life and peace,-- + May Olaf's good luck never cease! + May he, our gallant Norse king, never + Be brought, like these, his head to offer + As ransom to a living man + For the broad lands his sword has won." + +King Canute's ambassadors proceeded on their way back, and had a +favourable breeze across the sea. They came to King Canute, and told +him the result of their errand, and King Olaf's last words. King Canute +replies, "King Olaf guesses wrong, if he thinks I shall eat up all the +kail in England; for I will let him see that there is something else +than kail under my ribs, and cold kail it shall be for him." The same +summer (A.D. 1025) Aslak and Skjalg, the sons of Erling of Jadar, +came from Norway to King Canute, and were well received; for Aslak was +married to Sigrid, a daughter of Earl Svein Hakonson, and she and Earl +Hakon Eirikson were brothers' children. King Canute gave these brothers +great fiefs over there, and they stood in great favour. + + + + +141. KING OLAF'S ALLIANCE WITH ONUND THE KING OF SVITHJOD. + +King Olaf summoned to him all the lendermen, and had a great many people +about him this summer (A.D. 1025), for a report was abroad that King +Canute would come from England. People had heard from merchant vessels +that Canute was assembling a great army in England. When summer was +advanced, some affirmed and others denied that the army would come. King +Olaf was all summer in Viken, and had spies out to learn if Canute was +come to Denmark. In autumn (A.D. 1025) he sent messengers eastward +to Svithjod to his brother-in-law King Onund, and let him know King +Canute's demand upon Norway; adding, that, in his opinion, if Canute +subdued Norway, King Onund would not long enjoy the Swedish dominions +in peace. He thought it advisable, therefore, that they should unite +for their defence. "And then," said he, "we will have strength enough +to hold out against Canute." King Onund received King Olaf's message +favourably, and replied to it, that he for his part would make common +cause with King Olaf, so that each of them should stand by the one +who first required help with all the strength of his kingdom. In these +messages between them it was also determined that they should have a +meeting, and consult with each other. The following winter (A.D. 1026) +King Onund intended to travel across West Gautland, and King Olaf made +preparations for taking his winter abode at Sarpsborg. + + + + +142. KING CANUTE'S AMBASSADORS TO ONUND OF SVITHJOD. + +In autumn King Canute the Great came to Denmark, and remained there +all winter (A.D. 1026) with a numerous army. It was told him that +ambassadors with messages had been passing between the Swedish and +Norwegian kings, and that some great plans must be concerting between +them. In winter King Canute sent messengers to Svithjod, to King Onund, +with great gifts and messages of friendship. He also told Onund that +he might sit altogether quiet in this strife between him and Olaf the +Thick; "for thou, Onund," says he, "and thy kingdom, shall be in peace +as far as I am concerned." When the ambassadors came to King Onund +they presented the gifts which King Canute sent him, together with the +friendly message. King Onund did not hear their speech very willingly, +and the ambassadors could observe that King Onund was most inclined to +a friendship with King Olaf. They returned accordingly, and told King +Canute the result of their errand, and told him not to depend much upon +the friendship of King Onund. + + + + +143. THE EXPEDITION TO BJARMALAND. + +This winter (A.D. 1026) King Olaf sat in Sarpsborg, and was surrounded +by a very great army of people. He sent the Halogalander Karle to the +north country upon his business. Karle went first to the Uplands, then +across the Dovrefield, and came down to Nidaros, where he received as +much money as he had the king's order for, together with a good ship, +such as he thought suitable for the voyage which the king had ordered +him upon; and that was to proceed north to Bjarmaland. It was settled +that the king should be in partnership with Karle, and each of them have +the half of the profit. Early in spring Karle directed his course to +Halogaland, where his brother Gunstein prepared to accompany him, having +his own merchant goods with him. There were about twenty-five men in the +ship; and in spring they sailed north to Finmark. When Thorer Hund heard +this, he sent a man to the brothers with the verbal message that he +intended in summer to go to Bjarmaland, and that he would sail with +them, and that they should divide what booty they made equally between +them. Karle sent him back the message that Thorer must have twenty-five +men as they had, and they were willing to divide the booty that might +be taken equally, but not the merchant goods which each had for himself. +When Thorer's messenger came back he had put a stout long-ship he owned +into the water, and rigged it, and he had put eighty men on board of +his house-servants. Thorer alone had the command over this crew, and he +alone had all the goods they might acquire on the cruise. When Thorer +was ready for sea he set out northwards along the coast, and found Karle +a little north of Sandver. They then proceeded with good wind. Gunstein +said to his brother, as soon as they met Thorer, that in his opinion +Thorer was strongly manned. "I think," said he, "we had better turn back +than sail so entirely in Thorer's power, for I do not trust him." Karle +replies, "I will not turn back, although if I had known when we were at +home on Langey Isle that Thorer Hund would join us on this voyage with +so large a crew as he has, I would have taken more hands with us." The +brothers spoke about it to Thorer, and asked what was the meaning of +his taking more people with him than was agreed upon between them. He +replies, "We have a large ship which requires many hands, and methinks +there cannot be too many brave lads for so dangerous a cruise." They +went in summer as fast in general as the vessels could go. When the wind +was light the ship of the brothers sailed fastest, and they separated; +but when the wind freshened Thorer overtook them. They were seldom +together, but always in sight of each other. When they came to +Bjarmaland they went straight to the merchant town, and the market +began. All who had money to pay with got filled up with goods. Thorer +also got a number of furs, and of beaver and sable skins. Karle had a +considerable sum of money with him, with which he purchased skins and +furs. When the fair was at an end they went out of the Vina river, and +then the truce of the country people was also at an end. When they came +out of the river they held a seaman's council, and Thorer asked the +crews if they would like to go on the land and get booty. + +They replied, that they would like it well enough, if they saw the booty +before their eyes. + +Thorer replies, that there was booty to be got, if the voyage proved +fortunate; but that in all probability there would be danger in the +attempt. + +All said they would try, if there was any chance of booty. Thorer +explained, that it was so established in this land, that when a rich +man died all his movable goods were divided between the dead man and his +heirs. He got the half part, or the third part, or sometimes less, and +that part was carried out into the forest and buried,--sometimes under a +mound, sometimes in the earth, and sometimes even a house was built over +it. He tells them at the same time to get ready for this expedition at +the fall of day. It was resolved that one should not desert the other, +and none should hold back when the commander ordered them to come on +board again. They now left people behind to take care of the ships, +and went on land, where they found flat fields at first, and then great +forests. Thorer went first, and the brothers Karle and Gunstein in rear. +Thorer commanded the people to observe the utmost silence. "And let us +peel the bark off the trees," says he, "so that one tree-mark can be +seen from the other." They came to a large cleared opening, where there +was a high fence upon which there was a gate that was locked. Six men of +the country people held watch every night at this fence, two at a time +keeping guard, each two for a third part of the night, when Thorer and +his men came to the fence the guard had gone home, and those who should +relieve them had not yet come upon guard. Thorer went to the fence, +stuck his axe up in it above his head, hauled himself up by it, and so +came over the fence, and inside the gate. Karle had also come over the +fence, and to the inside of the gate; so that both came at once to the +port, took the bar away, and opened the port; and then the people got in +within the fence. Then said Thorer, "Within this fence there is a mound +in which gold, and silver, and earth are all mixed together: seize that. +But within here stands the Bjarmaland people's god Jomala: let no one +be so presumptuous as to rob him." Thereupon they went to the mound and +took as much of the money as they could carry away in their clothes, +with which, as might be expected, much earth was mixed. Thereafter +Thorer said that the people now should retreat. "And ye brothers, Karle +and Gunstein," says he, "do ye lead the way, and I will go last." They +all went accordingly out of the gate: but Thorer went back to Jomala, +and took a silver bowl that stood upon his knee full of silver money. +He put the silver in his purse, and put his arm within the handle of the +bowl, and so went out of the gate. The whole troop had come without +the fence; but when they perceived that Thorer had stayed behind, Karle +returned to trace him, and when they met upon the path Thorer had the +silver bowl with him. Thereupon Karle immediately ran to Jomala; and +observing he had a thick gold ornament hanging around his neck, he +lifted his axe, cut the string with which the ornament was tied behind +his neck, and the stroke was so strong that the head of Jomala rang +with such a great sound that they were all astonished. Karle seized the +ornament, and they all hastened away. But the moment the sound was made +the watchmen came forward upon the cleared space, and blew their horns. +Immediately the sound of the loor (1) was heard all around from every +quarter, calling the people together. They hastened to the forest, and +rushed into it; and heard the shouts and cries on the other side of the +Bjarmaland people in pursuit. Thorer Hund went the last of the whole +troop; and before him went two men carrying a great sack between them, +in which was something that was like ashes. Thorer took this in his +hand, and strewed it upon the footpath, and sometimes over the people. +They came thus out of the woods, and upon the fields, but heard +incessantly the Bjarmaland people pursuing with shouts and dreadful +yells. The army of the Bjarmaland people rushed out after them upon +the field, and on both sides of them; but neither the people nor their +weapons came so near as to do them any harm: from which they perceived +that the Bjarmaland people did not see them. Now when they reached their +ships Karle and his brother went on board; for they were the foremost, +and Thorer was far behind on the land. As soon as Karle and his men were +on board they struck their tents, cast loose their land ropes, hoisted +their sails, and their ship in all haste went to sea. Thorer and his +people, on the other hand, did not get on so quickly, as their vessel +was heavier to manage; so that when they got under sail, Karle and his +people were far off from land. Both vessels sailed across the White sea +(Gandvik). The nights were clear, so that both ships sailed night and +day; until one day, towards the time the day turns to shorten, Karle +and his people took up the land near an island, let down the sail, cast +anchor, and waited until the slack-tide set in, for there was a strong +rost before them. Now Thorer came up, and lay at anchor there also. +Thorer and his people then put out a boat, went into it, and rowed to +Karle's ship. Thorer came on board, and the brothers saluted him. Thorer +told Karle to give him the ornament. "I think," said he, "that I have +best earned the ornaments that have been taken, for methinks ye have +to thank me for getting away without any loss of men; and also I think +thou, Karle, set us in the greatest fright." + +Karle replies, "King Olaf has the half part of all the goods I gather on +this voyage, and I intend the ornament for him. Go to him, if you like, +and it is possible he will give thee the ornament, although I took it +from Jomala." + +Then Thorer insisted that they should go upon the island, and divide the +booty. + +Gunstein says, "It is now the turn of the tide, and it is time to sail." +Whereupon they began to raise their anchor. + +When Thorer saw that, he returned to his boat and rowed to his own ship. +Karle and his men had hoisted sail, and were come a long way before +Thorer got under way. They now sailed so that the brothers were always +in advance, and both vessels made all the haste they could. They sailed +thus until they came to Geirsver, which is the first roadstead of the +traders to the North. They both came there towards evening, and lay in +the harbour near the landing-place. Thorer's ship lay inside, and the +brothers' the outside vessel in the port. When Thorer had set up his +tents he went on shore, and many of his men with him. They went to +Karle's ship, which was well provided. Thorer hailed the ship, and told +the commanders to come on shore; on which the brothers, and some men +with them, went on the land. Now Thorer began the same discourse, and +told them to bring the goods they got in booty to the land to have them +divided. The brothers thought that was not necessary, until they had +arrived at their own neighbourhood. Thorer said it was unusual not to +divide booty but at their own home, and thus to be left to the honour of +other people. They spoke some words about it, but could not agree. Then +Thorer turned away; but had not gone far before he came back, and tells +his comrades to wait there. Thereupon he calls to Karle, and says he +wants to speak with him alone. Karle went to meet him; and when he came +near, Thorer struck at him with a spear, so that it went through him. +"There," said Thorer, "now thou hast learnt to know a Bjarkey Island +man. I thought thou shouldst feel Asbjorn's spear." Karle died +instantly, and Thorer with his people went immediately on board their +ship. When Gunstein and his men saw Karle fall they ran instantly to +him, took his body and carried it on board their ship, struck their +tents, and cast off from the pier, and left the land. When Thorer and +his men saw this, they took down their tents and made preparations to +follow. But as they were hoisting the sail the fastenings to the mast +broke in two, and the sail fell down across the ship, which caused a +great delay before they could hoist the sail again. Gunstein had already +got a long way ahead before Thorer's ship fetched way, and now they +used both sails and oars. Gunstein did the same. On both sides they +made great way day and night; but so that they did not gain much on each +other, although when they came to the small sounds among the islands +Gunstein's vessel was lighter in turning. But Thorer's ship made way +upon them, so that when they came up to Lengjuvik, Gunstein turned +towards the land, and with all his men ran up into the country, and left +his ship. A little after Thorer came there with his ship, sprang upon +the land after them, and pursued them. There was a woman who helped +Gunstein to conceal himself, and it is told that she was much acquainted +with witchcraft. Thorer and his men returned to the vessels, and took +all the goods out of Gunstein's vessel, and put on board stones in place +of the cargo, and then hauled the ship out into the fjord, cut a hole +in its bottom, and sank it to the bottom. Thereafter Thorer, with his +people, returned home to Bjarkey Isle. Gunstein and his people proceeded +in small boats at first, and lay concealed by day, until they had passed +Bjarkey, and had got beyond Thorer's district. Gunstein went home first +to Langey Isle for a short time, and then proceeded south without any +halt, until he came south to Throndhjem, and there found King Olaf, to +whom he told all that had happened on this Bjarmaland expedition. The +king was ill-pleased with the voyage, but told Gunstein to remain with +him, promising to assist him when opportunity offered. Gunstein took the +invitation with thanks, and stayed with King Olaf. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Ludr--the loor--is a long tube or roll of birch-bark + used as a horn by the herdboys in the mountains in Norway. + --L. + + + + +144. MEETING OF KING OLAF AND KING ONUND. + +King Olaf was, as before related, in Sarpsborg the winter (A.D. 1026) +that King Canute was in Denmark. The Swedish king Onund rode across West +Gautland the same winter, and had thirty hundred (3600) men with him. +Men and messages passed between them; and they agreed to meet in spring +at Konungahella. The meeting had been postponed, because they wished +to know before they met what King Canute intended doing. As it was now +approaching towards winter, King Canute made ready to go over to England +with his forces, and left his son Hardaknut to rule in Denmark, and with +him Earl Ulf, a son of Thorgils Sprakaleg. Ulf was married to Astrid, +King Svein's daughter, and sister of Canute the Great. Their son Svein +was afterwards king of Denmark. Earl Ulf was a very distinguished man. +When the kings Olaf and Onund heard that Canute the Great had gone +west to England, they hastened to hold their conference, and met at +Konungahella, on the Gaut river. They had a joyful meeting, and had many +friendly conversations, of which something might become known to the +public; but they also spake often a great deal between themselves, with +none but themselves two present, of which only some things afterwards +were carried into effect, and thus became known to every one. At parting +the kings presented each other with gifts, and parted the best of +friends. King Onund went up into Gautland, and Olaf northwards to Viken, +and afterwards to Agder, and thence northwards along the coast, but +lay a long time at Egersund waiting a wind. Here he heard that Erling +Skjalgson, and the inhabitants of Jadar with him, had assembled a large +force. One day the king's people were talking among themselves whether +the wind was south or south-west, and whether with that wind they could +sail past Jadar or not. The most said it was impossible to fetch round. +Then answers Haldor Brynjolfson, "I am of opinion that we would go round +Jadar with this wind fast enough if Erling Skjalgson had prepared a +feast for us at Sole." Then King Olaf ordered the tents to be struck, +and the vessels to be hauled out, which was done. They sailed the +same day past Jadar with the best wind, and in the evening reached +Hirtingsey, from whence the king proceeded to Hordaland, and was +entertained there in guest-quarters. + + + + +145. THORALF'S MURDER. + +The same summer (A.D. 1026) a ship sailed from Norway to the Farey +Islands, with messengers carrying a verbal message from King Olaf, that +one of his court-men, Leif Ossurson, or Lagman Gille, or Thoralf of +Dimun, should come over to him from the Farey Islands. Now when this +message came to the Farey Islands, and was delivered to those whom it +concerned, they held a meeting among themselves, to consider what might +lie under this message, and they were all of opinion that the king +wanted to inquire into the real state of the event which some said had +taken place upon the islands; namely, the failure and disappearance of +the former messengers of the king, and the loss of the two ships, of +which not a man had been saved. It was resolved that Thoralf should +undertake the journey. He got himself ready, and rigged out a +merchant-vessel belonging to himself, manned with ten or twelve men. +When it was ready, waiting a wind, it happened, at Austrey, in the house +of Thrand of Gata, that he went one fine day into the room where his +brother's two sons, Sigurd and Thord, sons of Thorlak, were lying upon +the benches in the room. Gaut the Red was also there, who was one of +their relations and a man of distinction. Sigurd was the oldest, and +their leader in all things. Thord had a distinguished name, and was +called Thord the Low, although in reality he was uncommonly tall, and +yet in proportion more strong than large. Then Thrand said, "How many +things are changed in the course of a man's life! When we were young, +it was rare for young people who were able to do anything to sit or lie +still upon a fine day, and our forefathers would scarcely have believed +that Thoralf of Dimun would be bolder and more active than ye are. I +believe the vessel I have standing here in the boat-house will be so old +that it will rot under its coat of tar. Here are all the houses full of +wool, which is neither used nor sold. It should not be so if I were a +few winters younger." Sigurd sprang up, called upon Gaut and Thord, +and said he would not endure Thrand's scoffs. They went out to the +houseservants, and launched the vessel upon the water, brought down a +cargo, and loaded the ship. They had no want of a cargo at home, and +the vessel's rigging was in good order, so that in a few days they were +ready for sea. There were ten or twelve men in the vessel. Thoralf's +ship and theirs had the same wind, and they were generally in sight of +each other. They came to the land at Herna in the evening, and Sigurd +with his vessel lay outside on the strand, but so that there was not +much distance between the two ships. It happened towards evening, when +it was dark, that just as Thoralf and his people were preparing to go to +bed, Thoralf and another went on shore for a certain purpose. When +they were ready, they prepared to return on board. The man who had +accompanied Thoralf related afterwards this story,--that a cloth was +thrown over his head, and that he was lifted up from the ground, and he +heard a great bustle. He was taken away, and thrown head foremost down; +but there was sea under him, and he sank under the water. When he got +to land, he went to the place where he and Thoralf had been parted, and +there he found Thoralf with his head cloven down to his shoulders, and +dead. When the ship's people heard of it they carried the body out to +the ship, and let it remain there all night. King Olaf was at that time +in guest-quarters at Lygra, and thither they sent a message. Now a Thing +was called by message-token, and the king came to the Thing. He had +also ordered the Farey people of both vessels to be summoned, and they +appeared at the Thing. Now when the Thing was seated, the king stood up +and said, "Here an event has happened which (and it is well that it +is so) is very seldom heard of. Here has a good man been put to death, +without any cause. Is there any man upon the Thing who can say who has +done it?" + +Nobody could answer. + +"Then," said the king, "I cannot conceal my suspicion that this deed has +been done by the Farey people themselves. It appears to me that it has +been done in this way,--that Sigurd Thorlakson has killed the man, and +Thord the Low has cast his comrade into the sea. I think, too, that the +motives to this must have been to hinder Thoralf from telling about the +misdeed of which he had information; namely, the murder which I suspect +was committed upon my messengers." + +When he had ended his speech, Sigurd Thorlakson stood up, and desired to +be heard. "I have never before," said he, "spoken at a Thing, and I do +not expect to be looked upon as a man of ready words. But I think there +is sufficient necessity before me to reply something to this. I will +venture to make a guess that the speech the king has made comes from +some man's tongue who is of far less understanding and goodness than he +is, and has evidently proceeded from those who are our enemies. It is +speaking improbabilities to say that I could be Thoralf's murderer; for +he was my foster-brother and good friend. Had the case been otherwise, +and had there been anything outstanding between me and Thoralf, yet I am +surely born with sufficient understanding to have done this deed in the +Farey Islands, rather than here between your hands, sire. But I am ready +to clear myself, and my whole ship's crew, of this act, and to make +oath according to what stands in your laws. Or, if ye find it more +satisfactory, I offer to clear myself by the ordeal of hot iron; and I +wish, sire, that you may be present yourself at the proof." + +When Sigurd had ceased to speak there were many who supported his case, +and begged the king that Sigurd might be allowed to clear himself of +this accusation. They thought that Sigurd had spoken well, and that the +accusation against him might be untrue. + +The king replies, "It may be with regard to this man very differently, +and if he is belied in any respect he must be a good man; and if not, he +is the boldest I have ever met with: and I believe this is the case, and +that he will bear witness to it himself." + +At the desire of the people, the king took Sigurd's obligation to take +the iron ordeal; he should come the following day to Lygra, where the +bishop should preside at the ordeal; and so the Thing closed. The king +went back to Lygra, and Sigurd and his comrades to their ship. + +As soon as it began to be dark at night Sigurd said to his ship's +people. "To say the truth, we have come into a great misfortune; for +a great lie is got up against us, and this king is a deceitful, crafty +man. Our fate is easy to be foreseen where he rules; for first he made +Thoralf be slain, and then made us the misdoers, without benefit of +redemption by fine. For him it is an easy matter to manage the iron +ordeal, so that I fear he will come ill off who tries it against him. +Now there is coming a brisk mountain breeze, blowing right out of the +sound and off the land; and it is my advice that we hoist our sail, and +set out to sea. Let Thrand himself come with his wool to market another +summer; but if I get away, it is my opinion I shall never think of +coming to Norway again." + +His comrades thought the advice good, hoisted their sail, and in the +night-time took to the open sea with all speed. They did not stop until +they came to Farey, and home to Gata. Thrand was ill-pleased with their +voyage, and they did not answer him in a very friendly way; but they +remained at home, however, with Thrand. The morning after, King Olaf +heard of Sigurd's departure, and heavy reports went round about this +case; and there were many who believed that the accusation against +Sigurd was true, although they had denied and opposed it before the +king. King Olaf spoke but little about the matter, but seemed to know of +a certainty that the suspicion he had taken up was founded in truth. The +king afterwards proceeded in his progress, taking up his abode where it +was provided for him. + + + + +146. OF THE ICELANDERS. + +King Olaf called before him the men who had come from Iceland, Thorod +Snorrason, Geller Thorkelson, Stein Skaptason, and Egil Halson, and +spoke to them thus:--"Ye have spoken to me much in summer about making +yourselves ready to return to Iceland, and I have never given you a +distinct answer. Now I will tell you what my intention is. Thee, Geller, +I propose to allow to return, if thou wilt carry my message there; but +none of the other Icelanders who are now here may go to Iceland before +I have heard how the message which thou, Geller, shalt bring thither has +been received." + +When the king had made this resolution known, it appeared to those who +had a great desire to return, and were thus forbidden, that they were +unreasonably and hardly dealt with, and that they were placed in the +condition of unfree men. In the meantime Geller got ready for his +journey, and sailed in summer (A.D. 1026) to Iceland, taking with him +the message he was to bring before the Thing the following summer (A.D. +1027). The king's message was, that he required the Icelanders to adopt +the laws which he had set in Norway, also to pay him thane-tax and +nose-tax (1); namely, a penny for every nose, and the penny at the rate +of ten pennies to the yard of wadmal (2). At the same time he promised +them his friendship if they accepted, and threatened them with all his +vengeance if they refused his proposals. + +The people sat long in deliberation on this business; but at last they +were unanimous in refusing all the taxes and burdens which were demanded +of them. That summer Geller returned back from Iceland to Norway to King +Olaf, and found him in autumn in the east in Viken, just as he had come +from Gautland; of which I shall speak hereafter in this story of King +Olaf. Towards the end of autumn King Olaf repaired north to Throndhjem, +and went with his people to Nidaros, where he ordered a winter residence +to be prepared for him. The winter (A.D. 1027) that he passed here in +the merchant-town of Nidaros was the thirteenth year of his reign. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Nefgildi (nef=nose), a nose-tax or poll-tax payable to the + king. This ancient "nose-tax" was also imposed by the + Norsemen on conquered countries, the penalty for defaulters + being the loss of their nose. +(2) Wadmal was the coarse woollen cloth made in Iceland, and so + generally used for clothing that it was a measure of value + in the North, like money, for other commodities.--L. + + + + +147. OF THE JAMTALAND PEOPLE. + +There was once a man called Ketil Jamte, a son of Earl Onund of Sparby, +in the Throndhjem district. He fled over the ridge of mountains from +Eystein Illrade, cleared the forest, and settled the country now called +the province of Jamtaland. A great many people joined him from the +Throndhjem land, on account of the disturbances there; for this King +Eystein had laid taxes on the Throndhjem people, and set his dog, called +Saur, to be king over them. Thorer Helsing was Ketil's grandson, and he +colonised the province called Helsingjaland, which is named after him. +When Harald Harfager subdued the kingdom by force, many people fled out +of the country from him, both Throndhjem people and Naumudal people, +and thus new settlements were added to Jamtaland; and some settlers went +even eastwards to Helsingjaland and down to the Baltic coast, and all +became subjects of the Swedish king. While Hakon Athelstan's foster-son +was over Norway there was peace, and merchant traffic from Throndhjem to +Jamtaland; and, as he was an excellent king, the Jamtalanders came from +the east to him, paid him scat, and he gave them laws and administered +justice. They would rather submit to his government than to the Swedish +king's, because they were of Norwegian race; and all the Helsingjaland +people, who had their descent from the north side of the mountain ridge, +did the same. This continued long after those times, until Olaf the +Thick and the Swedish king Olaf quarrelled about the boundaries. Then +the Jamtaland and Helsingjaland people went back to the Swedish king; +and then the forest of Eid was the eastern boundary of the land, and the +mountain ridge, or keel of the country, the northern: and the Swedish +king took scat of Helsingjaland, and also of Jamtaland. Now, thought the +king of Norway, Olaf, in consequence of the agreement between him and +the Swedish king, the scat of Jamtaland should be paid differently than +before; although it had long been established that the Jamtaland people +paid their scat to the Swedish king, and that he appointed officers over +the country. The Swedes would listen to nothing, but that all the land +to the east of the keel of the country belonged to the Swedish king. +Now this went so, as it often happens, that although the kings were +brothers-in-law and relations, each would hold fast the dominions which +he thought he had a right to. King Olaf had sent a message round in +Jamtaland, declaring it to be his will that the Jamtaland people should +be subject to him, threatening them with violence if they refused; but +the Jamtaland people preferred being subjects of the Swedish king. + + + + +148. STEIN'S STORY. + +The Icelanders, Thorod Snorrason and Stein Skaptason, were ill-pleased +at not being allowed to do as they liked. Stein was a remarkably +handsome man, dexterous at all feats, a great poet, splendid in his +apparel, and very ambitious of distinction. His father, Skapte, had +composed a poem on King Olaf, which he had taught Stein, with the +intention that he should bring it to King Olaf. Stein could not now +restrain himself from making the king reproaches in word and speech, +both in verse and prose. Both he and Thorod were imprudent in their +conversation, and said the king would be looked upon as a worse man than +those who, under faith and law, had sent their sons to him, as he now +treated them as men without liberty. The king was angry at this. One day +Stein stood before the king, and asked if he would listen to the poem +which his father Skapte had composed about him. The king replies, "Thou +must first repeat that, Stein, which thou hast composed about me." Stein +replies, that it was not the case that he had composed any. "I am no +skald, sire," said he; "and if I even could compose anything, it, and +all that concerns me, would appear to thee of little value." Stein then +went out, but thought he perceived what the king alluded to. Thorgeir, +one of the king's land-bailiffs, who managed one of his farms in +Orkadal, happened to be present, and heard the conversation of the king +and Stein, and soon afterwards Thorgeir returned home. One night Stein +left the city, and his footboy with him. They went up Gaularas and into +Orkadal. One evening they came to one of the king's farms which Thorgeir +had the management of, and Thorgeir invited Stein to pass the night +there, and asked where he was travelling to. Stein begged the loan of a +horse and sledge, for he saw they were just driving home corn. + +Thorgeir replies, "I do not exactly see how it stands with thy journey, +and if thou art travelling with the king's leave. The other day, +methinks, the words were not very sweet that passed between the king and +thee." + +Stein said, "If it be so that I am not my own master for the king, yet +I will not submit to such treatment from his slaves;" and, drawing his +sword, he killed the landbailiff. Then he took the horse, put the boy +upon him, and sat himself in the sledge, and so drove the whole night. +They travelled until they came to Surnadal in More. There they had +themselves ferried across the fjord, and proceeded onwards as fast as +they could. They told nobody about the murder, but wherever they came +called themselves king's men, and met good entertainment everywhere. +One day at last they came towards evening to Giske Isle, to Thorberg +Arnason's house. He was not at home himself, but his wife Ragnhild, +a daughter of Erling Skjalgson, was. There Stein was well received, +because formerly there had been great friendship between them. It had +once happened, namely, that Stein, on his voyage from Iceland with his +own vessel, had come to Giske from sea, and had anchored at the island. +At that time Ragnhild was in the pains of childbirth, and very ill, and +there was no priest on the island, or in the neighbourhood of it. There +came a message to the merchant-vessel to inquire if, by chance, there +was a priest on board. There happened to be a priest in the vessel, who +was called Bard; but he was a young man from Westfjord, who had little +learning. The messengers begged the priest to go with them, but he +thought it was a difficult matter: for he knew his own ignorance, and +would not go. Stein added his word to persuade the priest. The priest +replies, "I will go if thou wilt go with me; for then I will have +confidence, if I should require advice." Stein said he was willing; and +they went forthwith to the house, and to where Ragnhild was in labour. +Soon after she brought forth a female child, which appeared to be rather +weak. Then the priest baptized the infant, and Stein held it at the +baptism, at which it got the name of Thora; and Stein gave it a gold +ring. Ragnhild promised Stein her perfect friendship, and bade him come +to her whenever he thought he required her help. Stein replied that he +would hold no other female child at baptism, and then they parted. +Now it was come to the time when Stein required this kind promise of +Ragnhild to be fulfilled, and he told her what had happened, and that +the king's wrath had fallen upon him. She answered, that all the aid she +could give should stand at his service; but bade him wait for Thorberg's +arrival. She then showed him to a seat beside her son Eystein Orre, +who was then twelve years old. Stein presented gifts to Ragnhild and +Eystein. Thorberg had already heard how Stein had conducted himself +before he got home, and was rather vexed at it. Ragnhild went to him, +and told him how matters stood with Stein, and begged Thorberg to +receive him, and take care of him. + +Thorberg replies, "I have heard that the king, after sending out a +message-token, held a Thing concerning the murder of Thorgeir, and has +condemned Stein as having fled the country, and likewise that the king +is highly incensed: and I have too much sense to take the cause of a +foreigner in hand, and draw upon myself the king's wrath. Let Stein, +therefore, withdraw from hence as quickly as thou canst." + +Ragnhild replied, that they should either both go or both stay. + +Thorberg told her to go where she pleased. "For I expect," said he, +"that wherever thou goest thou wilt soon come back, for here is thy +importance greatest." + +Her son Eystein Orre then stood forward, and said he would not stay +behind if Ragnhild goes. + +Thorberg said that they showed themselves very stiff and obstinate in +this matter. "And it appears that ye must have your way in it, since +ye take it so near to heart; but thou art reckoning too much, Ragnhild, +upon thy descent, in paying so little regard to King Olaf's word." + +Ragnhild replied, "If thou art so much afraid to keep Stein with thee +here, go with him to my father Erling, or give him attendants, so that +he may get there in safety." Thorberg said he would not send Stein +there; "for there are enough of things besides to enrage the king +against Erling." Stein thus remained there all winter (A.D. 1027). + +After Yule a king's messenger came to Thorberg, with the order that +Thorberg should come to him before midsummer; and the order was serious +and severe. Thorberg laid it before his friends, and asked their advice +if he should venture to go to the king after what had taken place. The +greater number dissuaded him, and thought it more advisable to let +Stein slip out of his hands than to venture within the king's power: but +Thorberg himself had rather more inclination not to decline the journey. +Soon after Thorberg went to his brother Fin, told him the circumstances, +and asked him to accompany him. Fin replied, that he thought it foolish +to be so completely under woman's influence that he dared not, on +account of his wife, keep the fealty and law of his sovereign. + +"Thou art free," replied Thorberg, "to go with me or not; but I believe +it is more fear of the king than love to him that keeps thee back." And +so they parted in anger. + +Then Thorberg went to his brother Arne Arnason, and asked him to go +with him to the king. Arne says, "It appears to me wonderful that such +a sensible, prudent man, should fall into such a misfortune, without +necessity, as to incur the king's indignation. It might be excused if it +were thy relation or foster-brother whom thou hadst thus sheltered; but +not at all that thou shouldst take up an Iceland man, and harbour the +king's outlaw, to the injury of thyself and all thy relations." + +Thorberg replies, "It stands good, according to the proverb,--a rotten +branch will be found in every tree. My father's greatest misfortune +evidently was that he had such ill luck in producing sons that at last +he produced one incapable of acting, and without any resemblance to our +race, and whom in truth I never would have called brother, if it were +not that it would have been to my mother's shame to have refused." + +Thorberg turned away in a gloomy temper, and went home. Thereafter +he sent a message to his brother Kalf in the Throndhjem district, and +begged him to meet him at Agdanes; and when the messengers found Kalf he +promised, without more ado, to make the journey. Ragnhild sent men east +to Jadar to her father Erling, and begged him to send people. Erling's +sons, Sigurd and Thord, came out, each with a ship of twenty benches +of rowers and ninety men. When they came north Thorberg received them +joyfully, entertained them well, and prepared for the voyage with them. +Thorberg had also a vessel with twenty benches, and they steered their +course northwards. When they came to the mouth of the Throndhjem fjord +Thorberg's two brothers, Fin and Arne, were there already, with two +ships each of twenty benches. Thorberg met his brothers with joy, and +observed that his whetstone had taken effect; and Fin replied he seldom +needed sharpening for such work. Then they proceeded north with all +their forces to Throndhjem, and Stein was along with them. When they +came to Agdanes, Kaff Arnason was there before them; and he also had a +wellmanned ship of twenty benches. With this war-force they sailed up +to Nidaros, where they lay all night. The morning after they had a +consultation with each other. Kalf and Erling's sons were for attacking +the town with all their forces, and leaving the event to fate; but +Thorberg wished that they should first proceed with moderation, and +make an offer; in which opinion Fin and Arne also concurred. It was +accordingly resolved that Fin and Arne, with a few men, should first +wait upon the king. The king had previously heard that they had come so +strong in men, and was therefore very sharp in his speech. Fin offered +to pay mulct for Thorberg, and also for Stein, and bade the king to +fix what the penalties should be, however large; stipulating only for +Thorberg safety and his fiefs, and for Stein life and limb. + +The king replies, "It appears to me that ye come from home so equipped +that ye can determine half as much as I can myself, or more; but this I +expected least of all from you brothers, that ye should come against me +with an army; and this counsel, I can observe, has its origin from the +people of Jadar; but ye have no occasion to offer me money in mulct." + +Fin replies, "We brothers have collected men, not to offer hostility to +you, sire, but to offer rather our services; but if you will bear down +Thorberg altogether, we must all go to King Canute the Great with such +forces as we have." + +Then the king looked at him, and said, "If ye brothers will give your +oaths that ye will follow me in the country and out of the country, and +not part from me without my leave and permission, and shall not conceal +from me any treasonable design that may come to your knowledge against +me, then will I agree to a peace with you brothers." + +Then Fin returned to his forces, and told the conditions which the king +had proposed to them. Now they held a council upon it, and Thorberg, for +his part, said he would accept the terms offered. "I have no wish," +says he, "to fly from my property, and seek foreign masters; but, on the +contrary, will always consider it an honour to follow King Olaf, and +be where he is." Then says Kalf, "I will make no oath to King Olaf, but +will be with him always, so long as I retain my fiefs and dignities, and +so long as the king will be my friend; and my opinion is that we should +all do the same." Fin says, "we will venture to let King Olaf himself +determine in this matter." Arne Arnason says, "I was resolved to follow +thee, brother Thorberg, even if thou hadst given battle to King Olaf, +and I shall certainly not leave thee for listening to better counsel; +so I intend to follow thee and Fin, and accept the conditions ye have +taken." + +Thereupon the brothers Thorberg, Fin, and Arne, went on board a vessel, +rowed into the fjord, and waited upon the king. The agreement went +accordingly into fulfillment, so that the brothers gave their oaths +to the king. Then Thorberg endeavored to make peace for Stein with the +king; but the king replied that Stein might for him depart in safety, +and go where he pleased, but "in my house he can never be again." Then +Thorberg and his brothers went back to their men. Kalf went to Eggja, +and Fin to the king; and Thorberg, with the other men, went south to +their homes. Stein went with Erling's sons; but early in the spring +(A.D. 1027) he went west to England into the service of Canute the +Great, and was long with him, and was treated with great distinction. + + + + +149. FIN ARNASON'S EXPEDITION TO HALOGALAND. + +Now when Fin Arnason had been a short time with King Olaf, the king +called him to a conference, along with some other persons he usually +held consultation with; and in this conference the king spoke to this +effect:--"The decision remains fixed in my mind that in spring I should +raise the whole country to a levy both of men and ships, and then +proceed, with all the force I can muster, against King Canute the Great: +for I know for certain that he does not intend to treat as a jest the +claim he has awakened upon my kingdom. Now I let thee know my will, Fin +Arnason, that thou proceed on my errand to Halogaland, and raise the +people there to an expedition, men and ships, and summon that force +to meet me at Agdanes." Then the king named other men whom he sent to +Throndhjem, and some southwards in the country, and he commanded that +this order should be circulated through the whole land. Of Fin's voyage +we have to relate that he had with him a ship with about thirty men, +and when he was ready for sea he prosecuted his journey until he came +to Halogaland. There he summoned the bondes to a Thing, laid before them +his errand, and craved a levy. The bondes in that district had large +vessels, suited to a levy expedition, and they obeyed the king's +message, and rigged their ships. Now when Fin came farther north in +Halogaland he held a Thing again, and sent some of his men from him to +crave a levy where he thought it necessary. He sent also men to Bjarkey +Island to Thorer Hund, and there, as elsewhere, craved the quota to the +levy. When the message came to Thorer he made himself ready, and manned +with his house-servants the same vessel he had sailed with on his cruise +to Bjarmaland, and which he equipped at his own expense. Fin summoned +all the people of Halogaland who were to the north to meet at Vagar. +There came a great fleet together in spring, and they waited there until +Fin returned from the North. Thorer Hund had also come there. When Fin +arrived he ordered the signal to sound for all the people of the levy to +attend a House-Thing; and at it all the men produced their weapons, and +also the fighting men from each ship-district were mustered. When that +was all finished Fin said, "I have also to bring thee a salutation, +Thorer Hund, from King Olaf, and to ask thee what thou wilt offer him +for the murder of his court-man Karle, or for the robbery in taking the +king's goods north in Lengjuvik. I have the king's orders to settle that +business, and I wait thy answer to it." + +Thorer looked about him, and saw standing on both sides many fully armed +men, among whom were Gunstein and others of Karle's kindred. Then said +Thorer, "My proposal is soon made. I will refer altogether to the king's +pleasure the matter he thinks he has against me." + +Fin replies, "Thou must put up with a less honour; for thou must refer +the matter altogether to my decision, if any agreement is to take +place." + +Thorer replies, "And even then I think it will stand well with my case, +and therefore I will not decline referring it to thee." + +Thereupon Thorer came forward, and confirmed what he said by giving his +hand upon it; and Fin repeated first all the words he should say. + +Fin now pronounced his decision upon the agreement,--that Thorer should +pay to the king ten marks of gold, and to Gunstein and the other kindred +ten marks, and for the robbery and loss of goods ten marks more; and all +which should be paid immediately. + +Thorer says, "This is a heavy money mulct." + +"Without it," replies Fin, "there will be no agreement." + +Thorer says, there must time be allowed to gather so much in loan from +his followers; but Fin told him to pay immediately on the spot; and +besides, Thorer should lay down the great ornament which he took +from Karle when he was dead. Thorer asserted that he had not got the +ornament. Then Gunstein pressed forward, and said that Karle had the +ornament around his neck when they parted, but it was gone when they +took up his corpse. Thorer said he had not observed any ornament; but if +there was any such thing, it must be lying at home in Bjarkey. Then Fin +put the point of his spear to Thorer's breast, and said that he must +instantly produce the ornament; on which Thorer took the ornament from +his neck and gave it to Fin. Thereafter Thorer turned away, and went on +board his ship. Fin, with many other men, followed him, went through +the whole vessel, and took up the hatches. At the mast they saw two very +large casks; and Fin asked, "What are these puncheons?" + +Thorer replies, "It is my liquor." + +Fin says, "Why don't you give us something to drink then, comrade, since +you have so much liquor?" + +Thorer ordered his men to run off a bowlfull from the puncheons, from +which Fin and his people got liquor of the best quality. Now Fin ordered +Thorer to pay the mulcts. Thorer went backwards and forwards through the +ship, speaking now to the one, now to the other, and Fin calling out +to produce the pence. Thorer begged him to go to the shore, and said he +would bring the money there, and Fin with his men went on shore. Then +Thorer came and paid silver; of which, from one purse, there were +weighed ten marks. Thereafter Thorer brought many knotted nightcaps; and +in some was one mark, in others half a mark, and in others some small +money. "This is money my friends and other good people have lent me," +said he; "for I think all my travelling money is gone." Then Thorer went +back again to his ship, and returned, and paid the silver by little +and little; and this lasted so long that the day was drawing towards +evening. When the Thing had closed the people had gone to their vessels, +and made ready to depart; and as fast as they were ready they hoisted +sail and set out, so that most of them were under sail. When Fin saw +that they were most of them under sail, he ordered his men to get ready +too; but as yet little more than a third part of the mulct had been +paid. Then Fin said, "This goes on very slowly, Thorer, with the +payment. I see it costs thee a great deal to pay money. I shall now let +it stand for the present, and what remains thou shalt pay to the king +himself." Fin then got up and went away. + +Thorer replies, "I am well enough pleased, Fin, to part now; but the +good will is not wanting to pay this debt, so that both thou and the +king shall say it is not unpaid." + +Then Fin went on board his ship, and followed the rest of his fleet. +Thorer was late before he was ready to come out of the harbour. When +the sails were hoisted he steered out over Westfjord, and went to sea, +keeping south along the land so far off that the hill-tops were half +sunk, and soon the land altogether was sunk from view by the sea. +Thorer held this course until he got into the English sea, and landed +in England. He betook himself to King Canute forthwith, and was well +received by him. It then came out that Thorer had with him a great deal +of property; and, with other things, all the money he and Karle had +taken in Bjarmaland. In the great liquor-casks there were sides within +the outer sides, and the liquor was between them. The rest of the casks +were filled with furs, and beaver and sable skins. Thorer was then with +King Canute. Fin came with his forces to King Olaf, and related to +him how all had gone upon his voyage, and told at the same time his +suspicion that Thorer had left the country, and gone west to England to +King Canute. "And there I fear he will cause as much trouble." + +The king replies, "I believe that Thorer must be our enemy, and it +appears to me always better to have him at a distance than near." + + + + +150. DISPUTE BETWEEN HAREK AND ASMUND. + +Asmund Grankelson had been this winter (A.D. 1027) in Halogaland in his +sheriffdom, and was at home with his father Grankel. There lies a rock +out in the sea, on which there is both seal and bird catching, and a +fishing ground, and egg-gathering; and from old times it had been an +appendage to the farm which Grankel owned, but now Harek of Thjotta laid +claim to it. It had gone so far, that some years he had taken by force +all the gain of this rock; but Asmund and his father thought that they +might expect the king's help in all cases in which the right was upon +their side. Both father and son went therefore in spring to Harek, and +brought him a message and tokens from King Olaf that he should drop his +claim. Harek answered Asmund crossly, because he had gone to the king +with such insinuations--"for the just right is upon my side. Thou +shouldst learn moderation, Asmund, although thou hast so much confidence +in the king's favour. It has succeeded with thee to kill some chiefs, +and leave their slaughter unpaid for by any mulct; and also to plunder +us, although we thought ourselves at least equal to all of equal birth, +and thou art far from being my equal in family." + +Asmund replies, "Many have experienced from thee, Harek, that thou art +of great connections, and too great power; and many in consequence have +suffered loss in their property through thee. But it is likely that now +thou must turn thyself elsewhere, and not against us with thy violence, +and not go altogether against law, as thou art now doing." Then they +separated. + +Harek sent ten or twelve of his house-servants with a large rowing boat, +with which they rowed to the rock, took all that was to be got upon it, +and loaded their boat. But when they were ready to return home, Asmund +Grankelson came with thirty men, and ordered them to give up all they +had taken. Harek's house-servants were not quick in complying, so that +Asmund attacked them. Some of Harek's men were cudgelled, some wounded, +some thrown into the sea, and all they had caught was taken from on +board of their boat, and Asmund and his people took it along with them. +Then Harek's servants came home, and told him the event. Harek replies, +"That is called news indeed that seldom happens; never before has it +happened that my people have been beaten." + +The matter dropped. Harek never spoke about it, but was very cheerful. +In spring, however, Harek rigged out a cutter of twenty seats of rowers, +and manned it with his house-servants, and the ship was remarkably well +fitted out both with people and all necessary equipment; and Harek went +to the levy; but when he came to King Olaf, Asmund was there before him. +The king summoned Harek and Asmund to him, and reconciled them so that +they left the matter entirely to him. Asmund then produced witnesses +to prove that Grankel had owned the rock, and the king gave judgment +accordingly. The case had a one-sided result. No mulct was paid for +Harek's house-servants, and the rock was declared to be Grankel's. Harek +observed it was no disgrace to obey the king's decision, whatever way +the case itself was decided. + + + + +151. THOROD'S STORY. + +Thorod Snorrason had remained in Norway, according to King Olaf's +commands, when Geller Thorkelson got leave to go to Iceland, as before +related. He remained there (A.D. 1027) with King Olaf, but was ill +pleased that he was not free to travel where he pleased. Early in +winter, King Olaf, when he was in Nidaros, made it known that he would +send people to Jamtaland to collect the scat; but nobody had any great +desire to go on this business, after the fate of those whom King Olaf +had sent before, namely, Thrand White and others, twelve in number, who +lost their lives, as before related; and the Jamtalanders had ever +since been subject to the Swedish king. Thorod Snorrason now offered +to undertake this journey, for he cared little what became of him if he +could but become his own master again. The king consented, and Thorod +set out with eleven men in company. They came east to Jamtaland, and +went to a man called Thorar, who was lagman, and a person in high +estimation. They met with a hospitable reception; and when they had been +there a while, they explained their business to Thorar. He replied, that +other men and chiefs of the country had in all respects as much power +and right to give an answer as he had, and for that purpose he would +call together a Thing. It was so done; the message-token was sent +out, and a numerous Thing assembled. Thorar went to the Thing, but the +messengers in the meantime remained at home. At the Thing, Thorar laid +the business before the people, but all were unanimous that no scat +should be paid to the king of Norway; and some were for hanging the +messengers, others for sacrificing them to the gods. At last it was +resolved to hold them fast until the king of Sweden's sheriffs arrived, +and they could treat them as they pleased with consent of the people; +and that, in the meantime, this decision should be concealed, and the +messengers treated well, and detained under pretext that they must wait +until the scat is collected; and that they should be separated, and +placed two and two, as if for the convenience of boarding them. Thorod +and another remained in Thorar's house. There was a great Yule feast and +ale-drinking, to which each brought his own liquor; for there were many +peasants in the village, who all drank in company together at Yule. +There was another village not far distant, where Thorar's brother-in-law +dwelt, who was a rich and powerful man, and had a grown-up son. The +brothers-in-law intended to pass the Yule in drinking feasts, half of it +at the house of the one and half with the other; and the feast began at +Thorar's house. The brothers-in-law drank together, and Thorod and the +sons of the peasants by themselves; and it was a drinking match. In the +evening words arose, and comparisons between the men of Sweden and of +Norway, and then between their kings both of former times and at the +present, and of the manslaughters and robberies that had taken place +between the countries. Then said the peasants sons, "If our king has +lost most people, his sheriffs will make it even with the lives of +twelve men when they come from the south after Yule; and ye little +know, ye silly fools, why ye are kept here." Thorod took notice of these +words, and many made jest about it, and scoffed at them and their king. +When the ale began to talk out of the hearts of the Jamtalanders, what +Thorod had before long suspected became evident. The day after Thorod +and his comrade took all their clothes and weapons, and laid them ready; +and at night, when the people were all asleep, they fled to the forest. +The next morning, when the Jamtalanders were aware of their flight, men +set out after them with dogs to trace them, and found them in a wood in +which they had concealed themselves. They brought them home to a room in +which there was a deep cellar, into which they were thrown, and the door +locked upon them. They had little meat, and only the clothes they had on +them. In the middle of Yule, Thorar, with all his freeborn men, went to +his brother's-in-law, where he was to be a guest until the last of +Yule. Thorar's slaves were to keep guard upon the cellar, and they were +provided with plenty of liquor; but as they observed no moderation in +drinking, they became towards evening confused in the head with the ale. +As they were quite drunk, those who had to bring meat to the prisoners +in the cellar said among themselves that they should want for nothing. +Thorod amused the slaves by singing to them. They said he was a clever +man, and gave him a large candle that was lighted; and the slaves +who were in went to call the others to come in; but they were all so +confused with the ale, that in going out they neither locked the cellar +nor the room after them. Now Thorod and his comrades tore up their skin +clothes in strips, knotted them together, made a noose at one end, and +threw up the rope on the floor of the room. It fastened itself around a +chest, by which they tried to haul themselves up. Thorod lifted up his +comrade until he stood on his shoulders, and from thence scrambled up +through the hatchhole. There was no want of ropes in the chamber, and he +threw a rope down to Thorod; but when he tried to draw him up, he could +not move him from the spot. Then Thorod told him to cast the rope over +a cross-beam that was in the house, make a loop in it, and place as much +wood and stones in the loop as would outweigh him; and the heavy weight +went down into the cellar, and Thorod was drawn up by it. Now they took +as much clothes as they required in the room; and among other things +they took some reindeer hides, out of which they cut sandals, and bound +them under their feet, with the hoofs of the reindeer feet trailing +behind. But before they set off they set fire to a large corn barn +which was close by, and then ran out into the pitch-dark night. The barn +blazed, and set fire to many other houses in the village. Thorod and +his comrade travelled the whole night until they came to a lonely wood, +where they concealed themselves when it was daylight. In the morning +they were missed. There was chase made with dogs to trace the footsteps +all round the house; but the hounds always came back to the house, for +they had the smell of the reindeer hoofs, and followed the scent back on +the road that the hoofs had left, and therefore could not find the right +direction. Thorod and his comrade wandered long about in the desert +forest, and came one evening to a small house, and went in. A man and a +woman were sitting by the fire. The man called himself Thorer, and said +it was his wife who was sitting there, and the hut belonged to them. The +peasant asked them to stop there, at which they were well pleased. He +told them that he had come to this place, because he had fled from the +inhabited district on account of a murder. Thorod and his comrade were +well received, and they all got their supper at the fireside; and then +the benches were cleared for them, and they lay down to sleep, but the +fire was still burning with a clear light. Thorod saw a man come in from +another house, and never had he seen so stout a man. He was dressed in +a scarlet cloak beset with gold clasps, and was of very handsome +appearance. Thorod heard him scold them for taking guests, when they +had scarcely food for themselves. The housewife said, "Be not angry, +brother; seldom such a thing happens; and rather do them some good too, +for thou hast better opportunity to do so than we." Thorod heard also +the stout man named by the name of Arnliot Gelline, and observed that +the woman of the house was his sister. Thorod had heard speak of Arnliot +as the greatest-of robbers and malefactors. Thorod and his companion +slept the first part of the night, for they were wearied with walking; +but when a third of the night was still to come, Arnliot awoke them, +told them to get up, and make ready to depart. They arose immediately, +put on their clothes, and some breakfast was given them; and Arnliot +gave each of them also a pair of skees. Arnliot made himself ready to +accompany them, and got upon his skees, which were both broad and long; +but scarcely had he swung his skee-staff before he was a long way past +them. He waited for them, and said they would make no progress in this +way, and told them to stand upon the edge of his skees beside him. They +did so. Thorod stood nearest to him, and held by Arnliot's belt, and his +comrade held by him. Arnliot strode on as quickly with them both, as +if he was alone and without any weight. The following day they came, +towards night, to a lodge for travellers, struck fire, and prepared some +food; but Arnliot told them to throw away nothing of their food, neither +bones nor crumbs. Arnliot took a silver plate out of the pocket of his +cloak, and ate from it. When they were done eating, Arnliot gathered +up the remains of their meal, and they prepared to go to sleep. In the +other end of the house there was a loft upon cross-beams, and Arnliot +and the others went up, and laid themselves down to sleep. Arnliot had +a large halberd, of which the upper part was mounted with gold, and +the shaft was so long that with his arm stretched out he could scarcely +touch the top of it; and he was girt with a sword. They had both their +weapons and their clothes up in the loft beside them. Arnliot, who +lay outermost in the loft, told them to be perfectly quiet. Soon after +twelve men came to the house, who were merchants going with their +wares to Jamtaland; and when they came into the house they made a great +disturbance, were merry, and made a great fire before them; and when +they took their supper they cast away all the bones around them. They +then prepared to go to sleep, and laid themselves down upon the benches +around the fire. When they, had been asleep a short time, a huge witch +came into the house; and when she came in, she carefully swept together +all the bones and whatever was of food kind into a heap, and threw it +into her mouth. Then she gripped the man who was nearest to her, riving +and tearing him asunder, and threw him upon the fire. The others awoke +in dreadful fright, and sprang up, but she took them, and put them one +by one to death, so that only one remained in life. He ran under the +loft calling for help, and if there was any one on the loft to help him. +Arnliot reached down his hand, seized him by the shoulder, and drew him +up into the loft. The witch-wife had turned towards the fire, and +began to eat the men who were roasting. Now Arnliot stood up, took his +halberd, and struck her between the shoulders, so that the point came +out at her breast. She writhed with it, gave a dreadful shriek, and +sprang up. The halberd slipped from Arnliot's hands, and she ran out +with it. Arnliot then went in; cleared away the dead corpses out of the +house; set the door and the door-posts up, for she had torn them down in +going out; and they slept the rest of the night. When the day broke they +got up; and first they took their breakfast. When they had got food, +Arnliot said, "Now we must part here. Ye can proceed upon the new-traced +path the merchants have made in coming here yesterday. In the meantime +I will seek after my halberd, and in reward for my labour I will take so +much of the goods these men had with them as I find useful to me. Thou, +Thorod, must take my salutation to King Olaf; and say to him that he is +the man I am most desirous to see, although my salutation may appear to +him of little worth." Then he took his silver plate, wiped it dry with +a cloth, and said, "Give King Olaf this plate; salute him, and say it is +from me." Then they made themselves ready for their journey, and parted. +Thorod went on with his comrade and the man of the merchants company +who had escaped. He proceeded until he came to King Olaf in the town +(Nidaros); told the king all that had happened, and presented to him the +silver plate. The king said it was wrong that Arnliot himself had not +come to him; "for it is a pity so brave a hero, and so distinguished a +man, should have given himself up to misdeeds." + +Thorod remained the rest of the winter with the king, and in summer +got leave to return to Iceland; and he and King Olaf parted the best of +friends. + + + + +152. KING OLAF'S LEVY OF MEN. + +King Olaf made ready in spring (A.D. 1027) to leave Nidaros, and many +people were assembled about him, both from Throndhjem and the Northern +country; and when he was ready he proceeded first with his men to More, +where he gathered the men of the levy, and did the same at Raumsdal. He +went from thence to South More. He lay a long time at the Herey Isles +waiting for his forces; and he often held House-things, as many reports +came to his ears about which he thought it necessary to hold councils. +In one of these Things he made a speech, in which he spoke of the loss +he suffered from the Farey islanders. "The scat which they promised me," +he said, "is not forthcoming; and I now intend to send men thither after +it." Then he proposed to different men to undertake this expedition; but +the answer was, that all declined the adventure. + +Then there stood up a stout and very remarkable looking man in the +Thing. He was clad in a red kirtle, had a helmet on his head, a sword +in his belt, and a large halberd in his hands. He took up the word and +said, "In truth here is a great want of men. Ye have a good king; but ye +are bad servants who say no to this expedition he offers you, although +ye have received many gifts of friendship and tokens of honour from him. +I have hitherto been no friend of the king, and he has been my enemy, +and says, besides, that he has good grounds for being so. Now, I offer, +sire, to go upon this expedition, if no better will undertake it." + +The king answers, "Who is this brave man who replies to my offer? Thou +showest thyself different from the other men here present, in offering +thyself for this expedition from which they excuse themselves, although +I expected they would willingly have undertaken it; but I do not know +thee in the least, and do not know thy name." + +He replies, "My name, sire, is not difficult to know, and I think thou +hast heard my name before. I am Karl Morske." + +The king--"So this is Karl! I have indeed heard thy name before; and, to +say the truth, there was a time when our meeting must have been such, if +I had had my will; that thou shouldst not have had to tell it now. But +I will not show myself worse than thou, but will join my thanks and my +favour to the side of the help thou hast offered me. Now thou shalt come +to me, Karl, and be my guest to-day; and then we shall consult together +about this business." Karl said it should be so. + + + + +153. KARL MORSKE'S STORY. + +Karl Morske had been a viking, and a celebrated robber. Often had the +king sent out men against him, and wished to make an end of him; but +Karl, who was a man of high connection, was quick in all his doing's, +and besides a man of great dexterity, and expert in all feats. Now when +Karl had undertaken this business the king was reconciled to him, gave +him his friendship, and let him be fitted out in the best manner for +this expedition. There were about twenty men in the ship; and the king +sent messages to his friends in the Farey Islands, and recommended him +also to Leif Ossurson and Lagman Gille, for aid and defence; and for +this purpose furnished Karl with tokens of the full powers given him. +Karl set out as soon as he was ready; and as he got a favourable breeze +soon came to the Farey Islands, and landed at Thorshavn, in the island +Straumey. A Thing was called, to which there came a great number of +people. Thrand of Gata came with a great retinue, and Leif and Gille +came there also, with many in their following. After they had set up +their tents, and put themselves in order, they went to Karl Morske, and +saluted each other on both sides in a friendly way. Then Karl produced +King Olaf's words, tokens, and friendly message to Leif and Gille, who +received them in a friendly manner, invited Karl to come to them, and +promised him to support his errand, and give him all the aid in their +power, for which he thanked them. Soon after came Thrand of Gata, who +also received Karl in the most friendly manner, and said he was glad to +see so able a man coming to their country on the king's business, which +they were all bound to promote. "I will insist, Karl," says he, "on +thy taking-up thy winter abode with me, together with all those of thy +people who may appear to thee necessary for thy dignity." + +Karl replies, that he had already settled to lodge with Leif; "otherwise +I would with great pleasure have accepted thy invitation." + +"Then fate has given great honour to Leif," says Thrand; "but is there +any other way in which I can be of service?" + +Karl replies, that he would do him a great service by collecting the +scat of the eastern island, and of all the northern islands. + +Thrand said it was both his duty and interest to assist in the king's +business, and thereupon Thrand returned to his tent; and at that Thing +nothing else worth speaking of occurred. Karl took up his abode with +Leif Ossurson, and was there all winter (A.D. 1028). Leif collected the +scat of Straumey Island, and all the islands south of it. The spring +after Thrand of Gata fell ill, and had sore eyes and other complaints; +but he prepared to attend the Thing, as was his custom. When he came to +the Thing he had his tent put up, and within it another black tent, that +the light might not penetrate. After some days of the Thing had passed, +Leif and Karl came to Thrand's tent, with a great many people, and found +some persons standing outside. They asked if Thrand was in the tent, and +were told he was. Leif told them to bid Thrand come out, as he and Karl +had some business with him. They came back, and said that Thrand had +sore eyes, and could not come out; "but he begs thee, Leif, to come to +him within." Leif told his comrades to come carefully into the tent, and +not to press forward, and that he who came last in should go out first. +Leif went in first, followed by Karl, and then his comrades; and all +fully armed as if they were going into battle. Leif went into the black +tent and asked if Thrand was there. Thrand answered and saluted Leif. +Leif returned his salutation, and asked if he had brought the scat +from the northern islands, and if he would pay the scat that had been +collected. Thrand replies, that he had not forgotten what had been +spoken of between him and Karl, and that he would now pay over the scat. +"Here is a purse, Leif, full of silver, which thou canst receive." Leif +looked around, and saw but few people in the tent, of whom some were +lying upon the benches, and a few were sitting up. Then Leif went to +Thrand, and took the purse, and carried it into the outer tent, where it +was light, turned out the money on his shield, groped about in it with +his hand, and told Karl to look at the silver. When they had looked at +it a while, Karl asked Leif what he thought of the silver. He replied, +"I am thinking where the bad money that is in the north isles can have +come from." Thrand heard this, and said, "Do you not think, Leif, the +silver is good?" "No," says he. Thrand replies, "Our relations, then, +are rascals not to be trusted. I sent them in spring to collect the scat +in the north isles, as I could not myself go anywhere, and they have +allowed themselves to be bribed by the bondes to take false money, which +nobody looks upon as current and good; it is better, therefore, Leif, to +look at this silver which has been paid me as land-rent." Leif thereupon +carried back this silver, and received another bag, which he carried to +Karl, and they looked over the money together. Karl asked Leif what he +thought of this money. He answered, that it appeared to him so bad that +it would not be taken in payment, however little hope there might be of +getting a debt paid in any other way: "therefore I will not take this +money upon the king's account." A man who had been lying on the bench +now cast the skin coverlet off which he had drawn over his head, and +said, "True is the old word,--he grows worse who grows older: so it is +with thee, Thrand, who allowest Karl Morske to handle thy money all +the day." This was Gaut the Red. Thrand sprang up at Gaut's words, and +reprimanded his relation with many angry words. At last he said that +Leif should leave this silver, and take a bag which his own peasants had +brought him in spring. "And although I am weak-sighted, yet my own +hand is the truest test." Another man who was lying on the bench raised +himself now upon his elbow; and this was Thord the Low. He said, "These +are no ordinary reproaches we suffer from Karl Morske, and therefore he +well deserves a reward for them." Leif in the meantime took the bag, +and carried it to Karl; and when they cast their eyes on the money, Leif +said, "We need not look long at this silver, for here the one piece of +money is better than the other; and this is the money we will have. Let +a man come to be present at the counting it out." Thrand says that he +thought Leif was the fittest man to do it upon his account. Leif and +Karl thereupon went a short way from the tent, sat down, and counted and +weighed the silver. Karl took the helmet off his head, and received in +it the weighed silver. They saw a man coming to them who had a stick +with an axe-head on it in his hand, a hat low upon his head, and a short +green cloak. He was bare-legged, and had linen breeches on tied at the +knee. He laid his stick down in the field, and went to Karl and said, +"Take care, Karl Morske, that thou does not hurt thyself against my +axe-stick." Immediately a man came running and calls with great haste +to Leif Ossurson, telling him to come as quickly as possible to Lagman +Gille's tent; "for," says he, "Sirurd Thorlakson ran in just now into +the mouth of the tent, and gave one of Gille's men a desperate wound." +Leif rose up instantly, and went off to Gille's tent along with his +men. Karl remained sitting, and the Norway people stood around in all +corners. Gaut immediately sprang up, and struck with a hand-axe over the +heads of the people, and the stroke came on Karl's head; but the wound +was slight. Thord the Low seized the stick-axe, which lay in the field +at his side, and struck the axe-blade right into Karl's skull. Many +people now streamed out of Thrand's tent. Karl was carried away dead. +Thrand was much grieved at this event, and offered money-mulcts for his +relations; but Leif and Gille, who had to prosecute the business, would +accept no mulct. Sigurd was banished the country for having wounded +Gille's tent comrade, and Gaut and Thord for the murder of Karl. The +Norway people rigged out the vessel which Karl had with him, and sailed +eastward to Olaf, and gave him these tidings. He was in no pleasant +humour at it, and threatened a speedy vengeance; but it was not allotted +by fate to King Olaf to revenge himself on Thrand and his relations, +because of the hostilities which had begun in Norway, and which are now +to be related. And there is nothing more to be told of what happened +after King Olaf sent men to the Farey Islands to take scat of them. But +great strife arose after Karl's death in the Farey Islands between the +family of Thrand of Gata and Leif Ossurson, and of which there are great +sagas. + + + + +154. KING OLAF'S EXPEDITION WITH HIS LEVY. + +Now we must proceed with the relation we began before,--that King Olaf +set out with his men, and raised a levy over the whole country +(A.D. 1027). All lendermen in the North followed him excepting Einar +Tambaskelfer, who sat quietly at home upon his farm since his return +to the country, and did not serve the king. Einar had great estates +and wealth, although he held no fiefs from the king, and he lived +splendidly. King Olaf sailed with his fleet south around Stad, and many +people from the districts around joined him. King Olaf himself had a +ship which he had got built the winter before (A.D. 1027), and which +was called the Visund (1). It was a very large ship, with a bison's head +gilded all over upon the bow. Sigvat the skald speaks thus of it:-- + + "Trygvason's Long Serpent bore, + Grim gaping o'er the waves before, + A dragon's head with open throat, + When last the hero was afloat: + His cruise was closed, + As God disposed. + Olaf has raised a bison's head, + Which proudly seems the waves to tread. + While o'er its golden forehead dashing + The waves its glittering horns are washing: + May God dispose + A luckier close." + +The king went on to Hordaland; there he heard the news that Erling +Skjalgson had left the country with a great force, and four or five +ships. He himself had a large war-ship, and his sons had three of twenty +rowing-banks each; and they had sailed westward to England to Canute +the Great. Then King Olaf sailed eastward along the land with a mighty +war-force, and he inquired everywhere if anything was known of Canute's +proceedings; and all agreed in saying he was in England but added that +he was fitting out a levy, and intended coming to Norway. As Olaf had a +large fleet, and could not discover with certainty where he should go to +meet King Canute, and as his people were dissatisfied with lying quiet +in one place with so large an armament, he resolved to sail with his +fleet south to Denmark, and took with him all the men who were best +appointed and most warlike; and he gave leave to the others to return +home. Now the people whom he thought of little use having gone home, +King Olaf had many excellent and stout men-at-arms besides those who, as +before related, had fled the country, or sat quietly at home; and most +of the chief men and lendermen of Norway were along with him. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Visundr is the buffalo; although the modern bison, or + American animal of that name, might have been known through + the Greenland colonists, who in this reign had visited some + parts of America.--L. + + + + +155. OF KING OLAF AND KING ONUND. + +When King Olaf sailed to Denmark, he set his course for Seeland; and +when he came there he made incursions on the land, and began to plunder. +The country people were severely treated; some were killed, some bound +and dragged to the ships. All who could do so took to flight, and made +no opposition. King Olaf committed there the greatest ravages. While +Olaf was in Seeland, the news came that King Onund Olafson of Sweden had +raised a levy, and fallen upon Scania, and was ravaging there; and then +it became known what the resolution had been that the two kings +had taken at the Gaut river, where they had concluded a union and +friendship, and had bound themselves to oppose King Canute. King Onund +continued his march until he met his brother-in-law King Olaf. When they +met they made proclamation both to their own people and to the people +of the country, that they intended to conquer Denmark; and asked the +support of the people of the country for this purpose. And it happened, +as we find examples of everywhere, that if hostilities are brought upon +the people of a country not strong enough to withstand, the greatest +number will submit to the conditions by which peace can be purchased at +any rate. So it happened here that many men went into the service of the +kings, and agreed to submit to them. Wheresoever they went they laid the +country all round subjection to them, and otherwise laid waste all with +fire and sword. + +Of this foray Sigvat the skald speaks, in a ballad he composed +concerning King Canute the Great:-- + + "'Canute is on the sea!' + The news is told, + And the Norsemen bold + Repeat it with great glee. + And it runs from mouth to mouth-- + 'On a lucky day + We came away + From Throndhjem to the south.' + Across the cold East sea, + The Swedish king + His host did bring, + To gain great victory. + King Onund came to fight, + In Seeland's plains, + Against the Danes, + With his steel-clad men so bright. + Canute is on the land; + Side to side + His long-ships ride + Along the yellow strand. + Where waves wash the green banks, + Mast to mast, + All bound fast, + His great fleet lies in ranks." + + + + +156. OF KING CANUTE THE GREAT. + +King Canute had heard in England that King Olaf of Norway had called out +a levy, and had gone with his forces to Denmark, and was making great +ravages in his dominions there. Canute began to gather people, and he +had speedily collected a great army and a numerous fleet. Earl Hakon was +second in command over the whole. + +Sigvat the skald came this summer (A.D. 1027) from the West, from Ruda +(Rouen) in Valland, and with him was a man called Berg. They had made a +merchant voyage there the summer before. Sigvat had made a little poem +about this journey, called "The Western Traveller's Song," which begins +thus:-- + + "Berg! many a merry morn was pass'd, + When our vessel was made fast, + And we lay on the glittering tide + or Rouen river's western side." + +When Sigvat came to England he went directly to King Canute, and asked +his leave to proceed to Norway; for King Canute had forbidden all +merchant vessels to sail until he himself was ready with his fleet. When +Sigvat arrived he went to the house in which the king was lodged; but +the doors were locked, and he had to stand a long time outside, but when +he got admittance he obtained the permission he desired. He then sang:-- + + "The way to Jutland's king I sought; + A little patience I was taught. + The doors were shut--all full within; + The udaller could not get in. + But Gorm's great son did condescend + To his own chamber me to send, + And grant my prayer--although I'm one + Whose arms the fetters' weight have known." + +When Sigvat became aware that King Canute was equipping an armament +against King Olaf, and knew what a mighty force King Canute had, he made +these lines:-- + + "The mighty Canute, and Earl Hakon, + Have leagued themselves, and counsel taken + Against King Olaf's life, + And are ready for the strife. + In spite of king and earl, I say, + 'I love him well--may he get away:' + On the Fields, wild and dreary, + With him I'd live, and ne'er be weary." + +Sigvat made many other songs concerning this expedition of Canute and +Hakon. He made this among others:-- + + "'Twas not the earl's intention then + 'Twixt Olaf and the udalmen + Peace to establish, and the land + Upright to hold with Northman's hand; + But ever with deceit and lies + Eirik's descendant, Hakon, tries + To make ill-will and discontent, + Till all the udalmen are bent + Against King Olaf's rule to rise." + + + + +157. OF KING CANUTE'S SHIP THE DRAGON. + +Canute the Great was at last ready with his fleet, and left the land; +and a vast number of men he had, and ships frightfully large. He himself +had a dragon-ship, so large that it had sixty banks of rowers, and the +head was gilt all over. Earl Hakon had another dragon of forty banks, +and it also had a gilt figure-head. The sails of both were in stripes +of blue, red, and green, and the vessels were painted all above +the water-stroke; and all that belonged to their equipment was most +splendid. They had also many other huge ships remarkably well fitted +out, and grand. Sigvat the skald talks of this in his song on Canute:-- + + "Canute is out beneath the sky-- + Canute of the clear blue eye! + The king is out on the ocean's breast, + Leading his grand fleet from the West. + On to the East the ship-masts glide, + Glancing and bright each long-ship's side. + The conqueror of great Ethelred, + Canute, is there, his foemen's dread: + His dragon with her sails of blue, + All bright and brilliant to the view, + High hoisted on the yard arms wide, + Carries great Canute o'er the tide. + Brave is the royal progress--fast + The proud ship's keel obeys the mast, + Dashes through foam, and gains the land, + Raising a surge on Limfjord's strand." + +It is related that King Canute sailed with this vast force from England, +and came with all his force safely to Denmark, where he went into +Limfjord, and there he found gathered besides a large army of the men of +the country. + + + + +158. HARDAKNUT TAKEN TO BE KING IN DENMARK. + +Earl Ulf Sprakalegson had been set as protector over Denmark when King +Canute went to England, and the king had intrusted his son Hardaknut in +the earl's hands. This took place the summer before (A.D. 1026), as we +related. But the earl immediately gave it out that King Canute had, at +parting, made known to him his will and desire that the Danes should +take his son Hardaknut as king over the Danish dominions. "On that +account," says the earl, "he gave the matter into our hands; as I, +and many other chiefs and leading men here in the country, have often +complained to King Canute of the evil consequences to the country of +being without a king, and that former kings thought it honour and power +enough to rule over the Danish kingdom alone; and in the times that are +past many kings have ruled over this kingdom. But now there are greater +difficulties than have ever been before; for we have been so fortunate +hitherto as to live without disturbance from foreign kings, but now we +hear the king of Norway is going to attack us, to which is added the +fear of the people that the Swedish king will join him; and now King +Canute is in England." The earl then produced King Canute's letter and +seal, confirming all that the earl asserted. Many other chiefs supported +this business; and in consequence of all these persuasions the people +resolved to take Hardaknut as king, which was done at the same Thing. +The Queen Emma had been principal promoter of this determination; for +she had got the letter to be written, and provided with the seal, +having cunningly got hold of the king's signet; but from him it was all +concealed. Now when Hardaknut and Earl Ulf heard for certain that King +Olaf was come from Norway with a large army, they went to Jutland, +where the greatest strength of the Danish kingdom lies, sent out +message-tokens, and summoned to them a great force; but when they heard +the Swedish king was also come with his army, they thought they would +not have strength enough to give battle to both, and therefore kept +their army together in Jutland, and resolved to defend that country +against the kings. The whole of their ships they assembled in Limfjord, +and waited thus for King Canute. Now when they heard that King Canute +had come from the West to Limfjord they sent men to him, and to Queen +Emma, and begged her to find out if the king was angry at them or not, +and to let them know. The queen talked over the matter with him, and +said, "Your son Hardaknut will pay the full mulct the king may demand, +if he has done anything which is thought to be against the king." He +replies, that Hardaknut has not done this of his own judgement. "And +therefore," says he, "it has turned out as might have been expected, +that when he, a child, and without understanding, wanted to be called +king, the country, when any evil came and an enemy appeared, must be +conquered by foreign princes, if our might had not come to his aid. If +he will have any reconciliation with me let him come to me, and lay down +the mock title of king he has given himself." The queen sent these very +words to Hardaknut, and at the same time she begged him not to decline +coming; for, as she truly observed, he had no force to stand against his +father. When this message came to Hardaknut he asked the advice of the +earl and other chief people who were with him; but it was soon found +that when the people heard King Canute the Old was arrived they all +streamed to him, and seemed to have no confidence but in him alone. Then +Earl Ulf and his fellows saw they had but two roads to take; either to +go to the king and leave all to his mercy, or to fly the country. All +pressed Hardaknut to go to his father, which advice he followed. +When they met he fell at his father's feet, and laid his seal, which +accompanied the kingly title, on his knee. King Canute took Hardaknut by +the hand, and placed him in as high a seat as he used to sit in before. +Earl Ulf sent his son Svein, who was a sister's son of King Canute, +and the same age as Hardaknut, to the king. He prayed for grace and +reconciliation for his father, and offered himself as hostage for the +earl. King Canute ordered him to tell the earl to assemble his men and +ships, and come to him, and then they would talk of reconciliation. The +earl did so. + + + + +159. FORAY IN SCANIA. + +When King Olaf and King Onund heard that King Canute was come from the +West, and also that he had a vast force, they sailed east to Scania, and +allowed themselves to ravage and burn in the districts there, and then +proceeded eastward along the land to the frontier of Sweden. As soon as +the country people heard that King Canute was come from the West, no one +thought of going into the service of the two kings. + +Now the kings sailed eastward along the coast, and brought up in a river +called Helga, and remained there some time. When they heard that King +Canute was coming eastward with his forces against them, they held a +council; and the result was, that King Olaf with his people went up +the country to the forest, and to the lake out of which the river Helga +flows. There at the riverhead they made a dam of timber and turf, and +dammed in the lake. They also dug a deep ditch, through which they led +several waters, so that the lake waxed very high. In the river-bed they +laid large logs of timber. They were many days about this work, and King +Olaf had the management of this piece of artifice; but King Onund +had only to command the fleet and army. When King Canute heard of the +proceedings of the two kings, and of the damage they had done to his +dominions, he sailed right against them to where they lay in Helga +river. He had a War-force which was one half greater than that of both +the kings together. Sigvat speaks of these things:-- + + "The king, who shields + His Jutland fields + From scaith or harm + By foeman's arm, + Will not allow + Wild plundering now: + 'The greatest he, + On land or sea.'" + + + + +160. BATTLE IN HELGA RIVER. + +One day, towards evening, King Onund's spies saw King Canute coming +sailing along, and he was not far off. Then King Onund ordered the +war-horns to sound; on which his people struck their tents, put on their +weapons, rowed out of the harbour and east round the land, bound their +ships together, and prepared for battle. King Onund made his spies run +up the country to look for King Olaf, and tell him the news. Then King +Olaf broke up the dam, and let the river take its course. King Olaf +travelled down in the night to his ships. When King Canute came outside +the harbour, he saw the forces of the kings ready for battle. He thought +that it would be too late in the day to begin the fight by the time his +forces could be ready; for his fleet required a great deal of room at +sea, and there was a long distance between the foremost of his ships and +the hindmost, and between those outside and those nearest the land, +and there was but little wind. Now, as Canute saw that the Swedes and +Norwegians had quitted the harbour, he went into it with as many ships +as it could hold; but the main strength of the fleet lay without the +harbour. In the morning, when it was light, a great part of the men went +on shore; some for amusement, some to converse with the people of other +ships. They observed nothing until the water came rushing over them +like a waterfall, carrying huge trees, which drove in among their ships, +damaging all they struck; and the water covered all the fields. The men +on shore perished, and many who were in the ships. All who could do it +cut their cables; so that the ships were loose, and drove before the +stream, and were scattered here and there. The great dragon, which King +Canute himself was in, drove before the stream; and as it could not so +easily be turned with oars, drove out among Olaf's and Onund's ships. As +they knew the ship, they laid her on board on all quarters. But the ship +was so high in the hull, as if it were a castle, and had besides such a +numerous and chosen crew on board, well armed and exercised, that it was +not easy to attack her. After a short time also Earl Ulf came up with +his fleet; and then the battle began, and King Canute's fleet gathered +together from all quarters. But the kings Olaf and Onund, seeing they +had for this time got all the victory that fate permitted them to gain, +let their ships retreat, cast themselves loose from King Canute's ship, +and the fleets separated. But as the attack had not been made as King +Canute had determined, he made no further attempt; and the kings on each +side arranged their fleets and put their ships in order. When the fleets +were parted, and each sailing its course, Olaf and Onund looked over +their forces, and found they had suffered no loss of men. In the +meantime they saw that if they waited until King Canute got his large +fleet in order to attack them, the difference of force was so great that +for them there was little chance of victory. It was also evident that if +the battle was renewed, they must suffer a great loss of men. They took +the resolution, therefore, to row with the whole fleet eastward along +the coast. Observing that King Canute did not pursue them, they raised +up their masts and set sail. Ottar Svarte tells thus of it in the poem +he composed upon King Canute the Great:-- + + "The king, in battle fray, + Drove the Swedish host away: + The wolf did not miss prey, + Nor the raven on that day. + Great Canute might deride + Two kings if he had pride, + For at Helga river's side + They would not his sword abide." + +Thord Sjarekson also sang these lines in his death song of King Olaf:-- + + "King Olaf, Agder's lord, + Ne'er shunned the Jutland king, + But with his blue-edged sword + Broke many a panzer ring. + King Canute was not slow: + King Onund filled the plain + With dead, killed by his bow: + The wolf howled o'er the slain." + + + + +161. KING OLAF AND KING ONUND'S PLANS. + +King Olaf and King Onund sailed eastward to the Swedish king's +dominions; and one day, towards evening, landed at a place called +Barvik, where they lay all night. But then it was observed of the Swedes +that they were home-sick; for the greater part of their forces sailed +eastward along the land in the night, and did not stop their course +until they came home to their houses. Now when King Onund observed +this he ordered, as soon as the day dawned, to sound the signal for a +House-thing; and the whole people went on shore, and the Thing sat down. +Then King Onund took up the word, and spake thus: "So it is, King Olaf, +that, as you know, we have been assembled in summer, and have forayed +wide around in Denmark, and have gained much booty, but no land. I +had 350 vessels, and now have not above 100 remaining with me. Now +it appears to me we can make no greater progress than we have made, +although you have still the 60 vessels which have followed you the whole +summer. It therefore appears to me best that we come back to my kingdom; +for it is always good to drive home with the wagon safe. In this +expedition we have won something, and lost nothing. Now I will offer +you, King Olaf, to come with me, and we shall remain assembled during +the winter. Take as much of my kingdom as you will, so that you and the +men who follow you may support yourselves well; and when spring comes +let us take such measures as we find serviceable. If you, however, will +prefer to travel across our country, and go overland to Norway, it shall +be free for you to do so." + +King Olaf thanked King Onund for his friendly offer. "But if I may +advise," says he, "then we should take another resolution, and keep +together the forces we have still remaining. I had in the first of +summer, before I left Norway, 350 ships; but when I left the country I +chose from among the whole war-levy those I thought to be the best, and +with them I manned 60 ships; and these I still have. Now it appears to +me that the part of your war-force which has now run away is the most +worthless, and of least resistance; but now I see here all your +chiefs and leaders, and I know well that the people who belong to the +court-troops (1) are by far the best suited to carry arms. We have here +chosen men and superb ships, and we can very well lie all winter in our +ships, as viking's custom is. But Canute cannot lie long in Helga river; +for the harbour will not hold so many vessels as he has. If he steers +eastward after us, we can escape from him, and then people will soon +gather to us; but if he return to the harbours where his fleet can lie, +I know for certain that the desire to return home will not be less +in his army than in ours. I think, also, we have ravaged so widely in +summer, that the villagers, both in Scania and in Halland, know well +whose favour they have to seek. Canute's army will thus be dispersed +so widely, that it is uncertain to whom fate may at the last give the +victory; but let us first find out what resolution he takes." + +Thus King Olaf ended his speech, and it found much applause, and his +advice was followed. Spies were sent into King Canute's army, and both +the kings Olaf and Onund remained lying where they were. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The thingmen, or hired body-guard attending the court.--L. + + + + +162. OF KING CANUTE AND EARL ULF. + +When King Canute saw that the kings of Norway and Sweden steered +eastward with their forces along the coast, he sent men to ride night +and day on the land to follow their movements. Some spies went forward, +others returned; so that King Canute had news every day of their +progress. He had also spies always in their army. Now when he heard that +a great part of the fleet had sailed away from the kings, he turned back +with his forces to Seeland, and lay with his whole fleet in the Sound; +so that a part lay on the Scania side, and a part on the Seeland side. +King Canute himself, the day before Michaelmas, rode with a great +retinue to Roeskilde. There his brother-in-law, Earl Ulf, had prepared a +great feast for him. The earl was the most agreeable host, but the king +was silent and sullen. The earl talked to him in every way to make him +cheerful, and brought forward everything which he thought would amuse +him; but the king remained stern, and speaking little. At last the earl +proposed to him a game at chess, which he agreed to; and a chess-board +was produced, and they played together. Earl Ulf was hasty in temper, +stiff, and in nothing yielding; but everything he managed went on well +in his hands; and he was a great warrior, about whom there are many +stories. He was the most powerful man in Denmark next to the king. Earl +Ulf's sister Gyda was married to Earl Gudin (Godwin) Ulfnadson; and +their sons were Harald king of England, and Earl Toste, Earl Valthiof, +Earl Morukare, and Earl Svein. Gyda was the name of their daughter, who +was married to the English king Edward the Good. + + + + +163. OF THE EARL'S MURDER. + +When they had played a while the king made a false move, at which the +earl took a knight from the king; but the king set the piece again upon +the board, and told the earl to make another move; but the earl grew +angry, threw over the chess-board, stood up, and went away. The king +said, "Runnest thou away, Ulf the coward?" The earl turned round at the +door and said, "Thou wouldst have run farther at Helga river, if thou +hadst come to battle there. Thou didst not call me Ulf the coward, when +I hastened to thy help while the Swedes were beating thee like a dog." +The earl then went out, and went to bed. A little later the king also +went to bed. The following morning while the king was putting on his +clothes he said to his footboy, "Go thou to Earl Ulf, and kill him." + +The lad went, was away a while, and then came back. + +The king said, "Hast thou killed the earl?" + +"I did not kill him, for he was gone to Saint Lucius' church." + +There was a man called Ivar White, a Norwegian by birth, who was the +king's courtman and chamberlain. The king said to him, "Go thou and kill +the earl." + +Ivar went to the church, and in at the choir, and thrust his sword +through the earl, who died on the spot. Then Ivar went to the king, with +the bloody sword in his hand. + +The king said, "Hast thou killed the earl?" + +"I have killed him," says he. + +"Thou didst well." + +After the earl was killed the monks closed the church, and locked the +doors. When that was told the king he sent a message to the monks, +ordering them to open the church and sing high mass. They did as the +king ordered; and when the king came to the church he bestowed on it +great property, so that it had a large domain, by which that place was +raised very high; and these lands have since always belonged to it. King +Canute rode down to his ships, and lay there till late in harvest with a +very large army. + + + + +164. OF KING OLAF AND THE SWEDES. + +When King Olaf and King Onund heard that King Canute had sailed to the +Sound, and lay there with a great force, the kings held a House-thing, +and spoke much about what resolution they should adopt. King Olaf wished +they should remain there with all the fleet, and see what King Canute +would at last resolve to do. But the Swedes held it to be unadvisable to +remain until the frost set in, and so it was determined; and King Onund +went home with all his army, and King Olaf remained lying after them. + + + + +165. OF EGIL AND TOFE. + +While King Olaf lay there, he had frequently conferences and +consultations with his people. One night Egil Halson and Tofe Valgautson +had the watch upon the king's ship. Tofe came from West Gautland, +and was a man of high birth. While they sat on watch they heard much +lamentation and crying among the people who had been taken in the war, +and who lay bound on the shore at night. Tofe said it made him ill to +hear such distress, and asked Egil to go with him, and let loose these +people. This work they set about, cut the cords, and let the people +escape, and they looked upon it as a piece of great friendship; but the +king was so enraged at it, that they themselves were in the greatest +danger. When Egil afterwards fell sick the king for a long time would +not visit him, until many people entreated it of him. It vexed Egil +much to have done anything the king was angry at, and he begged his +forgiveness. The king now dismissed his wrath against Egil, laid his +hands upon the side on which Egil's pain was, and sang a prayer; upon +which the pain ceased instantly, and Egil grew better. Tofe came, after +entreaty, into reconciliation with the king, on condition that he should +exhort his father Valgaut to come to the king. He was a heathen; but +after conversation with the king he went over to Christianity, and died +instantly when he was baptized. + + + + +166. TREACHERY TOWARDS KING OLAF. + +King Olaf had now frequent conferences with his people, and asked advice +from them, and from his chiefs, as to what he should determine upon. +But there was no unanimity among them--some considering that unadvisable +which others considered highly serviceable; and there was much +indecision in their councils. King Canute had always spies in King +Olaf's army, who entered into conversation with many of his men, +offering them presents and favour on account of King Canute. Many +allowed themselves to be seduced, and gave promises of fidelity, and to +be King Canute's men, and bring the country into his hands if he came +to Norway. This was apparent, afterwards, of many who at first kept +it concealed. Some took at once money bribes, and others were promised +money afterwards; and a great many there were who had got great presents +of money from him before: for it may be said with truth of King Canute, +that every man who came to him, and who he thought had the spirit of a +man and would like his favour, got his hands full of gifts and money. +On this account he was very popular, although his generosity was +principally shown to foreigners, and was greatest the greater distance +they came from. + + + + +167. KING OLAF'S CONSULTATIONS. + +King Olaf had often conferences and meetings with his people, and asked +their counsel; but as he observed they gave different opinions, he had +a suspicion that there must be some who spoke differently from what they +really thought advisable for him, and he was thus uncertain if all gave +him due fidelity in council. Some pressed that with the first fair wind +they should sail to the Sound, and so to Norway. They said the Danes +would not dare to attack them, although they lay with so great a force +right in the way. But the king was a man of too much understanding not +to see that this was impracticable. He knew also that Olaf Trygvason had +found it quite otherwise, as to the Danes not daring to fight, when he +with a few people went into battle against a great body of them. The +king also knew that in King Canute's army there were a great many +Norwegians; therefore he entertained the suspicion that those who gave +this advice were more favourable to King Canute than to him. King Olaf +came at last to the determination, from all these considerations, that +the people who would follow him should make themselves ready to proceed +by land across Gautland, and so to Norway. "But our ships," said he, +"and all things that we cannot take with us, I will send eastward to the +Swedish king's dominions, and let them be taken care of for us there." + + + + +168. HAREK OF THJOTTA'S VOYAGE. + +Harek of Thjotta replied thus to the king's speech: "It is evident +that I cannot travel on foot to Norway. I am old and heavy, and little +accustomed to walking. Besides, I am unwilling to part with my ship; +for on that ship and its apparel I have bestowed so much labour, that +it would go much against my inclination to put her into the hands of my +enemies." The king said, "Come along with us, Harek, and we shall carry +thee when thou art tired of walking." Then Harek sang these lines:-- + + "I'11 mount my ocean steed, + And o'er the sea I'll speed; + Forests and hills are not for me,-- + I love the moving sea, + Though Canute block the Sound, + Rather than walk the ground, + And leave my ship, I'll see + What my ship will do for me." + +Then King Olaf let everything be put in order for the journey. The +people had their walking clothing and weapons, but their other clothes +and effects they packed upon such horses as they could get. Then he sent +off people to take his ships east to Calmar. There he had the vessels +laid up, and the ships' apparel and other goods taken care of. Harek did +as he had said, and waited for a wind, and then sailed west to Scania, +until, about the decline of the day, he came with a fresh and fair wind +to the eastward of Holar. There he let the sail and the vane, and flag +and mast be taken down, and let the upper works of the ship be covered +over with some grey tilt-canvas, and let a few men sit at the oars in +the fore part and aft, but the most were sitting low down in the vessel. + +When Canute's watchmen saw the ship, they talked with each other about +what ship it might be, and made the guess that it must be one loaded +with herrings or salt, as they only saw a few men at the oars; and the +ship, besides, appeared to them grey, and wanting tar, as if burnt up +by the sun, and they saw also that it was deeply loaded. Now when Harek +came farther through the Sound, and past the fleet, he raised the mast, +hoisted sail, and set up his gilded vane. The sail was white as snow, +and in it were red and blue stripes of cloth interwoven. When the king's +men saw the ship sailing in this state, they told the king that probably +King Olaf had sailed through them. But King Canute replies, that King +Olaf was too prudent a man to sail with a single ship through King +Canute's fleet, and thought it more likely to be Harek of Thjotta, or +the like of him. Many believed the truth to be that King Canute knew +of this expedition of Harek, and that it would not have succeeded so if +they had not concluded a friendship beforehand with each other; which +seemed likely, after King Canute's and Harek's friendly understanding +became generally known. + +Harek made this song as he sailed northward round the isle of Vedrey:-- + + "The widows of Lund may smile through their tears, + The Danish girls may have their jeers; + They may laugh or smile, + But outside their isle + Old Harek still on to his North land steers." + +Harek went on his way, and never stopped till he came north to +Halogaland, to his own house in Thjotta. + + + + +169. KING OLAF'S COURSE FROM SVITHJOD. + +When King Olaf began his journey, he came first into Smaland, and then +into West Gautland. He marched quietly and peaceably, and the country +people gave him all assistance on his journey. Thus he proceeded until +he came into Viken, and north through Viken to Sarpsborg, where he +remained, and ordered a winter abode to be prepared (A.D. 1028). Then he +gave most of the chiefs leave to return home, but kept the lendermen by +him whom he thought the most serviceable. There were with him also all +the sons of Arne Arnmodson, and they stood in great favour with the +king. Geller Thorkelson, who the summer before had come from Iceland, +also came there to the king, as before related. + + + + +170. OF SIGVAT THE SKALD. + +Sigvat the skald had long been in King Olaf's household, as before +related, and the king made him his marshal. Sigvat had no talent for +speaking in prose; but in skaldcraft he was so practised, that the +verses came as readily from his tongue as if he were speaking in usual +language. He had made a mercantile journey to Normandy, and in the +course of it had come to England, where he met King Canute, and obtained +permission from him to sail to Norway, as before related. When he +came to Norway he proceeded straight to King Olaf, and found him at +Sarpsborg. He presented himself before the king just as he was sitting +down to table. Sigvat saluted him. The king looked at Sigvat and was +silent. Then Sigvat sang:-- + + "Great king! thy marshal is come home, + No more by land or sea to roam, + But by thy side + Still to abide. + Great king! what seat here shall he take + For the king's honour--not his sake? + For all seats here + To me are dear." + +Then was verified the old saying, that "many are the ears of a king;" +for King Olaf had heard all about Sigvat's journey, and that he had +spoken with Canute. He says to Sigvat, "I do not know if thou art my +marshal, or hast become one of Canute's men." Sigvat said:-- + + "Canute, whose golden gifts display + A generous heart, would have me stay, + Service in his great court to take, + And my own Norway king forsake. + Two masters at a time, I said, + Were one too many for men bred + Where truth and virtue, shown to all, + Make all men true in Olaf's hall." + +Then King Olaf told Sigvat to take his seat where he before used to sit; +and in a short time Sigvat was in as high favour with the king as ever. + + + + +171. OF ERLING SKJALGSON AND HIS SONS. + +Erling Skjalgson and all his sons had been all summer in King Canute's +army, in the retinue of Earl Hakon. Thorer Hund was also there, and +was in high esteem. Now when King Canute heard that King Olaf had gone +overland to Norway, he discharged his army, and gave all men leave to +go to their winter abodes. There was then in Denmark a great army of +foreigners, both English, Norwegians, and men of other countries, +who had joined the expedition in summer. In autumn (A.D. 1027) Erling +Skjalgson went to Norway with his men, and received great presents from +King Canute at parting; but Thorer Hund remained behind in King Canute's +court. With Erling went messengers from King Canute well provided with +money; and in winter they travelled through all the country, paying +the money which King Canute had promised to many in autumn for their +assistance. They gave presents in money, besides, to many whose +friendship could be purchased for King Canute. They received much +assistance in their travels from Erling. In this way it came to pass +that many turned their support to King Canute, promised him their +services, and agreed to oppose King Olaf. Some did this openly, but many +more concealed it from the public. King Olaf heard this news, for many +had something to tell him about it; and the conversation in the court +often turned upon it. Sigvat the skald made a song upon it:-- + + "The base traitors ply + With purses of gold, + Wanting to buy + What is not to be sold,-- + The king's life and throne + Wanting to buy: + But our souls are our own, + And to hell we'll not hie. + No pleasure in heaven, + As we know full well, + To the traitor is given,-- + His soul is his hell." + +Often also the conversation turned upon how ill it beseemed Earl Hakon +to raise his hand in arms against King Olaf, who had given him his life +when he fell into the king's power; but Sigvat was a particular friend +of Earl Hakon, and when he heard the earl spoken against he sang:-- + + "Our own court people we may blame, + If they take gold to their own shame, + Their king and country to betray. + With those who give it's not the same, + From them we have no faith to claim: + 'Tis we are wrong, if we give way." + + + + +172. OF KING OLAF'S PRESENTS AT YULE. + +King Olaf gave a great feast at Yule, and many great people had come to +him. It was the seventh day of Yule, that the king, with a few persons, +among whom was Sigvat, who attended him day and night, went to a house +in which the king's most precious valuables were kept. He had, according +to his custom, collected there with great care the valuable presents he +was to make on New Year's eve. There was in the house no small number of +gold-mounted swords; and Sigvat sang:-- + + "The swords stand there, + All bright and fair,-- + Those oars that dip in blood: + If I in favour stood, + I too might have a share. + A sword the skald would gladly take, + And use it for his master's sake: + In favour once he stood, + And a sword has stained in blood." + +The king took a sword of which the handle was twisted round with gold, +and the guard was gold-mounted, and gave it to him. It was a valuable +article; but the gift was not seen without envy, as will appear +hereafter. + +Immediately after Yule (1028) the king began his journey to the Uplands; +for he had a great many people about him, but had received no income +that autumn from the North country, for there had been an armament in +summer, and the king had laid out all the revenues he could command; +and also he had no vessels with which he and his people could go to the +North. At the same time he had news from the North, from which he could +see that there would be no safety for him in that quarter, unless he +went with a great force. For these reasons he determined to proceed +through the Uplands, although it was not so long a time since he had +been there in guest-quarters as the law prescribes, and as the kings +usually had the custom of observing in their visits. When he came to +the Uplands the lendermen and the richest bondes invited him to be their +guest, and thus lightened his expenses. + + + + +173. OF BJORN THE BAILIFF. + +There was a man called Bjorn who was of Gautland family, and a friend +and acquaintance of Queen Astrid, and in some way related to her. She +had given him farm-management and other offices in the upper part of +Hedemark. He had also the management of Osterdal district. Bjorn was +not in esteem with the king, nor liked by the bondes. It happened in a +hamlet which Bjorn ruled over, that many swine and cattle were missing: +therefore Bjorn ordered a Thing to be called to examine the matter. Such +pillage he attributed chiefly to the people settled in forest-farms far +from other men; by which he referred particularly to those who dwelt in +Osterdal, for that district was very thinly inhabited, and full of lakes +and forest-cleanings, and but in few places was any great neighbourhood +together. + + + + +174. OF RAUD'S SONS. + +There was a man called Raud who dwelt in Osterdal. His wife was called +Ragnhild; and his sons, Dag and Sigurd, were men of great talent. They +were present at the Thing, made a reply in defence of the Osterdal +people, and removed the accusation from them. Bjorn thought they were +too pert in their answer, and too fine in their clothes and weapons; and +therefore turned his speech against these brothers, and said it was not +unlikely they may have committed these thefts. They denied it, and +the Thing closed. Soon after King Olaf, with his retinue, came to +guest-quarters in the house of bailiff Bjorn. The matter which had been +before the Thing was then complained of to the king; and Bjorn said that +Raud's sons appeared to him to have committed these thefts. A messenger +was sent for Raud's sons; and when they appeared before the king he +said they had not at all the appearance of thieves, and acquitted them. +Thereupon they invited the king, with all his retinue, to a three days' +entertainment at their father's; and although Bjorn dissuaded him from +it, the king went. At Raud's there was a very excellent feast. The king +asked Raud what people he and his wife were. Raud answered that he was +originally a Swedish man, rich and of high birth; "but I ran away +with the wife I have ever since had, and she is a sister of King Hring +Dagson." The king then remembered both their families. He found that +father and sons were men of understanding, and asked them what they +could do. Sigurd said he could interpret dreams, and determine the time +of the day although no heavenly bodies could be seen. The king made +trial of his art, and found it was as Sigurd had said. Dag stated, as +his accomplishment, that he could see the misdeeds and vices of every +man who came under his eye, when he chose to observe him closely. The +king told him to declare what faults of disposition he saw in the king +himself. Dag mentioned a fault which the king was sensible he really +had. Then the king asked what fault the bailiff Bjorn had. Dag said +Bjorn was a thief; and told also where Bjorn had concealed on his farm +the bones, horns, and hides of the cattle he had stolen in autumn; "for +he committed," said Dag, "all the thefts in autumn which he accuses +other people of." Dag also told the king the places where the king +should go after leaving them. When the king departed from Raud's house +he was accompanied on the way, and presented with friendly gifts; and +Raud's sons remained with the king. The king went first to Bjorn's, +and found there that all Dag had told him was true. Upon which he +drove Bjorn out of the country; and he had to thank the queen that he +preserved life and limbs. + + + + +175. THORER'S DEATH. + +Thorer, a son of Olver of Eggja, a stepson of Kalf Arnason, and a +sister's son of Thorer Hund, was a remarkably handsome man, stout and +strong. He was at this time eighteen years old; had made a good marriage +in Hedemark, by which he got great wealth; and was besides one of the +most popular of men, and formed to be a chief. He invited the king and +his retinue home to him to a feast. The king accepted the invitation, +went to Thorer's, and was well received. The entertainment was very +splendid; they were excellently treated, and all that was set before the +guests was of the best that could be got. The king and his people talked +among themselves of the excellence of everything, and knew not what they +should admire the most,--whether Thorer's house outside, or the inside +furniture, the table service, or the liquors, or the host who gave them +such a feast. But Dag said little about it. The king used often to speak +to Dag, and ask him about various things; and he had proved the truth +of all that Dag had said, both of things that had happened or were to +happen, and therefore the king had much confidence in what he said. +The king called Dag to him to have a private conversation together, +and spoke to him about many things. Afterwards the king turned the +conversation on Thorer,--what an excellent man Thorer was, and what a +superb feast he had made for them. Dag answered but little to this, +but agreed it was true what the king said. The king then asked Dag +what disposition or faith he found in Thorer. Dag replied that he must +certainly consider Thorer of a good disposition, if he be really what +most people believe him to be. The king told him to answer direct what +he was asked, and said that it was his duty to do so. Dag replies, "Then +thou must allow me to determine the punishment if I disclose his faith." +The king replied that he would not submit his decision to another man, +but again ordered Dag to reply to what he asked. + +Dag replies, "The sovereign's order goes before all. I find this +disposition in Thorer, as in so many others, that he is too greedy of +money." + +The king: "Is he then a thief, or a robber?" + +"He is neither." + +"What is he then?" + +"To win money he is a traitor to his sovereign. He has taken money from +King Canute the Great for thy head." + +The king asks, "What proof hast thou of the truth of this?" + +Dag: "He has upon his right arm, above the elbow, a thick gold ring, +which King Canute gave him, and which he lets no man see." + +This ended their conference, and the king was very wroth. Now as the +king sat at table, and the guests had drunk a while with great mirth, +and Thorer went round to see the guests well served, the king ordered +Thorer to be called to him. He went up before the table, and laid his +hands upon it. + +The king asked, "How old a man art thou, Thorer?" + +He answered, "I am eighteen years old." + +"A stout man thou art for those years, and thou hast been fortunate +also." + +Then the king took his right hand, and felt it towards the elbow. + +Thorer said, "Take care, for I have a boil upon my arm." + +The king held his hand there, and felt there was something hard under +it. "Hast thou not heard," said he, "that I am a physician? Let me see +the boil." + +As Thorer saw it was of no use to conceal it longer, he took off the +ring and laid it on the table. + +The king asked if that was the gift of King Canute. + +Thorer replied that he could not deny it was. + +The king ordered him to be seized and laid in irons. Kalf came up and +entreated for mercy, and offered money for him, which also was seconded +by many; but the king was so wroth that nobody could get in a word. +He said Thorer should suffer the doom he had prepared for himself. +Thereupon he ordered Thorer to be killed. This deed was much detested +in the Uplands, and not less in the Throndhjem country, where many +of Thorer's connections were. Kalf took the death of this man much to +heart, for he had been his foster-son in childhood. + + + + +176. THE FALL OF GRJOTGARD. + +Grjotgard Olverson, Thorer's brother, and the eldest of the brothers, +was a very wealthy man, and had a great troop of people about him. He +lived also at this time in Hedemark. When he heard that Thorer had been +killed, he made an attack upon the places where the king's goods and +men were; but, between whiles, he kept himself in the forest and other +secret places. When the king heard of this disturbance, he had inquiry +made about Grjotgard's haunts, and found out that he had taken up +night-quarters not far from where the king was. King Olaf set out in the +night-time, came there about day-dawn, and placed a circle of men round +the house in which Grjotgard was sleeping. Grjotgard and his men, roused +by the stir of people and clash of arms, ran to their weapons, and +Grjotgard himself sprang to the front room. He asked who commanded the +troop; and it was answered him, "King Olaf was come there." Grjotgard +asked if the king would hear his words. The king, who stood at the door, +said that Grjotgard might speak what he pleased, and he would hear his +words. Grjotgard said, "I do not beg for mercy;" and at the same moment +he rushed out, having his shield over his head, and his drawn sword in +his hand. It was not so much light that he could see clearly. He struck +his sword at the king; but Arnbjorn ran in, and the thrust pierced him +under his armour into his stomach, and Arnbjorn got his deathwound. +Grjotgard was killed immediately, and most of his people with him. After +this event the king turned back to the south to Viken. + + + + +177. KING OLAF SENDS FOR HIS SHIPS AND GOODS. + +Now when the king came to Tunsberg he sent men out to all the districts, +and ordered the people out upon a levy. He had but a small provision +of shipping, and there were only bondes' vessels to be got. From the +districts in the near neighbourhood many people came to him, but few +from any distance; and it was soon found that the people had turned +away from the king. King Olaf sent people to Gautland for his ships, +and other goods and wares which had been left there in autumn; but the +progress of these men was very slow, for it was no better now than in +autumn to sail through the Sound, as King Canute had in spring fitted +out an army throughout the whole of the Danish dominions, and had no +fewer than 1200 vessels. + + + + +178. KING OLAF'S COUNSELS. + +The news came to Norway that King Canute had assembled an immense +armament through all Denmark, with which he intended to conquer Norway. +When this became known the people were less willing to join King Olaf, +and he got but little aid from the bondes. The king's men often spoke +about this among themselves. Sigvat tells of it thus:-- + + "Our men are few, our ships are small, + While England's king is strong in all; + But yet our king is not afraid-- + O! never be such king betrayed! + 'Tis evil counsel to deprive + Our king of countrymen to strive + To save their country, sword in hand: + Tis money that betrays our land." + +The king held meetings with the men of the court, and sometimes +House-things with all his people, and consulted with them what +they should, in their opinion, undertake. "We must not conceal from +ourselves," said he, "that Canute will come here this summer; and that +he has, as ye all know, a large force, and we have at present but few +men to oppose to him; and, as matters now stand, we cannot depend much +on the fidelity of the country people." The king's men replied to his +speech in various ways; but it is said that Sigvat the skald replied +thus, advising flight, as treachery, not cowardice, was the cause of +it:-- + + "We may well fly, when even our foe + Offers us money if we go. + I may be blamed, accused of fear; + But treachery, not faith, rules here. + Men may retire who long have shown + Their faith and love, and now alone + Retire because they cannot save-- + This is no treachery in the brave." + + + + +179. HAREK OF THJOTTA BURNS GRANKEL AND HIS MEN. + +The same spring (A.D. 1028) it happened in Halogaland that Harek of +Thjotta remembered how Asmund Grankelson had plundered and beaten his +house-servants. A cutter with twenty rowing-benches, which belonged +to Harek, was afloat in front of the house, with tent and deck, and +he spread the report that he intended to go south to Throndhjem. One +evening Harek went on board with his house-servants, about eighty men, +who rowed the whole night; and he came towards morning to Grankel's +house, and surrounded it with his men. They then made an attack on the +house, and set fire to it; and Grankel with his people were burnt, and +some were killed outside; and in all about thirty men lost their lives. +After this deed Harek returned home, and sat quietly in his farm. Asmund +was with King Olaf when he heard of it; therefore there was nobody in +Halogaland to sue Harek for mulct for this deed, nor did he offer any +satisfaction. + + + + +180. KING CANUTE'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. + +Canute the Great collected his forces, and went to Limfjord. When he was +ready with his equipment he sailed from thence with his whole fleet to +Norway; made all possible speed, and did not land to the eastward of +the Fjords, but crossed Folden, and landed in Agder, where he summoned a +Thing. The bondes came down from the upper country to hold a Thing with +Canute, who was everywhere in that country accepted as king. Then he +placed men over the districts, and took hostages from the bondes, and +no man opposed him. King Olaf was in Tunsberg when Canute's fleet sailed +across the mouth of the fjord. Canute sailed northwards along the coast, +and people came to him from all the districts, and promised him fealty. +He lay a while in Egersund, where Erling Skjalgson came to him with many +people, and King Canute and Erling renewed their league of friendship. +Among other things, Canute promised Erling the whole country between +Stad and Rygiarbit to rule over. Then King Canute proceeded; and, to be +short in our tale, did not stop until he came to Throndhjem, and landed +at Nidaros. In Throndhjem he called together a Thing for the eight +districts, at which King Canute was chosen king of all Norway. Thorer +Hund, who had come with King Canute from Denmark, was there, and also +Harek of Thjotta; and both were made sheriffs of the king, and took the +oath of fealty to him. King Canute gave them great fiefs, and also right +to the Lapland trade, and presented them besides with great gifts. He +enriched all men who were inclined to enter into friendly accord with +him both with fiefs and money, and gave them greater power than they had +before. + + + + +181. OF KING CANUTE. + +When King Canute had laid the whole of Norway trader his authority, +he called together a numerous Thing, both of his own people and of the +people of the country; and at it he made proclamation, that he made his +relation Earl Hakon the governor-in-chief of all the land in Norway +that he had conquered in this expedition. In like manner he led his son +Hardaknut to the high-seat at his side, gave him the title of king, and +therewith the whole Danish dominion. King Canute took as hostages from +all lendermen and great bondes in Norway either their sons, brothers, or +other near connections, or the men who were dearest to them and appeared +to him most suitable; by which he, as before observed, secured their +fidelity to him. As soon as Earl Hakon had attained this power in Norway +his brother-in-law, Einar Tambaskelfer, made an agreement with him, and +received back all the fiefs he formerly had possessed while the earls +ruled the country. King Canute gave Einar great gifts, and bound him by +great kindness to his interests; and promised that Einar should be the +greatest and most important man in Norway, among those who did not hold +the highest dignity, as long as he had power over the country. He added +to this, that Einar appeared to him the most suitable man to hold the +highest title of honour in Norway if no earls remained, and his son +Eindride also, on account of his high birth. Einar placed a great value +on these promises, and, in return, promised the greatest fidelity. +Einar's chiefship began anew with this. + + + + +182. OF THORARIN LOFTUNGA. + +There was a man by name Thorarin Loftunga, an Icelander by birth, and a +great skald, who had been much with the kings and other great chiefs. He +was now with King Canute the Great, and had composed a flock, or short +poem, in his praise. When the king heard of this he was very angry, and +ordered him to bring the next day a drapa, or long poem, by the time he +went to table; and if he failed to do so, said the king, "he shall +be hanged for his impudence in composing such a small poem about King +Canute." Thorarin then composed a stave as a refrain, which he inserted +in the poem, and also augmented it with several other strophes or +verses. This was the refrain:-- + + "Canute protects his realm, as Jove, + Guardian of Greece, his realm above." + +King Canute rewarded him for the poem with fifty marks of silver. The +poem was called the "Headransom" ("Hofudlausn"). Thorarin composed +another poem about King Canute, which was called the "Campaign Poem" +("Togdrapa"); and therein he tells King Canute's expedition when he +sailed from Denmark to Norway; and the following are strophes from one +of the parts of this poem:-- + + "Canute with all his men is out, + Under the heavens in war-ships stout,-- + 'Out on the sea, from Limfjord's green, + My good, my brave friend's fleet is seen. + The men of Adger on the coast + Tremble to see this mighty host: + The guilty tremble as they spy + The victor's fleet beneath the sky. + + "The sight surpasses far the tale, + As glacing in the sun they sail; + The king's ship glittering all with gold, + And splendour there not to be told. + Round Lister many a coal-black mast + Of Canute's fleet is gliding past. + And now through Eger sound they ride, + Upon the gently heaving tide. + + "And all the sound is covered o'er + With ships and sails, from shore to shore, + A mighty king, a mighty host, + Hiding the sea on Eger coast. + And peaceful men in haste now hie + Up Hiornagla-hill the fleet to spy, + As round the ness where Stad now lies + Each high-stemmed ship in splendour flies. + + "Nor seemed the voyage long, I trow, + To warrior on the high-built bow, + As o'er the ocean-mountains riding + The land and hill seem past him gliding. + With whistling breeze and flashing spray + Past Stein the gay ships dashed away; + In open sea, the southern gale + Filled every wide out-bellying sail. + + "Still on they fly, still northward go, + Till he who conquers every foe, + The mighty Canute, came to land, + Far in the north on Throndhjem's strand. + There this great king of Jutland race, + Whose deeds and gifts surpass in grace + All other kings, bestowed the throne + Of Norway on his sister's son. + + "To his own son he gave the crown + (This I must add to his renown) + Of Denmark--land of shadowy vales, + In which the white swan trims her sails." + +Here it is told that King Canute's expedition was grander than saga can +tell; but Thorarin sang thus because he would pride himself upon being +one of King Canute's retinue when he came to Norway. + + + + +183. OF THE MESSENGERS SENT BY KING OLAF FOR HIS SHIPS. + +The men whom King Olaf had sent eastwards to Gautland after his ships +took with them the vessels they thought the best, and burnt the rest. +The ship-apparel and other goods belonging to the king and his men they +also took with them; and when they heard that King Canute had gone to +Norway they sailed west through the Sound, and then north to Viken to +King Olaf, to whom they delivered his ships. He was then at Tunsberg. +When King Olaf learnt that King Canute was sailing north along the +coast, King Olaf steered with his fleet into Oslo fjord, and into a +branch of it called Drafn, where he lay quiet until King Canute's fleet +had sailed southwards again. On this expedition which King Canute made +from the North along the coast, he held a Thing in each district, and in +every Thing the country was bound by oath in fealty to him, and hostages +were given him. He went eastward across the mouths of the fjords to +Sarpsborg, and held a Thing there, and, as elsewhere, the country was +surrendered to him under oath of fidelity. King Canute then returned +south to Denmark, after having conquered Norway without stroke of sword, +and he ruled now over three kingdoms. So says Halvard Hareksblese when +he sang of King Canute:-- + + "The warrior-king, whose blood-stain'd shield + Has shone on many a hard-fought field, + England and Denmark now has won, + And o'er three kingdoms rules alone. + Peace now he gives us fast and sure, + Since Norway too is made secure + By him who oft, in days of yore, + Glutted the hawk and wolf with gore." + + + + +184. OF KING OLAF IN HIS PROCEEDINGS. + +King Olaf sailed with his ships out to Tunsberg, as soon as he heard +that King Canute had turned back, and was gone south to Denmark. He then +made himself ready with the men who liked to follow him, and had then +thirteen ships. Afterwards he sailed out along Viken; but got little +money, and few men, as those only followed him who dwelt in islands, or +on outlying points of land. The king landed in such places, but got only +the money and men that fell in his way; and he soon perceived that the +country had abandoned him. He proceeded on according to the winds. This +was in the beginning of winter (A.D. 1029). The wind turned very late in +the season in their favour, so that they lay long in the Seley islands, +where they heard the news from the North, through merchants, who told +the king that Erling Skjalgson had collected a great force in Jadar, and +that his ship lay fully rigged outside of the land, together with many +other vessels belonging to the bondes; namely, skiffs, fisher-yachts, +and great row-boats. Then the king sailed with his fleet from the East, +and lay a while in Egersund. Both parties heard of each other now, and +Erling assembled all the men he could. + + + + +185. OF KING OLAF'S VOYAGE. + +On Thomasmas, before Yule (Dec. 21), the king left the harbour as soon +as day appeared. With a good but rather strong gale he sailed northwards +past Jadar. The weather was rainy, with dark flying clouds in the sky. +The spies went immediately in through the Jadar country when the king +sailed past it; and as soon as Erling heard that the king was sailing +past from the East, he let the war-horn call all the people on board, +and the whole force hastened to the ships, and prepared for battle. The +king's ship passed by Jadar at a great rate; but thereafter turned +in towards the land, intending to run up the fjords to gather men and +money. Erling Skjalgson perceived this, and sailed after him with a +great force and many ships. Swiftly their vessels flew, for they had +nothing on board but men and arms: but Erling's ship went much faster +than the others; therefore he took in a reef in the sails, and waited +for the other vessels. Then the king saw that Erling with his fleet +gained upon him fast; for the king's ships were heavily laden, and were +besides water-soaked, having been in the sea the whole summer, autumn, +and winter, up to this time. He saw also that there would be a great +want of men, if he should go against the whole of Erling's fleet when it +was assembled. He hailed from ship to ship the orders to let the sails +gently sink, and to unship the booms and outriggers, which was done. +When Erling saw this he calls out to his people, and orders them to get +on more sail. "Ye see," says he, "that their sails are diminishing, and +they are getting fast away from our sight." He took the reef out of the +sails of his ship, and outsailed all the others immediately; for Erling +was very eager in his pursuit of King Olaf. + + + + +186. OF ERLING SKJALGSON'S FALL. + +King Olaf then steered in towards the Bokn fjord, by which the ships +came out of sight of each other. Thereafter the king ordered his men +to strike the sails, and row forwards through a narrow sound that was +there, and all the ships lay collected within a rocky point. Then all +the king's men put on their weapons. Erling sailed in through the sound, +and observed nothing until the whole fleet was before him, and he saw +the king's men rowing towards him with all their ships at once. Erling +and his crew let fall the sails, and seized their weapons; but the +king's fleet surrounded his ship on all sides. Then the fight began, and +it was of the sharpest; but soon the greatest loss was among Erling's +men. Erling stood on the quarter-deck of his ship. He had a helmet on +his head, a shield before him, and a sword in his hand. Sigvat the skald +had remained behind in Viken, and heard the tidings. He was a great +friend of Erling, had received presents from him, and had been at his +house. Sigvat composed a poem upon Erling's fall, in which there is the +following verse:-- + + "Erling has set his ship on sea-- + Against the king away is he: + He who oft lets the eagle stain + Her yellow feet in blood of slain. + His little war-ship side by side + With the king's fleet, the fray will bide. + Now sword to sword the fight is raging, + + Which Erling with the king is waging." + +Then Erling's men began to fall, and at the same moment his ship was +carried by boarding, and every man of his died in his place. The king +himself was amongst the foremost in the fray. So says Sigvat:-- + + "The king's men hewed with hasty sword,-- + The king urged on the ship to board,-- + All o'er the decks the wounded lay: + Right fierce and bloody was that fray. + In Tungur sound, on Jadar shore, + The decks were slippery with red gore; + Warm blood was dropping in the sound, + Where the king's sword was gleaming round." + +So entirely had Erling's men fallen, that not a man remained standing in +his ship but himself alone; for there was none who asked for quarter, +or none who got it if he did ask. There was no opening for flight, for +there lay ships all around Erling's ship on every side, and it is told +for certain that no man attempted to fly; and Sigvat says:-- + + "All Erling's men fell in the fray, + Off Bokn fjord, this hard-fought day. + The brave king boarded, onward cheered, + And north of Tungur the deck was cleared. + Erling alone, the brave, the stout, + Cut off from all, yet still held out; + High on the stern--a sight to see-- + In his lone ship alone stood he." + +Then Erling was attacked both from the forecastle and from the other +ships. There was a large space upon the poop which stood high above the +other ships, and which nobody could reach but by arrow-shot, or partly +with the thrust of spear, but which he always struck from him by +parrying. Erling defended himself so manfully, that no example is known +of one man having sustained the attack of so many men so long. Yet he +never tried to get away, nor asked for quarter. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Skjalg's brave son no mercy craves,-- + The battle's fury still he braves; + The spear-storm, through the air sharp singing, + Against his shield was ever ringing. + So Erling stood; but fate had willed + His life off Bokn should be spilled. + No braver man has, since his day, + Past Bokn fjord ta'en his way." + +When Olaf went back a little upon the fore-deck he saw Erling's +behaviour; and the king accosted him thus:--"Thou hast turned against me +to-day, Erling." + +He replies, "The eagle turns his claws in defence when torn asunder." +Sigvat the skald tells thus of these words of Erling:-- + + "Erling, our best defence of old,-- + Erling the brave, the brisk, the bold,-- + Stood to his arms, gaily crying, + 'Eagles should show their claws, though dying:' + The very words which once before + To Olaf he had said on shore, + At Utstein when they both prepared + To meet the foe, and danger shared." + +Then said the king, "Wilt thou enter into my service, Erling?" + +"That I will," said he; took the helmet off his head, laid down his +sword and shield, and went forward to the forecastle deck. + +The king struck him in the chin with the sharp point of his battle-axe, +and said, "I shall mark thee as a traitor to thy sovereign." + +Then Aslak Fitiaskalle rose up, and struck Erling in the head with +an axe, so that it stood fast in his brain, and was instantly his +death-wound. Thus Erling lost his life. + +The king said to Aslak, "May all ill luck attend thee for that stroke; +for thou hast struck Norway out of my hands." + +Aslak replied, "It is bad enough if that stroke displease thee, for I +thought it was striking Norway into thy hands; and if I have given thee +offence, sire, by this stroke, and have thy ill-will for it, it will go +badly with me, for I will get so many men's ill-will and enmity for this +deed that I would need all your protection and favour." + +The king replied that he should have it. + +Thereafter the king ordered every man to return to his ship, and to get +ready to depart as fast as he could. "We will not plunder the slain," +says he, "and each man may keep what he has taken." The men returned +to the ships and prepared themselves for the departure as quickly as +possible; and scarcely was this done before the vessels of the bondes +ran in from the south into the sound. It went with the bonde-army as is +often seen, that the men, although many in numbers, know not what to +do when they have experienced a check, have lost their chief, and +are without leaders. None of Erling's sons were there, and the bondes +therefore made no attack, and the king sailed on his way northwards. But +the bondes took Erling's corpse, adorned it, and carried it with them +home to Sole, and also the bodies of all who had fallen. There was great +lamentation over Erling; and it has been a common observation among +people, that Erling Skjalgson was the greatest and worthiest man in +Norway of those who had no high title. Sigvat made these verses upon the +occasion:-- + + "Thus Erling fell--and such a gain + To buy with such a loss was vain; + For better man than he ne'er died, + And the king's gain was small beside. + In truth no man I ever knew + Was, in all ways, so firm and true; + Free from servility and pride, + Honoured by all, yet thus he died." + +Sigvat also says that Aslak had very unthinkingly committed this murder +of his own kinsman:-- + + "Norway's brave defender's dead! + Aslak has heaped on his own head + The guilt of murdering his own kin: + May few be guilty of such sin! + His kinsman's murder on him lies-- + Our forefathers, in sayings wise, + Have said, what is unknown to few, + 'Kinsmen to kinsmen should be true.'" + + + + +187. OF THE INSURRECTION OF AGDER DISTRICT. + +Of Erling's sons some at that time were north in Throndhjem, some in +Hordaland, and some in the Fjord district, for the purpose of collecting +men. When Erling's death was reported, the news came also that there was +a levy raising in Agder, Hordaland, and Rogaland. Forces were raised and +a great army assembled, under Erling's sons, to pursue King Olaf. + +When King Olaf retired from the battle with Erling he went northward +through the sounds, and it was late in the day. It is related that the +king then made the following verses:-- + + "This night, with battle sounds wild ringing, + Small joy to the fair youth is bringing + Who sits in Jadar, little dreaming + O'er what this night the raven's screaming. + The far-descended Erling's life + Too soon has fallen; but, in the strife + He met the luck they well deserve + Who from their faith and fealty swerve." + +Afterwards the king sailed with his fleet along the land northwards, and +got certain tidings of the bondes assembling an army. There were many +chiefs and lendermen at this time with King Olaf, and all the sons of +Arne. Of this Bjarne Gullbrarskald speaks in the poem he composed about +Kalf Arnason:-- + + "Kalf! thou hast fought at Bokn well; + Of thy brave doings all men tell: + When Harald's son his men urged on + To the hard strife, thy courage shone. + Thou soon hadst made a good Yule feast + For greedy wolf there in the East: + Where stone and spear were flying round, + There thou wast still the foremost found. + The people suffered in the strife + When noble Erling lost his life, + And north of Utstein many a speck + Of blood lay black upon the deck. + The king, 'tis clear, has been deceived, + By treason of his land bereaved; + And Agder now, whose force is great. + Will rule o'er all parts of the state." + + +King Olaf continued his voyage until he came north of Stad, and brought +up at the Herey Isles. Here he heard the news that Earl Hakon had a +great war-force in Throndhjem, and thereupon the king held a council +with his people. Kalf Arnason urged much to advance to Throndhjem, and +fight Earl Hakon, notwithstanding the difference of numbers. Many others +supported this advice, but others dissuaded from it, and the matter was +left to the king's judgment. + + + + +188. DEATH OF ASLAK FITIASKALLE. + +Afterwards the king went into Steinavag, and remained there all night; +but Aslak Fitiaskalle ran into Borgund, where he remained the night, +and where Vigleik Arnason was before him. In the morning, when Aslak was +about returning on board, Vigleik assaulted him, and sought to avenge +Erling's murder. Aslak fell there. Some of the king's court-men, who had +been home all summer, joined the king here. They came from Frekeysund, +and brought the king tidings that Earl Hakon, and many lendermen with +him, had come in the morning to Frekeysund with a large force; "and they +will end thy days, sire, if they have strength enough." Now the king +sent his men up to a hill that was near; and when they came to the top, +and looked northwards to Bjarney Island, they perceived that a great +armament of many ships was coming from the north, and they hastened back +to the king with this intelligence. The king, who was lying there with +only twelve ships, ordered the war-horn to sound, the tents to be taken +down on his ships, and they took to their oars. When they were quite +ready, and were leaving the harbour, the bonde army sailed north around +Thiotande with twenty-five ships. The king then steered inside of Nyrfe +Island, and inside of Hundsver. Now when King Olaf came right abreast of +Borgund, the ship which Aslak had steered came out to meet him, and when +they found the king they told him the tidings,--that Vigleik Arnason had +killed Aslak Fitiaskalle, because he had killed Erling Skjalgson. The +king took this news very angrily, but could not delay his voyage on +account of the enemy and he sailed in by Vegsund and Skor. There some +of his people left him; among others, Kalf Arnason, with many other +lendermen and ship commanders, who all went to meet Earl Hakon. King +Olaf, however, proceeded on his way without stopping until he came to +Todar fjord, where he brought up at Valdal, and landed from his ship. He +had then five ships with him, which he drew up upon the shore, and took +care of their sails and materials. Then he set up his land-tent upon a +point of land called Sult, where there are pretty flat fields, and set +up a cross near to the point of land. A bonde, by name Bruse, who dwelt +there in More, and was chief over the valley, came down to King Olaf, +together with many other bondes, and received him well, and according +to his dignity; and he was friendly, and pleased with their reception of +him. Then the king asked if there was a passable road up in the country +from the valley to Lesjar; and Bruse replied, that there was an urd in +the valley called Skerfsurd not passable for man or beast. King Olaf +answers, "That we must try, bonde, and it will go as God pleases. Come +here in the morning with your yoke, and come yourself with it, and let +us then see. When we come to the sloping precipice, what chance there +may be, and if we cannot devise some means of coming over it with horses +and people." + + + + +189. CLEARING OF THE URD. + +Now when day broke the bondes drove down with their yokes, as the king +had told them. The clothes and weapons were packed upon horses, but the +king and all the people went on foot. He went thus until he came to a +place called Krosbrekka, and when he came up upon the hill he rested +himself, sat down there a while, looked down over the fjord, and said, +"A difficult expedition ye have thrown upon my hands, ye lendermen, who +have now changed your fealty, although but a little while ago ye were my +friends and faithful to me." There are now two crosses erected upon +the bank on which the king sat. Then the king mounted a horse, and rode +without stopping up the valley, until he came to the precipice. Then +the king asked Bruse if there was no summer hut of cattle-herds in the +neighbourhood, where they could remain. He said there was. The king +ordered his land-tent to be set up, and remained there all night. In the +morning the king ordered them to drive to the urd, and try if they could +get across it with the waggons. They drove there, and the king remained +in the meantime in his tent. Towards evening the king's court-men and +the bondes came back, and told how they had had a very fatiguing labour, +without making any progress, and that there never could be a road made +that they could get across: so they continued there the second night, +during which, for the whole night, the king was occupied in prayer. As +soon as he observed day dawning he ordered his men to drive again to the +urd, and try once more if they could get across it with the waggons; but +they went very unwillingly, saying nothing could be gained by it. When +they were gone the man who had charge of the king's kitchen came, +and said there were only two carcasses of young cattle remaining of +provision: "Although you, sire, have 400 men, and there are 100 bondes +besides." Then the king ordered that he should set all the kettles on +the fire, and put a little bit of meat in each kettle, which was done. +Then the king went there, and made the sign of the cross over each +kettle, and told them to make ready the meat. The king then went to the +urd called Skerfsurd, where a road should be cleared. When the king came +all his people were sitting down, quite worn out with the hard labour. +Bruse said, "I told you, sire, but you would not believe me, that we +could make nothing of this urd." The king laid aside his cloak, and told +them to go to work once more at the urd. They did so, and now twenty men +could handle stones which before 100 men could not move from the place; +and thus before midday the road was cleared so well that it was as +passable for men, and for horses with packs, as a road in the plain +fields. The king, after this, went down again to where the meat was, +which place is called Olaf's Rock. Near the rock is a spring, at which +Olaf washed himself; and therefore at the present day, when the cattle +in the valley are sick, their illness is made better by their drinking +at this well. Thereafter the king sat down to table with all the others; +and when he was satisfied he asked if there was any other sheeling on +the other side of the urd, and near the mountains, where they could pass +the night. Bruse said there was such a sheeling, called Groningar; but +that nobody could pass the night there on account of witchcraft, and +evil beings who were in the sheeling. Then the king said they must get +ready for their journey, as he wanted to be at the sheeling for the +night. Then came the kitchen-master to the king, and tells that there +was come an extraordinary supply of provisions, and he did not know +where it had come from, or how. The king thanked God for this blessing, +and gave the bondes who drove down again to their valley some rations of +food, but remained himself all night in the sheeling. In the middle +of the night, while the people were asleep, there was heard in the +cattle-fold a dreadful cry, and these words: "Now Olaf's prayers +are burning me," says the spirit, "so that I can no longer be in my +habitation; now must I fly, and never more come to this fold." When the +king's people awoke in the morning the king proceeded to the mountains, +and said to Bruse, "Here shall now a farm be settled, and the bonde who +dwells here shall never want what is needful for the support of life; +and never shall his crop be destroyed by frost, although the crops be +frozen on the farms both above it and below it." Then the king proceeded +over the mountains, and came to a farm called Einby, where he remained +for the night. King Olaf had then been fifteen years king of Norway +(A.D. 1015-1029), including the year both he and Svein were in the +country, and this year we have now been telling about. It was, namely, +a little past Yule when the king left his ships and took to the land, as +before related. Of this portion of his reign the priest Are Thorgilson +the Wise was the first who wrote; and he was both faithful in his story, +of a good memory, and so old a man that he could remember the men, and +had heard their accounts, who were so old that through their age they +could remember these circumstances as he himself wrote them in his +books, and he named the men from whom he received his information. +Otherwise it is generally said that King Olaf had been fifteen years +king of Norway when he fell; but they who say so reckon to Earl Svein's +government, the last year he was in the country, for King Olaf lived +fifteen years afterwards as king. + + + + +190. OLAF'S PROPHECIES. + +When the king had been one night at Lesjar he proceeded on his journey +with his men, day by day; first into Gudbrandsdal, and from thence out +to Redemark. Now it was seen who had been his friends, for they followed +him; but those who had served him with less fidelity separated from him, +and some showed him even indifference, or even full hostility, which +afterwards was apparent; and also it could be seen clearly in many +Upland people that they took very ill his putting Thorer to death, as +before related. King Olaf gave leave to return home to many of his +men who had farms and children to take care of; for it seemed to them +uncertain what safety there might be for the families and property of +those who left the country with him. Then the king explained to his +friends his intention of leaving the country, and going first east into +Svithjod, and there taking his determination as to where he should go; +but he let his friends know his intention to return to the country, and +regain his kingdoms, if God should grant him longer life; and he did not +conceal his expectation that the people of Norway would again return +to their fealty to him. "I think," says he, "that Earl Hakon will have +Norway but a short time under his power, which many will not think an +extraordinary expectation, as Earl Hakon has had but little luck against +me; but probably few people will trust to my prophecy, that Canute the +Great will in the course of a few years die, and his kingdoms vanish; +and there will he no risings in favour of his race." When the king had +ended his speech, his men prepared themselves for their departure. The +king, with the troop that followed him, turned east to Eid forest. And +there were along with him the Queen Astrid; their daughter Ulfhild; +Magnus, King Olaf's son; Ragnvald Brusason; the three sons of Arne, +Thorberg, Fin, and Arne, with many lendermen; and the king's attendants +consisted of many chosen men. Bjorn the marshal got leave to go home, +and he went to his farm, and many others of the king's friends returned +home with his permission to their farms. The king begged them to let him +know the events which might happen in the country, and which it might be +important for him to know; and now the king proceeded on his way. + + + + +191. KING OLAF PROCEEDS TO RUSSIA. + +It is to be related of King Olaf's journey, that he went first from +Norway eastward through Eid forest to Vermaland, then to Vatnsby, and +through the forests in which there are roads, until he came out in +Nerike district. There dwelt a rich and powerful man in that part called +Sigtryg, who had a son, Ivar, who afterwards became a distinguished +person. Olaf stayed with Sigtryg all spring (A.D. 1029); and when summer +came he made ready for a journey, procured a ship for himself, and +without stopping went on to Russia to King Jarisleif and his queen +Ingegerd; but his own queen Astrid, and their daughter Ulfhild, remained +behind in Svithjod, and the king took his son Magnus eastward with him. +King Jarisleif received King Olaf in the kindest manner, and made him +the offer to remain with him, and to have so much land as was necessary +for defraying the expense of the entertainment of his followers. King +Olaf accepted this offer thankfully, and remained there. It is related +that King Olaf was distinguished all his life for pious habits, and +zeal in his prayers to God. But afterwards, when he saw his own power +diminished, and that of his adversaries augmented, he turned all his +mind to God's service; for he was not distracted by other thoughts, or +by the labour he formerly had upon his hands, for during all the time he +sat upon the throne he was endeavouring to promote what was most +useful: and first to free and protect the country from foreign chiefs' +oppressions, then to convert the people to the right faith; and also +to establish law and the rights of the country, which he did by letting +justice have its way, and punishing evil-doers. + + + + +192. CAUSES OF THE REVOLT AGAINST KING OLAF. + +It had been an old custom in Norway that the sons of lendermen, or other +great men, went out in war-ships to gather property, and they marauded +both in the country and out of the country. But after King Olaf came +to the sovereignty he protected the country, so that he abolished all +plundering there; and even if they were the sons of powerful men who +committed any depredation, or did what the king considered against law, +he did not spare them at all, but they must suffer in life or limbs; and +no man's entreaties, and no offer of money-penalties, could help them. +So says Sigvat:-- + + "They who on viking cruises drove + With gifts of red gold often strove + To buy their safety--but our chief + Had no compassion for the thief. + He made the bravest lose his head + Who robbed at sea, and pirates led; + And his just sword gave peace to all, + Sparing no robber, great or small." + +And he also says:-- + + "Great king! whose sword on many a field + Food to the wandering wolf did yield, + And then the thief and pirate band + Swept wholly off by sea and land-- + Good king! who for the people's sake + Set hands and feet upon a stake, + When plunderers of great name and bold + Harried the country as of old. + The country's guardian showed his might + When oft he made his just sword bite + Through many a viking's neck and hair, + And never would the guilty spare. + King Magnus' father, I must say, + Did many a good deed in his day. + Olaf the Thick was stern and stout, + Much good his victories brought out." + +He punished great and small with equal severity, which appeared to +the chief people of the country too severe; and animosity rose to the +highest when they lost relatives by the king's just sentence, although +they were in reality guilty. This was the origin of the hostility of the +great men of the country to King Olaf, that they could not bear his +just judgments. He again would rather renounce his dignity than omit +righteous judgment. The accusation against him, of being stingy with his +money, was not just, for he was a most generous man towards his friends; +but that alone was the cause of the discontent raised against him, that +he appeared hard and severe in his retributions. Besides, King Canute +offered great sums of money, and the great chiefs were corrupted by +this, and by his offering them greater dignities than they had possessed +before. The inclinations of the people, also, were all in favour of +Earl Hakon, who was much beloved by the country folks when he ruled the +country before. + + + + +193. OF JOKUL BARDSON. + +Earl Hakon had sailed with his fleet from Throndhjem, and gone south to +More against King Olaf, as before related. Now when the king bore away, +and ran into the fjord, the earl followed him thither; and then Kalf +Arnason came to meet him, with many of the men who had deserted King +Olaf. Kalf was well received. The earl steered in through Todar fjord to +Valdal, where the king had laid up his ships on the strand. He took +the ships which belonged to the king, had them put upon the water and +rigged, and cast lots, and put commanders in charge of them according to +the lots. There was a man called Jokul, who was an Icelander, a son of +Bard Jokulson of Vatnsdal; the lot fell upon Jokul to command the Bison, +which King Olaf himself had commanded. Jokul made these verses upon +it:-- + + "Mine is the lot to take the helm + Which Olaf owned, who owned the realm; + From Sult King Olaf's ship to steer + (Ill luck I dread on his reindeer). + My girl will never hear the tidings, + Till o'er the wild wave I come riding + In Olaf's ship, who loved his gold, + And lost his ships with wealth untold." + +We may here shortly tell what happened a long time after.--that this +Jokul fell in with King Olaf's men in the island of Gotland, and +the king ordered him to be taken out to be beheaded. A willow twig +accordingly was plaited in with his hair, and a man held him fast by it. +Jokul sat down upon a bank, and a man swung the axe to execute him; but +Jokul hearing the sound, raised his head, and the blow struck him in +the head, and made a dreadful wound. As the king saw it would be his +death-wound, he ordered them to let him lie with it. Jokul raised +himself up, and he sang:-- + + "My hard fate I mourn,-- + Alas! my wounds burn, + My red wounds are gaping, + My life-blood escaping. + My wounds burn sore; + But I suffer still more + From the king's angry word, + Than his sharp-biting sword." + + + + +194. OF KALF ARNASON. + +Kalf Arnason went with Earl Hakon north to Throndhjem, and the earl +invited him to enter into his service. Kalf said he would first go home +to his farm at Eggja, and afterwards make his determination; and Kalf +did so. When he came home he found his wife Sigrid much irritated; and +she reckoned up all the sorrow inflicted on her, as she insisted, by +King Olaf. First, he had ordered her first husband Olver to be killed. +"And now since," says she, "my two sons; and thou thyself, Kalf, wert +present when they were cut off, and which I little expected from thee." +Kalf says, it was much against his will that Thorer was killed. "I +offered money-penalty for him," says he; "and when Grjotgard was killed +I lost my brother Arnbjorn at the same time." She replies, "It is well +thou hast suffered this from the king; for thou mayest perhaps avenge +him, although thou wilt not avenge my injuries. Thou sawest how thy +foster-son Thorer was killed, with all the regard of the king for thee." +She frequently brought out such vexatious speeches to Kalf, to which he +often answered angrily; but yet he allowed himself to be persuaded by +her to enter into the earl's service, on condition of renewing his fiefs +to him. Sigrid sent word to the earl how far she had brought the matter +with Kalf. As soon as the earl heard of it, he sent a message to +Kalf that he should come to the town to him. Kalf did not decline the +invitation, but came directly to Nidaros, and waited on the earl, who +received him kindly. In their conversation it was fully agreed upon that +Kalf should go into the earl's service, and should receive great fiefs. +After this Kalf returned home, and had the greater part of the interior +of the Throndhjem country under him. As soon as it was spring Kalf +rigged out a ship that belonged to him, and when she was ready he put +to sea, and sailed west to England; for he had heard that in spring King +Canute was to sail from Denmark to England, and that King Canute had +given Harald, a son of Thorkel the High, an earldom in Denmark. Kalf +Arnason went to King Canute as soon as he arrived in England. Bjarne +Gullbrarskald tells of this:-- + + "King Olaf eastward o'er the sea + To Russia's monarch had to flee; + Our Harald's brother ploughed the main, + And furrowed white its dark-blue plain. + Whilst thou--the truth I still will say, + Nor fear nor favour can me sway-- + Thou to King Canute hastened fast, + As soon as Olaf's luck was past." + +Now when Kalf came to King Canute the king received him particularly +well, and had many conversations with him. Among other things, King +Canute, in a conference, asked Kalf to bind himself to raise a warfare +against King Olaf, if ever he should return to the country. "And for +which," says the king, "I will give thee the earldom, and place thee +to rule over Norway; and my relation Hakon shall come to me, which will +suit him better, for he is so honourable and trustworthy that I believe +he would not even throw a spear against the person of King Olaf if he +came back to the country." Kalf lent his ear to what the king proposed, +for he had a great desire to attain this high dignity; and this +conclusion was settled upon between King Canute and Kalf. Kalf then +prepared to return home, and on his departure he received splendid +presents from King Canute. Bjarne the skald tells of these +circumstances:-- + + "Sprung from old earls!--to England's lord + Thou owest many a thankful word + For many a gift: if all be true, + Thy interest has been kept in view; + For when thy course was bent for home, + (Although that luck is not yet come,) + 'That Norway should be thine,' 'tis said, + The London king a promise made." + +Kalf thereafter returned to Norway, and came to his farm. + + + + +195. OF THE DEATH OF EARL HAKON. + +Earl Hakon left the country this summer (A.D. 1029), and went to +England, and when he came there was well received by the king. The earl +had a bride in England, and he travelled to conclude this marriage, and +as he intended holding his wedding in Norway, he came to procure those +things for it in England which it was difficult to get in Norway. In +autumn he made ready for his return, but it was somewhat late before he +was clear for sea; but at last he set out. Of his voyage all that can +be told is, that the vessel was lost, and not a man escaped. Some relate +that the vessel was seen north of Caithness in the evening in a heavy +storm, and the wind blowing out of Pentland Firth. They who believe this +report say the vessel drove out among the breakers of the ocean; but +with certainty people knew only that Earl Hakon was missing in the +ocean, and nothing belonging to the ship ever came to land. The same +autumn some merchants came to Norway, who told the tidings that were +going through the country of Earl Hakon being missing; and all men +knew that he neither came to Norway nor to England that autumn, so that +Norway that winter was without a head. + + + + +196. OF BJORN THE MARSHAL. + +Bjorn the marshal sat at home on his farm after his parting from King +Olaf. Bjorn was a celebrated man; therefore it was soon reported far and +wide that he had set himself down in quietness. Earl Hakon and the other +chiefs of the country heard this also, and sent persons with a verbal +message to Bjorn. When the messengers arrived Bjorn received them well; +and afterwards Bjorn called them to him to a conference, and asked their +business. He who was their foreman presented to Bjorn the salutations of +King Canute, Earl Hakon, and of several chiefs. "King Canute," says he, +"has heard much of thee, and that thou hast been long a follower of King +Olaf the Thick, and hast been a great enemy of King Canute; and this +he thinks not right, for he will be thy friend, and the friend of all +worthy men, if thou wilt turn from thy friendship to King Olaf and +become his enemy. And the only thing now thou canst do is to seek +friendship and protection there where it is most readily to be found, +and which all men in this northern world think it most honourable to be +favoured with. Ye who have followed Olaf the Thick should consider how +he is now separated from you; and that now ye have no aid against King +Canute and his men, whose lands ye plundered last summer, and whose +friends ye murdered. Therefore ye ought to accept, with thanks, the +friendship which the king offers you; and it would become you better if +you offered money even in mulct to obtain it." + +When he had ended his speech Bjorn replies, "I wish now to sit quietly +at home, and not to enter into the service of any chief." + +The messenger answers, "Such men as thou art are just the right men to +serve the king; and now I can tell thee there are just two things for +thee to choose,--either to depart in peace from thy property, and wander +about as thy comrade Olaf is doing; or, which is evidently better, to +accept King Canute's and Earl Hakon's friendship, become their man, +and take the oaths of fealty to them. Receive now thy reward." And he +displayed to him a large bag full of English money. + +Bjorn was a man fond of money, and self-interested; and when he saw +the silver he was silent, and reflected with himself what resolution he +should take. It seemed to him much to abandon his property, as he did +not think it probable that King Olaf would ever have a rising in his +favour in Norway. Now when the messenger saw that Bjorn's inclinations +were turned towards the money, he threw down two thick gold rings, +and said, "Take the money at once, Bjorn, and swear the oaths to King +Canute; for I can promise thee that this money is but a trifle, compared +to what thou wilt receive if thou followest King Canute." + +By the heap of money, the fine promises, and the great presents, he was +led by covetousness, took the money, went into King Canute's service, +and gave the oaths of fealty to King Canute and Earl Hakon, and then the +messengers departed. + + + + +197. BJORN THE MARSHAL'S JOURNEY. + +When Bjorn heard the tidings that Earl Hakon was missing he soon altered +his mind, and was much vexed with himself for having been a traitor in +his fidelity to King Olaf. He thought, now, that he was freed from the +oath by which he had bound himself to Earl Hakon. It seemed to Bjorn +that now there was some hope that King Olaf might again come to the +throne of Norway if he came back, as the country was without a head. +Bjorn therefore immediately made himself ready to travel, and took some +men with him. He then set out on his journey, travelling night and day, +on horseback when he could, and by ship when he found occasion; and +never halted until he came, after Yule, east to Russia to King Olaf, who +was very glad to see Bjorn. Then the king inquired much about the +news from Norway. Bjorn tells him that Earl Hakon was missing, and the +kingdom left without a head. At this news the men who had followed +King Olaf were very glad,--all who had left property, connections, and +friends in Norway; and the longing for home was awakened in them. Bjorn +told King Olaf much news from Norway, and very anxious the king was to +know, and asked much how his friends had kept their fidelity towards +him. Bjorn answered, it had gone differently with different people. + +Then Bjorn stood up, fell at the king's feet, held his foot, and said, +"All is in your power, sire, and in God's! I have taken money from King +Canute's men, and sworn them the oaths of fealty; but now will I follow +thee, and not part from thee so long as we both live." + +The king replies, "Stand up, Bjorn' thou shalt be reconciled with me; +but reconcile thy perjury with God. I can see that but few men in Norway +have held fast by their fealty, when such men as thou art could be false +to me. But true it is also that people sit in great danger when I am +distant, and they are exposed to the wrath of my enemies." + +Bjorn then reckoned up those who had principally bound themselves to +rise in hostility against the king and his men; and named, among others, +Erling's son in Jadar and their connections, Einar Tambaskelfer, Kalf +Arnason, Thorer Hund, and Harek of Thjotta. + + + + +198. OF KING OLAF. + +After King Olaf came to Russia he was very thoughtful, and weighed what +counsel he now should follow. King Jarisleif and Queen Ingegerd offered +him to remain with them, and receive a kingdom called Vulgaria, which is +a part of Russia, and in which land the people were still heathen. King +Olaf thought over this offer; but when he proposed it to his men they +dissuaded him from settling himself there, and urged the king to betake +himself to Norway to his own kingdom: but the king himself had resolved +almost in his own mind to lay down his royal dignity, to go out into the +world to Jerusalem, or other holy places, and to enter into some order +of monks. But yet the thought lay deep in his soul to recover again, if +there should be any opportunity for him, his kingdom in Norway. When +he thought over this, it recurred to his mind how all things had gone +prosperously with him during the first ten years of his reign, and how +afterwards every thing he undertook became heavy, difficult, and hard; +and that he had been unlucky, on all occasions in which he had tried +his luck. On this account he doubted if it would be prudent to depend so +much upon his luck, as to go with so little strength into the hands of +his enemies, seeing that all the people of the country had taken part +with them to oppose King Olaf. Such cares he had often on his mind, and +he left his cause to God, praying that He would do what to Him seemed +best. These thoughts he turned over in his mind, and knew not what to +resolve upon; for he saw how evidently dangerous that was which his +inclination was most bent upon. + + + + +199. OF KING OLAF'S DREAM. + +One night the king lay awake in his bed, thinking with great anxiety +about his determination, and at last, being tired of thinking, sleep +came over him towards morning; but his sleep was so light that he +thought he was awake, and could see all that was doing in the house. +Then he saw a great and superb man, in splendid clothes, standing by his +bed; and it came into the king's mind that this was King Olaf Trygvason +who had come to him. This man said to him, "Thou are very sick of +thinking about thy future resolutions; and it appears to me wonderful +that these thoughts should be so tumultuous in thy soul that thou +shouldst even think of laying down the kingly dignity which God hath +given thee, and of remaining here and accepting of a kingdom from +foreign and unknown kings. Go back rather to that kingdom which thou +hast received in heritage, and rule over it with the strength which God +hath given thee, and let not thy inferiors take it from thee. It is the +glory of a king to be victorious over his enemies, and it is a glorious +death to die in battle. Or art thou doubtful if thou hast right on thy +side in the strife with thine enemies? Thou must have no doubts, and +must not conceal the truth from thyself. Thou must go back to thy +country, and God will give open testimony that the kingdom is thine by +property." When the king awoke he thought he saw the man's shoulders +going out. From this time the king's courage rose, and he fixed firmly +his resolution to return to Norway; to which his inclination also +tended most, and which he also found was the desire of all his men. He +bethought himself also that the country being without a chief could be +easily attacked, from what he had heard, and that after he came himself +many would turn back towards him. When the king told his determination +to his people they all gave it their approbation joyfully. + + + + +200. OF KING OLAF'S HEALING POWERS. + +It is related that once upon a time, while King Olaf was in Russia, it +happened that the son of an honest widow had a sore boil upon his neck, +of which the lad lay very ill; and as he could not swallow any food, +there was little hope of his life. The boy's mother went to Queen +Ingegerd, with whom she was acquainted, and showed her the lad. The +queen said she knew no remedy for it. "Go," said she, "to King Olaf, he +is the best physician here; and beg him to lay his hands on thy lad, and +bring him my words if he will not otherwise do it." She did as the queen +told her; and when she found the king she says to him that her son is +dangerously ill of a boil in his neck, and begs him to lay his hand on +the boil. The king tells her he is not a physician, and bids her go to +where there were physicians. She replies, that the queen had told her +to come to him; "and told me to add the request from her, that you would +would use the remedy you understood, and she said that thou art the best +physician here in the town." Then the king took the lad, laid his hands +upon his neck, and felt the boil for a long time, until the boy made +a very wry face. Then the king took a piece of bread, laid it in the +figure of the cross upon the palm of his hand, and put it into the boy's +mouth. He swallowed it down, and from that time all the soreness left +his neck, and in a few days he was quite well, to the great joy of his +mother and all his relations. Then first came Olaf into the repute of +having as much healing power in his hands as is ascribed to men who have +been gifted by nature with healing by the touch; and afterwards when his +miracles were universally acknowledged, this also was considered one of +his miracles. + + + + +201. KING OLAF BURNS THE WOOD SHAVINGS ON HIS HAND FOR HIS SABBATH BREACH. + +It happened one Sunday that the king sat in his highseat at the dinner +table, and had fallen into such deep thought that he did not observe +how time went. In one hand he had a knife, and in the other a piece +of fir-wood from which he cut splinters from time to time. The +table-servant stood before him with a bowl in his hands; and seeing what +the king was about, and that he was involved in thought, he said, "It is +Monday, sire, to-morrow." The king looked at him when he heard this, +and then it came into his mind what he was doing on the Sunday. Then the +king ordered a lighted candle to be brought him, swept together all the +shavings he had made, set them on fire, and let them burn upon his +naked hand; showing thereby that he would hold fast by God's law and +commandment, and not trespass without punishment on what he knew to be +right. + + + + +202. OF KING OLAF. + +When King Olaf had resolved on his return home, he made known his +intention to King Jarisleif and Queen Ingegerd. They dissuaded him +from this expedition, and said he should receive as much power in their +dominions as he thought desirable; but begged him not to put himself +within the reach of his enemies with so few men as he had. Then King +Olaf told them of his dream; adding, that he believed it to be God's +will and providence that it should be so. Now when they found he was +determined on travelling to Norway, they offered him all the assistance +to his journey that he would accept from them. The king thanked them +in many fine words for their good will; and said that he accepted +from them, with no ordinary pleasure, what might be necessary for his +undertaking. + + + + +203. OF KING OLAF'S JOURNEY FROM RUSSIA. + +Immediately after Yule (A.D. 1080), King Olaf made himself ready; and +had about 200 of his men with him. King Jarisleif gave him all the +horses, and whatever else he required; and when he was ready he set off. +King Jarisleif and Queen Ingegerd parted from him with all honour; +and he left his son Magnus behind with the king. The first part of his +journey, down to the sea-coast, King Olaf and his men made on the +ice; but as spring approached, and the ice broke up, they rigged their +vessels, and when they were ready and got a wind they set out to sea, +and had a good voyage. When Olaf came to the island of Gotland with +his ships he heard the news--which was told as truth, both in Svithjod, +Denmark, and over all Norway--that Earl Hakon was missing, and Norway +without a head. This gave the king and his men good hope of the issue +of their journey. From thence they sailed, when the wind suited, to +Svithjod, and went into the Maelar lake, to Aros, and sent men to +the Swedish King Onund appointing a meeting. King Onund received +his brother-in-law's message in the kindest manner, and went to him +according to his invitation. Astrid also came to King Olaf, with the +men who had attended her; and great was the joy on all sides at this +meeting. The Swedish king also received his brother-in-law King Olaf +with great joy when they met. + + + + +204. OF THE LENDERMEN IN NORWAY. + +Now we must relate what, in the meantime, was going on in Norway. Thorer +Hund, in these two winters (A.D. 1029-1030), had made a Lapland journey, +and each winter had been a long time on the mountains, and had gathered +to himself great wealth by trading in various wares with the Laplanders. +He had twelve large coats of reindeer-skin made for him, with so much +Lapland witchcraft that no weapon could cut or pierce them any more than +if they were armour of ring-mail, nor so much. The spring thereafter +Thorer rigged a long-ship which belonged to him, and manned it with his +house-servants. He summoned the bondes, demanded a levy from the most +northern Thing district, collected in this way a great many people, +and proceeded with this force southwards. Harek of Thjotta had also +collected a great number of people; and in this expedition many +people of consequence took a part, although these two were the most +distinguished. They made it known publicly that with this war-force they +were going against King Olaf, to defend the country against him, in case +he should come from the eastward. + + + + +205. OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER. + +Einar Tambaskelfer had most influence in the outer part of the +Throndhjem country after Earl Hakon's death was no longer doubtful; for +he and his son Eindride appeared to be the nearest heirs to the movable +property the earl had possessed. Then Einar remembered the promises and +offers of friendship which King Canute had made him at parting; and +he ordered a good vessel which belonged to him to be got ready, and +embarked with a great retinue, and when he was ready sailed southwards +along the coast, then set out to sea westwards, and sailed without +stopping until he came to England. He immediately waited on King Canute, +who received him well and joyfully. Then Einar opened his business +to the king, and said he was come there to see the fulfillment of the +promises the king had made him; namely, that he, Einar, should have +the highest title of honour in Norway if Earl Hakon were no more. King +Canute replies, that now the circumstances were altered. "I have now," +said he, "sent men and tokens to my son Svein in Denmark, and promised +him the kingdom of Norway; but thou shalt retain my friendship, and get +the dignity and title which thou art entitled by birth to hold. Thou +shalt be lenderman with great fiefs, and be so much more raised above +other lendermen as thou art more able than they." Einar saw sufficiently +how matters stood with regard to his business, and got ready to return +home; but as he now knew the king's intentions, and thought it probable +if King Olaf came from the East the country would not be very peaceable, +it came into his mind that it would be better to proceed slowly, and not +to be hastening his voyage, in order to fight against King Olaf, without +his being advanced by it to any higher dignity than he had before. Einar +accordingly went to sea when he was ready; but only came to Norway after +the events were ended which took place there during that summer. + + + + +206. OF THE CHIEF PEOPLE IN NORWAY. + +The chiefs in Norway had their spies east in Svithjod, and south in +Denmark, to find out if King Olaf had come from Russia. As soon as these +men could get across the country, they heard the news that King Olaf was +arrived in Svithjod; and as soon as full certainty of this was obtained, +the war message-token went round the land. The whole people were called +out to a levy, and a great army was collected. The lendermen who were +from Agder, Rogaland, and Hordaland, divided themselves, so that some +went towards the north, and some towards the east; for they thought they +required people on both sides. Erling's sons from Jadar went eastward, +with all the men who lived east of them, and over whom they were chiefs; +Aslak of Finey, and Erlend of Gerde, with the lendermen north of them, +went towards the north. All those now named had sworn an oath to King +Canute to deprive Olaf of life, if opportunity should offer. + + + + +207. OF HARALD SIGURDSON'S PROCEEDINGS. + +Now when it was reported in Norway that King Olaf was come from the East +to Svithjod, his friends gathered together to give him aid. The most +distinguished man in this flock was Harald Sigurdson, a brother of King +Olaf, who then was fifteen years of age, very stout, and manly of growth +as if he were full-grown. Many other brave men were there also; and +there were in all 600 men when they proceeded from the uplands, and went +eastward with their force through Eid forest to Vermaland. From thence +they went eastward through the forests to Svithjod and made inquiry +about King Olaf's proceedings. + + + + +208. OF KING OLAF'S PROCEEDINGS IN SVITHJOD. + +King Olaf was in Svithjod in spring (A.D. 1030), and had sent spies from +thence to Norway. All accounts from that quarter agreed that there was +no safety for him if he went there, and the people who came from the +north dissuaded him much from penetrating into the country. But he had +firmly resolved within himself, as before stated, to go into Norway; and +he asked King Onund what strength King Onund would give him to conquer +his kingdom. King Onund replied, that the Swedes were little inclined +to make an expedition against Norway. "We know," says he, "that the +Northmen are rough and warlike, and it is dangerous to carry hostility +to their doors, but I will not be slow in telling thee what aid I can +give. I will give thee 400 chosen men from my court-men, active and +warlike, and well equipt for battle; and moreover will give thee leave +to go through my country, and gather to thyself as many men as thou +canst get to follow thee." King Olaf accepted this offer, and got ready +for his march. Queen Astrid, and Ulfhild the king's daughter, remained +behind in Svithjod. + + + + +209. KING OLAF ADVANCES TO JARNBERALAND. + +Just as King Olaf began his journey the men came to him whom the Swedish +king had given, in all 400 men, and the king took the road the Swedes +showed him. He advanced upwards in the country to the forests, and came +to a district called Jarnberaland. Here the people joined him who had +come out of Norway to meet him, as before related; and he met here his +brother Harald, and many other of his relations, and it was a joyful +meeting. They made out together 1200 men. + + + + +210. OF DAG HRINGSON. + +There was a man called Dag, who is said to have been a son of King +Hring, who fled the country from King Olaf. This Hring, it is said +further, had been a son of Dag, and grandson of Hring, Harald Harfager's +son. Thus was Dag King Olaf's relative. Both Hring the father, and Dag +the son, had settled themselves in Svithjod, and got land to rule over. +In spring, when Olaf came from the East to Svithjod, he sent a message +to his relation Dag, that he should join him in this expedition with +all the force he could collect; and if they gained the country of Norway +again, Dag should have no smaller part of the kingdom under him than +his forefathers had enjoyed. When this message came to Dag it suited his +inclination well, for he had a great desire to go to Norway and get +the dominion his family had ruled over. He was not slow, therefore, to +reply, and promised to come. Dag was a quick-speaking, quick-resolving +man, mixing himself up in everything; eager, but of little +understanding. He collected a force of almost 1200 men, with which he +joined King Olaf. + + + + +211. OF KING OLAF'S JOURNEY. + +King Olaf sent a message before him to all the inhabited places he +passed through, that the men who wished to get goods and money, and +share of booty, and the lands besides which now were in the hands of his +enemies, should come to him, and follow him. Thereafter King Olaf led +his army through forests, often over desert moors, and often over large +lakes; and they dragged, or carried the boats, from lake to lake. On +the way a great many followers joined the king, partly forest settlers, +partly vagabonds. The places at which he halted for the night are since +called Olaf's Booths. He proceeded without any break upon his journey +until he came to Jamtaland, from which he marched north over the keel +or ridge of the land. The men spread themselves over the hamlets, and +proceeded, much scattered, so long as no enemy was expected; but always, +when so dispersed, the Northmen accompanied the king. Dag proceeded with +his men on another line of march, and the Swedes on a third with their +troop. + + + + +212. OF VAGABOND-MEN. + +There were two men, the one called Gauka-Thorer, the other Afrafaste, +who were vagabonds and great robbers, and had a company of thirty men +such as themselves. These two men were larger and stronger than other +men, and they wanted neither courage nor impudence. These men heard +speak of the army that was crossing the country, and said among +themselves it would be a clever counsel to go to the king, follow him to +his country, and go with him into a regular battle, and try themselves +in this work; for they had never been in any battle in which people +were regularly drawn up in line, and they were curious to see the king's +order of battle. This counsel was approved of by their comrades, and +accordingly they went to the road on which King Olaf was to pass. +When they came there they presented themselves to the king, with their +followers, fully armed. They saluted him, and he asked what people they +were. They told their names, and said they were natives of the place; +and told their errand, and that they wished to go with the king. The +king said, it appeared to him there was good help in such folks. "And I +have a great inclination," said he, "to take such; but are ye Christian +men?" + +Gauka-Thorer replies, that he is neither Christian nor heathen. "I and +my comrades have no faith but on ourselves, our strength, and the luck +of victory; and with this faith we slip through sufficiently well." + +The king replies, "A great pity it is that such brave slaughtering +fellows did not believe in Christ their Creator." + +Thorer replies, "Is there any Christian man, king, in thy following, who +stands so high in the air as we two brothers?" + +The king told them to let themselves be baptized, and to accept the true +faith. "Follow me then, and I will advance you to great dignities; but +if ye will not do so, return to your former vocation." + +Afrafaste said he would not take on Christianity, and he turned away. + +Then said Gauka-Thorer, "It is a great shame that the king drives +us thus away from his army, and I never before came where I was not +received into the company of other people, and I shall never return +back on this account." They joined accordingly the rear with other +forest-men, and followed the troops. Thereafter the king proceeded west +up to the keel-ridge of the country. + + + + +213. OF KING OLAF'S VISION. + +Now when King Olaf, coming from the east, went over the keel-ridge and +descended on the west side of the mountain, where it declines towards +the sea, he could see from thence far over the country. Many people rode +before the king and many after, and he himself rode so that there was a +free space around him. He was silent, and nobody spoke to him, and thus +he rode a great part of the day without looking much about him. Then the +bishop rode up to him, asked him why he was so silent, and what he was +thinking of; for, in general, he was very cheerful, and very talkative +on a journey to his men, so that all who were near him were merry. The +king replied, full of thought, "Wonderful things have come into my mind +a while ago. As I just now looked over Norway, out to the west from the +mountains, it came into my mind how many happy days I have had in that +land. It appeared to me at first as if I saw over all the Throndhjem +country, and then over all Norway; and the longer this vision was before +my eyes the farther, methought, I saw, until I looked over the whole +wide world, both land and sea. Well I know the places at which I have +been in former days; some even which I have only heard speak of, and +some I saw of which I had never heard, both inhabited and uninhabited, +in this wide world." The bishop replied that this was a holy vision, and +very remarkable. + + + + +214. OF THE MIRACLE ON THE CORN LAND. + +When the king had come lower down on the mountain, there lay a farm +before him called Sula, on the highest part of Veradal district; and as +they came nearer to the house the corn-land appeared on both sides of +the path. The king told his people to proceed carefully, and not destroy +the corn to the bondes. The people observed this when the king was near; +but the crowd behind paid no attention to it, and the people ran over +the corn, so that it was trodden flat to the earth. There dwelt a bonde +there called Thorgeir Flek, who had two sons nearly grown up. Thorgeir +received the king and his people well, and offered all the assistance in +his power. The king was pleased with his offer, and asked Thorgeir what +was the news of the country, and if any forces were assembled against +him. Thorgeir says that a great army was drawn together in the +Throndhjem country, and that there were some lendermen both from the +south of the country, and from Halogaland in the north; "but I do not +know," says he. "if they are intended against you, or going elsewhere." +Then he complained to the king of the damage and waste done him by the +people breaking and treading down all his corn fields. The king said it +was ill done to bring upon him any loss. Then the king rode to where the +corn had stood, and saw it was laid flat on the earth; and he rode round +the field, and said, "I expect, bonde, that God will repair thy loss, so +that the field, within a week, will be better;" and it proved the best +of the corn, as the king had said. The king remained all night there, +and in the morning he made himself ready, and told Thorgeir the bonde +to accompany him and Thorgear offered his two sons also for the journey; +and although the king said that he did not want them with him, the lads +would go. As they would not stay behind, the king's court-men were about +binding them; but the king seeing it said, "Let them come with us; the +lads will come safe back again." And it was with the lads as the king +foretold. + + + + +215. OF THE BAPTISM OF THE VAGABOND FOREST-MEN. + +Thereafter the army advanced to Staf, and when the king reached Staf's +moor he halted. There he got the certain information that the bondes +were advancing with an army against him, and that he might soon expect +to have a battle with them. He mustered his force here, and, after +reckoning them up, found there were in the army 900 heathen men, and +when he came to know it he ordered them to allow themselves to be +baptized, saying that he would have no heathens with him in battle. "We +must not," says he, "put our confidence in numbers, but in God alone +must we trust; for through his power and favour we must be victorious, +and I will not mix heathen people with my own." When the heathens heard +this, they held a council among themselves, and at last 400 men agreed +to be baptized; but 500 men refused to adopt Christianity, and that +body returned home to their land. Then the brothers Gauka-Thorer and +Afrafaste presented themselves to the king, and offered again to follow +him. The king asked if they had now taken baptism. Gauka-Thorer replied +that they had not. Then the king ordered them to accept baptism and the +true faith, or otherwise to go away. They stepped aside to talk with +each other on what resolution they should take. Afrafaste said, "To give +my opinion, I will not turn back, but go into the battle, and take a +part on the one side or the other; and I don't care much in which army +I am." Gauka-Thorer replies, "If I go into battle I will give my help to +the king, for he has most need of help. And if I must believe in a +God, why not in the white Christ as well as in any other? Now it is my +advice, therefore, that we let ourselves be baptized, since the king +insists so much upon it, and then go into the battle with him." They +all agreed to this, and went to the king, and said they would receive +baptism. Then they were baptized by a priest, and the baptism was +confirmed by the bishop. The king then took them into the troop of his +court-men, and said they should fight under his banner in the battle. + + + + +216. KING OLAF'S SPEECH. + +King Olaf got certain intelligence now that it would be but a short time +until he had a battle with the bondes; and after he had mustered his +men, and reckoned up the force, he had more than 3000 men, which appears +to be a great army in one field. Then the king made the following speech +to the people: "We have a great army, and excellent troops; and now I +will tell you, my men, how I will have our force drawn up. I will let +my banner go forward in the middle of the army, and my-court-men, and +pursuivants shall follow it, together with the war forces that joined +us from the Uplands, and also those who may come to us here in the +Throndhjem land. On the right hand of my banner shall be Dag Hringson, +with all the men he brought to our aid; and he shall have the second +banner. And on the left hand of our line shall the men be whom the +Swedish king gave us, together with all the people who came to us in +Sweden; and they shall have the third banner. I will also have the +people divide themselves into distinct flocks or parcels, so that +relations and acquaintances should be together; for thus they defend +each other best, and know each other. We will have all our men +distinguished by a mark, so as to be a field-token upon their helmets +and shields, by painting the holy cross thereupon with white colour. +When we come into battle we shall all have one countersign and +field-cry,--'Forward, forward, Christian men! cross men! king's men!' +We must draw up our meal in thinner ranks, because we have fewer people, +and I do not wish to let them surround us with their men. Now let the +men divide themselves into separate flocks, and then each flock into +ranks; then let each man observe well his proper place, and take notice +what banner he is drawn up under. And now we shall remain drawn up in +array; and our men shall be fully armed, night and day, until we know +where the meeting shall be between us and the bondes." When the king had +finished speaking, the army arrayed, and arranged itself according to +the king's orders. + + + + +217. KING OLAF'S COUNSEL. + +Thereafter the king had a meeting with the chiefs of the different +divisions, and then the men had returned whom the king had sent out into +the neighbouring districts to demand men from the bondes. They brought +the tidings from the inhabited places they had gone through, that all +around the country was stripped of all men able to carry arms, as all +the people had joined the bondes' army; and where they did find any +they got but few to follow them, for the most of them answered that they +stayed at home because they would not follow either party: they would +not go out against the king, nor yet against their own relations. Thus +they had got but few people. Now the king asked his men their counsel, +and what they now should do. Fin Arnason answered thus to the king's +question: "I will say what should be done, if I may advise. We should +go with armed hand over all the inhabited places, plunder all the goods, +and burn all the habitations, and leave not a hut standing, and thus +punish the bondes for their treason against their sovereign. I think +many a man will then cast himself loose from the bondes' army, when he +sees smoke and flame at home on his farm, and does not know how it is +going with children, wives, or old men, fathers, mothers, and other +connections. I expect also," he added, "that if we succeed in breaking +the assembled host, their ranks will soon be thinned; for so it is with +the bondes, that the counsel which is the newest is always the dearest +to them all, and most followed." When Fin had ended his speech it met +with general applause; for many thought well of such a good occasion to +make booty, and all thought the bondes well deserved to suffer damage; +and they also thought it probable, what Fin said, that many would in +this way be brought to forsake the assembled army of the bondes. + +Now when the king heard the warm expressions of his people he told +them to listen to him, and said, "The bondes have well deserved that it +should be done to them as ye desire. They also know that I have formerly +done so, burning their habitations, and punishing them severely in many +ways; but then I proceeded against them with fire and sword because they +rejected the true faith, betook themselves to sacrifices, and would not +obey my commands. We had then God's honour to defend. But this treason +against their sovereign is a much less grievous crime, although it does +not become men who have any manhood in them to break the faith and vows +they have sworn to me. Now, however, it is more in my power to spare +those who have dealt ill with me, than those whom God hated. I will, +therefore, that my people proceed gently, and commit no ravage. First, +I will proceed to meet the bondes; if we can then come to a +reconciliation, it is well; but if they will fight with us, then there +are two things before us; either we fail in the battle, and then it will +be well advised not to have to retire encumbered with spoil and cattle; +or we gain the victory, and then ye will be the heirs of all who fight +now against us; for some will fall, and others will fly, but both will +have forfeited their goods and properties, and then it will be good to +enter into full houses and well-stocked farms; but what is burnt is of +use to no man, and with pillage and force more is wasted than what turns +to use. Now we will spread out far through the inhabited places, and +take with us all the men we can find able to carry arms. Then men will +also capture cattle for slaughter, or whatever else of provision +that can serve for food; but not do any other ravage. But I will see +willingly that ye kill any spies of the bonde army ye may fall in with. +Dag and his people shall go by the north side down along the valley, +and I will go on along the country road, and so we shall meet in the +evening, and all have one night quarter." + + + + +218. OF KING OLAF'S SKALDS. + +It is related that when King Olaf drew up his men in battle order, he +made a shield rampart with his troop that should defend him in battle, +for which he selected the strongest and boldest. Thereafter he called +his skalds, and ordered them to go in within the shield defence. "Ye +shall." says the king, "remain here, and see the circumstances which may +take place, and then ye will not have to follow the reports of others +in what ye afterwards tell or sing concerning it." There were Thormod +Kolbrunarskald, Gissur Gulbraskald, a foster-son of Hofgardaref, and +Thorfin Mun. Then said Thormod to Gissur, "Let us not stand so close +together, brother, that Sigvat the skald should not find room when he +comes. He must stand before the king, and the king will not have it +otherwise." The king heard this, and said, "Ye need not sneer at Sigvat, +because he is not here. Often has he followed me well, and now he is +praying for us, and that we greatly need." Thormod replies, "It may be, +sire, that ye now require prayers most; but it would be thin around the +banner-staff if all thy court-men were now on the way to Rome. True it +was what we spoke about, that no man who would speak with you could find +room for Sigvat." + +Thereafter the skalds talked among themselves that it would be well to +compose a few songs of remembrance about the events which would soon be +taking place. + +Then Gissur sang:-- + + "From me shall bende girl never hear + A thought of sorrow, care, or fear: + I wish my girl knew how gay + We arm us for our viking fray. + Many and brave they are, we know, + Who come against us there below; + But, life or death, we, one and all, + By Norway's king will stand or fall." + +And Thorfin Mun made another song, viz.:-- + + "Dark is the cloud of men and shields, + Slow moving up through Verdal's fields: + These Verdal folks presume to bring + Their armed force against their king. + On! let us feed the carrion crow,-- + Give her a feast in every blow; + And, above all, let Throndhjem's hordes + Feel the sharp edge of true men's swords." + +And Thorrood sang:-- + + "The whistling arrows pipe to battle, + Sword and shield their war-call rattle. + Up! brave men, up! the faint heart here + Finds courage when the danger's near. + Up! brave men, up! with Olaf on! + With heart and hand a field is won. + One viking cheer!--then, stead of words, + We'll speak with our death-dealing swords." + +These songs were immediately got by heart by the army. + + + + +219. OF KING OLAF'S GIFTS FOR THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO SHOULD BE SLAIN. + +Thereafter the king made himself ready, and marched down through the +valley. His whole forces took up their night-quarter in one place, and +lay down all night under their shields; but as soon as day broke the +king again put his army in order, and that being done they proceeded +down through the valley. Many bondes then came to the king, of whom the +most joined his army; and all, as one man, told the same tale,--that the +lendermen had collected an enormous army, with which they intended to +give battle to the king. + +The king took many marks of silver, and delivered them into the hands +of a bonde, and said, "This money thou shalt conceal, and afterwards lay +out, some to churches, some to priests, some to alms-men,--as gifts +for the life and souls of those who fight against us, and may fall in +battle." + +The bonde replies, "Should you not rather give this money for the +soul-mulct of your own men?" + +The king says, "This money shall be given for the souls of those who +stand against us in the ranks of the bondes' army, and fall by the +weapons of our own men. The men who follow us to battle, and fall +therein, will all be saved together with ourself." + + + + +220. OF THORMOD KOLBRUNARSKALD. + +This night the king lay with his army around him on the field, as before +related, and lay long awake in prayer to God, and slept but little. +Towards morning a slumber fell on him, and when he awoke daylight was +shooting up. The king thought it too early to awaken the army, and asked +where Thormod the skald was. Thormod was at hand, and asked what was the +king's pleasure. "Sing us a song," said the king. Thormod raised himself +up, and sang so loud that the whole army could hear him. He began to +sing the old "Bjarkamal", of which these are the first verses:-- + + "The day is breaking,-- + The house cock, shaking + His rustling wings, + While priest-bell rings, + Crows up the morn, + And touting horn + Wakes thralls to work and weep; + Ye sons of Adil, cast off sleep, + Wake up! wake up! + Nor wassail cup, + Nor maiden's jeer, + Awaits you here. + Hrolf of the bow! + Har of the blow! + Up in your might! the day is breaking; + 'Tis Hild's game (1) that bides your waking." + +Then the troops awoke, and when the song was ended the people thanked +him for it; and it pleased many, as it was suitable to the time and +occasion, and they called it the house-carle's whet. The king thanked +him for the pleasure, and took a gold ring that weighed half a mark and +gave it him. Thormod thanked the king for the gift, and said, "We have a +good king; but it is not easy to say how long the king's life may be. It +is my prayer, sire, that thou shouldst never part from me either in +life or death." The king replies, "We shall all go together so long as I +rule, and as ye will follow me." + +Thormod says, "I hope, sire, that whether in safety or danger I may +stand near you as long as I can stand, whatever we may hear of Sigvat +travelling with his gold-hilted sword." Then Thormod made these lines:-- + + "To thee, my king, I'll still be true, + Until another skald I view, + Here in the field with golden sword, + As in thy hall, with flattering word. + Thy skald shall never be a craven, + Though he may feast the croaking raven, + The warrior's fate unmoved I view,-- + To thee, my king, I'll still be true." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Hild's game is the battle, from the name of the +war-goddess Hild.--L. + + + + +221. KING OLAF COMES TO STIKLESTAD. + +King Olaf led his army farther down through the valley, and Dag and +his men went another way, and the king did not halt until he came to +Stiklestad. There he saw the bonde army spread out all around; and there +were so great numbers that people were going on every footpath, and +great crowds were collected far and near. They also saw there a troop +which came down from Veradal, and had been out to spy. They came so +close to the king's people that they knew each other. It was Hrut of +Viggia, with thirty men. The king ordered his pursuivants to go out +against Hrut, and make an end of him, to which his men were instantly +ready. The king said to the Icelanders, "It is told me that in Iceland +it is the custom that the bondes give their house-servants a sheep to +slaughter; now I give you a ram to slaughter." (1) The Icelanders were +easily invited to this, and went out immediately with a few men against +Hrut, and killed him and the troop that followed him. When the king +came to Stiklestad he made a halt, and made the army stop, and told his +people to alight from their horses and get ready for battle; and the +people did as the king ordered. Then he placed his army in battle array, +and raised his banner. Dag was not yet arrived with his men, so that his +wing of the battle array was wanting. Then the king said the Upland +men should go forward in their place, and raise their banner there. "It +appears to me advisable," says the king, "that Harald my brother should +not be in the battle, for he is still in the years of childhood only." +Harald replies, "Certainly I shall be in the battle, for I am not so +weak that I cannot handle the sword; and as to that, I have a notion +of tying the sword-handle to my hand. None is more willing than I am to +give the bondes a blow; so I shall go with my comrades." It is said that +Harald made these lines:-- + + "Our army's wing, where I shall stand, + I will hold good with heart and hand; + My mother's eye shall joy to see + A battered, blood-stained shield from me. + The brisk young skald should gaily go + Into the fray, give blow for blow, + Cheer on his men, gain inch by inch, + And from the spear-point never flinch." + +Harald got his will, and was allowed to be in the battle. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Hrut means a young ram.--L. + + + + +222. OF THORGILS HALMASON. + +A bonde, by name Thorgils Halmason, father to Grim the Good, dwelt in +Stiklestad farm. Thorgils offered the king his assistance, and was ready +to go into battle with him. The king thanked him for the offer. "I would +rather," says the king, "thou shouldst not be in the fight. Do us rather +the service to take care of the people who are wounded, and to bury +those who may fall, when the battle is over. Should it happen, bonde, +that I fall in this battle, bestow the care on my body that may be +necessary, if that be not forbidden thee." Thorgils promised the king +what he desired. + + + + +223. OLAF'S SPEECH. + +Now when King Olaf had drawn up his army in battle array he made a +speech, in which he told the people to raise their spirit, and go boldly +forward, if it came to a battle. "We have," says he, "many men, and +good; and although the bondes may have a somewhat larger force than +we, it is fate that rules over victory. This I will make known to you +solemnly, that I shall not fly from this battle, but shall either be +victorious over the bondes, or fall in the fight. I will pray to +God that the lot of the two may befall me which will be most to my +advantage. With this we may encourage ourselves, that we have a more +just cause than the bondes; and likewise that God must either protect +us and our cause in this battle, or give us a far higher recompense for +what we may lose here in the world than what we ourselves could ask. +Should it be my lot to have anything to say after the battle, then shall +I reward each of you according to his service, and to the bravery he +displays in the battle; and if we gain the victory, there must be land +and movables enough to divide among you, and which are now in the hands +of your enemies. Let us at the first make the hardest onset, for then +the consequences are soon seen. There being a great difference in the +numbers, we have to expect victory from a sharp assault only; and, +on the other hand, it will be heavy work for us to fight until we are +tired, and unable to fight longer; for we have fewer people to relieve +with than they, who can come forward at one time and retreat and rest +at another. But if we advance so hard at the first attack that those who +are foremost in their ranks must turn round, then the one will fall over +the other, and their destruction will be the greater the greater numbers +there are together." When the king had ended his speech it was received +with loud applause, and the one encouraged the other. + + + + +224. OF THORD FOLASON. + +Thord Folason carried King Olaf's banner. So says Sigvat the skald, +in the death-song which he composed about King Olaf, and put together +according to resurrection saga:-- + + "Thord. I have heard, by Olaf's side, + Where raged the battle's wildest tide, + Moved on, and, as by one accord + Moved with them every heart and sword. + The banner of the king on high, + Floating all splendid in the sky + From golden shaft, aloft he bore,-- + The Norsemen's rallying-point of yore." + + + + +225. OF KING OLAF'S ARMOUR. + +King Olaf was armed thus:--He had a gold-mounted helmet on his head; and +had in one hand a white shield, on which the holy cross was inlaid in +gold. In his other hand he had a lance, which to the present day stands +beside the altar in Christ Church. In his belt he had a sword, which was +called Hneiter, which was remarkably sharp, and of which the handle was +worked with gold. He had also a strong coat of ring-mail. Sigvat the +skald, speaks of this:-- + + "A greater victory to gain, + Olaf the Stout strode o'er the plain + In strong chain armour, aid to bring + To his brave men on either wing. + High rose the fight and battle-heat,-- + the clear blood ran beneath the feet + Of Swedes, who from the East came there, + In Olaf's gain or loss to share." + + + + +226. KING OLAF'S DREAM. + +Now when King Olaf had drawn up his men the army of the bondes had not +yet come near upon any quarter, so the king said the people should sit +down and rest themselves. He sat down himself, and the people sat around +him in a widespread crowd. He leaned down, and laid his head upon Fin +Arnason's knee. There a slumber came upon him, and he slept a little +while; but at the same time the bondes' army was seen advancing with +raised banners, and the multitude of these was very great. + +Then Fin awakened the king, and said that the bonde-army advanced +against them. + +The king awoke, and said, "Why did you waken me, Fin, and did not allow +me to enjoy my dream?" + +Fin: "Thou must not be dreaming; but rather thou shouldst be awake, and +preparing thyself against the host which is coming down upon us; or, +dost thou not see that the whole bonde-crowd is coming?" + +The king replies, "They are not yet so near to us, and it would have +been better to have let me sleep." + +Then said Fin, "What was the dream, sire, of which the loss appears +to thee so great that thou wouldst rather have been left to waken of +thyself?" + +Now the king told his dream,--that he seemed to see a high ladder, +upon which he went so high in the air that heaven was open: for so high +reached the ladder. "And when you awoke me, I was come to the highest +step towards heaven." + +Fin replies, "This dream does not appear to me so good as it does to +thee. I think it means that thou art fey (1); unless it be the mere want +of sleep that has worked upon thee." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Fey means doomed to die. + + + + +227. OF ARNLJOT GELLINE'S BAPTISM. + +When King Olaf was arrived at Stiklestad, it happened, among other +circumstances, that a man came to him; and although it was nowise +wonderful that there came many men from the districts, yet this must be +regarded as unusual, that this man did not appear like the other men +who came to him. He was so tall that none stood higher than up to his +shoulders: very handsome he was in countenance, and had beautiful fair +hair. He was well armed; had a fine helmet, and ring armour; a red +shield; a superb sword in his belt; and in his hand a gold-mounted +spear, the shaft of it so thick that it was a handful to grasp. The man +went before the king, saluted him, and asked if the king would accept +his services. + +The king asked his name and family, also what countryman he was. + +He replies, "My family is in Jamtaland and Helsingjaland, and my name is +Arnljot Gelline; but this I must not forget to tell you, that I came to +the assistance of those men you sent to Jamtaland to collect scat, and I +gave into their hands a silver dish, which I sent you as a token that I +would be your friend." + +Then the king asked Arnljot if he was a Christian or not. He replied, +"My faith has been this, to rely upon my power and strength, and which +faith hath hitherto given me satisfaction; but now I intend rather to +put my faith, sire, in thee." + +The king replies, "If thou wilt put faith in me thou must also put faith +in what I will teach thee. Thou must believe that Jesus Christ has made +heaven and earth, and all mankind, and to him shall all those who are +good and rightly believing go after death." + +Arnljot answers, "I have indeed heard of the white Christ, but neither +know what he proposes, nor what he rules over; but now I will believe +all that thou sayest to me, and lay down my lot in your hands." + +Thereupon Arnljot was baptized. The king taught him so much of the holy +faith as appeared to him needful, and placed him in the front rank of +the order of battle, in advance of his banner, where also Gauka-Thorer +and Afrafaste, with their men, were. + + + + +228. CONCERNING THE ARMY COLLECTED IN NORWAY. + +Now shall we relate what we have left behind in our tale,--that the +lendermen and bondes had collected a vast host as soon as it was +reported that King Olaf was come from Russia, and had arrived in +Svithjod; but when they heard that he had come to Jamtaland, and +intended to proceed westwards over the keel-ridge to Veradal, they +brought their forces into the Throndhjem country, where they gathered +together the whole people, free and unfree, and proceeded towards +Veradal with so great a body of men that there was nobody in Norway at +that time who had seen so large a force assembled. But the force, as +it usually happens in so great a multitude, consisted of many different +sorts of people. There were many lendermen, and a great many powerful +bondes; but the great mass consisted of labourers and cottars. The chief +strength of this army lay in the Throndhjem land, and it was the most +warm in enmity and opposition to the king. + + + + +229. OF BISHOP SIGURD. + +When King Canute had, as before related, laid all Norway under his +power, he set Earl Hakon to manage it, and gave the earl a court-bishop, +by name Sigurd, who was of Danish descent, and had been long with +King Canute. This bishop was of a very hot temper, and particularly +obstinate, and haughty in his speech; but supported King Canute all he +could in conversation, and was a great enemy of King Olaf. He was now +also in the bondes' army, spoke often before the people, and urged them +much to insurrection against King Olaf. + + + + +230. BISHOP SIGURD'S SPEECH. + +At a House-thing, at which a great many people were assembled, the +bishop desired to be heard, and made the following speech: "Here are +now assembled a great many men, so that probably there will never be +opportunity in this poor country of seeing so great a native army; +but it would be desirable if this strength and multitude could be a +protection; for it will all be needed, if this Olaf does not give over +bringing war and strife upon you. From his very earliest youth he has +been accustomed to plunder and kill: for which purposes he drove widely +around through all countries, until he turned at last against this, +where he began to show hostilities against the men who were the best and +most powerful; and even against King Canute, whom all are bound to serve +according to their ability, and in whose scat-lands he set himself down. +He did the same to Olaf the Swedish king. He drove the earls Svein and +Hakon away from their heritages; and was even most tyrannical towards +his own connections, as he drove all the kings out of the Uplands: +although, indeed, it was but just reward for having been false to their +oaths of fealty to King Canute, and having followed this King Olaf in +all the folly he could invent; so their friendship ended according +to their deserts, by this king mutilating some of them, taking their +kingdoms himself, and ruining every man in the country who had an +honourable name. Ye know yourselves how he has treated the lendermen, of +whom many of the worthlest have been murdered, and many obliged to fly +from their country; and how he has roamed far and wide through the land +with robber-bands, burning and plundering houses, and killing people. +Who is the man among us here of any consideration who has not some great +injury from him to avenge? Now he has come hither with a foreign troop, +consisting mostly of forest-men, vagabonds, and such marauders. Do ye +think he will now be more merciful to you, when he is roaming about with +such a bad crew, after committing devastations which all who followed +him dissuaded him from? Therefore it is now my advice, that ye remember +King Canute's words when he told you, if King Olaf attempted to return +to the country ye should defend the liberty King Canute had promised +you, and should oppose and drive away such a vile pack. Now the only +thing to be done is to advance against them, and cast forth these +malefactors to the wolves and eagles, leaving their corpses on the spot +they cover, unless ye drag them aside to out-of-the-way corners in +the woods or rocks. No man would be so imprudent as to remove them to +churches, for they are all robbers and evil-doers." When he had ended +his speech it was hailed with the loudest applause, and all unanimously +agreed to act according to his recommendation. + + + + +231. OF THE LENDERMEN. + +The lendermen who had come together appointed meetings with each other, +and consulted together how they should draw up their troops, and who +should be their leader. Kalf Arnason said that Harek of Thjotta was best +fitted to be the chief of this army, for he was descended from Harald +Harfager's race. "The king also is particularly enraged against him on +account of the murder of Grankel, and therefore he would be exposed to +the severest fate if Olaf recovered the kingdom; and Harek withal is a +man experienced in battles, and a man who does much for honour alone." + +Harek replies, that the men are best suited for this who are in the +flower of their age. "I am now," says he, "an old and decaying man, not +able to do much in battle: besides, there is near relationship between +me and King Olaf; and although he seems not to put great value upon that +tie, it would not beseem me to go as leader of the hostilities against +him, before any other in this meeting. On the other hand, thou, Thorer, +art well suited to be our chief in this battle against King Olaf; and +thou hast distinct grounds for being so, both because thou hast to +avenge the death of thy relation, and also hast been driven by him as an +outlaw from thy property. Thou hast also promised King Canute, as well +as thy connections, to avenge the murder of thy relative Asbjorn; and +dost thou suppose there ever will be a better opportunity than this of +taking vengeance on Olaf for all these insults and injuries?" + +Thorer replies thus to his speech: "I do not confide in myself so much +as to raise the banner against King Olaf, or, as chief, to lead on +this army; for the people of Throndhjem have the greatest part in this +armament, and I know well their haughty spirit, and that they would not +obey me, or any other Halogaland man, although I need not be reminded of +my injuries to be roused to vengeance on King Olaf. I remember well my +heavy loss when King Olaf slew four men, all distinguished both by birth +and personal qualities; namely, my brother's son Asbjorn, my sister's +sons Thorer and Grjotgard, and their father Olver; and it is my duty +to take vengeance for each man of them. I will not conceal that I have +selected eleven of my house-servants for that purpose, and of those who +are the most daring; and I do not think we shall be behind others in +exchanging blows with King Olaf, should opportunity be given." + + + + +232. KALF ARNASON'S SPEECH. + +Then Kalf Arnason desired to speak. "It is highly necessary," says +he, "that this business we have on hand do not turn out a mockery and +child-work, now that an army is collected. Something else is needful, if +we are to stand battle with King Olaf, than that each should shove the +danger from himself; for we must recollect that although King Olaf has +not many people compared to this army of ours, the leader of them is +intrepid, and the whole body of them will be true to him, and obedient +in the battle. But if we who should be the leaders of this army show any +fear, and will not encourage the army and go at the head of it, it must +happen that with the great body of our people the spirit will leave +their hearts, and the next thing will be that each will seek his own +safety. Although we have now a great force assembled, we shall find our +destruction certain, when we meet King Olaf and his troops, if we, the +chiefs of the people, are not confident in our cause, and have not the +whole army confidently and bravely going along with us. If it cannot +be so, we had better not risk a battle; and then it is easy to see that +nothing would be left us but to shelter ourselves under King Olaf's +mercy, however hard it might be, as then we would be less guilty than we +now may appear to him to be. Yet I know there are men in his ranks who +would secure my life and peace if I would seek it. Will ye now adopt my +proposal--then shalt thou, friend Thorer, and thou, Harek, go under the +banner which we will all of us raise up, and then follow. Let us all be +speedy and determined in the resolution we have taken, and put ourselves +so at the head of the bondes' army that they see no distrust in us; for +then will the common man advance with spirit when we go merrily to work +in placing the army in battle-order, and in encouraging the people to +the strife." + +When Kalf had ended they all concurred in what he proposed, and all +would do what Kalf thought of advantage. All desired Kalf to be the +leader of the army, and to give each what place in it he chose. + + + + +233. HOW THE LENDERMEN SET UP THEIR BANNERS. + +Kalf Arnason then raised his banner, and drew up his house-servants +along with Harek of Thjotta and his men. Thorer Hund, with his troop, +was at the head of the order of battle in front of the banner; and on +both sides of Thorer was a chosen body of bondes, all of them the most +active and best armed in the forces. This part of the array was long +and thick, and in it were drawn up the Throndhjem people and the +Halogalanders. On the right wing was another array; and on the left of +the main array were drawn up the men from Rogaland, Hordaland, the Fjord +districts, and Scgn, and they had the third banner. + + + + +234. OF THORSTEIN KNARRARSMID. + +There was a man called Thorstein Knarrarsmid, who was a merchant and +master ship-carpenter, stout and strong, very passionate, and a great +manslayer. He had been in enmity against King Olaf, who had taken from +him a new and large merchant-vessel he had built, on account of some +manslaughter-mulct, incurred in the course of his misdeeds, which he +owed to the king. Thorstein, who was with the bondes' army, went forward +in front of the line in which Thorer Hund stood, and said, "Here I will +be, Thorer, in your ranks; for I think, if I and King Olaf meet, to be +the first to strive a weapon at him, if I can get so near, to repay him +for the robbery of the ship he took from me, which was the best that +ever went on merchant voyage." Thorer and his men received Thorstein, +and he went into their ranks. + + + + +235. OF THE PREPARATIONS OF THE BONDES. + +When the bondes' men and array were drawn up the lendermen addressed +the men, and ordered them to take notice of the place to which each man +belonged, under which banner each should be, who there were in front +of the banner, who were his side-men, and that they should be brisk and +quick in taking up their places in the array; for the army had still +to go a long way, and the array might be broken in the course of march. +Then they encouraged the people; and Kalf invited all the men who had +any injury to avenge on King Olaf to place themselves under the banner +which was advancing against King Olaf's own banner. They should remember +the distress he had brought upon them; and, he said, never was there a +better opportunity to avenge their grievances, and to free themselves +from the yoke and slavery he had imposed on them. "Let him," says he, +"be held a useless coward who does not fight this day boldly; and they +are not innocents who are opposed to you, but people who will not spare +you if ye spare them." + +Kalf's speech was received with loud applause, and shouts of +encouragement were heard through the whole army. + + + + +236. OF THE KING'S AND THE BONDES' ARMIES. + +Thereafter the bondes' army advanced to Stiklestad, where King Olaf was +already with his people. Kalf and Harek went in front, at the head of +the army under their banners. But the battle did not begin immediately +on their meeting; for the bondes delayed the assault, because all their +men were not come upon the plain, and they waited for those who came +after them. Thorer Hund had come up with his troop the last, for he had +to take care that the men did not go off behind when the battlecry was +raised, or the armies were closing with each other; and therefore Kalf +and Harek waited for Thorer. For the encouragement of their men in the +battle the bondes had the field-cry--"Forward, forward, bondemen!" +King Olaf also made no attack, for he waited for Dag and the people who +followed him. At last the king saw Dag and his men approaching. It is +said that the army of the bondes was not less on this day than a hundred +times a hundred men. Sigvat the skald speaks thus of the numbers:-- + + "I grieve to think the king had brought + Too small a force for what he sought: + He held his gold too fast to bring + The numbers that could make him king. + The foemen, more than two to one, + The victory by numbers won; + And this alone, as I've heard say, + Against King Olaf turned the day." + + + + +237. MEETING OF THE KING AND THE BONDES. + +As the armies on both sides stood so near that people knew each other, +the king said, "Why art thou here, Kalf, for we parted good friends +south in More? It beseems thee ill to fight against us, or to throw a +spear into our army; for here are four of thy brothers." + +Kalf replied, "Many things come to pass differently from what may appear +seemly. You parted from us so that it was necessary to seek peace with +those who were behind in the country. Now each must remain where he +stands; but if I might advise, we should be reconciled." + +Then Fin, his brother, answered, "This is to be observed of Kalf, that +when he speaks fairly he has it in his mind to do ill." + +The king answered, "It may be, Kalf, that thou art inclined to +reconciliation; but, methinks, the bondes do not appear so peaceful." + +Then Thorgeir of Kviststad said, "You shall now have such peace as many +formerly have received at your hands, and which you shall now pay for." + +The king replies, "Thou hast no occasion to hasten so much to meet us; +for fate has not decreed to thee to-day a victory over me, who raised +thee to power and dignity from a mean station." + + + + +238. BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE OF STIKLESTAD. + +Now came Thorer Hund, went forward in front of the banner with his +troop, and called out, "Forward, forward, bondemen!" Thereupon the +bondemen raised the war-cry, and shot their arrows and spears. The +king's men raised also a war-shout; and that done, encouraged each other +to advance, crying out, "Forward, forward, Christ-men! cross-men! king's +men!" When the bondes who stood outermost on the wings heard it, they +repeated the same cry; but when the other bondes heard them they thought +these were king's men, turned their arms against them, and they fought +together, and many were slain before they knew each other. The weather +was beautiful, and the sun shone clear; but when the battle began the +heaven and the sun became red, and before the battle ended it became as +dark as at night. King Olaf had drawn up his army upon a rising ground, +and it rushed down from thence upon the bonde-army with such a fierce +assault, that the bondes' array went before it; so that the breast of +the king's array came to stand upon the ground on which the rear of the +bondes' array had stood, and many of the bondes' army were on the way +to fly, but the lendermen and their house-men stood fast, and the battle +became very severe. So says Sigvat:-- + + "Thundered the ground beneath their tread, + As, iron-clad, thick-tramping, sped + The men-at-arms, in row and rank, + Past Stiklestad's sweet grassy bank. + The clank of steel, the bowstrings' twang, + The sounds of battle, loudly rang; + And bowman hurried on advancing, + Their bright helms in the sunshine glancing." + +The lendermen urged their men, and forced them to advance. Sigvat speaks +of this:-- + + "Midst in their line their banner flies, + Thither the stoutest bonde hies: + But many a bonde thinks of home, + And many wish they ne'er had come." + +Then the bonde-army pushed on from all quarters. They who stood in front +hewed down with their swords; they who stood next thrust with their +spears; and they who stood hindmost shot arrows, cast spears, or threw +stones, hand-axes, or sharp stakes. Soon there was a great fall of men +in the battle. Many were down on both sides. In the first onset fell +Arnljot Gelline, Gauka-Thorer, and Afrafaste, with all their men, after +each had killed a man or two, and some indeed more. Now the ranks in +front of the king's banner began to be thinned, and the king ordered +Thord to carry the banner forward, and the king himself followed it with +the troop he had chosen to stand nearest to him in battle; and these +were the best armed men in the field, and the most expert in the use of +their weapons. Sigvat the skald tells of this:-- + + "Loud was the battle-storm there, + Where the king's banner flamed in air. + The king beneath his banner stands, + And there the battle he commands." + +Olaf came forth from behind the shield-bulwark, and put himself at the +head of the army; and when the bondes looked him in the face they were +frightened, and let their hands drop. So says Sigvat:-- + + "I think I saw them shrink with fear + Who would not shrink from foeman's spear, + When Olaf's lion-eye was cast + On them, and called up all the past. + Clear as the serpent's eye--his look + No Throndhjem man could stand, but shook + Beneath its glance, and skulked away, + Knowing his king, and cursed the day." + +The combat became fierce, and the king went forward in the fray. So says +Sigvat:-- + + "When on they came in fierce array, + And round the king arose the fray, + With shield on arm brave Olaf stood, + Dyeing his sword in their best blood. + For vengeance on his Throndhjem foes, + On their best men he dealt his blows; + He who knew well death's iron play, + To his deep vengeance gave full sway." + + + + +239. THORGEIR OF KVISTSTAD'S FALL. + +King Olaf fought most desperately. He struck the lenderman before +mentioned (Thorgeir of Kviststad) across the face, cut off the +nose-piece of his helmet, and clove his head down below the eyes so +that they almost fell out. When he fell the king said, "Was it not true, +Thorgeir, what I told thee, that thou shouldst not be victor in our +meeting?" At the same instant Thord stuck the banner-pole so fast in the +earth that it remained standing. Thord had got his death-wound, and +fell beneath the banner. There also fell Thorfin Mun, and also Gissur +Gullbrarskald, who was attacked by two men, of whom he killed one, but +only wounded the other before he fell. So says Hofgardaref:-- + + "Bold in the Iron-storm was he, + Firm and stout as forest tree, + The hero who, 'gainst two at once, + Made Odin's fire from sword-edge glance; + Dealing a death-blow to the one, + Known as a brave and generous man, + Wounding the other, ere he fell,-- + His bloody sword his deeds showed well." + +It happened then, as before related, that the sun, although the air was +clear, withdrew from the sight, and it became dark. Of this Sigvat the +skald speaks:-- + + "No common wonder in the sky + Fell out that day--the sun on high, + And not a cloud to see around, + Shone not, nor warmed Norway's ground. + The day on which fell out this fight + Was marked by dismal dusky light, + This from the East I heard--the end + Of our great king it did portend." + +At the same time Dag Hringson came up with his people, and began to +put his men in array, and to set up his banner; but on account of the +darkness the onset could not go on so briskly, for they could not see +exactly whom they had before them. They turned, however, to that +quarter where the men of Hordaland and Rogaland stood. Many of these +circumstances took place at the same time, and some happened a little +earlier, and some a little later. + + + + +240. KING OLAF'S FALL. + +On the one side of Kalf Arnason stood his two relations, Olaf and Kalf, +with many other brave and stout men. Kalf was a son of Arnfin Arnmodson, +and a brother's son of Arne Arnmodson. On the other side of Kalf Arnason +stood Thorer Hund. King Olaf hewed at Thorer Hund, and struck him across +the shoulders; but the sword would not cut, and it was as if dust flew +from his reindeer-skin coat. So says Sigvat:-- + + "The king himself now proved the power + Of Fin-folk's craft in magic hour, + With magic song; for stroke of steel + Thor's reindeer coat would never feel, + Bewitched by them it turned the stroke + Of the king's sword,--a dust-like smoke + Rose from Thor's shoulders from the blow + Which the king though would end his foe." + +Thorer struck at the king, and they exchanged some blows; but the king's +sword would not cut where it met the reindeer skin, although Thorer was +wounded in the hands. Sigvat sang thus of it:-- + + "Some say that Thorer's not right bold; + Why never yet have I been told + Of one who did a bolder thing + Than to change blows with his true king. + Against his king his sword to wield, + Leaping across the shield on shield + Which fenced the king round in the fight, + Shows the dog's (1) courage--brave, not bright." + +The king said to Bjorn the marshal, "Do thou kill the dog on whom steel +will not bite." Bjorn turned round the axe in his hands, and gave Thorer +a blow with the hammer of it on the shoulder so hard that he tottered. +The king at the same moment turned against Kalf and his relations, and +gave Olaf his death-wound. Thorer Hund struck his spear right through +the body of Marshal Bjorn, and killed him outright; and Thorer said, "It +is thus we hunt the bear." (2) Thorstein Knarrarsmid struck at King Olaf +with his axe, and the blow hit his left leg above the knee. Fin Arnason +instantly killed Thorstein. The king after the wound staggered towards +a stone, threw down his sword, and prayed God to help him. Then Thorer +Hund struck at him with his spear, and the stroke went in under his +mail-coat and into his belly. Then Kalf struck at him on the left side +of the neck. But all are not agreed upon Kalf having been the man who +gave him the wound in the neck. These three wounds were King Olaf's +death; and after the king's death the greater part of the forces which +had advanced with him fell with the king. Bjarne Gullbrarskald sang +these verses about Kalf Arnason:-- + + "Warrior! who Olaf dared withstand, + Who against Olaf held the land, + Thou hast withstood the bravest, best, + Who e'er has gone to his long rest. + At Stiklestad thou wast the head; + With flying banners onwards led + Thy bonde troops, and still fought on, + Until he fell--the much-mourned one." + +Sigvat also made these verses on Bjorn:-- + + "The marshal Bjorn, too, I find, + A great example leaves behind, + How steady courage should stand proof, + Though other servants stand aloof. + To Russia first his steps he bent, + To serve his master still intent; + And now besides his king he fell,-- + A noble death for skalds to tell." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Thorer's name was Hund--the dog; and a play upon Thorer + Hund's name was intended by the skald.--L. + (2) Bjorn, the marshal's name, signifies a bear.--L. + + + + +241. BEGINNING OF DAG HRINGSON'S ATTACK. + +Dag Hringson still kept up the battle, and made in the beginning so +fierce an assault that the bondes gave way, and some betook themselves +to flight. There a great number of the bondes fell, and these lendermen, +Erlend of Gerde and Aslak of Finey; and the banner also which they +had stood under was cut down. This onset was particularly hot, and was +called Dag's storm. But now Kalf Arnason, Harek of Thjotta, and Thorer +Hund turned against Dag, with the array which had followed them, and +then Dag was overwhelmed with numbers; so he betook himself to flight +with the men still left him. There was a valley through which the main +body of the fugitives fled, and men lay scattered in heaps on both +sides; and many were severely wounded, and many so fatigued that they +were fit for nothing. The bondes pursued only a short way; for their +leaders soon returned back to the field of battle, where they had their +friends and relations to look after. + + + + +242. KING OLAF'S MIRACLE SHOWN TO THORER HUND. + +Thorer Hund went to where King Olaf's body lay, took care of it, laid +it straight out on the ground, and spread a cloak over it. He told since +that when he wiped the blood from the face it was very beautiful; and +there was red in the cheeks, as if he only slept, and even much clearer +than when he was in life. The king's blood came on Thorer's hand, and +ran up between his fingers to where he had been wounded, and the +wound grew up so speedily that it did not require to be bound up. This +circumstance was testified by Thorer himself when King Olaf's holiness +came to be generally known among the people; and Thorer Hund was among +the first of the king's powerful opponents who endeavoured to spread +abroad the king's sanctity. + + + + +243. OF KALF ARNASON'S BROTHERS. + +Kalf Arnason searched for his brothers who had fallen, and found +Thorberg and Fin. It is related that Fin threw his dagger at him, and +wanted to kill him, giving him hard words, and calling him a faithless +villain, and a traitor to his king. Kalf did not regard it, but ordered +Fin and Thorberg to be carried away from the field. When their wounds +were examined they were found not to be deadly, and they had fallen from +fatigue, and under the weight of their weapons. Thereafter Kalf tried to +bring his brothers down to a ship, and went himself with them. As +soon as he was gone the whole bonde-army, having their homes in the +neighbourhood, went off also, excepting those who had friends or +relations to look after, or the bodies of the slain to take care of. The +wounded were taken home to the farms, so that every house was full of +them; and tents were erected over some. But wonderful as was the number +collected in the bonde-army, no less wonderful was the haste with which +this vast body was dispersed when it was once free; and the cause of +this was, that the most of the people gathered together from the country +places were longing for their homes. + + + + +244. OF THE BONDES OF VERADAL. + +The bondes who had their homes in Veradal went to the chiefs Harek and +Thorer, and complained of their distress, saying, "The fugitives who +have escaped from the battle have proceeded up over the valley of +Veradal, and are destroying our habitations, and there is no safety for +us to travel home so long as they are in the valley. Go after them with +war-force, and let no mother's son of them escape with life; for that is +what they intended for us if they had got the upper hand in the battle, +and the same they would do now if they met us hereafter, and had better +luck than we. It may also be that they will linger in the valley if they +have nothing to be frightened for, and then they would not proceed very +gently in the inhabited country." The bondes made many words about this, +urging the chiefs to advance directly, and kill those who had escaped. +Now when the chiefs talked over this matter among themselves, they +thought there was much truth in what the bondes said. They resolved, +therefore, that Thorer Hund should undertake this expedition through +Veradal, with 600 men of his own troops. Then, towards evening, he set +out with his men; and Thorer continued his march without halt until he +came in the night to Sula, where he heard the news that Dag Hringson had +come there in the evening, with many other flocks of the king's men, and +had halted there until they took supper, but were afterwards gone up +to the mountains. Then Thorer said he did not care to pursue them up +through the mountains, and he returned down the valley again, and they +did not kill many of them this time. The bondes then returned to their +homes, and the following day Thorer, with his people, went to their +ships. The part of the king's men who were still on their legs concealed +themselves in the forests, and some got help from the people. + + + + +245. OF THE KING'S BROTHER, HARALD SIGURDSON. + +Harald Sigurdson was severely wounded; but Ragnvald Brusason brought him +to a bonde's the night after the battle, and the bonde took in Harald, +and healed his wound in secret, and afterwards gave him his son to +attend him. They went secretly over the mountains, and through the waste +forests, and came out in Jamtaland. Harald Sigurdson was fifteen years +old when King Olaf fell. In Jamtaland Harald found Ragnvald Brusason; +and they went both east to King Jarisleif in Russia, as is related in +the Saga of Harald Sigurdson. + + + + +246. OF THORMOD KOLBRUNARSKALD. + +Thormod Kolbrunarskald was under King Olaf's banner in the battle; but +when the king had fallen, the battle was raging so that of the king's +men the one fell by the side of the other, and the most of those who +stood on their legs were wounded. Thormod was also severely wounded, and +retired, as all the others did, back from where there was most danger of +life, and some even fled. Now when the onset began which is called Dag's +storm, all of the king's men who were able to combat went there; but +Thormod did not come into that combat, being unable to fight, both from +his wound and from weariness, but he stood by the side of his comrade in +the ranks, although he could do nothing. There he was struck by an arrow +in the left side; but he broke off the shaft of the arrow, went out of +the battle, and up towards the houses, where he came to a barn which +was a large building. Thormod had his drawn sword in his hand; and as he +went in a man met him, coming out, and said, "It is very bad there with +howling and screaming; and a great shame it is that brisk young fellows +cannot bear their wounds: it may be that the king's men have done +bravely to-day, but they certainly bear their wounds very ill." + +Thormod asks. "What is thy name?" + +He called himself Kimbe. + +Thormod: "Wast thou in the battle, too?" + +"I was with the bondes, which was the best side," says he. + +"And art thou wounded any way?" says Thormod. + +"A little," said Kimbe. "And hast thou been in the battle too?" + +Thormod replied, "I was with them who had the best." + +"Art thou wounded?" says Kimbe. + +"Not much to signify," replies Thormod. + +As Kimbe saw that Thormod had a gold ring on his arm, he said, "Thou art +certainly a king's man. Give me thy gold ring, and I will hide thee. The +bondes will kill thee if thou fallest in their way." + +Thormod says, "Take the ring if thou canst get it: I have lost that +which is more worth." + +Kimbe stretched out his hand, and wanted to take the ring; but Thormod, +swinging his sword, cut off his hand; and it is related that Kimbe +behaved himself no better under his wound than those he had been blaming +just before. Kimbe went off, and Thormod sat down in the barn, and +listened to what people were saying. The conversation was mostly +about what each had seen in the battle, and about the valour of the +combatants. Some praised most King Olaf's courage, and some named +others who stood nowise behind him in bravery. Then Thormod sang these +verses:-- + + "Olaf was brave beyond all doubt,-- + At Stiklestad was none so stout; + Spattered with blood, the king, unsparing, + Cheered on his men with deed and daring. + But I have heard that some were there + Who in the fight themselves would spare; + Though, in the arrow-storm, the most + Had perils quite enough to boast." + + + + +247. THORMOD'S DEATH. + +Thormod went out, and entered into a chamber apart, in which there were +many wounded men, and with them a woman binding their wounds. There was +fire upon the floor, at which she warmed water to wash and clean their +wounds. Thormod sat himself down beside the door, and one came in, and +another went out, of those who were busy about the wounded men. One +of them turned to Thormod, looked at him, and said, "Why art thou so +dead-pale? Art thou wounded? Why dost thou not call for the help of the +wound-healers?" Thormod then sang these verses:-- + + "I am not blooming, and the fair + And slender girl loves to care + For blooming youths--few care for me; + With Fenja's meal I cannot fee. + This is the reason why I feel + The slash and thrust of Danish steel; + And pale and faint, and bent with pain, + Return from yonder battle-plain." + +Then Thormod stood up and went in towards the fire, and stood there +awhile. The young woman said to him, "Go out, man, and bring in some of +the split firewood which lies close beside the door." He went out and +brought in an armful of wood, which he threw down upon the floor. Then +the nurse-girl looked him in the face, and said, "Dreadfully pale is +this man--why art thou so?" Then Thormod sang:-- + + "Thou wonderest, sweet sprig, at me, + A man so hideous to see: + Deep wounds but rarely mend the face, + The crippling blow gives little grace. + The arrow-drift o'ertook me, girl,-- + A fine-ground arrow in the whirl + Went through me, and I feel the dart + Sits, lovely girl, too near my heart." + +The girl said, "Let me see thy wound, and I will bind it." Thereupon +Thormod sat down, cast off his clothes, and the girl saw his wounds, and +examined that which was in his side, and felt that a piece of iron was +in it, but could not find where the iron had gone in. In a stone pot she +had stirred together leeks and other herbs, and boiled them, and gave +the wounded men of it to eat, by which she discovered if the wounds had +penetrated into the belly; for if the wound had gone so deep, it would +smell of leek. She brought some of this now to Thormod, and told him to +eat of it. He replied, "Take it away, I have no appetite for my broth." +Then she took a large pair of tongs, and tried to pull out the iron; but +it sat too fast, and would in no way come, and as the wound was swelled, +little of it stood out to lay hold of. Now said Thormod, "Cut so deep +in that thou canst get at the iron with the tongs, and give me the tongs +and let me pull." She did as he said. Then Thormod took a gold ring from +his hand, gave it to the nurse-woman, and told her to do with it what +she liked. "It is a good man's gift," said he: "King Olaf gave me the +ring this morning." Then Thormod took the tongs, and pulled the iron +out; but on the iron there was a hook, at which there hung some morsels +of flesh from the heart,--some white, some red. When he saw that, he +said, "The king has fed us well. I am fat, even at the heart-roots;" and +so saying he leant back, and was dead. And with this ends what we have +to say about Thormod. + + + + +248. OF SOME CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE BATTLE. + +King Olaf fell on Wednesday, the 29th of July (A.D. 1030). It was near +mid-day when the two armies met, and the battle began before half-past +one, and before three the king fell. The darkness continued from about +half-past one to three also. Sigvat the skald speaks thus of the result +of the battle:-- + + "The loss was great to England's foes, + When their chief fell beneath the blows + By his own thoughtless people given,-- + When the king's shield in two was riven. + The people's sovereign took the field, + The people clove the sovereign's shield. + Of all the chiefs that bloody day, + Dag only came out of the fray." + +And he composed these:-- + + "Such mighty bonde-power, I ween, + With chiefs or rulers ne'er was seen. + It was the people's mighty power + That struck the king that fatal hour. + When such a king, in such a strife, + By his own people lost his life, + Full many a gallant man must feel + The death-wound from the people's steel." + +The bondes did not spoil the slain upon the field of battle, for +immediately after the battle there came upon many of them who had been +against the king a kind of dread as it were; yet they held by their evil +inclination, for they resolved among themselves that all who had fallen +with the king should not receive the interment which belongs to good +men, but reckoned them all robbers and outlaws. But the men who had +power, and had relations on the field, cared little for this, but +removed their remains to the churches, and took care of their burial. + + + + +249. A MIRACLE ON A BLIND MAN. + +Thorgils Halmason and his son Grim went to the field of battle towards +evening when it was dusk, took King Olaf's corpse up, and bore it to a +little empty houseman's hut which stood on the other side of their farm. +They had light and water with them. Then they took the clothes off +the body, swathed it in a linen cloth, laid it down in the house, and +concealed it under some firewood so that nobody could see it, even +if people came into the hut. Thereafter they went home again to the +farmhouse. A great many beggars and poor people had followed both +armies, who begged for meat; and the evening after the battle many +remained there, and sought lodging round about in all the houses, great +or small. It is told of a blind man who was poor, that a boy attended +him and led him. They went out around the farm to seek a lodging, and +came to the same empty house, of which the door was so low that they had +almost to creep in. Now when the blind man had come in, he fumbled about +the floor seeking a place where he could lay himself down. He had a hat +on his head, which fell down over his face when he stooped down. He felt +with his hands that there was moisture on the floor, and he put up his +wet hand to raise his hat, and in doing so put his fingers on his eyes. +There came immediately such an itching in his eyelids, that he wiped the +water with his fingers from his eyes, and went out of the hut, saying +nobody could lie there, it was so wet. When he came out of the hut he +could distinguish his hands, and all that was near him, as far as things +can be distinguished by sight in the darkness of light; and he went +immediately to the farm-house into the room, and told all the people he +had got his sight again, and could see everything, although many knew +he had been blind for a long time, for he had been there, before, going +about among the houses of the neighbourhood. He said he first got his +sight when he was coming out of a little ruinous hut which was all wet +inside. "I groped in the water," said he, "and rubbed my eyes with +my wet hands." He told where the hut stood. The people who heard him +wondered much at this event, and spoke among themselves of what it could +be that produced it: but Thorgils the peasant and his son Grim thought +they knew how this came to pass; and as they were much afraid the king's +enemies might go there and search the hut, they went and took the body +out of it, and removed it to a garden, where they concealed it, and then +returned to the farm, and slept there all night. + + + + +250. OF THORER HUND. + +The fifth day (Thursday), Thorer Hund came down the valley of Veradal +to Stiklestad; and many people, both chiefs and bondes, accompanied him. +The field of battle was still being cleared, and people were carrying +away the bodies of their friends and relations, and were giving the +necessary help to such of the wounded as they wished to save; but +many had died since the battle. Thorer Hund went to where the king had +fallen, and searched for his body; but not finding it, he inquired if +any one could tell him what had become of the corpse, but nobody could +tell him where it was. Then he asked the bonde Thorgils, who said, "I +was not in the battle, and knew little of what took place there; but +many reports are abroad, and among others that King Olaf has been seen +in the night up at Staf, and a troop of people with him: but if he fell +in the battle, your men must have concealed him in some hole, or under +some stone-heap." Now although Thorer Hund knew for certain that the +king had fallen, many allowed themselves to believe, and to spread +abroad the report, that the king had escaped from the battle, and would +in a short time come again upon them with an army. Then Thorer went +to his ships, and sailed down the fjord, and the bonde-army dispersed, +carrying with them all the wounded men who could bear to be removed. + + + + +251. OF KING OLAF'S BODY. + +Thorgils Halmason and his son Grim had King Olaf's body, and were +anxious about preserving it from falling into the hands of the king's +enemies, and being ill-treated; for they heard the bondes speaking about +burning it, or sinking it in the sea. The father and son had seen a +clear light burning at night over the spot on the battlefield where King +Olaf's body lay, and since, while they concealed it, they had always +seen at night a light burning over the corpse; therefore they were +afraid the king's enemies might seek the body where this signal was +visible. They hastened, therefore, to take the body to a place where +it would be safe. Thorgils and his son accordingly made a coffin, which +they adorned as well as they could, and laid the king's body in it; +and afterwards made another coffin in which they laid stones and straw, +about as much as the weight of a man, and carefully closed the coffins. +As soon as the whole bonde-army had left Stiklestad, Thorgils and his +son made themselves ready, got a large rowing-boat, and took with them +seven or eight men, who were all Thorgil's relations or friends, and +privately took the coffin with the king's body down to the boat, and set +it under the foot-boards. They had also with them the coffin containing +the stones, and placed it in the boat where all could see it; and then +went down the fjord with a good opportunity of wind and weather, and +arrived in the dusk of the evening at Nidaros, where they brought up at +the king's pier. Then Thorgils sent some of his men up to the town to +Bishop Sigurd, to say that they were come with the king's body. As soon +as the bishop heard this news, he sent his men down to the pier, and +they took a small rowing-boat, came alongside of Thorgil's ship, and +demanded the king's body. Thorgils and his people then took the coffin +which stood in view, and bore it into the boat; and the bishop's men +rowed out into the fjord, and sank the coffin in the sea. It was now +quite dark. Thorgils and his people now rowed up into the river past the +town, and landed at a place called Saurhlid, above the town. Then they +carried the king's body to an empty house standing at a distance from +other houses, and watched over it for the night, while Thorgils went +down to the town, where he spoke with some of the best friends of King +Olaf, and asked them if they would take charge of the king's body; but +none of them dared to do so. Then Thorgils and his men went with the +body higher up the river, buried it in a sand-hill on the banks, and +levelled all around it so that no one could observe that people had been +at work there. They were ready with all this before break of day, when +they returned to their vessel, went immediately out of the river, and +proceeded on their way home to Stiklestad. + + + + +252. OF THE BEGINNING OF KING SVEIN ALFIFASON'S GOVERNMENT. + +Svein, a son of King Canute, and of Alfifa, a daughter of Earl Alfrin, +had been appointed to govern Jomsborg in Vindland. There came a message +to him from his father King Canute, that he should come to Denmark; +and likewise that afterwards he should proceed to Norway, and take that +kingdom under his charge, and assume, at the same time, the title of +king of Norway. Svein repaired to Denmark, and took many people with him +from thence, and also Earl Harald and many other people of consequence +attended him. Thorarin Loftunga speaks of this in the song he composed +about King Svein, called the "Glelogn Song":-- + + "'Tis told by fame, + How grandly came + The Danes to tend + Their young king Svein. + Grandest was he, + That all could see; + Then, one by one, + Each following man + More splendour wore + Than him before." + +Then Svein proceeded to Norway, and his mother Alfifa was with him; +and he was taken to be king at every Law-thing in the country. He +had already come as far as Viken at the time the battle was fought at +Stiklestad, and King Olaf fell. Svein continued his journey until +he came north, in autumn, to the Throndhjem country; and there, as +elsewhere, he was received as king. + + + + +253. OF KING SVEIN'S LAWS. + +King Svein introduced new laws in many respects into the country, partly +after those which were in Denmark, and in part much more severe. No man +must leave the country without the king's permission; or if he did, his +property fell to the king. Whoever killed a man outright, should forfeit +all his land and movables. If any one was banished the country, and all +heritage fell to him, the king took his inheritance. At Yule every man +should pay the king a meal of malt from every harvest steading, and a +leg of a three-year old ox, which was called a friendly gift, together +with a spand of butter; and every house-wife a rock full of unspun lint, +as thick as one could span with the longest fingers of the hand. The +bondes were bound to build all the houses the king required upon his +farms. Of every seven males one should be taken for the service of war, +and reckoning from the fifth year of age; and the outfit of ships should +be reckoned in the same proportion. Every man who rowed upon the sea +to fish should pay the king five fish as a tax, for the land defence, +wherever he might come from. Every ship that went out of the country +should have stowage reserved open for the king in the middle of the +ship. Every man, foreigner or native, who went to Iceland, should pay a +tax to the king. And to all this was added, that Danes should enjoy so +much consideration in Norway, that one witness of them should invalidate +ten of Northmen (1). + +When these laws were promulgated the minds of the people were instantly +raised against them, and murmurs were heard among them. They who had not +taken part against King Olaf said, "Now take your reward and friendship +from the Canute race, ye men of the interior Throndhjem who fought +against King Olaf, and deprived him of his kingdom. Ye were promised +peace and justice, and now ye have got oppression and slavery for your +great treachery and crime." Nor was it very easy to contradict them, as +all men saw how miserable the change had been. But people had not the +boldness to make an insurrection against King Svein, principally +because many had given King Canute their sons or other near relations as +hostages; and also because no one appeared as leader of an insurrection. +They very soon, however, complained of King Svein; and his mother Alfifa +got much of the blame of all that was against their desire. Then the +truth, with regard to Olaf, became evident to many. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) This may probably have referred not to witnesses of an +act, but to the class of witnesses in the jurisprudence of the + Middle Ages called compurgators, who testified not the fact, + but their confidence in the statements of the accused; and + from which, possibly, our English bail for offenders arose. + --L. + + + + +254. OF KING OLAF'S SANCTITY. + +This winter (A.D. 1031) many in the Throndhjem land began to declare +that Olaf was in reality a holy man, and his sanctity was confirmed by +many miracles. Many began to make promises and prayers to King Olaf in +the matters in which they thought they required help, and many found +great benefit from these invocations. Some in respect of health, others +of a journey, or other circumstances in which such help seemed needful. + + + + +255. OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER. + +Einar Tambaskelfer was come home from England to his farm, and had the +fiefs which King Canute had given him when they met in Throndhjem, and +which were almost an earldom. Einar had not been in the strife against +King Olaf, and congratulated himself upon it. He remembered that King +Canute had promised him the earldom over Norway, and at the same time +remembered that King Canute had not kept his promise. He was accordingly +the first great person who looked upon King Olaf as a saint. + + + + +256. OF THE SONS OF ARNE. + +Fin Arnason remained but a short time at Eggja with his brother Kalf; +for he was in the highest degree ill-pleased that Kalf had been in the +battle against King Olaf, and always made his brother the bitterest +reproaches on this account. Thorberg Arnason was much more temperate in +his discourse than Fin; but yet he hastened away, and went home to his +farm. Kalf gave the two brothers a good long-ship, with full rigging and +other necessaries, and a good retinue. Therefore they went home to their +farms, and sat quietly at home. Arne Arnason lay long ill of his wounds, +but got well at last without injury of any limb, and in winter he +proceeded south to his farm. All the brothers made their peace with King +Svein, and sat themselves quietly down in their homes. + + + + +257. BISHOP SIGURD'S FLIGHT. + +The summer after (A.D. 1031) there was much talk about King Olaf's +sanctity, and there was a great alteration in the expressions of all +people concerning him. There were many who now believed that King +Olaf must be a saint, even among those who had persecuted him with the +greatest animosity, and would never in their conversation allow truth +or justice in his favour. People began then to turn their reproaches +against the men who had principally excited opposition to the king; and +on this account Bishop Sigurd in particular was accused. He got so many +enemies, that he found it most advisable to go over to England to King +Canute. Then the Throndhjem people sent men with a verbal message to the +Uplands, to Bishop Grimkel, desiring him to come north to Throndhjem. +King Olaf had sent Bishop Grimkel back to Norway when he went east into +Russia, and since that time Grimkel had been in the Uplands. When the +message came to the bishop he made ready to go, and it contributed much +to this journey that the bishop considered it as true what was told of +King Olaf's miracles and sanctity. + + + + +258. KING OLAF THE SAINT'S REMAINS DISINTERRED. + +Bishop Grimkel went to Einar Tambaskelfer, who received him joyfully. +They talked over many things, and, among others, of the important events +which had taken place in the country; and concerning these they were +perfectly agreed. Then the bishop proceeded to the town (Nidaros), +and was well received by all the community. He inquired particularly +concerning the miracles of King Olaf that were reported, and received +satisfactory accounts of them. Thereupon the bishop sent a verbal +message to Stiklestad to Thorgils and his son Grim, inviting them to +come to the town to him. They did not decline the invitation, but set +out on the road immediately, and came to the town and to the bishop. +They related to him all the signs that had presented themselves to them, +and also where they had deposited the king's body. The bishop sent a +message to Einar Tambaskelfer, who came to the town. Then the bishop and +Einar had an audience of the king and Alfifa, in which they asked the +king's leave to have King Olaf's body taken up out of the earth. The +king gave his permission, and told the bishop to do as he pleased in +the matter. At that time there were a great many people in the town. +The bishop, Einar, and some men with them, went to the place where +the king's body was buried, and had the place dug; but the coffin had +already raised itself almost to the surface of the earth. It was then +the opinion of many that the bishop should proceed to have the king +buried in the earth at Clement's church; and it was so done. Twelve +months and five days (Aug. 3, A.D. 1031), after King Olaf's death +his holy remains were dug up, and the coffin had raised itself almost +entirely to the surface of the earth; and the coffin appeared quite +new, as if it had but lately been made. When Bishop Grimkel came to King +Olaf's opened coffin, there was a delightful and fresh smell. Thereupon +the bishop uncovered the king's face, and his appearance was in no +respect altered, and his cheeks were as red as if he had but just fallen +asleep. The men who had seen King Olaf when he fell remarked, also, that +his hair and nails had grown as much as if he had lived on the earth all +the time that had passed since his fall. Thereupon King Svein, and all +the chiefs who were at the place, went out to see King Olaf's body. Then +said Alfifa, "People buried in sand rot very slowly, and it would not +have been so if he had been buried in earth." Afterwards the bishop took +scissors, clipped the king's hair, and arranged his beard; for he had +had a long beard, according to the fashion of that time. Then said the +bishop to the king and Alfifa, "Now the king's hair and beard are such +as when he gave up the ghost, and it has grown as much as ye see has +been cut off." Alfifa answers, "I will believe in the sanctity of his +hair, if it will not burn in the fire; but I have often seen men's hair +whole and undamaged after lying longer in the earth than this man's." +Then the bishop had live coals put into a pan, blessed it, cast incense +upon it, and then laid King Olaf's hair on the fire. When all the +incense was burnt the bishop took the hair out of the fire, and showed +the king and the other chiefs that it was not consumed. Now Alfifa +asked that the hair should be laid upon unconsecrated fire; but Einar +Tambaskelfer told her to be silent, and gave her many severe reproaches +for her unbelief. After the bishop's recognition, with the king's +approbation and the decision of the Thing, it was determined that King +Olaf should be considered a man truly holy; whereupon his body was +transported into Clement's church, and a place was prepared for it near +the high altar. The coffin was covered with costly cloth, and stood +under a gold embroidered tent. Many kinds of miracles were soon wrought +by King Olaf's holy remains. + + + + +259. OF KING OLAF'S MIRACLES. + +In the sand-hill where King Olaf's body had lain on the ground +a beautiful spring of water came up and many human ailments and +infirmities were cured by its waters. Things were put in order around +it, and the water ever since has been carefully preserved. There was +first a chapel built, and an altar consecrated, where the king's body +had lain; but now Christ's church stands upon the spot. Archbishop +Eystein had a high altar raised upon the spot where the king's grave had +been, when he erected the great temple which now stands there; and it is +the same spot on which the altar of the old Christ church had stood. It +is said that Olaf's church stands on the spot on which the empty house +had stood in which King Olaf's body had been laid for the night. The +place over which the holy remains of King Olaf were carried up from the +vessel is now called Olaf's Road, and is now in the middle of the town. +The bishop adorned King Olaf's holy remains, and cut his nails and hair; +for both grew as if he had still been alive. So says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "I lie not, when I say the king + Seemed as alive in every thing: + His nails, his yellow hair still growing, + And round his ruddy cheek still flowing, + As when, to please the Russian queen, + His yellow locks adorned were seen; + Or to the blind he cured he gave + A tress, their precious sight to save." + +Thorarin Loftunga also composed a song upon Svein Alfifason, called the +"Glelogn Song", in which are these verses:-- + + "Svein, king of all, + In Olaf's hall + Now sits on high; + And Olaf's eye + Looks down from heaven, + Where it is given + To him to dwell: + Or here in cell, + As heavenly saint, + To heal men's plaint, + May our gold-giver + Live here for ever! + + "King Olaf there + To hold a share + On earth prepared, + Nor labour spared + A seat to win + From heaven's great King; + Which he has won + Next God's own Son. + + "His holy form, + Untouched by worm, + Lies at this day + Where good men pray, + And nails and hair + Grow fresh and fair; + His cheek is red, + His flesh not dead. + + "Around his bier, + Good people hear + The small bells ring + Over the king, + Or great bell toll; + And living soul + Not one can tell + Who tolls the bell. + + "Tapers up there, + (Which Christ holds dear,) + By day and night + The altar light: + Olaf did so, + And all men know + In heaven he + From sin sits free. + + "And crowds do come, + The deaf and dumb, + Cripple and blind, + Sick of all kind, + Cured to be + On bended knee; + And off the ground + Rise whole and sound. + + "To Olaf pray + To eke thy day, + To save thy land + From spoiler's hand. + God's man is he + To deal to thee + Good crops and peace; + Let not prayer cease. + + "Book-prayers prevail, + If, nail for nail (1), + Thou tellest on, + Forgetting none." + +Thorarin Loftunga was himself with King Svein, and heard these great +testimonials of King Olaf's holiness, that people, by the heavenly +power, could hear a sound over his holy remains as if bells were +ringing, and that candles were lighted of themselves upon the altar as +by a heavenly fire. But when Thorarin says that a multitude of lame, and +blind, and other sick, who came to the holy Olaf, went back cured, he +means nothing more than that there were a vast number of persons who at +the beginning of King Olaf's miraculous working regained their health. +King Olaf's greatest miracles are clearly written down, although they +occurred somewhat later. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Before the entrance of the temples or churches were posts + called Ondveigis-sulor, with nails called Rigin-naglar-- + the gods' nails--either for ornament, or, as Schoning + suggests, to assist the people in reckoning weeks, months, + festivals, and in reckoning or keeping tale of prayers + repeated, and to recall them to memory, in the same way as + beads are used still by the common people in Catholic + countries for the same purpose.--L. + + + + +260. OF KING OLAF'S AGE AND REIGN. + +It is reckoned by those who have kept an exact account, that Olaf the +Saint was king of Norway for fifteen years from the time Earl Svein left +the country; but he had received the title of king from the people of +the Uplands the winter before. Sigvat the skald tells this:-- + + "For fifteen winters o'er the land + King Olaf held the chief command, + Before he fell up in the North: + His fall made known to us his worth. + No worthier prince before his day + In our North land e'er held the sway, + Too short he held it for our good; + All men wish now that he had stood." + +Saint Olaf was thirty-five years old when he fell, according to what +Are Frode the priest says, and he had been in twenty pitched battles. So +says Sigvat the skald:-- + + "Some leaders trust in God--some not; + Even so their men; but well I wot + God-fearing Olaf fought and won + Twenty pitched battles, one by one, + And always placed upon his right + His Christian men in a hard fight. + May God be merciful, I pray, + To him--for he ne'er shunned his fray." + +We have now related a part of King Olaf's story, namely, the events +which took place while he ruled over Norway; also his death, and how his +holiness was manifested. Now shall we not neglect to mention what it +was that most advanced his honour. This was his miracles; but these will +come to be treated of afterwards in this book. + + + + +261. OF THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE. + +King Svein, the son of Canute the Great, ruled over Norway for some +years; but was a child both in age and understanding. His mother Alfifa +had most sway in the country; and the people of the country were her +great enemies, both then and ever since. Danish people had a great +superiority given them within the country, to the great dissatisfaction +of the people; and when conversation turned that way, the people of +the rest of Norway accused the Throndhjem people of having principally +occasioned King Olaf the Holy's fall, and also that the men of Norway +were subject, through them, to the ill government by which oppression +and slavery had come upon all the people, both great and small; indeed +upon the whole community. They insisted that it was the duty of the +Throndhjem people to attempt opposition and insurrection, and thus +relieve the country from such tyranny; and, in the opinion of the common +people, Throndhjem was also the chief seat of the strength of Norway at +that time, both on account of the chiefs and of the population of +that quarter. When the Throndhjem people heard these remarks of their +countrymen, they could not deny that there was much truth in them, and +that in depriving King Olaf of life and land they had committed a great +crime, and at the same time the misdeed had been ill paid. The chiefs +began to hold consultations and conferences with each other, and the +leader of these was Einar Tambaskelfer. It was likewise the case with +Kalf Arnason, who began to find into what errors he had been drawn by +King Canute's persuasion. All the promises which King Canute had made +to Kalf had been broken; for he had promised him the earldom and the +highest authority in Norway: and although Kalf had been the leader +in the battle against King Olaf, and had deprived him of his life and +kingdom, Kalf had not got any higher dignity than he had before. He felt +that he had been deceived, and therefore messages passed between the +brothers Kalf, Fin, Thorberg, and Arne, and they renewed their family +friendship. + + + + +262. OF KING SVEIN'S LEVY. + +When King Svein had been three years in Norway (A.D. 1031-33), the news +was received that a force was assembled in the western countries, under +a chief who called himself Trygve, and gave out that he was a son of +Olaf Trygvason and Queen Gyda of England. Now when King Svein heard that +foreign troops had come to the country, he ordered out the people on a +levy in the north, and the most of the lendermen hastened to him; but +Einar Tambaskelfer remained at home, and would not go out with King +Svein. When King Svein's order came to Kalf Arnason at Eggja, that he +should go out on a levy with King Svein, he took a twenty-benched ship +which he owned, went on board with his house-servants, and in all haste +proceeded out of the fjord, without waiting for King Svein, sailed +southwards to More, and continued his voyage south until he came to +Giske to his brother Thorberg. Then all the brothers, the sons of Arne, +held a meeting, and consulted with each other. After this Kalf returned +to the north again; but when he came to Frekeysund, King Svein was lying +in the sound before him. When Kalf came rowing from the south into the +sound they hailed each other, and the king's men ordered Kalf to bring +up with his vessel, and follow the king for the defence of the country. +Kalf replies, "I have done enough, if not too much, when I fought +against my own countrymen to increase the power of the Canute family." +Thereupon Kalf rowed away to the north until he came home to Eggja. +None of these Arnasons appeared at this levy to accompany the king. He +steered with his fleet southwards along the land; but as he could not +hear the least news of any fleet having come from the west, he steered +south to Rogaland, and all the way to Agder; for many guessed that +Trygve would first make his attempt on Viken, because his forefathers +had been there, and had most of their strength from that quarter, and he +had himself great strength by family connection there. + + + + +263. KING TRYGVE OLAFSON'S FALL. + +When Trygve came from the west he landed first on the coast of +Hordaland, and when he heard King Svein had gone south he went the same +way to Rogaland. As soon as Svein got the intelligence that Trygve had +come from the west he returned, and steered north with his fleet; and +both fleets met within Bokn in Soknarsund, not far from the place where +Erling Skjalgson fell. The battle, which took place on a Sunday, was +great and severe. People tell that Trygve threw spears with both hands +at once. "So my father," said he, "taught me to celebrate mass." His +enemies had said that he was the son of a priest; but the praise must +be allowed him that he showed himself more like a son of King Olaf +Trygvason, for this Trygve was a slaughtering man. In this battle King +Trygve fell, and many of his men with him; but some fled, and some +received quarter and their lives. It is thus related in the ballad of +Trygve:-- + + "Trygve comes from the northern coast, + King Svein turns round with all his host; + To meet and fight, they both prepare, + And where they met grim death was there. + From the sharp strife I was not far,-- + I heard the din and the clang of war; + And the Hordaland men at last gave way, + And their leader fell, and they lost the day." + +This battle is also told of in the ballad about King Svein, thus:-- + + "My girl! it was a Sunday morn, + And many a man ne'er saw its eve, + Though ale and leeks by old wives borne + The bruised and wounded did relieve. + 'Twas Sunday morn, when Svein calls out, + 'Stem to stem your vessels bind;' + The raven a mid-day feast smells out, + And he comes croaking up the wind." + +After this battle King Svein ruled the country for some time, and there +was peace in the land. The winter after it (A.D. 1034) he passed in the +south parts of the country. + + + + +264. OF THE COUNSELS OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER AND KALF ARNASON. + +Einar Tambaskelfer and Kalf Arnason had this winter meetings and +consultations between themselves in the merchant town (1). Then there +came a messenger from King Canute to Kalf Arnason, with a message to +send him three dozen axes, which must be chosen and good. Kalf replies, +"I will send no axes to King Canute. Tell him I will bring his son Svein +so many, that he shall not think he is in want of any." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Nidaros, or Throndhjem, is usually called merely the + merchant town.--L. + + + + +265. OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER AND KALF ARNASON'S JOURNEY. + +Early in spring (A.D. 1034) Einar Tambaskelfer and Kalf Arnason made +themselves ready for a journey, with a great retinue of the best and +most select men that could be found in the Throndhjem country. They +went in spring eastward over the ridge of the country to Jamtaland, +from thence to Helsingjaland, and came to Svithjod, where they procured +ships, with which in summer they proceeded east to Russia, and came in +autumn to Ladoga. They sent men up to Novgorod to King Jarisleif, with +the errand that they offered Magnus, the son of King Olaf the Saint, +to take him with them, follow him to Norway, and give him assistance +to attain his father's heritage and be made king over the country. When +this message came to King Jarisleif he held a consultation with the +queen and some chiefs, and they all resolved unanimously to send a +message to the Northmen, and ask them to come to King Jarisleif and +Magnus; for which journey safe conduct was given them. When they came to +Novgorod it was settled among them that the Northmen who had come there +should become Magnus's men, and be his subjects; and to this Kalf and +the other men who had been against King Olaf at Stiklestad were solemnly +bound by oath. On the other hand, King Magnus promised them, under oath, +secure peace and full reconciliation; and that he would be true and +faithful to them all when he got the dominions and kingdom of Norway. He +was to become Kalf Arnason's foster-son; and Kalf should be bound to do +all that Magnus might think necessary for extending his dominion, and +making it more independent than formerly. + + + + +SAGA OF MAGNUS THE GOOD. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Magnus reigned from A.D. 1035 to 1047, when he died. During the last +year of his reign his half-brother Harald Sigurdson was his co-regent. + +The history of Magnus is treated in "Agrip.", ch. 28-32; in +"Fagrskinna", ch. 119-146; in "Fornmannasogur", part vi., and in +"Knytlinga Saga". + +The skalds quoted in this saga are: Arnor the earls' skald (Arnor +Jarlaskald), Sigvat, Thjodulf, Bjarne Gullbrarskald, Thorgeir Flek, Od +Kikinaskald. + + + + +1. MAGNUS OLAFSON'S JOURNEY FROM THE WEST. + +After Yule Magnus Olafson began his journey from the East from Novgorod +to Ladoga, where he rigged out his ships as soon as the ice was loosened +in spring (A.D. 1035). Arnor, the earls' skald, tells of this in the +poem on Magnus:-- + + "It is no loose report that he, + Who will command on land and sea, + In blood will make his foeman feel + Olaf's sword Hneiter's sharp blue steel. + This generous youth, who scatters gold, + Norway's brave son, but ten years old, + Is rigging ships in Russia's lake, + His crown, with friend's support, to take." + +In spring Magnus sailed from the East to Svithjod. So says Arnor:-- + + "The young sword-stainer called a Thing, + Where all his men should meet their king: + Heroes who find the eagle food + Before their lord in arms stood. + And now the curved plank of the bow + Cleaves the blue sea; the ocean-plough + By grey winds driven across the main, + Reaches Sigtuna's grassy plain." + +Here it is related that when King Magnus and his fellow-travellers +sailed from the East to Svithjod, they brought up at Sigtuna. Emund +Olafson was then king in Svithjod. Queen Astrid, who had been married to +King Olaf the Saint, was also there. She received very gladly and well +her stepson King Magnus, and summoned immediately a numerous Thing of +Swedes at a place called Hangtar. At the Thing Queen Astrid spoke these +words: "Here is come to us a son of Olaf the Saint, called Magnus, who +intends to make an expedition to Norway to seek his father's heritage. +It is my great duty to give him aid towards this expedition; for he is +my stepson, as is well known to all, both Swedes and Norwegians. Neither +shall he want men or money, in so far as I can procure them or have +influence, in order that his strength may be as great as possible; and +all the men who will support this cause of his shall have my fullest +friendship; and I would have it known that I intend myself to go with +him on this attempt, that all may see I will spare nothing that is in my +power to help him." She spoke long and cleverly in this strain; but when +she had ended many replied thus: "The Swedes made no honourable progress +in Norway when they followed King Olaf his father, and now no better +success is to be expected, as this man is but in years of boyhood; +and therefore we have little inclination for this expedition." Astrid +replies, "All men who wish to be thought of true courage must not be +deterred by such considerations. If any have lost connections at the +side of King Olaf, or been themselves wounded, now is the time to show +a man's heart and courage, and go to Norway to take vengeance." Astrid +succeeded so far with words and encouragement that many men determined +to go with her, and follow King Magnus to Norway. Sigvat the skald +speaks of this:-- + + "Now Astrtd, Olaf's widowed Queen,-- + She who so many a change had seen,-- + Took all the gifts of happier days, + Jewels and rings, all she could raise, + And at a Thing at Hangrar, where + The Swedes were numerous, did declare + What Olaf's son proposed to do, + And brought her gifts--their pay--in view. + + "And with the Swedes no wiser plan, + To bring out every brave bold man, + Could have been found, had Magnus been + The son himself of the good queen. + With help of Christ, she hoped to bring + Magnus to be the land's sole king, + As Harald was, who in his day + Obtained o'er all the upper sway. + + "And glad are we so well she sped,-- + The people's friend is now their head; + And good King Magnus always shows + How much be to Queen Astrid owes. + Such stepmothers as this good queen + In truth are very rarely seen; + And to this noble woman's praise + The skald with joy his song will raise." + +Thiodolf the skald also says in his song of Magnus:-- + + "When thy brave ship left the land, + The bending yard could scarce withstand + The fury of the whistling gale, + That split thy many-coloured sail; + And many a stout ship, tempest-tost, + Was in that howling storm lost + That brought them safe to Sigtuna's shore, + Far from the sound of ocean's roar." + + + + +2. MAGNUS'S EXPEDITION FROM SVITHJOD. + +King Magnus set out on his journey from Sigtuna with a great force, +which he had gathered in Svithjod. They proceeded through Svithjod on +foot to Helsingjaland. So says Arnor, the earl's skald:-- + + "And many a dark-red Swedish shield + Marched with thee from the Swedish field. + The country people crowded in, + To help Saint Olaf's son to win; + And chosen men by thee were led, + Men who have stained the wolf's tongue red. + Each milk-white shield and polished spear + Came to a splendid gathering there." + +Magnus Olafson went from the East through Jamtaland over the keel-ridge +of the country and came down upon the Throndhjem district, where all men +welcomed the king with joy. But no sooner did the men of King Svein, the +son of Alfifa, hear that King Magnus Olafson was come to the country, +than they fled on all sides and concealed themselves, so that no +opposition was made to King Magnus; for King Svein was in the south part +of the country. So says Arnor, the earls' skald:-- + + "He who the eagle's talons stains + Rushed from the East on Throndhjem's plains; + The terror of his plumed helm + Drove his pale foemen from the realm. + The lightning of thy eye so near, + Great king! thy foemen could not bear, + Scattered they fled--their only care + If thou their wretched lives wilt spare." + + + + +3. MAGNUS MADE KING. + +Magnus Olafson advanced to the town (Nidaros), where he was joyfully +received. He then summoned the people to the Eyra-thing (1); and when +the bondes met at the Thing, Magnus was taken to be king over the whole +land, as far as his father Olaf had possessed it. Then the king selected +a court, and named lendermen, and placed bailiffs and officers in all +domains and offices. Immediately after harvest King Magnus ordered a +levy through all Throndhjem land, and he collected men readily; and +thereafter he proceeded southwards along the coast. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Eyra Thing, held on the ayr of the river Nid, that is, on + the spit of sand, still called an ayr in the north of + Scotland, dividing a lake, pond, or river-mouth from the + sea. At the Thing held here the kings of Norway were chosen + and proclaimed. It was held to be the proper Thing for + settling disputes between kings in Norway.--L. + + + + +4. KING SVEIN'S FLIGHT. + +King Svein Alfifason was staying in South Hordaland when he heard +this news of war. He immediately sent out war-tokens to four different +quarters, summoned the bondes to him, and made it known to all that they +should join him with men and ships to defend the country. All the men +who were in the neighbourhood of the king presented themselves; and the +king formed a Thing, at which in a speech he set forth his business, and +said he would advance against Magnus Olafson and have a battle with him, +if the bondes would aid his cause. The king's speech was not very long, +and was not received with much approbation by the bondes. Afterwards the +Danish chiefs who were about the king made long and clever speeches; but +the bondes then took up the word, and answered them; and although many +said they would follow Svein, and fight on his side, some refused to do +so bluntly, some were altogether silent, and some declared they would +join King Magnus as soon as they had an opportunity. Then King Svein +says, "Methinks very few of the bondes to whom we sent a message have +appeared here; and of those who have come, and tell us to our face that +they will join King Magnus as soon as they can, we shall have as little +benefit as of those who say they will sit at home quietly. It is the +same with those who say nothing at all. But as to those who promise to +help us, there are not more than every other man; and that force will +avail us little against King Magnus. It is my counsel, therefore, that +we do not trust to these bondes; but let us rather go to the land where +all the people are sure and true to us, and where we will obtain forces +to conquer this country again." As soon as the king had made known +this resolution all his men followed it, turned their ship's bows, and +hoisted sail. King Svein sailed eastward along the land, and then set +right over to Denmark without delay, and Hardaknut received his brother +Svein very kindly. At their first meeting Hardaknut offered King Svein +to divide the kingdom of Denmark with him, which offer King Svein +accepted. + + + + +5. KING MAGNUS'S JOURNEY TO NORWAY. + +In autumn (A.D. 1035) King Magnus proceeded eastward to the end of the +country, and was received as king throughout the whole land, and the +country people were rejoiced at his arrival. + + + + +6. DEATH OF KING CANUTE THE GREAT AND HIS SON SVEIN. + +King Svein, Canute's son, went to Denmark, as before related, and took +part in the government with his brother Hardaknut. In the same autumn +King Canute the Great died in England, the 13th November, forty years +old, and was buried at Winchester. He had been king of Denmark for +twenty-seven years, and over Denmark and England together twenty-four +years, and also over Norway for seven years. King Canute's son Harald +was then made king in England. The same winter (A.D. 1036) King Svein, +Alfifa's son, died in Denmark. Thiodolf the skald made these lines +concerning King Magnus:-- + + "Through Sweden's dirty roads the throng + Followed the king in spearmen strong. + Svein doth fly, in truth afraid, + And partly by his men betrayed; + Flying to Denmark o'er the sea, + He leaves the land quite clear to thee." + +Bjarne Gullbrarskald composed the following lines concerning Kalf +Arnason:-- + + "By thee the kings got each his own,-- + Magnus by thee got Norway's throne; + And Svein in Denmark got a seat, + When out of Norway he was beat. + Kalf! It was you who showed the way + To our young king, the battle-lover,-- + From Russia to his father's sway + You showed the way, and brought him over." + +King Magnus ruled over Norway this winter (A.D. 1036), and Hardaknut +over Denmark. + + + + +7. RECONCILIATION BETWEEN HARDAKNUT AND KING MAGNUS. + +The following spring (A.D. 1036) the kings on both sides ordered out a +levy, and the news was that they would have a battle at the Gaut river; +but when the two armies approached each other, the lendermen in the one +army sent messengers to their connections and friends in the other; +and it came to a proposal for a reconciliation between the two kings, +especially as, from both kings being but young and childish, some +powerful men, who had been chosen in each of the countries for that +purpose, had the rule of the country on their account. It thus was +brought about that there was a friendly meeting between the kings, +and in this meeting a peace was proposed; and the peace was to be a +brotherly union under oath to keep the peace towards each other to the +end of their lives; and if one of them should die without leaving a son, +the longest liver should succeed to the whole land and people. Twelve +of the principal men in each kingdom swore to the kings that this treaty +should be observed, so long as any one of them was in life. Then the +kings separated, and each returned home to his kingdom; and the treaty +was kept as long as both lived. + + + + +8. OF QUEEN ASTRID. + +Queen Astrid, who had been married to King Olaf the Saint, came to +Norway with King Magnus her stepson, as before related, and was held by +him deservedly in great honour and esteem. Then came also Alfhild, +King Magnus's mother, to the court, and the king received her with +the greatest affection, and showed her great respect. But it went with +Alfhild, as it does with many who come to power and honour, that pride +keeps pace with promotion. She was ill pleased that Queen Astrid was +treated with more respect, had a higher seat, and more attention. +Alfhild wanted to have a seat next to the king, but Astrid called +Alfhild her slave-woman, as indeed she had formerly been when Astrid was +queen of Norway and King Olaf ruled the land, and therefore would on no +account let her have a seat beside her, and they could not lodge in the +same house. + + + + +9. OF SIGVAT THE SKALD. + +Sigvat the skald had gone to Rome, where he was at the time of the +battle of Stiklestad. + +He was on his way back from the South when he heard tidings of King +Olaf's fall, which gave him great grief. He then sang these lines:-- + + "One morning early on a hill, + The misty town asleep and still, + Wandering I thought upon the fields. + Strewed o'er with broken mail and shields, + Where our king fell,--our kind good king, + Where now his happy youthful spring? + My father too!--for Thord was then + One of the good king's chosen men." + +One day Sigvat went through a village, and heard a husband lamenting +grievously over the loss of his wife, striking his breast, tearing his +clothes, weeping bitterly, and saying he wanted to die; and Sigvat sang +these lines:-- + + "This poor man mourns a much-loved wife, + Gladly would he be quit of life. + Must love be paid for by our grief? + The price seems great for joy so brief. + But the brave man who knows no fear + Drops for his king a silent tear, + And feels, perhaps, his loss as deep + As those who clamour when they weep." + +Sigvat came home to Norway to the Throndhjem country, where he had a +farm and children. He came from the South along the coast in a merchant +vessel, and as they lay in Hillarsund they saw a great many ravens +flying about. Then Sigvat said:-- + + "I see here many a croaking raven + Flying about the well-known haven: + When Olaf's ship was floating here, + They knew that food for them was near; + When Olaf's ship lay here wind-bound, + Oft screamed the erne o'er Hillar sound, + Impatient for the expected prey, + And wont to follow to the fray." + +When Sigvat came north to the town of Throndhjem King Svein was there +before him. He invited Sigvat to stay with him, as Sigvat had formerly +been with his father King Canute the Great; but Sigvat said he would +first go home to his farm. One day, as Sigvat was walking in the street, +he saw the king's men at play, and he sang:-- + + "One day before I passed this way, + When the king's guards were at their play, + Something there was--I need not tell-- + That made me pale, and feel unwell. + Perhaps it was I thought, just then, + How noble Olaf with his men, + In former days, I oft have seen + In manly games upon this green." + +Sigvat then went to his farm; and as he heard that many men upbraided +him with having deserted King Olaf, he made these verses:-- + + "May Christ condemn me still to burn + In quenchless fire, if I did turn, + And leave King Olaf in his need,-- + My soul is free from such base deed. + I was at Rome, as men know well + Who saw me there, and who can tell + That there in danger I was then: + The truth I need not hide from men." + +Sigvat was ill at ease in his home. One day he went out and sang:-- + + "While Olaf lived, how smiled the land! + Mountain and cliff, and pebbly strand. + All Norway then, so fresh, so gay, + On land or sea, where oft I lay. + But now to me all seems so dready, + All black and dull--of life I'm weary; + Cheerless to-day, cheerless to-morrow-- + Here in the North we have great sorrow." + +Early in winter Sigvat went westward over the ridge of the country to +Jamtaland, and onwards to Helsingjaland, and came to Svithjod. He went +immediately to Queen Astrid, and was with her a long time, and was a +welcome guest. He was also with her brother King Emund, and received +from him ten marks of proved silver, as is related in the song of +Canute. Sigvat always inquired of the merchants who traded to Novgorod +if they could tell him any news of Magnus Olafson. Sigvat composed these +lines at that time:-- + + "I ask the merchant oft who drives + His trade to Russia, 'How he thrives, + Our noble prince? How lives he there? + And still good news--his praise--I hear. + To little birds, which wing their way + Between the lands, I fain would say, + How much we long our prince to see, + They seem to hear a wish from me." + + + + +10. OF KING MAGNUS'S FIRST ARRIVAL IN SVITHJOD. + +Immediately after Magnus Olafson came to Svithjod from Russia, Sigvat +met him at Queen Astrid's house, and glad they all were at meeting. +Sigvat then sang:-- + + "Thou art come here, prince, young and bold! + Thou art come home! With joy behold + Thy land and people. From this hour + I join myself to thy young power. + I could not o'er to Russie hie,-- + Thy mother's guardian here was I. + It was my punishment for giving + Magnus his name, while scarcely living." + +Afterwards Sigvat travelled with Queen Astrid, and followed Magnus to +Norway. Sigvat sang thus:-- + + "To the crowds streaming to the Thing, + To see and hear Magnus their king, + Loudly, young king, I'll speak my mind-- + 'God to His people has been kind.' + If He, to whom be all the praise, + Give us a son in all his ways + Like to his sire, no folk on earth + Will bless so much a royal birth." + +Now when Magnus became king of Norway Sigvat attended him, and was +his dearest friend. Once it happened that Queen Astrid and Alfhild the +king's mother had exchanged some sharp words with each other, and Sigvat +said:-- + + "Alfhild! though it was God's will + To raise thee--yet remember still + The queen-born Astrid should not be + Kept out of due respect by thee." + + + + +11. KING OLAF'S SHRINE. + +King Magnus had a shrine made and mounted with gold and silver, and +studded with jewels. This shrine was made so that in shape and size it +was like a coffin. Under it was an arched way, and above was a raised +roof, with a head and a roof-ridge. Behind were plaited hangings; and +before were gratings with padlocks, which could be locked with a key. In +this shrine King Magnus had the holy remains of King Olaf deposited, and +many were the miracles there wrought. Of this Sigvat speaks:-- + + "For him a golden shrine is made, + For him whose heart was ne'er afraid + Of mortal man--the holy king, + Whom the Lord God to heaven did bring. + Here many a man shall feel his way, + Stone-blind, unconscious of the day, + And at the shrine where Olaf lies + Give songs of praise for opened eyes." + +It was also appointed by law that King Olaf's holy day should be held +sacred over all Norway, and that day has been kept ever afterwards as +the greatest of Church days. Sigvat speaks of it:-- + + "To Olaf, Magnus' father, raise, + Within my house, the song of praise! + With joy, yet grief, we'll keep the day + Olaf to heaven was called away. + Well may I keep within my breast + A day for him in holy rest,-- + My upraised hands a golden ring + On every branch (1) bear from that king." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The fingers, the branches of the hand, bore golden fruits + from the generosity of the king.--L. + + + + +12. OF THORER HUND. + +Thorer Hund left the country immediately after King Olaf's fall. He went +all the way to Jerusalem, and many people say he never came back. Thorer +Hund had a son called Sigurd, father of Ranveig who was married to Joan, +a son of Arne Arnason. Their children were Vidkun of Bjarkey, Sigurd +Hund, Erling, and Jardthrud. + + + + +13. OF THE MURDER OF HAREK OF THJOTTA. + +Harek of Thjotta sat at home on his farm, till King Magnus Olafson came +to the country and was made king. Then Harek went south to Throndhjem +to King Magnus. At that time Asmund Grankelson was in the king's house. +When Harek came to Nidaros, and landed out of the ship, Asmund was +standing with the king in the gallery outside the loft, and both the +king and Asmund knew Harek when they saw him. "Now," says Asmund to the +king, "I will pay Harek for my father's murder." He had in his hand a +little thin hatchet. The king looked at him, and said, "Rather take +this axe of mine." It was thick, and made like a club. "Thou must know, +Asmund," added he, "that there are hard bones in the old fellow." Asmund +took the axe, went down, and through the house, and when he came down to +the cross-road Harek and his men coming up met him. Asmund struck Harek +on the head, so that the axe penetrated to the brains; and that was +Harek's death-wound. Asmund turned back directly to the king's house, +and the whole edge of the axe was turned with the blow. Then said the +king, "What would thy axe have done, for even this one, I think, +is spoilt?" King Magnus afterwards gave him a fief and office in +Halogaland, and many are the tales about the strife between Asmund and +Harek's sons. + + + + +14. OF THORGEIR FLEK. + +Kalf Arnason had at first, for some time, the greatest share of the +government of the country under King Magnus; but afterwards there were +people who reminded the king of the part Kalf had taken at Stiklestad, +and then it became difficult for Kalf to give the king satisfaction in +anything. Once it happened there were many men with the king bringing +their affairs before him; and Thorgeir Flek from Sula in Veradal, of +whom mention is made before in the history of King Olaf the Saint, came +to him about some needful business. The king paid no attention to his +words, but was listening to people who stood near him. Then Thorgeir +said to the king, so loud that all who were around him could hear:-- + + "Listen, my lord, to my plain word. + I too was there, and had to bear + A bloody head from Stiklestad: + For I was then with Olaf's men. + Listen to me: well did I see + The men you're trusting the dead corpse thrusting + Out of their way, as dead it lay; + And striking o'er your father's gore." + +There was instantly a great uproar, and some told Thorgeir to go out; +but the king called him, and not only despatched his business to his +satisfaction, but promised him favour and friendship. + + + + +15. KALF ARNASON FLIES THE COUNTRY + +Soon after this the king was at a feast at the farm of Haug in Veradel, +and at the dinner-table Kalf Arnason sat upon one side of him, and Einar +Tambaskelfer on the other. It was already come so far that the king took +little notice of Kalf, but paid most attention to Einar. The king said +to Einar, "Let us ride to-day to Stiklestad. I should like to see the +memorials of the things which took place there." Einar replies, "I can +tell thee nothing about it; but take thy foster-father Kalf with thee; +he can give thee information about all that took place." When the tables +were removed, the king made himself ready, and said to Kalf, "Thou must +go with me to Stiklestad." + +Kalf replied, "That is really not my duty." + +Then the king stood up in a passion, and said, "Go thou shalt, Kalf!" +and thereupon he went out. + +Kalf put on his riding clothes in all haste, and said to his foot-boy, +"Thou must ride directly to Eggja, and order my house-servants to ship +all my property on board my ship before sunset." + +King Magnus now rides to Stiklestad, and Kalf with him. They alighted +from horseback, and went to the place where the battle had been. Then +said the king to Kalf, "Where is the spot at which the king fell?" + +Kalf stretched out his spear-shaft, and said, "There he lay when he +fell." + +The king: "And where wast thou, Kalf?" + +Kalf: "Here where I am now standing." + +The king turned red as blood in the face, and said, "Then thy axe could +well have reached him." + +Kalf replied, "My axe did not come near him;" and immediately went to +his horse, sprang on horseback, and rode away with all his men; and +the king rode back to Haug. Kalf did not stop until he got home in the +evening to Eggja. There his ship lay ready at the shore side, and +all his effects were on board, and the vessel manned with his +house-servants. They set off immediately by night down the fjord, and +afterwards proceeded day and night, when the wind suited. He sailed +out into the West sea, and was there a long time plundering in Ireland, +Scotland, and the Hebudes. Bjarne Gullbrarskald tells of this in the +song about Kalf:-- + + "Brother of Thorberg, who still stood + Well with the king! in angry mood + He is the first to break with thee, + Who well deserves esteemed to be; + He is the first who friendship broke, + For envious men the falsehood spoke; + And he will he the first to rue + The breach of friendship 'twixt you two." + + + + +16. OF THE THREATS OF THE BONDES. + +King Magnus added to his property Veggia, which Hrut had been owner of, +and Kviststad, which had belonged to Thorgeir, and also Eggja, with all +the goods which Kalf had left behind him; and thus he confiscated to +the king's estate many great farms, which had belonged to those of the +bonde-army who had fallen at Stiklestad. In like manner, he laid heavy +fined upon many of those who made the greatest opposition to King Olaf. +He drove some out of the country, took large sums of money from others, +and had the cattle of others slaughtered for his use. Then the bondes +began to murmur, and to say among themselves, "Will he go on in the same +way as his father and other chiefs, whom we made an end of when their +pride and lawless proceedings became insupportable?" This discontent +spread widely through the country. The people of Sogn gathered men, and, +it was said, were determined to give battle to King Magnus, if he came +into the Fjord district. King Magnus was then in Hordaland, where he had +remained a long time with a numerous retinue, and was now come to the +resolution to proceed north to Sogn. When the king's friends observed +this, twelve men had a meeting, and resolved to determine by casting +lots which of them should inform the king of the discontent of the +people; and it so happened that the lot fell upon Sigvat. + + + + +17. OF THE FREE-SPEAKING SONG ("BERSOGLISVISUR"). + +Sigvat accordingly composed a poem, which he called the "Free-speaking +Song", which begins with saying the king had delayed too long to pacify +the people, who were threatening to rise in tumult against him. He +said:-- + + "Here in the south, from Sogn is spread + The news that strife draws to a head: + The bondes will the king oppose-- + Kings and their folk should ne'er be foes. + Let us take arms, and briskly go + To battle, if it must be so; + Defend our king--but still deplore + His land plunged in such strife once more." + +In this song are also these verses:-- + + "Hakon, who at Fitiar died,-- + Hakon the Good, could not abide + The viking rule, or robber train, + And all men's love he thus did gain. + The people since have still in mind + The laws of Hakon, just and kind; + And men will never see the day + When Hakon's laws have passed away. + + "The bondes ask but what is fair; + The Olafs and the Earls, when there + Where Magnus sits, confirmed to all + Their lands and gear--to great and small, + Bold Trygve's son, and Harald's heir, + The Olafs, while on earth they were, + Observed the laws themselves had made, + And none was for his own afraid. + + "Let not thy counsellors stir thy wrath + Against the man who speaks the truth; + Thy honour lies in thy good sword, + But still more in thy royal word; + And, if the people do not lie, + The new laws turn out not nigh + So Just and mild, as the laws given + At Ulfasund in face of heaven. + + "Dread king! who urges thee to break + Thy pledged word, and back to take + Thy promise given? Thou warrior bold; + With thy own people word to hold, + Thy promise fully to maintain, + Is to thyself the greatest gain: + The battle-storm raiser he + Must by his own men trusted be. + + "Who urges thee, who seek'st renown, + The bondes' cattle to cut down? + No king before e'er took in hand + Such viking-work in his own land. + Such rapine men will not long bear, + And the king's counsellors will but share + In their ill-will: when once inflamed, + The king himself for all is blamed. + + "Do cautious, with this news of treason + Flying about--give them no reason. + We hange the thief, but then we use + Consideration of the excuse. + I think, great king (who wilt rejoice + Eagle and wolf with battle voice), + It would be wise not to oppose + Thy bondes, and make them thy foes. + + "A dangerous sign it is, I fear, + That old grey-bearded men appear + In corners whispering at the Thing, + As if they had bad news to bring. + The young sit still,--no laugh, or shout,-- + More looks than words passing shout; + And groups of whispering heads are seen, + On buttoned breasts, with lowering mien. + + "Among the udalmen, they say + The king, if he could have his way, + Would seize the bondes' udal land, + And free-born men must this withstand. + In truth the man whose udal field, + By any doom that law can yield + From him adjudged the king would take, + Could the king's throne and power shake." + +This verse is the last:-- + + "A holy bond between us still + Makes me wish speedy end to ill: + The sluggard waits till afternoon,-- + At once great Magnus! grant our boon. + Then we will serve with heart and hand, + With thee we'll fight by sea or land: + With Olaf's sword take Olaf's mind, + And to thy bondes be more kind." + +In this song the king was exhorted to observe the laws which his father +had established. This exhortation had a good effect on the king, for +many others held the same language to him. So at last the king consulted +the most prudent men, who ordered all affairs according to law. +Thereafter King Magnus had the law-book composed in writing which is +still in use in Throndhjem district, and is called "The Grey Goose" (1). +King Magnus afterwards became very popular, and was beloved by all the +country people, and therefore he was called Magnus the Good. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) "The Grey Goose", so called probably from the colour of + the parchment on which it is written, is one of the most curious + relics of the Middle Ages, and give us an unexpected view of + the social condition of the Northmen in the eleventh + century. Law appears to have been so far advanced among + them that the forms were not merely established, but the + slightest breach of the legal forms of proceeding involved + the loss of the case. The "Grey Goose" embraces subjects + not dealt with probably by any other code in Europe at that + period. The provision for the poor, the equality of + weights and measures, police of markets and of sea havens, + provision for illegitimate children of the poor, inns for + travellers, wages of servants and support of them in + sickness, protection of pregnant women and even of domestic + animals from injury, roads, bridges, vagrants, beggars, are + subjects treated of in this code.--"Schlegel."--L. + + + + +18. OF THE ENGLISH KINGS. + +The king of the English, King Harald, died (A.D. 1040) five years after +his father King Canute, and was buried beside his father at Winchester. +After his death his brother Hardaknut, the second son of the old King +Canute, was king of England, and was thus king both of Denmark and +England. He ruled these kingdoms two years, and then died of sickness +in England, leaving no children. He was buried at Winchester beside +his father. After his death Edward the Good, a son of the English king +Ethelred (and Emma, a daughter of Richard earl of Rouen), was chosen +king in England. King Edward the Good was, on his mother's side, a +brother of Harald and Hardaknut, the sons of Canute the Great; and the +daughter of Canute and Queen Emma was Gunhild, who was married to the +Emperor Henry of Germany, who was called Henry the Mild. Gunhild had +been three years in Germamy when she fell sick, and she died five years +after the death of her father King Canute the Great. + + + + +19. OF KING MAGNUS OLAFSON. + +When King Magnus Olafson heard of Hardaknut's death, he immediately +sent people south to Denmark, with a message to the men who had bound +themselves by oath to the peace and agreement which was made between +King Magnus and Hardaknut, and reminded them of their pledge. He added, +as a conclusion, that in summer (A.D. 1042.) he would come with his army +to Denmark to take possession of his Danish dominions, in terms of the +agreement, or to fall in the field with his army. So says Arnor, the +earls' skald:-- + + "Wise were the words, exceeding wise, + Of him who stills the hungriest cries + Of beasts of prey--the earl's lord; + And soon fulfilled will be his word: + 'With his good sword he'll Denmark gain, + Or fall upon a bloody plain; + And rather than give up his cause, + Will leave his corpse to raven's claws.'" + + + + +20. KING MAGNUS'S ARMAMENT. + +Thereafter King Magnus gathered together a great army, and summoned to +him all lendermen and powerful bondes, and collected war-ships. When +the army was assembled it was very handsome, and well fitted out. He had +seventy large vessels when he sailed from Norway. So says Thiodolf the +skald:-- + + "Brave king! the terror of the foe, + With thee will many a long-ship go. + Full seventy sail are gathered here, + Eastward with their great king to steer. + And southward now the bright keel glides; + O'er the white waves the Bison rides. + Sails swell, yards crack, the highest mast + O'er the wide sea scarce seen at last." + +Here it related that King Magnus had the great Bison, which his father +King Olaf had built. It had more than thirty banks of rowers; and +forward on the bow was a great buffalo head, and aft on the stern-post +was its tail. Both the head and the tail, and both sides of the ship, +were gilded over. Of this speaks Arnor, the earls' skald:-- + + "The white foam lashing o'er the deck + Oft made the glided head to shake; + The helm down, the vessel's heel + Oft showed her stem's bright-glacing steel. + Around Stavanger-point careering, + Through the wild sea's white flames steering, + Tackle loud singing to the strain, + The storm-horse flies to Denmark's plain." + +King Magnus set out to sea from Agder, and sailed over to Jutland. So +says Arnor:-- + + "I can relate how through the gale + The gallant Bison carried sail. + With her lee gunwale in the wave, + The king on board, Magnus the brave! + The iron-clad Thingmen's chief to see + On Jutland's coast right glad were we,-- + Right glad our men to see a king + Who in the fight his sword could swing." + + + + +21. KING MAGNUS COMES TO DENMARK. + +When King Magnus came to Denmark he was joyfully received. He appointed +a Thing without delay, to which he summoned the people of the country, +and desired they would take him as king, according to the agreement +which had been entered into. As the highest of the chiefs of the country +were bound by oath to King Magnus, and were desirous of keeping their +word and oath, they endeavoured zealously to promote the cause with +the people. It contributed also that King Canute the Great, and all his +descendants, were dead; and a third assistance was, that his father King +Olaf's sanctity and miracles were become celebrated in all countries. + + + + +22. KING MAGNUS CHOSEN KING OF DENMARK. + +King Magnus afterwards ordered the people to be summoned to Viborg to a +Thing. Both in older and later times, the Danes elected their kings at +the Viborg Thing. At this Thing the Danes chose Magnus Olafson to be +king of all the Danish dorninions. King Magnus remained long in Denmark +during the summer (A.D. 1042); and wherever he came the people received +him joyfully, and obeyed him willingly. He divided the country into +baronies and districts, and gave fiefs to men of power in the land. Late +in autumn he returned with his fleet to Norway, but lay for some time at +the Gaut river. + + + + +23. OF SVEIN ULFSON. + +There was a man, by name Svein, a son of Earl Ulf, and grandson of +Thorgils Sprakaleg. Svein's mother was Astrid, a daughter of King Svein +Forkbeard. She was a sister of Canute the Great by the father's side, +and of the Swedish King Olaf Eirikson by the mother's side; for her +mother was Queen Sigrid the Haughty, a daughter of Skoglar Toste. Svein +Ulfson had been a long time living with his relation the Swedish king, +ever since King Canute had ordered his father Ulf to be killed, as is +related in the saga of old King Canute, that he had his brother-in-law, +Earl Ulf, murdered in Roskilde; and on which account Svein had not since +been in Denmark. Svein Ulfson was one of the handsomest men that could +be seen; he was very stout and strong, and very expert in all exercises, +and a well-spoken man withal. Every one who knew him said he had every +quality which became a good chief. Svein Ulfson waited upon King Magnus +while he lay in the Gaut river, as before mentioned, and the king +received him kindly, as he was by many advised to do; for Svein was a +particularly popular man. He could also speak for himself to the king +well and cleverly; so that it came at lasf to Svein's entering into +King Magnus's service, and becoming his man. They often talked together +afterwards in private concerning many affairs. + + + + +24. SVEIN ULFSON CREATED AN EARL. + +One day, as King Magnus sat in his high-seat and many people were around +him, Svein Ulfson sat upon a footstool before the king. The king then +made a speech: "Be it known to you, chiefs, and the people in general, +that I have taken the following resolution. Here is a distinguished man, +both for family and for his own merits, Svein Ulfson, who has entered +into my service, and given me promise of fidelity. Now, as ye know, the +Danes have this summer become my men, so that when I am absent from the +country it is without a head; and it is not unknown to you how it is +ravaged by the people of Vindland, Kurland, and others from the Baltic, +as well as by Saxons. Therefore I promised them a chief who could defend +and rule their land; and I know no man better fitted, in all respects, +for this than Svein Ulfson, who is of birth to be chief of the country. +I will therefore make him my earl, and give him the government of my +Danish dominions while I am in Norway; just as King Canute the Great set +his father, Earl Ulf, over Denmark while he was in England." + +Then Einar Tambaskelfer said, "Too great an earl--too great an earl, my +foster-son!" + +The king replied in a passion, "Ye have a poor opinion of my judgment, I +think. Some consider that ye are too great earls, and others that ye are +fit for nothing." + +Then the king stood up, took a sword, and girt it on the earl's loins, +and took a shield and fastened it on his shoulders, put a helmet upon +his head, and gave him the title of earl, with the same fiefs in Denmark +which his father Earl Ulf had formerly held. Afterwards a shrine was +brought forth containing holy relics, and Svein laid his hand hereon, +and swore the oath of fidelity to King Magnus; upon which the king led +the earl to the highseat by his side. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Twas at the Gaut river's shore, + With hand on shrine Svein Ulfson swore. + King Magnus first said o'er the oath, + With which Svein Ulfson pledged his troth. + The vows by Svein solemnly given, + On holy bones of saints in heaven, + To Magnus seemed both fair and fast; + He found they were too fair to last." + +Earl Svein went thereafter to Denmark, and the whole nation received him +well. He established a court about him, and soon became a great man. +In winter (A.D. 1043), he went much about the country, and made friends +among the powerful chiefs; and, indeed, he was beloved by all the people +of the land. + + + + +25. KING MAGNUS'S FORAY. + +King Magnus proceeded northward to Norway with his fleet, and wintered +there; but when the spring set in (A.D. 1048) he gathered a large +force, with which he sailed south to Demnark, having heard the news from +Vindland that the Vindland people in Jomsborg had withdrawn from their +submission to him. The Danish kings had formerly had a very large +earldom there, and they first founded Jomsborg; and now the place +was become a very strong fortress. When King Magnus heard of this, he +ordered a large fleet and army to be levied in Denmark, and sailed in +summer to Vindland with all his forces, which made a very large army +altogether. Arnor, the earls' skald, tells of it thus:-- + + "Now in this strophe, royal youth! + I tell no more than the plain truth. + Thy armed outfit from the strand + Left many a keel-trace on the sand, + And never did a king before + SO many ships to any shore + Lead on, as thou to Vindland's isle: + The Vindland men in fright recoil." + +Now when King Magnus came to Vindland he attacked Jomsborg, and soon +took the fortress, killing' many people, burning and destroying both in +the town and in the courttry all around, and making the greatest havoc. +So says Arnor, the earl's skald:-- + + "The robbers, hemmed 'twixt death and fire, + Knew not how to escape thy ire; + O'er Jomsborg castle's highest towers + Thy wrath the whirlwind-fire pours. + The heathen on his false gods calls, + And trembles even in their halls; + And by the light from its own flame + The king this viking-hold o'ercame." + +Many people in Vindland submitted to King Magnus, but many more got out +of the way and fled. King Magnus returned to Denmark, and prepared to +take his winter abode there, and sent away the Danish, and also a great +many of the Norwegian people he had brought with him. + + + + +26. SVEIN RECEIVES THE TITLE OF KING. + +The same winter (A.D. 1043), in which Svein Ulfson was raised to the +government of the whole Danish dominions, and had made friends of +a great number of the principal chiefs in Denmark, and obtained the +affections of the people, he assumed by the advice of many of the chiefs +the title of king. But when in the spring thereafter he heard that King +Magnus had come from the north with a great army, Svein went over +to Scania, from thence up to Gautland, and so on to Svithjod to his +relation, King Emund, where he remained all summer, and sent spies out +to Denmark, to inquire about the king's proceedings and the number of +his men. Now when Svein heard that King Magnus had let a great part of +his army go away, and also that he was south in Jutland, he rode from +Svithjod with a great body of peopie which the Swedish king had given +him. When Svein came to Scania the people of that country received him +well, treated him as their king, and men joined him in crowds. He then +went on to Seeland, where he was also well received, and the whole +country joined him. He then went to Fyen, and laid all the islands under +his power; and as the people also joined him, he collected a great army +and many ships of war. + + + + +27. OF KING MAGNUS'S MILITARY FORCE. + +King Magnus heard this news, and at the same time that the people of +Vindland had a large force on foot. He summoned people therefore to come +to him, and drew together a great army in Jutland. Otto, also, the Duke +of Brunsvik, who had married Ulfhild, King Olaf the Saint's daughter, +and the sister of King Magnus, came to him with a great troop. The +Danish chiefs pressed King Magnus to advance against the Vindland army, +and not allow pagans to march over and lay waste the country; so it was +resolved that the king with his army should proceed south to Heidaby. +While King Magnus lay at Skotborg river, on Hlyrskog Heath, he got +intelligence concerning the Vindland army, and that it was so numerous +it could not be counted; whereas King Magnus had so few, that there +seemed no chance for him but to fly. The king, however, determined on +fighting, if there was any possibility of gaining the victory; but the +most dissuaded him from venturing on an engagement, and all, as one man, +said that the Vindland people had undoubtedly a prodigious force. Duke +Otto, however, pressed much to go to battle. Then the king ordered the +whole army to be gathered by the war trumpets into battle array, and +ordered all the men to arm, and to lie down for the night under their +shields; for he was told the enemy's army had come to the neighbourhood. +The king was very thoughtful; for he was vexed that he should be obliged +to fly, which fate he had never experienced before. He slept but little +all night, and chanted his prayers. + + + + +28. OF KING OLAF'S MIRACLE. + +The following day was Michaelmas eve. Towards dawn the king slumbered, +and dreamt that his father, King Olaf the Saint, appeared to him, and +said, "Art thou so melancholy and afraid, because the Vindland people +come against thee with a great army? Be not afraid of heathens, +although they be many; for I shall be with thee in the battle. Prepare, +therefore, to give battle to the Vindlanders, when thou hearest my +trumpet." When the king awoke he told his dream to his men, and the day +was then dawning. At that moment all the people heard a ringing of bells +in the air; and those among King Magnus's men who had been in Nidaros +thought that it was the ringing of the bell called Glod, which King Olaf +had presented to the church of Saint Clement in the town of Nidaros. + + + + +29. BATTLE OF HLYRSKOG HEATH. + +Then King Magnus stood up, and ordered the war trumpets to sound, and at +that moment the Vindland army advanced from the south across the +river against him; on which the whole of the king's army stood up, and +advanced against the heathens. King Magnus threw off from him his coat +of ring-mail, and had a red silk shirt outside over his clothes, and had +in his hands the battle-axe called Hel (1), which had belonged to King +Olaf. King Magnus ran on before all his men to the enemy's army, and +instantly hewed down with both hands every man who came against him. So +says Arnor, the earls' skald:-- + + "His armour on the ground he flung + His broad axe round his head he swung; + And Norway's king strode on in might, + Through ringing swords, to the wild fight. + His broad axe Hel with both hands wielding, + Shields, helms, and skulls before it yielding, + He seemed with Fate the world to share, + And life or death to deal out there." + +This battle was not very long; for the king's men were very fiery, and +where they came the Vindland men fell as thick as tangles heaped up +by the waves on the strand. They who stood behind betook themselves to +flight, and were hewed down like cattle at a slaughter. The king himself +drove the fugitives eastward over the heath, and people fell all over +the moor. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "And foremost he pursued, + And the flying foe down hewed; + An eagle's feast each stroke, + As the Vindland helms he broke. + He drove them o'er the hearth, + And they fly from bloody death; + But the moor, a mile or more, + With the dead was studded o'er." + +It is a common saying, that there never was so great a slaughter of men +in the northern lands, since the time of Christianity, as took place +among the Vindland people on Hlyrskog's Heath. On the other side, not +many of King Magnus's people were killed, although many were wounded. +After the battle the king ordered the wounds of his men to be bound; +but there were not so many doctors in the army as were necessary, so +the king himself went round, and felt the hands of those he thought best +suited for the business; and when he had thus stroked their palms, he +named twelve men, who, he thought, had the softest hands, and told them +to bind the wounds of the people; and although none of them had ever +tried it before, they all became afterwards the best of doctors. There +were two Iceland men among them; the one was Thorkil, a son of Geire, +from Lyngar; the other was Atle, father of Bard Svarte of Selardal, from +whom many good doctors are descended. After this battle, the report +of the miracle which King Olaf the Saint had worked was spread widely +through the country; and it was the common saying of the people, that no +man could venture to fight against King Magnus Olafson, for his father +Saint Olaf stood so near to him that his enemies, on that account, never +could do him harm. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Hel--Death: the goddess of Death.--L. + + + + +30. BATTLE AT RE. + +King Magnus immediately turned round with his army against Svein, whom +he called his earl, although the Danes called him their king; and he +collected ships, and a great force, and on both sides a great strength +was assembled. In Svein's army were many chiefs from Scania, Halland, +Seeland, and Fyen; while King Magnus, on the other hand, had mostly +Norway and Jutland men, and with that war-force he hastened to meet +Svein. They met at Re, near Vestland; and there was a great battle, +which ended in King Magnus gaining the victory, and Svein taking flight. +After losing many people, Svein fled back to Scania, and from thence +to Gautland, which was a safe refuge if he needed it, and stood open to +him. King Magnus returned to Jutland, where he remained all winter (A.D. +1044) with many people, and had a guard to watch his ships. Arnor, the +earls' skald, speaks of this:-- + + "At Re our battle-loving lord + In bloody meeting stained his sword,-- + At Re upon the western shore, + In Vestland warrior's blood once more." + + + + +31. BATTLE AT AROS. + +Svein Ulfson went directly to his ships as soon as he heard that King +Magnus had left his fleet. He drew to him all the men he could, and went +round in winter among the islands, Seeland, Fyen, and others. Towards +Yule he sailed to Jutland, and went into Limfjord, where many people +submitted to him. He imposed scat upon some, but some joined King +Magnus. Now when King Magnus heard what Svein was doing, he betook +himself to his ships with all the Northmen then in Denmark, and a part +of the Danish troops, and steered south along the land. Svein was then +in Aros with a great force; and when he heard of King Magnus he laid +his vessels without the town, and prepared for battle. When King Magnus +heard for certain where Svein was, and that the distance between them +was but short, he held a House-thing, and addressed his people thus: "It +is reported to me that the earl and his fleet are lying not far from us, +and that he has many people. Now I would let you know that I intend +to go out against the earl and fight for it, although, we have fewer +people. We will, as formerly, put our trust in God, and Saint Olaf, my +father, who has given us victory sometimes when we fought, even though +we had fewer men than the enemy. Now I would have you get ready to seek +out the enemy, and give battle the moment we find him by rowing all to +attack, and being all ready for battle." Thereupon the men put on their +weapons, each man making himself and his place ready; and then they +stretched themselves to their oars. When they saw the earl's ships they +rowed towards them, and made ready to attack. When Svein's men saw the +forces they armed themselves, bound their ships together, and then began +one of the sharpest of battles. So says Thiodolf, the skald:-- + + "Shield against shield, the earl and king + Made shields and swords together ring. + The gold-decked heroes made a play + Which Hild's iron-shirt men say + They never saw before or since + On battle-deck; the brave might wince, + As spear and arrow whistling flew, + Point blank, death-bringing, quick and true." + +They fought at the bows, so that the men only on the bows could strike; +the men on the forecastle thrust with spears: and all who were farther +off shot with light spears or javelins, or war-arrows. Some fought with +stones or short stakes; and those who were aft of the mast shot with the +bow. So Says Thiodolf:-- + + "Steel-pointed spear, and sharpened stake, + Made the broad shield on arm shake: + The eagle, hovering in the air, + Screamed o'er the prey preparing there. + And stones and arrows quickly flew, + And many a warrior bold they slew. + The bowman never twanged his bow + And drew his shaft so oft as now; + And Throndhjem's bowmen on that day + Were not the first tired of this play: + Arrows and darts so quickly fly, + You could not follow with the eye." + +Here it appears how hot the battle was with casting weapons. King Magnus +stood in the beginning of the battle within a shield-rampart; but as it +appeared to him that matters were going on too slowly, he leaped over +the shields, and rushed forward in the ship, encouraging his men with +a loud cheer, and springing to the bows, where the battle was going on +hand to hand. When his men saw this they urged each other on with mutual +cheering, and there was one great hurrah through all the ships. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "'On with our ships! on to the foe!' + Cry Magnus' men--on, on they go. + Spears against shields in fury rattle,-- + Was never seen so fierce a battle." + +And now the battle was exceedingly sharp; and in the assault Svein's +ship was cleared of all her forecastle men, upon and on both sides of +the forecastle. Then Magnus boarded Svein's ship, followed by his men; +and one after the other came up, and made so stout an assault that +Svein's men gave way, and King Magnus first cleared that ship, and then +the rest, one after the other. Svein fled, with a great part of his +people; but many fell, and many got life and peace. Thiodolf tells of +this:-- + + "Brave Magnus, from the stern springing + On to the stem, where swords were ringing + From his sea-raven's beak of gold + Deals death around--the brave! the bold! + The earl's housemen now begin + To shrink and fall: their ranks grow thin-- + The king's luck thrives--their decks are cleared, + Of fighting men no more appeared. + The earl's ships are driven to flight, + Before the king would stop the fight: + The gold-distributor first then + Gave quarters to the vanquished men." + +This battle was fought on the last Sunday before Yule. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "'Twas on a Sunday morning bright, + Fell out this great and bloody fight, + When men were arming, fighting, dying, + Or on the red decks wounded lying. + And many a man, foredoomed to die, + To save his life o'erboard did fly, + But sank; for swimming could not save, + And dead men rolled in every wave." + +Magnus took seven ships from Svein's people. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Thick Olaf's son seven vessels cleared, + And with his fleet the prizes steered. + The Norway girls will not be sad + To hear such news--each from her lad." + +He also sings:-- + + "The captured men will grieve the most + Svein and their comrades to have lost; + For it went ill with those who fled, + Their wounded had no easy bed. + A heavy storm that very night + O'ertook them flying from the fight; + And skulls and bones are tumbling round, + Under the sea, on sandy ground." + +Svein fled immediately by night to Seeland, with the men who had escaped +and were inclined to follow him; but King Magnus brought his ships to +the shore, and sent his men up the country in the night-time, and early +in the morning they came flown to the strand with a great booty in +cattle. Thiodolf tells about it:-- + + "But yesterday with heavy stones + We crushed their skulls, and broke their bones, + And thinned their ranks; and now to-day + Up through their land we've ta'en our way, + And driven their cattle to the shore, + And filled out ships with food in store. + To save his land from our quick swords, + Svein will need something more than words." + + + + +32. SVEIN'S FLIGHT. + +King Magnus sailed with his fleet from the south after Svein to Seeland; +but as soon as the king came there Svein fled up the country with his +men, and Magnus followed them, and pursued the fugitives, killing all +that were laid hold of. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "The Seeland girl asks with fear, + 'Whose blood-bespattered shield and spear-- + The earl's or king's--up from the shore + Moved on with many a warrior more?' + We scoured through all their muddy lanes, + Woodlands, and fields, and miry plains. + Their hasty footmarks in the clay + Showed that to Ringsted led their way. + + "Spattered with mud from heel to head, + Our gallant lord his true men led. + Will Lund's earl halt his hasty flight, + And try on land another fight? + His banner yesterday was seen, + The sand-bills and green trees between, + Through moss and mire to the strand, + In arrow flight, leaving the land." + +Then Svein fled over to Fyen Island, and King Magnus carried fire and +sword through Seeland, and burnt all round, because their men had joined +Svein's troop in harvest. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "As Svein in winter had destroyed + The royal house, the king employed + No little force to guard the land, + And the earl's forays to withstand. + An armed band one morn he found, + And so beset them round and round, + That Canute's nephew quickly fled, + Or he would have been captive led. + + "Our Throndhjem king in his just ire + Laid waste the land with sword and fire, + Burst every house, and over all + Struck terror into great and small. + To the earl's friends he well repaid + Their deadly hate--such wild work made + On them and theirs, that from his fury, + Flying for life, away they hurry." + + + + +33. BURNING IN FYEN. + +As soon as King Magnus heard that Svein with his troops had gone across +to Fyen, he sailed after them; and when Svein heard this news he went +on board ship and sailed to Scania, and from thence to Gautland, and at +last to the Swedish King. King Magnus landed in Fyen, and plundered and +burned over all; and all of Svein's men who came there fled far enough. +Thiodolf speaks of it thus:-- + + "Fiona isle, once green and fair, + Lies black and reeking through the air: + The red fog rises, thick and hot, + From burning farm and smouldering cot. + The gaping thralls in terror gaze + On the broad upward-spiring blaze, + From thatched roofs and oak-built walls, + Their murdered masters' stately halls. + + "Svein's men, my girl, will not forget + That thrice they have the Norsemen met, + By sea, by land, with steel, with fire, + Thrice have they felt the Norse king's ire. + Fiona's maids are slim and fair, + The lovely prizes, lads, we'll share: + Some stand to arms in rank and row, + Some seize, bring off, and fend with blow." + +After this the people of Denmark submitted to King Magnus, and during +the rest of the winter, there was peace. King Magnus then appointed some +of his men to govern Denmark; and when spring was advanced he sailed +northwards with his fleet to Norway, where he remained a great part of +the summer. + + + + +34. BATTLE AT HELGANES + +Now, when Svein heard that King Magnus had gone to Norway he rode +straight down, and had many people out of Svithjod with him. The people +of Scania received him well, and he again collected an army, with which +he first crossed over into Seeland and seized upon it and Fyen, and all +the other isles. When King Magnus heard of this he gathered together men +and ships, and sailed to Denmark; and as soon as he knew where Svein was +lying with his ships King Magnus sailed to meet him. They met at a place +called Helganes, and the battle began about the fall of day. King Magnus +had fewer men, but larger and better equipt vessels. So says Arnor, the +earls' skald:-- + + "At Helganes--so goes the tale-- + The brave wolf-feeder, under sail, + Made many an ocean-elk (1) his prey, + Seized many a ship ere break of day. + When twilight fell he urged the fight, + Close combat--man to man all night; + Through a long harvest night's dark hours, + Down poured the battle's iron showers." + +The battle was very hot, and as night advanced the fall of men was +great. King Magnus, during the whole night, threw hand-spears. Thiodolf +speaks of this:-- + + "And there at Helganes sunk down, + Sore wounded, men of great renown; + And Svein's retainers lost all heart, + Ducking before the flying dart. + The Norsemen's king let fly his spears, + His death-wounds adding to their fears; + For each spear-blade was wet all o'er, + Up to the shaft in their life-gore." + +To make a short tale, King Magnus won the victory in this battle, and +Svein fled. His ship was cleared of men from stem to stern; and it went +so on board many others of his ships. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Earl Svein fled from the empty deck, + His lonely ship an unmann'd wreck; + Magnus the Good, the people's friend, + Pressed to the death on the false Svein. + Hneiter (2), the sword his father bore, + Was edge and point, stained red with gore; + Swords sprinkle blood o'er armour bright, + + When kings for land and power fight." + +And Arnor says:-- + + "The cutters of Bjorn's own brother + Soon changed their owner for another; + The king took them and all their gear; + The crews, however, got off clear." + +A great number of Svein's men fell, and King Magnus and his men had a +vast booty to divide. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Where the Norsemen the Danish slew, + A Gautland shield and breast-plate true + Fell to my share of spoil by lot; + And something more i' the south I got: + (There all the summer swords were ringing) + A helm, gay arms, and gear worth bringing, + Home to my quiet lovely one + I sent--with news how we had won." + +Svein fled up to Scania with all the men who escaped with him; and King +Magnus and his people drove the fugitives up through the country without +meeting any opposition either from Svein's men or the bondes. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "Olaf's brave son then gave command, + All his ships' crews should quickly land: + King Magnus, marching at their head, + A noble band of warriors led. + A foray through the land he makes; + Denmark in every quarter shakes. + Up hill and down the horses scour, + Carrying the Danes from Norsemen's power." + +King Magnus drove with fire and sword through the land. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "And now the Norsemen storm along, + Following their banner in a throng: + King Magnus' banner flames on high, + A star to guide our roaming by. + To Lund, o'er Scania's peaceful field, + My shoulder bore my useless shield; + A fairer land, a better road, + As friend or foe, I never trod." + +They began to burn the habitations all around, and the people fled on +every side. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Our ice-cold iron in great store, + Our arms, beside the king we bore: + The Scanian rogues fly at the view + Of men and steel all sharp and true. + Their timbered houses flame on high, + Red flashing over half the sky; + The blazing town flings forth its light, + Lighting the cowards on their flight." + +And he also sang:-- + + "The king o'er all the Danish land + Roams, with his fire-bringing band: + The house, the hut, the farm, the town, + All where men dwelt is burned down. + O'er Denmark's plains and corn-fields, + Meadows and moors, are seen our shields: + Victorious over all, we chase + Svein's wounded men from place to place. + + "Across Fiona's moor again, + The paths late trodden by our men + We tread once more, until quite near, + Through morning mist, the foes appear. + Then up our numerous banners flare + In the cold early morning air; + And they from Magnus' power who fly + Cannot this quick war-work deny." + +Then Svein fled eastwards along Scania, and King Magnus returned to his +ships, and steered eastwards also along the Scanian coast, having got +ready with the greatest haste to sail. Thiodolf sings thus about it:-- + + "No drink but the salt sea + On board our ships had we, + When, following our king, + On board our ships we spring. + Hard work on the salt sea, + Off Scania's coast, had we; + But we laboured for the king, + To his foemen death to bring." + +Svein fled to Gautland, and then sought refuge with the Swedish king, +with whom he remained all winter (A.D. 1046), and was treated with great +respect. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Ship.--L. + (2) This was the name of Saint Olaf's sword, + which Magnus had recovered.--L. + + + + +35. OF KING MAGNUS'S CAMPAIGN. + +When King Magnus had subdued Scania he turned about, and first went +to Falster, where he landed, plundered, and killed many people who had +before submitted to Svein. Arnor speaks of this:-- + + "A bloody vengeance for their guile + King Magnus takes on Falster Isle; + The treacherous Danes his fury feel, + And fall before his purpled steel. + The battle-field is covered o'er, + With eagle's prey from shore to shore; + And the king's courtmen were the first + To quench with blood the raven's thirst." + +Thereafter Magnus with his fleet proceeded to the isle of Fyen, went on +land, plundered, and made great devastation. So says Arnor, the earls' +skald:-- + + "To fair Fiona's grassy shore + His banner now again he bore: + He who the mail-shirt's linked chains + Severs, and all its lustre stains,-- + He will be long remembered there, + The warrior in his twentieth year, + Whom their black ravens from afar + Saluted as he went to war." + + + + +36. OF KING MAGNUS'S BATTLES. + +King Magnus remained in Denmark all that winter (A.D. 1046), and sat in +peace. He had held many battles, and had gained the victory in all. So +says Od Kikinaskald:-- + + "'Fore Michaelmas was struck the blow, + That laid the Vindland vikings low; + And people learned with joy to hear + The clang of arms, and leaders' cheer. + Short before Yule fell out the day, + Southward of Aros, where the fray, + Though not enough the foe to quell, + Was of the bloodiest men can tell." + +And Arnor says:-- + + "Olaf's avenger who can sing? + The skald cannot o'ertake the king, + Who makes the war-bird daily drain + The corpse-blood of his foemen slain. + Four battles won within a year,-- + Breaker of shields! with swords and spear, + And hand to hand, exalt thy fame + Above the kings of greatest name." + +King Magnus had three battles with Svein Ulfson. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "To our brave Throndhjem sovereign's praise + The skald may all his skaldcraft raise; + For fortune, and for daring deed, + His song will not the truth exceed. + After three battles to regain + What was his own, unjustly ta'en, + Unjustly kept, and dues denied, + He levied dues in red-blood dyed." + + + + +37. OF KING MAGNUS, AND THORFIN AND RAGNVALD, EARLS OF ORKNEY. + +While King Magnus the Good, a son of King Olaf the Saint, ruled over +Norway, as before related, the Earl Ragnvald Brusason lived with him. +Earl Thorfin Sigurdson, the uncle of Ragnvald, ruled then over Orkney. +King Magnus sent Ragnvald west to Orkney, and ordered that Thorfin +should let him have his father's heritage. Thorfin let Ragnvald have a +third part of the land along with him; for so had Erase, the father +of Ragnvald, had it at his dying day. Earl Thorfin was married to +Ingebjorg, the earl-mother, who was a daughter of Fin Arnason. Earl +Ragnvald thought he should have two-thirds of the land, as Olaf the +Saint had promised to his father Bruse, and as Bruse had enjoyed as +long as Olaf lived. This was the origin of a great strife between these +relations, concerning which we have a long saga. They had a great battle +in Pentland Firth, in which Kalf Arnason was with Earl Thorfin. So says +Bjarne Gullbrarskald:-- + + "Thy cutters, dashing through the tide, + Brought aid to Earl Thorfin's side, + Fin's son-in-law, and people say + Thy aid made Bruse's son give way. + Kalf, thou art fond of warlike toil, + Gay in the strife and bloody broil; + But here 'twas hate made thee contend + Against Earl Ragnvald, the king's friend." + + + + +38. OF KING MAGNUS'S LETTER TO ENGLAND. + +King Magnus ruled then both over Denmark and Norway; and when he had got +possession of the Danish dominions he sent ambassadors over to England +to King Edward, who brought to him King Magnus's letter and seal. And in +this letter there stood, along with a salutation from King Magnus, +these words:--"Ye must have heard of the agreement which I and Hardaknut +made,--that he of us two who survived the other should have all the land +and people which the deceased had possessed. Now it has so turned out, +as ye have no doubt heard, that I have taken the Danish dominions as +my heritage after Hardaknut. But before he departed this life he +had England as well as Denmark; therefore I consider myself now, in +consequence of my rights by this agreement, to own England also. Now +I will therefore that thou deliver to me the kingdom; otherwise I will +seek to take it by arms, both from Denmark and Norway; and let him rule +the land to whom fate gives the victory." + + + + +39. KING EDWARD'S ANSWER TO KING MAGNUS'S LETTER. + +Now when King Edward had read this letter, he replied thus: "It is known +to all men in this country that King Ethelred, my father, was udal-born +to this kingdom, both after the old and new law of inheritance. We were +four sons after him; and when he by death left the throne my brother +Edmund took the government and kingdom; for he was the oldest of us +brothers, and I was well satisfied that it was so. And after him my +stepfather, Canute the Great, took the kingdom, and as long as he lived +there was no access to it. After him my brother Harald was king as long +as he lived; and after him my brother Hardaknut took the kingdoms both +of Denmark and England; for he thought that a just brotherly division +that he should have both England and Denmark, and that I should have no +kingdom at all. Now he died, and then it was the resolution of all the +people of the country to take me for king here in England. So long as I +had no kingly title I served only superiors in all respects, like those +who had no claims by birth to land or kingdom. Now, however, I have +received the kingly title, and am consecrated king. I have established +my royal dignity and authority, as my father before me; and while I live +I will not renounce my title. If King Magnus come here with an army, I +will gather no army against him; but he shall only get the opportunity +of taking England when he has taken my life. Tell him these words of +mine." The ambassadors went back to King Magnus, and told him the answer +to their message. King Magnus reflected a while, and answered thus: +"I think it wisest, and will succeed best, to let King Edward have his +kingdom in peace for me, and that I keep the kingdoms God has put into +my hands." + + + + +SAGA OF HARALD HARDRADE. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Harald, son of Sigurd Syr, was born in the year A.D. 1015, and +left Norway A.D. 1030. He was called Hardrade, that is, the severe +counsellor, the tyrant, though the Icelanders never applied this epithet +to him. Harald helped the Icelanders in the famine of A.D. 1056, and +sent them timber for a church at Thingvol. It was the Norwegians who +gave him the name tyrant in contrast to the "debonairete" of Magnus. He +came to Norway in A.D. 1046, and became sole king in A.D. 1047. He died +in A.D. 1066, and his son and successor Magnus died in A.D. 1069. + +His saga is to be compared with "Agrip", "Fagrskinna", and +"Morkinskinna". + +The skalds quoted are: Thiodolf, Bolverk, Illuge Bryndalaskald, Stuf the +skald, Thorarin Skeggjason, Valgard o' Val, Od Kikinaskald, Grane Skald, +Thorleik the Fair, Stein Herdison, Ulf the Marshal, Arnor the earls' +skald, Thorkel Skallason, and King Harald Hardrade himself. + + + + +1. HARALD ESCAPES FROM THE BATTLE OF STIKLESTAD. + +Harald, son of Sigurd Syr, brother of Olaf the Saint, by the same +mother, was at the battle of Stiklestad, and was fifteen years old when +King Olaf the Saint fell, as was before related. Harald was wounded, and +escaped with other fugitives. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "At Haug the fire-sparks from his shield + Flew round the king's head on the field, + As blow for blow, for Olaf's sake, + His sword and shield would give and take. + Bulgaria's conqueror, I ween, + Had scarcely fifteen winters seen, + When from his murdered brother's side + His unhelmed head he had to hide." + +Ragnvald Brusason led Harald from the battle, and the night after the +fray took him to a bonde who dwelt in a forest far from other people. +The peasant received Harald, and kept him concealed; and Harald was +waited upon until he was quite cured of his wounds. Then the bonde's son +attended him on the way east over the ridge of the land, and they +went by all the forest paths they could, avoiding the common road. The +bonde's son did not know who it was he was attending; and as they were +riding together between two uninhabited forests, Harald made these +verses: + + "My wounds were bleeding as I rode; + And down below the bondes strode, + Killing the wounded with the sword, + The followers of their rightful lord. + From wood to wood I crept along, + Unnoticed by the bonde-throng; + 'Who knows,' I thought, 'a day may come + My name will yet be great at home.'" + +He went eastward over the ridge through Jamtaland and Helsingjaland, and +came to Svithjod, where he found Ragnvald Brusason, and many others of +King Olaf's men who had fled from the battle at Stiklestad, and they +remained there till winter was over. + + + + +2. HARALD'S JOURNEY TO CONSTANTINOPLE. + +The spring after (A.D. 1031) Harald and Ragnvald got ships, and went +east in summer to Russia to King Jarisleif, and were with him all the +following winter. So says the skald Bolverk:-- + + "The king's sharp sword lies clean and bright, + Prepared in foreign lands to fight: + Our ravens croak to have their fill, + The wolf howls from the distant hill. + Our brave king is to Russia gone,-- + Braver than he on earth there's none; + His sharp sword will carve many feast + To wolf and raven in the East." + +King Jarisleif gave Harald and Ragnvald a kind reception, and made +Harald and Ellif, the son of Earl Ragnvald, chiefs over the land-defence +men of the king. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Where Ellif was, one heart and hand + The two chiefs had in their command; + In wedge or line their battle order + Was ranged by both without disorder. + The eastern Vindland men they drove + Into a corner; and they move + The Lesians, although ill at ease, + To take the laws their conquerors please." + +Harald remained several years in Russia, and travelled far and wide in +the Eastern land. Then he began his expedition out to Greece, and had a +great suite of men with him; and on he went to Constantinople. So says +Bolverk:-- + + "Before the cold sea-curling blast + The cutter from the land flew past, + Her black yards swinging to and fro, + Her shield-hung gunwale dipping low. + The king saw glancing o'er the bow + Constantinople's metal glow + From tower and roof, and painted sails + Gliding past towns and wooded vales." + + + + +3. OF HARALD. + +At that time the Greek empire was ruled by the Empress Zoe the Great, +and with her Michael Catalactus. Now when Harald came to Constantinople +he presented himself to the empress, and went into her pay; and +immediately, in autumn, went on board the galleys manned with troops +which went out to the Greek sea. Harald had his own men along with him. +Now Harald had been but a short time in the army before all the Varings +flocked to him, and they all joined together when there was a battle. It +thus came to pass that Harald was made chief of the Varings. There was a +chief over all the troops who was called Gyrger, and who was a relation +of the empress. Gyrger and Harald went round among all the Greek +islands, and fought much against the corsairs. + + + + +4. OF HARALD AND GYRGER CASTING LOTS. + +It happened once that Gyrger and the Varings were going through the +country, and they resolved to take their night quarters in a wood; and +as the Varings came first to the ground, they chose the place which was +best for pitching their tents upon, which was the highest ground; for +it is the nature of the land there to be soft when rain falls, and +therefore it is bad to choose a low situation for your tents. Now when +Gyrger, the chief of the army, came up, and saw where the Varings +had set up their tents, he told them to remove, and pitch their tents +elsewhere, saying he would himself pitch his tents on their ground. +Harald replies, "If ye come first to the night quarter, ye take up your +ground, and we must go pitch our tents at some other place where we best +can. Now do ye so, in the same way, and find a place where ye will. It +is, I think, the privilege of us Varings here in the dominions of +the Greek emperor to be free, and independent of all but their own +commanders, and bound only to serve the emperor and empress." They +disputed long and hotly about this, and both sides armed themselves, and +were on the way to fight for it; but men of understanding came between +and separated them. They said it would be better to come to an agreement +about such questions, so that in future no dispute could arise. It +came thus to an arbitration between them, at which the best and +most sagacious men should give their judgment in the case. At this +arbitration it was determined, with the consent of all parties, that +lots should be thrown into a box, and the Greeks and Varings should draw +which was first to ride, or to row, or to take place in a harbour, or +to choose tent ground; and each side should be satisfied with what +the drawing of the lots gave them. Accordingly the lots were made and +marked. Harald said to Gyrger, "Let me see what mark thou hast put upon +thy lot, that we may not both mark our lots in the same way." He did +so. Then Harald marked his lot, and put it into the box along with the +other. The man who was to draw out the lots then took up one of the lots +between his fingers, held it up in the air, and said, "This lot shall be +the first to ride, and to row, and to take place in harbour and on the +tent field." Harald seized his band, snatched the die, and threw it into +the sea, and called out, "That was our lot!" Gyrger said, "Why did you +not let other people see it?" Harald replies, "Look at the one remaining +in the box,--there you see your own mark upon it." Accordingly the lot +which was left behind was examined, and all men saw that Gyrger's mark +was upon it, and accordingly the judgment was given that the Varings had +gained the first choice in all they had been quarrelling about. There +were many things they quarrelled about, but the end always was that +Harald got his own way. + + + + +5. HARALD'S EXPEDITION IN THE LAND OF THE SARACENS (SERKLAND). + +They went out all on a campaign in summer. When the whole army was thus +assembled Harald kept his men out of the battle, or wherever he saw the +least danger, under pretext of saving his men; but where he was alone +with his own men only, he fought so desperately that they must either +come off victorious or die. It thus happened often that when he +commanded the army he gained victories, while Gyrger could do nothing. +The troops observed this, and insisted they would be more successful if +Harald alone was chief of the whole army, and upbraided the general with +never effecting anything, neither himself, nor his people. Gyrger again +said that the Varings would give him no assistance, and ordered Harald +to go with his men somewhere else, and he, with the rest of his army, +would win what they could. Harald accordingly left the army with the +Varings and the Latin men, and Gyrger on his side went off with the +Greek troops. Then it was seen what each could do. Harald always gained +victories and booty; but the Greeks went home to Constantinople with +their army, all except a few brave men, who, to gain booty and money, +joined themselves to Harald, and took him for their leader. He then went +with his troops westward to Africa, which the Varings call Serkland, +where he was strengthened with many men. In Serkland he took eighty +castles, some of which surrendered, and others were stormed. He then +went to Sicily. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "The serpent's bed of glowing gold + He hates--the generous king, the bold! + He who four score towers laid low, + Ta'en from the Saracenic foe. + Before upon Sicilian plains, + Shield joined to shield, the fight he gains, + The victory at Hild's war game; + And now the heathens dread his name." + +So says also Illuge Bryndala-skald:-- + + "For Michael's empire Harald fought, + And southern lands to Michael brought; + So Budle's son his friendship showed + When he brought friends to his abode." + +Here it is said that Michael was king of the Greeks at that time. Harald +remained many years in Africa, where he gathered great wealth in gold, +jewels, and all sorts of precious things; and all the wealth he gathered +there which he did not need for his expenses, he sent with trusty men +of his own north to Novgorod to King Jarisleif's care and keeping. He +gathered together there extraordinary treasure, as is reasonable to +suppose; for he had the plundering of the part of the world richest in +gold and valuable things, and he had done such great deeds as with truth +are related, such as taking eighty strongholds by his valour. + + + + +6. BATTLE IN SICILY. + +Now when Harald came to Sicily he plundered there also, and sat down +with his army before a strong and populous castle. He surrounded the +castle; but the walls were so thick there was no possibility of breaking +into it, and the people of the castle had enough of provisions, and all +that was necessary for defence. Then Harald hit upon an expedient. +He made his bird-catchers catch the small birds which had their nests +within the castle, but flew into the woods by day to get food for their +young. He had small splinters of tarred wood bound upon the backs of the +birds, smeared these over with wax and sulphur, and set fire to them. As +soon as the birds were let loose they all flew at once to the castle to +their young, and to their nests, which they had under the house roofs +that were covered with reeds or straw. The fire from the birds seized +upon the house roofs; and although each bird could only carry a small +burden of fire, yet all at once there was a mighty flame, caused by so +many birds carrying fire with them and spreading it widely among the +house roofs. Thus one house after the other was set on fire, until the +castle itself was in flames. Then the people came out of the castle and +begged for mercy; the same men who for many days had set at defiance +the Greek army and its leader. Harald granted life and safety to all who +asked quarter, and made himself master of the place. + + + + +7. BATTLE AT ANOTHER CASTLE. + +There was another castle before which Harald had come with his army. +This castle was both full of people and so strong, that there was no +hope of breaking into it. The castle stood upon a flat hard plain. Then +Harald undertook to dig a passage from a place where a stream ran in a +bed so deep that it could not be seen from the castle. They threw out +all the earth into the stream, to be carried away by the water. At this +work they laboured day and night, and relieved each other in gangs; +while the rest of the army went the whole day against the castle, where +the castle people shot through their loop-holes. They shot at each other +all day in this way, and at night they slept on both sides. Now when +Harald perceived that his underground passage was so long that it must +be within the castle walls, he ordered his people to arm themselves. It +was towards daybreak that they went into the passage. When they got to +the end of it they dug over their heads until they came upon stones laid +in lime which was the floor of a stone hall. They broke open the floor +and rose into the hall. There sat many of the castle-men eating and +drinking, and not in the least expecting such uninvited wolves; for +the Varings instantly attacked them sword in hand, and killed some, and +those who could get away fled. The Varings pursued them; and some seized +the castle gate, and opened it, so that the whole body of the army +got in. The people of the castle fled; but many asked quarter from the +troops, which was granted to all who surrendered. In this way Harald got +possession of the place, and found an immense booty in it. + + + + +8. BATTLE AT A THIRD CASTLE. + +They came to a third castle, the greatest and strongest of them all, +and also the richest in property and the fullest of people. Around this +castle there were great ditches, so that it evidently could not be taken +by the same device as the former; and they lay a long time before it +without doing anything. When the castle-men saw this they became bolder, +drew up their array on the castle walls, threw open the castle gates, +and shouted to the Varings, urging them, and jeering at them, and +telling them to come into the castle, and that they were no more fit for +battle than so many poultry. Harald told his men to make as if they did +not know what to do, or did not understand what was said. "For," says +he, "if we do make an assault we can effect nothing, as they can throw +their weapons under their feet among us; and if we get in the castle +with a party of our people, they have it in their power to shut them in. +and shut out the others; for they have all the castle gates beset with +men. We shall therefore show them the same scorn they show us, and +let them see we do not fear them. Our men shall go out upon the plain +nearest to the castle; taking care, however, to keep out of bow-shot. +All our men shall go unarmed, and be playing with each other, so that +the castle-men may see we do not regard them or their array." Thus it +went on for some days, without anything being done. + + + + +9. OF ULF AND HALDOR. + +Two Iceland men were then with Harald; the one was Haldor (1), a son of +the gode Snorre, who brought this account to Iceland; the other was Ulf +Uspakson, a grandson of Usvifer Spake. Both were very strong men, bold +under arms, and Harald's best friends; and both were in this play. Now +when some days were passed the castle people showed more courage, and +would go without weapons upon the castle wall, while the castle gates +were standing open. The Varings observing this, went one day to their +sports with the sword under their cloaks, and the helmet under their +hats. After playing awhile they observed that the castle people were +off their guard; and instantly seizing their weapons, they made at the +castle gate. When the men of the castle saw this they went against them +armed completely, and a battle began in the castle gate. The Varings had +no shields, but wrapped their cloaks round their left arms. Some of +them were wounded, some killed, and all stood in great danger. Now came +Harald with the men who had remained in the camp, to the assistance +of his people; and the castle-men had now got out upon the walls, from +which they shot and threw stones down upon them; so that there was a +severe battle, and those who were in the castle gates thought that help +was brought them slower than they could have wished. When Harald came to +the castle gate his standard-bearer fell, and Harald said to Haldor, +"Do thou take up the banner now." Haldor took up the banner, and said +foolishly, "Who will carry the banner before thee, if thou followest it +so timidly as thou hast done for a while?" But these were words more +of anger than of truth; for Harald was one of the boldest of men under +arms. Then they pressed in, and had a hard battle in the castle; and the +end was that Harald gained the victory and took the castle. Haldor +was much wounded in the face, and it gave him great pain as long as he +lived. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) One of the descendants of this Haldor was Snorre + Sturlason, the author of "Heimskringla". + + + + +10. BATTLE AT A FOURTH CASTLE. + +The fourth castle which Harald came to was the greatest of all we have +been speaking about. It was so strong that there was no possibility of +breaking into it. They surrounded the castle, so that no supplies could +get into it. When they had remained here a short time Harald fell sick, +and he betook himself to his bed. He had his tent put up a little from +the camp, for he found quietness and rest out of the clamour and clang +of armed men. His men went usually in companies to or from him to hear +his orders; and the castle people observing there was something new +among the Varings, sent out spies to discover what this might mean. When +the spies came back to the castle they had to tell of the illness of the +commander of the Varings, and that no assault on that account had been +made on the castle. A while after Harald's strength began to fail, at +which his men were very melancholy and cast down; all which was news to +the castle-men. At last Harald's sickness increased so rapidly that his +death was expected through all the army. Thereafter the Varings went to +the castle-men; told them, in a parley, of the death of their commander; +and begged of the priests to grant him burial in the castle. When the +castle people heard this news, there were many among them who ruled over +cloisters or other great establishments within the place, and who were +very eager to get the corpse for their church, knowing that upon that +there would follow very rich presents. A great many priests, therefore, +clothed themselves in all their robes, and went out of the castle with +cross and shrine and relics and formed a beautiful procession. The +Varings also made a great burial. The coffin was borne high in the air, +and over it was a tent of costly linen and before it were carried many +banners. Now when the corpse was brought within the castle gate the +Varings set down the coffin right across the entry, fixed a bar to keep +the gates open, and sounded to battle with all their trumpets, and drew +their swords. The whole army of the Varings, fully armed, rushed from +the camp to the assault of the castle with shout and cry; and the monks +and other priests who had gone to meet the corpse and had striven with +each other who should be the first to come out and take the offering at +the burial, were now striving much more who should first get away +from the Varings; for they killed before their feet every one who was +nearest, whether clerk or unconsecrated. The Varings rummaged so well +this castle that they killed all the men, pillaged everything and made +an enormous booty. + + + + +11. OF HARALD. + +Harald was many years in these campaigns, both in Serkland and in +Sicily. Then he came back to Constantinople with his troops and stayed +there but a little time before he began his expedition to Jerusalem. +There he left the pay he had received from the Greek emperor and all the +Varings who accompanied him did the same. It is said that on all +these expeditions Harald had fought eighteen regular battles. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "Harald the Stern ne'er allowed + Peace to his foemen, false and proud; + In eighteen battles, fought and won, + The valour of the Norseman shone. + The king, before his home return, + Oft dyed the bald head of the erne + With bloody specks, and o'er the waste + The sharp-claw'd wolf his footsteps traced." + + + + +12. HARALD'S EXPEDITION TO PALESTINE. + +Harald went with his men to the land of Jerusalem and then up to the +city of Jerusalem, and wheresoever he came in the land all the towns and +strongholds were given up to him. So says the skald Stuf, who had heard +the king himself relate these tidings:-- + + "He went, the warrior bold and brave, + Jerusalem, the holy grave, + And the interior of the land, + To bring under the Greeks' command; + And by the terror of his name + Under his power the country came, + Nor needed wasting fire and sword + To yield obediance to his word." + +Here it is told that this land came without fire and sword under +Harald's command. He then went out to Jordan and bathed therein, +according to the custom of other pilgrims. Harald gave great gifts to +our Lord's grave, to the Holy Cross, and other holy relics in the land +of Jerusalem. He also cleared the whole road all the way out to Jordan, +by killing the robbers and other disturbers of the peace. So says the +skald Stuf:-- + + "The Agder king cleared far and wide + Jordan's fair banks on either side; + The robber-bands before him fled, + And his great name was widely spread. + The wicked people of the land + Were punished here by his dread hand, + And they hereafter will not miss + Much worse from Jesus Christ than this." + + + + +13. HARALD PUT IN PRISON. + +Thereafter he went back to Constantinople. When Harald returned to +Constantinople from Jerusalem he longed to return to the North to his +native land; and when he heard that Magnus Olafson, his brother's son, +had become king both of Norway and Denmark, he gave up his command in +the Greek service. And when the empress Zoe heard of this she became +angry and raised an accusation against Harald that he had misapplied the +property of the Greek emperor which he had received in the campaigns in +which he was commander of the army. There was a young and beautiful girl +called Maria, a brother's daughter of the empress Zoe, and Harald had +paid his addresses to her; but the empress had given him a refusal. The +Varings, who were then in pay in Constantinople, have told here in +the North that there went a report among well-informed people that the +empress Zoe herself wanted Harald for her husband, and that she chiefly +blamed Harald for his determination to leave Constantinople, although +another reason was given out to the public. Constantinus Monomachus was +at that time emperor of the Greeks and ruled along with Zoe. On this +account the Greek emperor had Harald made prisoner and carried to +prison. + + + + +14. KING OLAF'S MIRACLE AND BLINDING THE GREEK EMPEROR. + +When Harald drew near to the prison King Olaf the Saint stood before him +and said he would assist him. On that spot of the street a chapel has +since been built and consecrated to Saint Olaf and which chapel has +stood there ever since. The prison was so constructed that there was a +high tower open above, but a door below to go into it from the street. +Through it Harald was thrust in, along with Haldor and Ulf. Next night +a lady of distinction with two servants came, by the help of ladders, +to the top of the tower, let down a rope into the prison and hauled them +up. Saint Olaf had formerly cured this lady of a sickness and he had +appeared to her in a vision and told her to deliver his brother. Harald +went immediately to the Varings, who all rose from their seats when he +came in and received him with joy. The men armed themselves forthwith +and went to where the emperor slept. They took the emperor prisoner and +put out both the eyes of him. So says Thorarin Skeggjason in his poem:-- + + "Of glowing gold that decks the hand + The king got plenty in this land; + But it's great emperor in the strife + Was made stone-blind for all his life." + +So says Thiodolf, the skald, also:-- + + "He who the hungry wolf's wild yell + Quiets with prey, the stern, the fell, + Midst the uproar of shriek and shout + Stung tho Greek emperor's eyes both out: + The Norse king's mark will not adorn, + The Norse king's mark gives cause to mourn; + His mark the Eastern king must bear, + Groping his sightless way in fear." + +In these two songs, and many others, it is told that Harald himself +blinded the Greek emperor; and they would surely have named some duke, +count, or other great man, if they had not known this to be the true +account; and King Harald himself and other men who were with him spread +the account. + + + + +15. HARALD'S JOURNEY FROM CONSTANTINOPLE. + +The same night King Harald and his men went to the house where Maria +slept and carried her away by force. Then they went down to where the +galleys of the Varings lay, took two of them and rowed out into Sjavid +sound. When they came to the place where the iron chain is drawn across +the sound, Harald told his men to stretch out at their oars in both +galleys; but the men who were not rowing to run all to the stern of the +galley, each with his luggage in his hand. The galleys thus ran up +and lay on the iron chain. As soon as they stood fast on it, and would +advance no farther, Harald ordered all the men to run forward into the +bow. Then the galley, in which Harald was, balanced forwards and swung +down over the chain; but the other, which remained fast athwart the +chain, split in two, by which many men were lost; but some were taken up +out of the sound. Thus Harald escaped out of Constantinople and sailed +thence into the Black Sea; but before he left the land he put the lady +ashore and sent her back with a good escort to Constantinople and bade +her tell her relation, the Empress Zoe, how little power she had over +Harald, and how little the empress could have hindered him from taking +the lady. Harald then sailed northwards in the Ellipalta and then all +round the Eastern empire. On this voyage Harald composed sixteen songs +for amusement and all ending with the same words. This is one of them:-- + + "Past Sicily's wide plains we flew, + A dauntless, never-wearied crew; + Our viking steed rushed through the sea, + As viking-like fast, fast sailed we. + Never, I think, along this shore + Did Norsemen ever sail before; + Yet to the Russian queen, I fear, + My gold-adorned, I am not dear." + +With this he meant Ellisif, daughter of King Jarisleif in Novgorod. + + + + +16. OF KING HARALD. + +When Harald came to Novgorod King Jarisleif received him in the most +friendly way and he remained there all winter (A.D. 1045). Then he took +into his own keeping all the gold and the many kinds of precious things +which he had sent there from Constantinople and which together made up +so vast a treasure that no man in the Northern lands ever saw the +like of it in one man's possession. Harald had been three times in the +poluta-svarf while he was in Constantinople. It is the custom, namely, +there, that every time one of the Greek emperors dies, the Varings are +allowed poluta-svarf; that is, they may go through all the emperor's +palaces where his treasures are and each may take and keep what he can +lay hold of while he is going through them. + + + + +17. KING HARALD'S MARRIAGE. + +This winter King Jarisleif gave Harald his daughter Elisabeth in +marriage. She is called by the Northmen Ellisif. This is related by Stuf +the Blind, thus:-- + + "Agder's chief now got the queen + Who long his secret love had been. + Of gold, no doubt, a mighty store + The princess to her husband bore." + +In spring he began his journey from Novgorod and came to Aldeigjuborg, +where he took shipping and sailed from the East in summer. He turned +first to Svithjod and came to Sigtuna. So says Valgard o' Val:-- + + "The fairest cargo ship e'er bore, + From Russia's distant eastern shore + The gallant Harald homeward brings-- + Gold, and a fame that skald still sings. + The ship through dashing foam he steers, + Through the sea-rain to Svithjod veers, + And at Sigtuna's grassy shores + His gallant vessel safely moors." + + + + +18. THE LEAGUE BETWEEN KING HARALD AND SVEIN ULFSON. + +Harald found there before him Svein Ulfson, who the autumn before (A.D. +1045) had fled from King Magnus at Helganes; and when they met they +were very friendly on both sides. The Swedish king, Olaf the Swede, was +brother of the mother of Ellisif, Harald's wife; and Astrid, the +mother of Svein, was King Olaf's sister. Harald and Svein entered into +friendship with each other and confirmed it by oath. All the Swedes were +friendly to Svein, because he belonged to the greatest family in the +country; and thus all the Swedes were Harald's friends and helpers also, +for many great men were connected with him by relationship. So says +Thiodolf: + + "Cross the East sea the vessel flew,-- + Her oak-keel a white furrow drew + From Russia's coast to Swedish land. + Where Harald can great help command. + The heavy vessel's leeward side + Was hid beneath the rushing tide; + While the broad sail and gold-tipped mast + Swung to and fro in the hard blast." + + + + +19. KING HARALD'S FORAY. + +Then Harald and Svein fitted out ships and gathered together a great +force; and when the troops were ready they sailed from the East towards +Denmark. So says Valgard:-- + + "Brave Yngve! to the land decreed + To thee by fate, with tempest speed + The winds fly with thee o'er the sea-- + To thy own udal land with thee. + As past the Scanlan plains they fly, + The gay ships glances 'twixt sea and sky, + And Scanian brides look out, and fear + Some ill to those they hold most dear." + +They landed first in Seeland with their men and herried and burned in +the land far and wide. Then they went to Fyen, where they also landed +and wasted. So says Valgard:-- + + "Harald! thou hast the isle laid waste, + The Seeland men away hast chased, + And the wild wolf by daylight roams + Through their deserted silent homes. + Fiona too could not withstand + The fury of thy wasting hand. + Helms burst, shields broke,--Fiona's bounds. + Were filled with death's terrific sounds. + + "Red flashing in the southern sky, + The clear flame sweeping broad and high, + From fair Roeskilde's lofty towers, + On lowly huts its fire-rain pours; + And shows the housemates' silent train + In terror scouring o'er the plain, + Seeking the forest's deepest glen, + To house with wolves, and 'scape from men. + + "Few were they of escape to tell, + For, sorrow-worn, the people fell: + The only captives form the fray + Were lovely maidens led away. + And in wild terror to the strand, + Down to the ships, the linked band + Of fair-haired girls is roughly driven, + Their soft skins by the irons riven." + + + + +20. KING MAGNUS'S LEVY. + +King Magnus Olafson sailed north to Norway in the autumn after the +battle at Helganes (A.D. 1045). There he hears the news that Harald +Sigurdson, his relation, was come to Svithjod; and moreover that Svein +Ulfson and Harald had entered into a friendly bond with each other and +gathered together a great force, intending first to subdue Denmark and +then Norway. King Magnus then ordered a general levy over all Norway and +he soon collected a great army. He hears then that Harald and Svein were +come to Denmark and were burning and laying waste the land and that the +country people were everywhere submitting to them. It was also told that +King Harald was stronger and stouter than other men, and so wise withal +that nothing was impossible to him, and he had always the victory when +he fought a battle; and he was also so rich in gold that no man could +compare with him in wealth. Thiodolf speaks thus of it: + + "Norsemen, who stand the sword of foe + Like forest-stems unmoved by blow! + My hopes are fled, no peace is near,-- + People fly here and there in fear. + On either side of Seeland's coast + A fleet appears--a white winged host; + Magnus form Norway takes his course, + Harald from Sweden leads his force. + + + + +21. TREATY BETWEEN HARALD AND MAGNUS. + +Those of Harald's men who were in his counsel said that it would be a +great misfortune if relations like Harald and Magnus should fight and +throw a death-spear against each other; and therefore many offered to +attempt bringing about some agreement between them, and the kings, by +their persuasion, agreed to it. Thereupon some men were sent off in a +light boat, in which they sailed south in all haste to Denmark, and got +some Danish men, who were proven friends of King Magnus, to propose +this matter to Harald. This affair was conducted very secretly. Now when +Harald heard that his relation, King Magnus, would offer him a league +and partition, so that Harald should have half of Norway with King +Magnus, and that they should divide all their movable property into two +equal parts, he accepted the proposal, and the people went back to King +Magnus with this answer. + + + + +22. TREATY BETWEEN HARALD AND SVEIN BROKEN. + +A little after this it happened that Harald and Svein one evening were +sitting at table drinking and talking together, and Svein asked Harald +what valuable piece of all his property he esteemed the most. + +He answered, it was his banner Land-waster. + +Svein asked what was there remarkable about it, that he valued it so +highly. + +Harald replied, it was a common saying that he must gain the victory +before whom that banner is borne, and it had turned out so ever since he +had owned it. + +Svein replies, "I will begin to believe there is such virtue in the +banner when thou hast held three battles with thy relation Magnus, and +hast gained them all." + +Then answered Harald with an angry voice, "I know my relationship to +King Magnus, without thy reminding me of it; and although we are now +going in arms against him, our meeting may be of a better sort." + +Svein changed colour, and said, "There are people, Harald, who say that +thou hast done as much before as only to hold that part of an agreement +which appears to suit thy own interest best." + +Harald answers, "It becomes thee ill to say that I have not stood by an +agreement, when I know what King Magnus could tell of thy proceedings +with him." + +Thereupon each went his own way. At night, when Harald went to sleep +within the bulwarks of his vessel, he said to his footboy, "I will not +sleep in my bed to-night, for I suspect there may be treachery abroad. +I observed this evening that my friend Svein was very angry at my free +discourse. Thou shalt keep watch, therefore, in case anything happen in +the night." Harald then went away to sleep somewhere else, and laid a +billet of wood in his place. At midnight a boat rowed alongside to the +ship's bulwark; a man went on board, lifted up the cloth of the tent of +the bulwarks, went up, and struck in Harald's bed with a great ax, so +that it stood fast in the lump of wood. The man instantly ran back to +his boat again, and rowed away in the dark night, for the moon was +set; but the axe remained sticking in the piece of wood as an evidence. +Thereupon Harald waked his men and let them know the treachery intended. +"We can now see sufficiently," said he, "that we could never match Svein +if he practises such deliberate treachery against us; so it will be best +for us to get away from this place while we can. Let us cast loose our +vessel and row away as quietly as possible." They did so, and rowed +during the night northwards along the land; and then proceeded night and +day until they came to King Magnus, where he lay with his army. Harald +went to his relation Magnus, and there was a joyful meeting betwixt +them. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "The far-known king the order gave, + In silence o'er the swelling wave, + With noiseless oars, his vessels gay + From Denmark west to row away; + And Olaf's son, with justice rare, + Offers with him the realm to share. + People, no doubt, rejoiced to find + The kings had met in peaceful mind." + +Afterwards the two relatives conversed with each other and all was +settled by peaceful agreement. + + + + +23. KING MAGNUS GIVES HARALD HALF OF NORWAY. + +King Magnus lay at the shore and had set up tents upon the land. There +he invited his relation, King Harald, to be his guest at table; and +Harald went to the entertainment with sixty of his men and was feasted +excellently. Towards the end of the day King Magnus went into the tent +where Harald sat and with him went men carrying parcels consisting of +clothes and arms. Then the king went to the man who sat lowest and gave +him a good sword, to the next a shield, to the next a kirtle, and so +on,--clothes, or weapons, or gold; to all he gave one or the other +valuable gift, and the more costly to the more distinguished men among +them. Then he placed himself before his relation Harald, holding two +sticks in his hand, and said, "Which of these two sticks wilt thou have, +my friend?" + +Harald replies, "The one nearest me." + +"Then," said King Magnus, "with this stick I give thee half of the +Norwegian power, with all the scat and duties, and all the domains +thereunto belonging, with the condition that everywhere thou shalt be as +lawful king in Norway as I am myself; but when we are both together in +one place, I shall be the first man in seat, service and salutation; and +if there be three of us together of equal dignity, that I shall sit +in the middle, and shall have the royal tent-ground and the royal +landing-place. Thou shalt strengthen and advance our kingdom, in return +for making thee that man in Norway whom we never expected any man should +be so long as our head was above ground." Then Harald stood up, and +thanked him for the high title and dignity. Thereupon they both sat +down, and were very merry together. The same evening Harald and his men +returned to their ships. + + + + +24. HARALD GIVES MAGNUS THE HALF OF HIS TREASURES. + +The following morning King Magnus ordered the trumpets to sound to a +General Thing of the people; and when it was seated, he made known to +the whole army the gift he had given to his relation Harald. Thorer of +Steig gave Harald the title of King there at the Thing; and the same +day King Harald invited King Magnus to table with him, and he went with +sixty men to King Harald's land-tent, where he had prepared a feast. +The two kings sat together on a high-seat, and the feast was splendid; +everything went on with magnificence, and the kings' were merry and +glad. Towards the close of the day King Harald ordered many caskets to +be brought into the tent, and in like manner people bore in weapons, +clothes and other sorts of valuables; and all these King Harald divided +among King Magnus's men who were at the feast. Then he had the caskets +opened and said to King Magnus, "Yesterday you gave us a large +kingdom, which your hand won from your and our enemies, and took us in +partnership with you, which was well done; and this has cost you much. +Now we on our side have been in foreign parts, and oft in peril of life, +to gather together the gold which you here see. Now, King Magnus, I will +divide this with you. We shall both own this movable property, and each +have his equal share of it, as each has his equal half share of Norway. +I know that our dispositions are different, as thou art more liberal +than I am; therefore let us divide this property equally between us, so +that each may have his share free to do with as he will." Then Harald +had a large ox-hide spread out, and turned the gold out of the caskets +upon it. Then scales and weights were taken and the gold separated and +divided by weight into equal parts; and all people wondered exceedingly +that so much gold should have come together in one place in the northern +countries. But it was understood that it was the Greek emperor's +property and wealth; for, as all people say, there are whole houses +there full of red gold. The kings were now very merry. Then there +appeared an ingot among the rest as big as a man's hand. Harald took +it in his hands and said, "Where is the gold, friend Magnus, that thou +canst show against this piece?" + +King Magnus replied, "So many disturbances and levies have been in the +country that almost all the gold and silver I could lay up is gone. I +have no more gold in my possession than this ring." And he took the ring +off his hand and gave it to Harald. + +Harald looked at it, and said, "That is but little gold, friend, for +the king who owns two kingdoms; and yet some may doubt whether thou art +rightful owner of even this ring." + +Then King Magnus replied, after a little reflection, "If I be not +rightful owner of this ring, then I know not what I have got right +to; for my father, King Olaf the Saint, gave me this ring at our last +parting." + +Then said King Harald, laughing, "It is true, King Magnus, what thou +sayest. Thy father gave thee this ring, but he took the ring from my +father for some trifling cause; and in truth it was not a good time for +small kings in Norway when thy father was in full power." + +King Harald gave Thorer of Steig at that feast a bowl of mountain birch, +that was encircled with a silver ring and had a silver handle, both +which parts were gilt; and the bowl was filled with money of pure +silver. With that came also two gold rings, which together stood for a +mark. He gave him also his cloak of dark purple lined with white skins +within, and promised him besides his friendship and great dignity. +Thorgils Snorrason, an intelligent man, says he has seen an altar-cloth +that was made of this cloak; and Gudrid, a daughter of Guthorm, the son +of Thorer of Steig, said, according to Thorgil's account, that she had +seen this bowl in her father Guthorm's possession. Bolverk also tells of +these matters:-- + + "Thou, generous king, I have been told, + For the green land hast given gold; + And Magnus got a mighty treasure, + That thou one half might'st rule at pleasure. + The people gained a blessed peace, + Which 'twixt the kings did never cease; + While Svein, disturbed with war's alarms, + Had his folk always under arms." + + + + +25. OF KING MAGNUS. + +The kings Magnus and Harald both ruled in Norway the winter after their +agreement (A.D. 1047), and each had his court. In winter they went +around the Upland country in guest-quarters; and sometimes they were +both together, sometimes each was for himself. They went all the way +north to Throndhjem, to the town of Nidaros. King Magnus had taken +special care of the holy remains of King Olaf after he came to the +country; had the hair and nails clipped every twelve month, and kept +himself the keys that opened the shrine. Many miracles were worked by +King Olaf's holy remains. It was not long before there was a breach +in the good understanding between the two kings, as many were so +mischievous as to promote discord between them. + + + + +26. OF SVEIN ULFSON. + +Svein Ulfson remained behind in the harbour after Harald had gone away, +and inquired about his proceedings. When he heard at last of Magnus and +Harald having agreed and joined their forces, he steered with his forces +eastward along Scania, and remained there until towards winter, when he +heard that King Magnus and King Harald had gone northwards to Norway. +Then Svein, with his troops, came south to Denmark and took all the +royal income that winter (A.D. 1047). + + + + +27. OF THE LEVY OF THE TWO KINGS. + +Towards spring (A.D. 1047) King Magnus and his relation, King Harald, +ordered a levy in Norway. It happened once that the kings lay all night +in the same harbour and next day, King Harald, being first ready, made +sail. Towards evening he brought up in the harbour in which Magnus and +his retinue had intended to pass the night. Harald laid his vessel in +the royal ground, and there set up his tents. King Magnus got under sail +later in the day and came into the harbour just as King Harald had done +pitching his tents. They saw then that King Harald had taken up the +king's ground and intended to lie there. After King Magnus had ordered +the sails to be taken in, he said, "The men will now get ready along +both sides of the vessel to lay out their oars, and some will open the +hatches and bring up the arms and arm themselves; for, if they will not +make way for us, we will fight them." Now when King Harald sees +that King Magnus will give him battle, he says to his men, "Cut our +land-fastenings and back the ship out of the ground, for friend Magnus +is in a passion." They did so and laid the vessel out of the ground +and King Magnus laid his vessel in it. When they were now ready on both +sides with their business, King Harald went with a few men on board of +King Magnus's ship. King Magnus received him in a friendly way, and +bade him welcome. King Harald answered, "I thought we were come among +friends; but just now I was in doubt if ye would have it so. But it is a +truth that childhood is hasty, and I will only consider it as a childish +freak." Then said King Magnus, "It is no childish whim, but a trait of +my family, that I never forget what I have given, or what I have not +given. If this trifle had been settled against my will, there would soon +have followed' some other discord like it. In all particulars I will +hold the agreement between us; but in the same way we will have all that +belongs to us by that right." King Harald coolly replied, that it is an +old custom for the wisest to give way; and returned to his ship. From +such circumstances it was found difficult to preserve good understanding +between the kings. King Magnus's men said he was in the right; but +others, less wise, thought there was some slight put upon Harald in the +business. King Harald's men, besides, insisted that the agreement was +only that King Magnus should have the preference of the harbour-ground +when they arrived together, but that King Harald was not bound to draw +out of his place when he came first. They observed, also, that King +Harald had conducted himself well and wisely in the matter. Those who +viewed the business in the worst light insisted that King Magnus wanted +to break the agreement, and that he had done King Harald injustice, +and put an affront on him. Such disputes were talked over so long +among foolish people, that the spirit of disagreeing affected the kings +themselves. Many other things also occurred, in which the kings appeared +determined to have each his own way; but of these little will be set +down here. + + + + +28. KING MAGNUS THE GOOD'S DEATH. + +The kings, Magnus and Harald, sailed with their fleet south to Denmark; +and when Svein heard of their approach, he fled away east to Scania. +Magnus and Harald remained in Denmark late in summer, and subdued the +whole country. In autumn they were in Jutland. One night, as King Magnus +lay in his bed, it appeared to him in a dream that he was in the same +place as his father, Saint Olaf, and that he spoke to him thus: "Wilt +thou choose, my son, to follow me, or to become a mighty king, and +have long life; but to commit a crime which thou wilt never be able to +expiate?" He thought he made the answer, "Do thou, father, choose for +me." Then the king thought the answer was, "Thou shalt follow me." King +Magnus told his men this dream. Soon after he fell sick and lay at a +place called Sudathorp. When he was near his death he sent his brother, +Thorer, with tokens to Svein Ulfson, with the request to give Thorer the +aid he might require. In this message King Magnus also gave the Danish +dominions to Svein after his death; and said it was just that Harald +should rule over Norway and Svein over Denmark. Then King Magnus the +Good died (A.D. 1047), and great was the sorrow of all the people at his +death. So says Od Kikinaskald:-- + + "The tears o'er good King Magnus' bier, + The people's tears, were all sincere: + Even they to whom he riches gave + Carried him heavily to the grave. + All hearts were struck at the king's end; + His house-thralls wept as for a friend; + His court-men oft alone would muse, + As pondering o'er unthought of news." + + + + +29. KING MAGNUS'S FUNERAL. + +After this event King Harald held a Thing of his men-at-arms, and told +them his intention to go with the army to Viborg Thing, and make himself +be proclaimed king over the whole Danish dominions, to which, he said, +he had hereditary right after his relation Magnus, as well as to Norway. +He therefore asked his men for their aid, and said he thought the +Norway man should show himself always superior to the Dane. Then Einar +Tambaskelfer replies that he considered it a greater duty to bring his +foster-son King Magnus's corpse to the grave, and lay it beside his +father, King Olaf's, north in Throndhjem town, than to be fighting +abroad and taking another king's dominions and property. He ended his +speech with saying that he would rather follow King Magnus dead than any +other king alive. Thereupon he had the body adorned in the most careful +way, so that most magnificent preparations were made in the king's ship. +Then all the Throndhjem people and all the Northmen made themselves +ready to return home with the king's body, and so the army was broken +up. King Harald saw then that it was better for him to return to Norway +to secure that kingdom first, and to assemble men anew; and so King +Harald returned to Norway with all his army. As soon as he came to +Norway he held a Thing with the people of the country, and had himself +proclaimed king everywhere. He proceeded thus from the East through +Viken, and in every district in Norway he was named king. Einar +Tambaskelfer, and with him all the Throndhjem troops, went with King +Magnus's body and transported it to the town of Nidaros, where it was +buried in St. Clement's church, where also was the shrine of King +Olaf the Saint. King Magnus was of middle size, of long and +clear-complexioned countenance, and light hair, spoke well and hastily, +was brisk in his actions, and extremely generous. He was a great +warrior, and remarkably bold in arms. He was the most popular of kings, +prized even by enemies as well as friends. + + + + +30. OF SVEIN ULFSON. + +Svein Ulfson remained that autumn in Scania (A.D. 1047), and was making +ready to travel eastward to Sweden, with the intention of renouncing the +title of king he had assumed in Denmark; but just as he was mounting his +horse some men came riding to him with the first news that King Magnus +was dead, and all the Northmen had left Denmark. Svein answered in +haste, "I call God to witness that I shall never again fly from the +Danish dominions as long as I live." Then he got on his horse and rode +south into Scania, where immediately many people crowded to him. That +winter he brought under his power all the Danish dominions, and all the +Danes took him for their king. Thorer, King Magnus's brother, came to +Svein in autumn with the message of King Magnus, as before related, +and was well received; and Thorer remained long with Svein and was well +taken care of. + + + + +31. OF KING HARALD SIGURDSON. + +King Harald Sigurdson took the royal power over all Norway after the +death of King Magnus Olafson; and when he had reigned over Norway one +winter and spring was come (A.D. 1048), he ordered a levy through all +the land of one-half of all men and ships and went south to Jutland. +He herried and burned all summer wide around in the land and came into +Godnarfjord, where King Harald made these verses:-- + + "While wives of husbands fondly dream, + Here let us anchor in the stream, + In Godnarfjord; we'll safely moor + Our sea-homes, and sleep quite secure." + +Then he spoke to Thiodolf, the skald, and asked him to add to it what it +wanted, and he sang:-- + + "In the next summer, I foresee, + Our anchorage in the South will be; + To hold our sea-homes on the ground, + More cold-tongued anchors will be found." + +To this Bolverk alludes in his song also, that Harald went to Denmark +the summer after King Magnus's death. Bolverk sings thus:-- + + "Next summer thou the levy raised, + And seawards all the people gazed, + Where thy sea-steeds in sunshine glancing + Over the waves were gaily prancing; + While the deep ships that plunder bore + Seemed black specks from the distant shore. + The Danes, from banks or hillocks green, + Looked with dismay upon the scene." + + + + +32. OF THORKEL GEYSA'S DAUGHTERS. + +Then they burned the house of Thorkel Geysa, who was a great lord, and +his daughters they carried off bound to their ships. They had made a +great mockery the winter before of King Harald's coming with war-ships +against Denmark; and they cut their cheese into the shape of anchors, +and said such anchors might hold all the ships of the Norway king. Then +this was composed:-- + + "The Island-girls, we were told, + Made anchors all our fleet to hold: + Their Danish jest cut out in cheese + Did not our stern king's fancy please. + Now many a maiden fair, may be, + Sees iron anchors splash the sea, + Who will not wake a maid next morn + To laugh at Norway's ships in scorn." + +It is said that a spy who had seen the fleet of King Harald said to +Thorkel Geysa's daughters, "Ye said, Geysa's daughters, that King Harald +dared not come to Denmark." Dotta, Thorkel's daughter, replied, "That +was yesterday." Thorkel had to ransom his daughters with a great sum. So +says Grane:-- + + "The gold-adorned girl's eye + Through Hornskeg wood was never dry, + As down towards the sandy shore + The men their lovely prizes bore. + The Norway leader kept at bay + The foe who would contest the way, + And Dotta's father had to bring + Treasure to satisfy the king." + +King Harald plundered in Denmark all that summer, and made immense +booty; but he had not any footing in the land that summer in Denmark. +He went to Norway again in autumn and remained there all winter (A.D. +1049). + + + + +33. MARRIAGES AND CHILDREN OF HARALD HARDRADE. + +The winter after King Magnus the Good died, King Harald took Thora, +daughter of Thorberg Arnason, and they had two sons; the oldest called +Magnus, and the other Olaf. King Harald and Queen Ellisif had two +daughters; the one Maria, the other Ingegerd. The spring after the foray +which has just been related King Harald ordered the people out and went +with them to Denmark (A.D. 1049), and herried there, and did so summer +after summer thereafter. So says Stuf, the skald:-- + + "Falster lay waste, as people tell,-- + The raven in other isles fared well. + The Danes were everywhere in fear, + For the dread foray every year." + + + + +34. OF THE ARMAMENTS OF SVEIN ULFSON AND HARALD. + +King Svein ruled over all the Danish dominions after King Magnus's +death. He sat quiet all the winter; but in summer he lay out in his +ships with all his people and it was said he would go north to Norway +with the Danish army and make not less havoc there than King Harald +had made in Denmark. King Svein proposed to King Harald in winter (A.D. +1049) to meet him the following summer at the Gaut river and fight until +in the battle-field their differences were ended, or they were settled +peacefully. They made ready on both sides all winter with their ships, +and called out in summer one-half of all the fighting men. The same +summer came Thorleik the Fair out of Iceland, and composed a poem about +King Svein Ulfson. He heard, when he arrived in Norway, that King Harald +had sailed south to the Gaut river against King Svein. Then Thorleik +sang this:-- + + "The wily Svein, I think, will meet + These inland Norsemen fleet to fleet; + The arrow-storm, and heaving sea, + His vantage-fight and field will be. + God only knows the end of strife, + Or which shall have his land and life; + This strife must come to such an end, + For terms will never bind King Svein." + +He also sang these verses:-- + + "Harald, whose red shield oft has shone + O'er herried coasts, and fields hard won, + Rides in hot wrath, and eager speeds + O'er the blue waves his ocean-steeds. + Svein, who in blood his arrows stains, + Brings o'er the ocean's heaving plains + His gold-beaked ships, which come in view + Out from the Sound with many a hue." + +King Harald came with his forces to the appointed meeting-place; but +there he heard that King Svein was lying with his fleet at the south +side of Seeland. Then King Harald divided his forces; let the greater +part of the bonde-troops return home; and took with him his court-men, +his lendermen, the best men-at-arms, and all the bonde-troops who lived +nearest to the Danish land. They sailed over to Jutland to the south of +Vendilskage, and so south to Thioda; and over all they carried fire and +sword. So says Stuf, the skald:-- + + "In haste the men of Thyland fly + From the great monarch's threat'ning eye; + At the stern Harald's angry look + The boldest hearts in Denmark shook." + +They went forward all the way south to Heidaby, took the merchant town +and burnt it. Then one of Harald's men made the following verses:-- + + "All Heidaby is burned down! + Strangers will ask where stood the town. + In our wild humour up it blazed, + And Svein looks round him all amazed. + All Heidaby is burned down! + From a far corner of the town + I saw, before the peep of morning, + Roofs, walls, and all in flame high burning." + +To this also Thorleik alludes in his verses, when he heard there had +been no battle at the Gaut river:-- + + "The stranger-warrior may inquire + Of Harald's men, why in his ire + On Heidaby his wrath he turns, + And the fair town to ashes burns? + Would that the day had never come + When Harald's ships returned home + From the East Sea, since now the town, + Without his gain, is burned down!" + + + + +35. HARALD'S ESCAPE INTO THE JUTLAND SEA. + +Then King Harald sailed north and had sixty ships and the most of them +large and heavily laden with the booty taken in summer; and as they +sailed north past Thioda King Svein came down from the land with a great +force and he challenged King Harald to land and fight. King Harald +had little more than half the force of King Svein and therefore he +challenged Svein to fight at sea. So says Thorleik the Fair:-- + + "Svein, who of all men under heaven + Has had the luckiest birth-hour given, + Invites his foemen to the field, + There to contest with blood-stained shield. + The king, impatient of delay, + Harald, will with his sea-hawks stay; + On board will fight, and fate decide + If Svein shall by his land abide." + +After that King Harald sailed north along Vendilskage; and the wind then +came against them, and they brought up under Hlesey, where they lay all +night. A thick fog lay upon the sea; and when the morning came and the +sun rose they saw upon the other side of the sea as if many lights were +burning. This was told to King Harald; and he looked at it, and said +immediately, "Strike the tilts down on the ships and take to the oars. +The Danish forces are coming upon us, and the fog there where they are +must have cleared off, and the sun shines upon the dragon-heads of their +ships, which are gilded, and that is what we see." It was so as he had +said. Svein had come there with a prodigious armed force. They rowed now +on both sides all they could. The Danish ships flew lighter before the +oars; for the Northmen's ships were both soaked with water and heavily +laden, so that the Danes approached nearer and nearer. Then Harald, +whose own dragon-ship was the last of the fleet, saw that he could not +get away; so he ordered his men to throw overboard some wood, and lay +upon it clothes and other good and valuable articles; and it was so +perfectly calm that these drove about with the tide. Now when the Danes +saw their own goods driving about on the sea, they who were in advance +turned about to save them; for they thought it was easier to take what +was floating freely about, than to go on board the Northmen to take it. +They dropped rowing and lost ground. Now when King Svein came up to them +with his ship, he urged them on, saying it would be a great shame if +they, with so great a force, could not overtake and master so small a +number. The Danes then began again to stretch out lustily at their oars. +When King Harald saw that the Danish ships went faster he ordered his +men to lighten their ships, and cast overboard malt, wheat, bacon, and +to let their liquor run out, which helped a little. Then Harald ordered +the bulwarkscreens, the empty casks and puncheons and the prisoners to +be thrown overboard; and when all these were driving about on the sea, +Svein ordered help to be given to save the men. This was done; but so +much time was lost that they separated from each other. The Danes turned +back and the Northmen proceeded on their way. So says Thorleik the +Fair:-- + + "Svein drove his foes from Jutland's coast,-- + The Norsemen's ships would have been lost, + But Harald all his vessels saves, + Throwing his booty on the waves. + The Jutlanders saw, as he threw, + Their own goods floating in their view; + His lighten'd ships fly o'er the main + While they pick up their own again." + +King Svein returned southwards with his ships to Hlesey, where he found +seven ships of the Northmen, with bondes and men of the levy. When +King Svein came to them they begged for mercy, and offered ransom for +themselves. So says Thorleik the Fair:-- + + "The stern king's men good offers make, + If Svein will ransom for them take; + Too few to fight, they boldly say + Unequal force makes them give way. + The hasty bondes for a word + Would have betaken them to the sword, + And have prolonged a bloody strife-- + Such men can give no price for life." + + + + +36. OF HARALD. + +King Harald was a great man, who ruled his kingdom well in +home-concerns. Very prudent was he, of good understanding; and it is the +universal opinion that no chief ever was in northern lands of such deep +judgment and ready counsel as Harald. He was a great warrior; bold in +arms; strong and expert in the use of his weapons beyond any others, as +has been before related, although many of the feats of his manhood are +not here written down. This is owing partly to our uncertainty about +them, partly to our wish not to put stories into this book for which +there is no testimony. Although we have heard, many things talked about, +and even circumstantially related, yet we think it better that something +may be added to, than that it should be necessary to take something +away from our narrative. A great part of his history is put in verse +by Iceland men, which poems they presented to him or his sons, and for +which reason he was their great friend. He was, indeed, a great friend +to all the people of that country; and once, when a very dear time set +in, he allowed four ships to transport meal to Iceland, and fixed that +the shippund should not be dearer than 100 ells of wadmal. He permitted +also all poor people, who could find provisions to keep them on the +voyage across the sea, to emigrate from Iceland to Norway; and from that +time there was better subsistence in the country, and the seasons also +turned out better. King Harold also sent from Norway a bell for the +church of which Olaf the Saint had sent the timbers to Iceland, and +which was erected on the Thing-plain. Such remembrances of King Harald +are found here in the country, besides many great gifts which he +presented to those who visited him. + + + + +37. OF HALDOR SNORRASON. + +Haldor Snorrason and Ulf Uspakson, as before related, came to +Norway with King Harald. They were, in many respects, of different +dispositions. Haldor was very stout and strong, and remarkably handsome +in appearance. King Harald gave him this testimony, that he, among +all his men, cared least about doubtful circumstances, whether they +betokened danger or pleasure; for, whatever turned up, he was never in +higher nor in lower spirits, never slept less nor more on account of +them, nor ate or drank but according to his custom. Haldor was not a man +of many words, but short in conversation, told his opinion bluntly and +was obstinate and hard; and this could not please the king, who had many +clever people about him zealous in his service. Haldor remained a short +time with the king; and then came to Iceland, where he took up his abode +in Hjardarholt, and dwelt in that farm to a very advanced age. + + + + +38. OF ULF USPAKSON. + +Ulf Uspakson stood in great esteem with King Harald; for he was a man +of great understanding, clever in conversation, active and brave, and +withal true and sincere. King Harald made Ulf his marshal, and married +him to Jorun, Thorberg's daughter, a sister of Harald's wife, Thora. Ulf +and Jorun's children were Joan the Strong of Rasvol, and Brigida, mother +of Sauda-Ulf, who was father of Peter Byrdar-Svein, father of Ulf +Fly and Sigrid. Joan the Strong's son was Erlend Himalde, father of +Archbishop Eystein and his brothers. King Harald gave Ulf the marshal +the rights of a lenderman and a fief of twelve marks income, besides a +half-district in the Throndhjem land. Of this Stein Herdison speaks in +his song about Ulf. + + + + +39. OF THE BUILDING OF CHURCHES AND HOUSES. + +King Magnus Olafson built Olaf's church in the town (Nidaros), on the +spot where Olaf's body was set down for the night, and which, at that +time, was above the town. He also had the king's house built there. The +church was not quite finished when the king died; but King Harald +had what was wanting completed. There, beside the house, he began to +construct a stone hall, but it was not finished when he died. King +Harald had the church called Mary Church built from the foundations up, +at the sandhill close to the spot where the king's holy remains were +concealed in the earth the first winter after his fall. It was a large +temple, and so strongly built with lime that it was difficult to break +it when the Archbishop Eystein had it pulled down. Olaf's holy remains +were kept in Olaf's church while Mary Church was building. King Harald +had the king's house erected below Mary Kirk, at the side of the river, +where it now is; and he had the house in which he had made the great +hall consecrated and called Gregorius Church. + + + + +40. BEGINNING OF HAKON IVARSON'S STORY. + +There was a man called Ivar the White, who was a brave lenderman +dwelling in the Uplands, and was a daughter's son of Earl Hakon the +Great. Ivar was the handsomest man that could be seen. Ivar's son was +called Hakon; and of him it was said that he was distinguished above all +men then in Norway for beauty, strength and perfection of figure. In his +very youth he had been sent out on war expeditions, where he acquired +great honour and consideration, and became afterwards one of the most +celebrated men. + + + + +41. OF EINAR TAMBASKELFER. + +Einar Tambaskelfer was the most powerful lenderman in the Throndhjem +land. There was but little friendship between him and King Harald, +although Einar retained all the fiefs he had held while Magnus the Good +lived. Einar had many large estates, and was married to Bergliot, a +daughter of Earl Hakon, as related above. Their son Eindride was grown +up, and married to Sigrid, a daughter of Ketil Kalf and Gunhild, King +Harald's sister's daughter. Eindride had inherited the beauty of his +mother's father, Earl Hakon, and his sons; and in size and strength +he took after his father, Einar, and also in all bodily perfections by +which Einar had been distinguished above other men. He was, also, as +well as his father, the most popular of men, which the sagas, indeed, +show sufficiently. + + + + +42. OF EARL ORM. + +Orm was at that time earl in the Uplands. His mother was Ragnhild, a +daughter of Earl Hakon the Great, and Orm was a remarkably clever man. +Aslak Erlingson was then in Jadar at Sole, and was married to Sigrid, a +daughter of Earl Svein Hakonson. Gunhild, Earl Svein's other daughter, +was married to the Danish king, Svein Ulfson. These were the descendants +of Earl Hakon at that time in Norway, besides many other distinguished +people; and the whole race was remarkable for their very beautiful +appearance, and the most of them were gifted with great bodily +perfection, and were all distinguished and important men. + + + + +43. HARALD'S PRIDE. + +King Harald was very proud, and his pride increased after he was +established in the country; and it came so far that at last it was not +good to speak against him, or to propose anything different from what he +desired. So says Thiodolf, the skald:-- + + "In arms 'tis right the common man + Should follow orders, one by one,-- + Should stoop or rise, or run or stand, + As his war-leader may command; + But now to the king who feeds the ravens + The people bend like heartless cravens-- + Nothing is left them, but consent + To what the king calls his intent." + + + + +44. OF THE QUARREL OF KING HARALD AND EINAR TAMBASKELFER. + +Einar Tambaskelfer was the principal man among the bondes all about +Throndhjem, and answered for them at the Things even against the king's +men. Einar knew well the law, and did not want boldness to bring forward +his opinion at Things, even if the king was present; and all the bondes +stood by him. The king was very angry at this, and it came so far that +they disputed eagerly against each other. Einar said that the bondes +would not put up with any unlawful proceedings from him if he broke +through the law of the land; and this occurred several times between +them. Einar then began to keep people about him at home, and he had many +more when he came into the town if the king was there. It once happened +that Einar came to the town with a great many men and ships; he had with +him eight or nine great war-ships and nearly 500 men. When he came to +the town he went up from the strand with his attendants. King Harald was +then in his house, standing out in the gallery of the loft; and when +he saw Einar's people going on shore, it is said Harald composed these +verses:-- + + "I see great Tambaskelfer go, + With mighty pomp, and pride, and show, + Across the ebb-shore up the land,-- + Before, behind, an armed band. + This bonde-leader thinks to rule, + And fill himself the royal stool. + A goodly earl I have known + With fewer followers of his own. + He who strikes fire from the shield, + Einar, may some day make us yield, + Unless our axe-edge quickly ends, + With sudden kiss, what he intends." + +Einar remained several days in the town. + + + + +45. THE FALL OF EINAR AND EINDRIDE. + +One day there was a meeting held in the town, at which the king himself +was present. A thief had been taken in the town, and he was brought +before the Thing. The man had before been in the service of Einar, who +had been very well satisfied with him. This was told to Einar, and he +well knew the king would not let the man off, and more because he took +an interest in the matter. Einar, therefore, let his men get under arms, +went to the Thing, and took the man by force. The friends on both sides +then came between and endeavoured to effect a reconciliation; and they +succeeded so far that a meeting-place was appointed, to which both +should come. There was a Thing-room in the king's house at the river +Nid, and the king went into it with a few men, while the most of his +people were out in the yard. The king ordered the shutters of the +loft-opening to be turned, so that there was but a little space left +clear. When Einar came into the yard with his people, he told his son +Eindride to remain outside with the men, "for there is no danger here +for me." Eindride remained standing outside at the room-door. When +Einar came into the Thing-room, he said, "It is dark in the king's +Thing-room." At that moment some men ran against him and assaulted him, +some with spears, some with swords. When Eindride heard this he drew his +sword and rushed into the room; but he was instantly killed along with +his father. The king's men then ran up and placed themselves before the +door, and the bondes lost courage, having no leader. They urged each +other on, indeed, and said it was a shame they should not avenge their +chief; but it came to nothing with their attack. The king went out to +his men, arrayed them in battle order, and set up his standard: but the +bondes did not venture to assault. Then the king went with all his men +on board of his ships, rowed down the river, and then took his way out +of the fjord. When Einar's wife Bergliot, who was in the house which +Einar had possessed in the town, heard of Einar's fall, she went +immediately to the king's house where the bondes army was and urged them +to the attack; but at the same moment the king was rowing out of the +river. Then said Bergliot, "Now we want here my relation, Hakon Ivarson: +Einar's murderer would not be rowing out of the river if Ivar stood here +on the riverbank." Then Bergliot adorned Einar's and Eindride's +corpses and buried them in Olaf's church, beside King Magnus Olafson's +burial-place. After Einar's murder the king was so much disliked for +that deed that there was nothing that prevented the lendermen and bondes +from attacking the king, and giving him battle, but the want of some +leader to raise the banner in the bonde army. + + + + +46. OF KING HARALD AND FIN ARNASON. + +Fin Arnason dwelt at Austrat in Yrjar, and was King Harald's lenderman +there. Fin was married to Bergliot, a daughter of Halfdan, who was a son +of Sigurd Syr, and brother of Olaf the Saint and of King Harald. Thora, +King Harald's wife, was Fin Arnason's brother's daughter: and Fin and +all his brothers were the king's dearest friends. Fin Arnason had been +for some summers on a viking cruise in the West sea; and Fin, Guthorm +Gunhildson and Hakon Ivarson had all been together on that cruise. King +Harald now proceeded out of Throndhjem fjord to Austrat, where he was +well received. Afterwards the king and Fin conversed with each other +about this new event of Einar's and his son's death, and of the +murmuring and threatening which the bondes made against the king. + +Fin took up the conversation briskly, and said, "Thou art managing ill +in two ways: first, in doing all manner of mischief; and next, in being +so afraid that thou knowest not what to do." + +The king replied, laughing, "I will send thee, friend, into the town to +bring about a reconciliation with the bondes; and if that will not do, +thou must go to the Uplands and bring matters to such an understanding +with Hakon Ivarson that he shall not be my opponent." + +Fin replies, "And how wilt thou reward me if I undertake this dangerous +errand; for both the people of Throndhjem and the people of Upland +are so great enemies to thee that it would not be safe for any of thy +messengers to come among them, unless he were one who would be spared +for his own sake?" + +The king replies, "Go thou on this embassy, for I know thou wilt succeed +in it if any man can, and bring about a reconciliation; and then choose +whatever favour from us thou wilt." + +Fin says, "Hold thou thy word, king, and I will choose my petition. +I will desire to have peace and safe residence in the country for my +brother Kalf, and all his estates restored; and also that he receive all +the dignity and power he had when he left the country." + +The king assented to all that Fin laid down, and it was confirmed by +witnesses and shake of hand. + +Then said Fin, "What shall I offer Hakon, who rules most among +his relations in the land, to induce him to agree to a treaty and +reconciliation with thee?" + +The king replies, "Thou shalt first hear what Hakon on his part requires +for making an agreement; then promote my interest as thou art best able; +and deny him nothing in the end short of the kingdom." + +Then King Harald proceeded southwards to More, and drew together men in +considerable numbers. + + + + +47. OF FIN ARNASON'S JOURNEY. + +Fin Arnason proceeded to the town and had with him his house-servants, +nearly eighty men. When he came into the town he held a Thing with the +town's people. Fin spoke long and ably at the Thing; and told the town's +people, and bondes, above all things not to have a hatred against their +king, or to drive him away. He reminded them of how much evil they had +suffered by acting thus against King Olaf the Saint; and added, that +the king was willing to pay penalty for this murder, according to the +judgment of understanding and good men. The effect of Fin's speech was +that the bondes promised to wait quietly until the messengers came back +whom Bergliot had sent to the Uplands to her relative, Hakon Ivarson. +Fin then went out to Orkadal with the men who had accompanied him to +the town. From thence he went up to Dovrefield, and eastwards over the +mountains. He went first to his son-in-law, Earl Orm, who was married to +Sigrid, Fin's daughter, and told him his business. + + + + +48. OF FIN AND HAKON IVARSON. + +Then Fin and Earl Orm appointed a meeting with Hakon Ivarson; and when +they met Fin explained his errand to Hakon, and the offer which +King Harald made him. It was soon seen, from Hakon's speech, that he +considered it to be his great duty to avenge the death of his relative, +Eindride; and added, that word was come to him from Throndhjem, from +which he might expect help in making head against the king. Then Fin +represented to Hakon how much better it would be for him to accept of as +high a dignity from the king as he himself could desire, rather than to +attempt raising a strife against the king to whom he was owing service +and duty. He said if he came out of the conflict without victory, he +forfeited life and property: "And even if thou hast the victory, +thou wilt still be called a traitor to thy sovereign." Earl Orm also +supported Fin's speech. After Hakon had reflected upon this he disclosed +what lay on his mind, and said, "I will be reconciled with King Harald +if he will give me in marriage his relation Ragnhild, King Magnus +Olafson's daughter, with such dower as is suitable to her and she will +be content with." Fin said he would agree to this on the king's part; +and thus it was settled among them. Fin then returned to Throndhjem, and +the disturbance and enmity was quashed, so that the king could retain +his kingdom in peace at home; and the league was broken which Eindride's +relations had made among themselves for opposing King Harald. + + + + +49. OF THE COURTSHIP OF HAKON IVARSON. + +When the day arrived for the meeting at which this agreement with Harald +should be finally concluded, Hakon went to King Harald; and in their +conference the king said that he, for his part, would adhere to all that +was settled in their agreement. "Thou Hakon," says he, "must thyself +settle that which concerns Ragnhild, as to her accepting thee in +marriage; for it would not be advisable for thee, or for any one, to +marry Ragnhild without her consent." Then Hakon went to Ragnhild, and +paid his addresses to her. She answered him thus: "I have often to feel +that my father, King Magnus, is dead and gone from me, since I must +marry a bonde; although I acknowledge thou art a handsome man, expert in +all exercises. But if King Magnus had lived he would not have married +me to any man less than a king; so it is not to be expected that I will +take a man who has no dignity or title." Then Hakon went to King Harald +and told him his conversation with Ragnhild, and also repeated the +agreement which was made between him and Fin, who was with him, together +with many others of the persons who had been present at the conversation +between him and Fin. Hakon takes them all to witness that such was the +agreement that the king should give Ragnhild the dower she might desire. +"And now since she will have no man who has not a high dignity, thou +must give me such a title of honour; and, according to the opinion of +the people, I am of birth, family and other qualifications to be called +earl." + +The king replies, "When my brother, King Olaf, and his son, King Magnus, +ruled the kingdom, they allowed only one earl at a time to be in the +country, and I have done the same since I came to the kingly title; and +I will not take away from Orm the title of honour I had before given +him." + +Hakon saw now that his business had not advanced, and was very ill +pleased; and Fin was outrageously angry. They said the king had broken +his word; and thus they all separated. + + + + +50. HAKON'S JOURNEY TO DENMARK. + +Hakon then went out of the country with a well-manned ship. When he came +to Denmark he went immediately to his relative, King Svein, who received +him honourably and gave him great fiefs. Hakon became King Svein's +commander of the coast defence against the vikings,--the Vindland +people, Kurland people, and others from the East countries,--who +infested the Danish dominions; and he lay out with his ships of war both +winter and summer. + + + + +51. MURDER OF ASMUND. + +There was a man called Asmund, who is said to have been King Svein's +sister's son, and his foster-son. This Asmund was distinguished among +all by his boldness and was much disliked by the king. When Asmund came +to years, and to age of discretion, he became an ungovernable person +given to murder and manslaughter. The king was ill pleased at this, +and sent him away, giving him a good fief, which might keep him and his +followers well. As soon as Asmund had got this property from the king he +drew together a large troop of people; and as the estate he had got from +the king was not sufficient for his expenses he took as his own much +more which belonged to the king. When the king heard this he summoned +Asmund to him, and when they met the king said that Asmund should remain +with the court without keeping any retinue of his own; and this took +place as the king desired. But when Asmund had been a little time in +the king's court he grew weary of being there, and escaped in the night, +returned to his former companions and did more mischief than ever. +Now when the king was riding through the country he came to the +neighbourhood where Asmund was, and he sent out men-at-arms to seize +him. The king then had him laid in irons, and kept him so for some time +in hope he would reform; but no sooner did Asmund get rid of his chains +than he absconded again, gathered together people and men-at-arms and +betook himself to plunder, both abroad and at home. Thus he made great +forays, killing and plundering all around. When the people who suffered +under these disturbances came to the king and complained to him of their +losses, he replied, "Why do ye tell me of this? Why don't you go to +Hakon Ivarson, who is my officer for the land-defence, placed on purpose +to keep the peace for you peasants, and to hold the vikings in check? +I was told that Hakon was a gallant and brave man, but I think he is +rather shy when any danger of life is in the way." These words of the +king were brought to Hakon, with many additions. Then Hakon went with +his men in search of Asmund, and when their ships met Hakon gave battle +immediately--and the conflict was sharp, and many men were killed. Hakon +boarded Asmund's ship and cut down the men before his feet. At last he +and Asmund met and exchanged blows until Asmund fell. Hakon cut off his +head, went in all haste to King Svein and found him just sitting down +to the dinner-table. Hakon presented himself before the table, laid +Asmund's head upon the table before the king, and asked if he knew it. +The king made no reply, but became as red as blood in the face. Soon +after the king sent him a message, ordering him to leave his service +immediately. "Tell him I will do him no harm; but I cannot keep watch +over all our relations." (1) + + + ENDNOTES: (1) This incident shows how strong, in those ages, was the tie + of relationship, and the point of honour of avenging its + injuries--the clanship spirit.--L. + + + + +52. HAKON IVARSON'S MARRIAGE. + +Hakon then left Denmark, and came north to his estates in Norway. His +relation Earl Orm was dead. Hakon's relations and friends were glad to +see Hakon, and many gallant men gave themselves much trouble to bring +about a reconciliation between King Harald and Hakon. It was at last +settled in this way, that Hakon got Ragnhild, the king's daughter, and +that King Harald gave Hakon the earldom, with the same power Earl Orm +had possessed. Hakon swore to King Harald an oath of fidelity to all the +services he was liable to fulfill. + + + + +53. RECONCILIATION OF KING HARALD AND KALF. + +Kalf Arnason had been on a viking cruise to the Western countries ever +since he had left Norway; but in winter he was often in the Orkney +Islands with his relative, Earl Thorfin. Fin Arnason sent a message to +his brother Kalf, and told him the agreement which he had made with King +Harald, that Kalf should enjoy safety in Norway, and his estates, and +all the fiefs he had held from King Magnus. When this message came to +Kalf he immediately got ready for his voyage, and went east to Norway to +his brother Fin. Then Fin obtained the king's peace for Kalf, and when +Kalf and the king met they went into the agreement which Fin and the +king had settled upon before. Kalf bound himself to the king in the same +way as he had bound himself to serve King Magnus, according to which +Kalf should do all that the king desired and considered of advantage +to his realm. Thereupon Kalf received all the estates and fiefs he had +before. + + + + +54. FALL OF KALF ARNASON. + +The summer following (A.D. 1050) King Harald ordered out a levy, and +went to Denmark, where he plundered during the summer; but when he came +south to Fyen he found a great force assembled against him. Then +the king prepared to land his men from the ships and to engage in a +land-fight. He drew up his men on board in order of battle; set Kalf +Arnason at the head of one division; ordered him to make the first +attack, and told him where they should direct their assault, promising +that he would soon make a landing with the others, and come to their +assistance. When Kalf came to the land with his men a force came down +immediately to oppose them, and Kalf without delay engaged in battle, +which, however, did not last long; for Kalf was immediately overpowered +by numbers, and betook himself to flight with his men. The Danes pursued +them vigorously, and many of the Northmen fell, and among them Kalf +Arnason. Now King Harald landed with his array; and they soon came on +their way to the field of battle, where they found Kalf's body, and bore +it down to the ships. But the king penetrated into the country, killing +many people and destroying much. So says Arnor:-- + + "His shining sword with blood he stains, + Upon Fyona's grassy plains; + And in the midst of fire and smoke, + The king Fyona's forces broke." + + + + +55. FIN ARNASON'S EXPEDITION OUT OF THE COUNTRY. + +After this Fin Arnason thought he had cause to be an enemy of the king +upon account of his brother Kalf's death; and said the king had betrayed +Kalf to his fall, and had also deceived him by making him entice his +brother Kalf to come over from the West and trust to King Harald's +faith. When these speeches came out among people, many said that it was +very foolish in Fin to have ever supposed that Kalf could obtain the +king's sincere friendship and favour; for they thought the king was the +man to seek revenge for smaller offences than Kalf had committed against +the king. The king let every one say what he chose, and he himself +neither said yes or no about the affair; but people perceived that the +king was very well pleased with what had happened. King Harald once made +these verses:-- + + "I have, in all, the death-stroke given + To foes of mine at least eleven; + Two more, perhaps, if I remember, + May yet be added to this number, + I prize myself upon these deeds, + My people such examples needs. + Bright gold itself they would despise, + Or healing leek-herb underprize, + If not still brought before their eyes." + +Fin Arnason took the business so much to heart that he left the country +and went to Denmark to King Svein, where he met a friendly reception. +They spoke together in private for a long time; and the end of the +business was that Fin went into King Svein's service, and became his +man. King Svein then gave Fin an earldom, and placed him in Halland, +where he was long earl and defended the country against the Northmen. + + + + +56. OF GUTHORM GUNHILDSON. + +Ketil Kalf and Gunhild of Ringanes had a son called Guthorm, and he was +a sister's son to King Olaf and Harald Sigurdson. Guthorm was a gallant +man, early advanced to manhood. He was often with King Harald, who loved +him much, and asked his advice; for he was of good understanding, and +very popular. Guthorm had also been engaged early in forays, and had +marauded much in the Western countries with a large force. Ireland was +for him a land of peace; and he had his winter quarters often in Dublin, +and was in great friendship with King Margad. + + + + +57. GUTHORM'S JUNCTION WITH THE IRISH KING MARGAD. + +The summer after King Margad, and Guthorm with him, went out on an +expedition against Bretland, where they made immense booty. But when the +king saw the quantity of silver which was gathered he wanted to have the +whole booty, and regarded little his friendship for Guthorm. Guthorm was +ill pleased that he and his men should be robbed of their share; but the +king said, "Thou must choose one of two things,--either to be content +with what we determine, or to fight; and they shall have the booty who +gain the victory; and likewise thou must give up thy ships, for them I +will have." Guthorm thought there were great difficulties on both sides; +for it was disgraceful to give up ships and goods without a stroke, and +yet it was highly dangerous to fight the king and his force, the king +having sixteen ships and Guthorm only five. Then Guthorm desired three +days' time to consider the matter with his people, thinking in that time +to pacify the king, and come to a better understanding with him through +the mediation of others; but he could not obtain from the king what +he desired. This was the day before St. Olaf's day. Guthorm chose the +condition that they would rather die or conquer like men, than suffer +disgrace, contempt and scorn, by submitting to so great a loss. He +called upon God, and his uncle Saint Olaf, and entreated their help +and aid; promising to give to the holy man's house the tenth of all +the booty that fell to their share, if they gained the victory. Then he +arranged his men, placed them in battle order against the great force, +prepared for battle, and gave the assault. By the help of God, and the +holy Saint Olaf, Guthorm won the battle. King Margad fell, and every +man, old and young, who followed him; and after that great victor, +Guthorm and all his people returned home joyfully with all the booty +they had gained by the battle. Every tenth penny of the booty they had +made was taken, according to the vow, to King Olaf the Saint's shrine; +and there was so much silver that Guthorm had an image made of it, +with rays round the head, which was the size of his own, or of his +forecastle-man's head; and the image was seven feet high. The image thus +produced was given by Guthorm to King Olaf of the Saint's temple, where +it has since remained as a memorial of Guthorm's victory and King Olaf +the Saint's miracle. + + + + +58. MIRACLE OF KING OLAF IN DENMARK. + +There was a wicked, evil-minded count in Denmark who had a Norwegian +servant-girl whose family belonged to Throndhjem district. She +worshipped King Olaf the Saint, and believed firmly in his sanctity. But +the above mentioned count doubted all that was told of the holy man's +miracles, insisted that it was nothing but nonsense and idle talk, and +made a joke and scorn of the esteem and honour which all the country +people showed the good king. Now when his holyday came, on which the +mild monarch ended his life, and which all Northmen kept sacred, this +unreasonable count would not observe it, but ordered his servant-girl +to bake and put fire in the oven that day. She knew well the count's +mad passion, and that he would revenge himself severely on her if she +refused doing as he ordered. She went, therefore, of necessity, and +baked in the oven, but wept much at her work; and she threatened King +Olaf that she never would believe in him, if he did not avenge this +misdeed by some mischance or other. And now shall ye come to hear a +well-deserved vengeance, and a true miracle. It happened, namely, in the +same hour that the count became blind of both eyes, and the bread which +she had shoved into the oven was turned into stone! Of these stones some +are now in St. Olaf's temple, and in other places; and since that time +Olafsmas has been always held holy in Denmark. + + + + +59. KING OLAF'S MIRACLE ON A CRIPPLE. + +West in Valland, a man had such bad health that he became a cripple, +and went on his knees and elbows. One day he was upon the road, and had +fallen asleep. He dreamt that a gallant man came up to him and asked him +where he was going. When he named the neighbouring town, the man said +to him, "Go to Saint Olaf's church that stands in London, and there thou +shalt be cured." There-upon he awoke, and went straightway to inquire +the road to Olaf's church in London. At last he came to London Bridge, +and asked the men of the castle if they could tell him where Olaf's +church was; but they replied, there were so many churches that they +could not tell to whom each of them was consecrated. Soon after a man +came up and asked him where he wanted to go, and he answered to Olaf's +church. Then said the man, "We shall both go together to Olaf's church, +for I know the way to it." Thereupon they went over the bridge to the +shrine where Olaf's church was; and when they came to the gates of the +churchyard the man mounted over the half-door that was in the gate, but +the cripple rolled himself in, and rose up immediately sound and strong: +when he looked about him his conductor had vanished. + + + + +60. KING HARALD'S FORAY IN DENMARK. + +King Harald had built a merchant town in the East at Oslo, where he +often resided; for there was good supply from the extensive cultivated +district wide around. There also he had a convenient station to defend +the country against the Danes, or to make an attack upon Denmark, which +he was in the custom of doing often, although he kept no great force on +foot. One summer King Harald went from thence with a few light ships +and a few men. He steered southwards out from Viken, and, when the wind +served, stood over to Jutland, and marauded; but the country people +collected and defended the country. Then King Harald steered to +Limfjord, and went into the fjord. Limfjord is so formed that its +entrance is like a narrow river; but when one gets farther into the +fjord it spreads out into a wide sea. King Harald marauded on both +sides of the land; and when the Danes gathered together on every side to +oppose him, he lay at a small island which was uncultivated. They wanted +drink on board his ships, and went up into the island to seek water; but +finding none, they reported it to the king. He ordered them to look for +some long earthworms on the island, and when they found one they brought +it to the king. He ordered the people to bring the worm to a fire, +and bake it before it, so that it should be thirsty. Then he ordered a +thread to be tied round the tail of the worm, and to let it loose. The +worm crept away immediately, while thread wound off from the clew as +the worm took it away; and the people followed the worm until it sought +downwards in the earth. There the king ordered them to dig for water, +which they did, and found so much water that they had no want of it. +King Harald now heard from his spies that King Svein was come with a +large armament to the mouth of the fjord; but that it was too late for +him to come into it, as only one ship at a time can come in. King +Harald then steered with his fleet in through the fjord to where it was +broadest to a place called Lusbreid. In the inmost bight, there is but +a narrow neck of land dividing the fjord from the West sea. Thither King +Harald rowed with his men towards evening; and at night when it was dark +he unloaded his ships, drew them over the neck of land into the West +sea, loaded them again, and was ready with all this before day. He then +steered northwards along the Jutland coast. People then said that Harald +had escaped from the hands of the Danes. Harald said that he would come +to Denmark next time with more people and larger vessels. King Harald +then proceeded north to Throndhjem. + + + + +61. KING HARALD HAD A SHIP BUILT. + +King Harald remained all winter at Nidaros (A.D. 1062) and had a vessel +built out upon the strand, and it was a buss. The ship was built of the +same size as the Long Serpent, and every part of her was finished with +the greatest care. On the stem was a dragon-head, and on the stern a +dragon-tail, and the sides of the bows of the ship were gilt. The vessel +was of thirty-five rowers benches, and was large for that size, and was +remarkably handsome; for the king had everything belonging to the ship's +equipment of the best, both sails and rigging, anchors and cables. King +Harald sent a message in winter south to Denmark to King Svein, that +he should come northwards in spring; that they should meet at the Gaut +river and fight, and so settle the division of the countries that the +one who gained the victory should have both kingdoms. + + + + +62. KING HARALD'S CHALLENGE. + +King Harald during this winter called out a general levy of all the +people of Norway, and assembled a great force towards spring. Then +Harald had his great ship drawn down and put into the river Nid, and set +up the dragon's head on her. Thiodolf, the skald, sang about it thus:-- + + "My lovely girl! the sight was grand + When the great war-ships down the strand + Into the river gently slid, + And all below her sides was hid. + Come, lovely girl, and see the show!-- + Her sides that on the water glow, + Her serpent-head with golden mane, + All shining back from the Nid again." + +Then King Harald rigged out his ship, got ready for sea, and when he +had all in order went out of the river. His men rowed very skilfully and +beautifully. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "It was upon a Saturday, + Ship-tilts were struck and stowed away, + And past the town our dragon glides, + That girls might see our glancing sides. + Out from the Nid brave Harald steers; + Westward at first the dragon veers; + Our lads together down with oars, + The splash is echoed round the shores. + + "Their oars our king's men handle well, + One stroke is all the eye can tell: + All level o'er the water rise; + The girls look on in sweet surprise. + Such things, they think, can ne'er give way; + The little know the battle day. + The Danish girls, who dread our shout, + Might wish our ship-gear not so stout. + + "'Tis in the fight, not on the wave, + That oars may break and fail the brave. + At sea, beneath the ice-cold sky, + Safely our oars o'er ocean ply; + And when at Throndhjem's holy stream + Our seventy cars in distance gleam, + We seem, while rowing from the sea, + An erne with iron wings to be." + +King Harald sailed south along the land, and called out the levy +everywhere of men and ships. When they came east to Viken they got +a strong wind against them and the forces lay dispersed about in the +harbour; some in the isles outside, and some in the fjords. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "The cutters' sea-bleached bows scarce find + A shelter from the furious wind + Under the inland forests' side, + Where the fjord runs its farthest tide. + In all the isles and creeks around + The bondes' ships lie on the ground, + And ships with gunwales hung with shields + Seek the lee-side of the green fields." + +In the heavy storm that raged for some time the great ship had need of +good ground tackle. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "With lofty bow above the seas, + Which curl and fly before the breeze, + The gallant vessel rides and reels, + And every plunge her cable feels. + The storm that tries the spar and mast + Tries the main-anchor at the last: + The storm above, below the rock, + Chafe the thick cable with each shock." + +When the weather became favourable King Harald sailed eastwards to the +Gaut river with his fleet and arrived there in the evening. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "The gallant Harald now has come + To Gaut, full half way from his home, + And on the river frontier stands, + To fight with Svein for life and lands. + The night passed o'er, the gallant king + Next day at Thumia calls a Thing, + Where Svein is challenged to appear-- + A day which ravens wish were near." + + + + +63. OF KING HARALD'S FLEET. + +When the Danes heard that the Northmen's army was come to the Gaut river +they all fled who had opportunity to get away. The Northmen heard that +the Danish king had also called out his forces and lay in the south, +partly at Fyen and partly about Seeland. When King Harald found that +King Svein would not hold a meeting with him, or a fight, according +to what had been agreed upon between them, he took the same course as +before--letting the bonde troops return home, but manning 150 ships, +with which he sailed southwards along Halland, where he herried all +round, and then brought up with his fleet in Lofufjord, and laid waste +the country. A little afterwards King Svein came upon them with all the +Danish fleet, consisting of 300 ships. When the Northmen saw them King +Harald ordered a general meeting of the fleet to be called by sound of +trumpet; and many there said it was better to fly, as it was not now +advisable to fight. The king replied, "Sooner shall all lie dead one +upon another than fly." So says Stein Herdison:-- + + "With falcon eye, and courage bright, + Our king saw glory in the fight; + To fly, he saw, would ruin bring + On them and him--the folk and king. + 'Hands up the arms to one and all!' + Cries out the king; 'we'll win or fall! + Sooner than fly, heaped on each other + Each man shall fall across his brother!'" + +Then King Harald drew up his ships to attack, and brought forward his +great dragon in the middle of his fleet. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "The brave king through his vessels' throng + His dragon war-ship moves along; + He runs her gaily to the front, + To meet the coming battle's brunt." + +The ship was remarkably well equipt, and fully manned. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "The king had got a chosen crew-- + He told his brave lads to stand true. + The ring of shields seemed to enclose + The ship's deck from the boarding foes. + The dragon, on the Nis-river flood, + Beset with men, who thickly stood, + Shield touching shield, was something rare, + That seemed all force of man to dare." + +Ulf, the marshal, laid his ship by the side of the king's and ordered +his men to bring her well forward. Stein Herdison, who was himself in +Ulf's ship, sings of it thus:-- + + "Our oars were stowed, our lances high, + As the ship moved swung in the sky. + The marshal Ulf went through our ranks, + Drawn up beside the rowers' banks: + The brave friend of our gallant king + Told us our ship well on to bring, + And fight like Norsemen in the cause-- + Our Norsemen answered with huzzas." + +Hakon Ivarson lay outside on the other wing, and had many ships with +him, all well equipt. At the extremity of the other side lay the +Throndhjem chiefs, who had also a great and strong force. + + + + +64. OF KING SVEIN'S ARMAMENT. + +Svein, the Danish king, also drew up his fleet, and laid his ship +forward in the center against King Harald's ship, and Fin Arnason laid +his ship next; and then the Danes laid their ships, according as they +were bold or well-equipt. Then, on both sides, they bound the ships +together all through the middle of the fleets; but as the fleets were +so large, very many ships remained loose, and each laid his ship forward +according to his courage, and that was very unequal. Although the +difference among the men was great, altogether there was a very great +force on both sides. King Svein had six earls among the people following +him. So says Stein Herdison:-- + + "Danger our chief would never shun, + With eight score ships he would not run: + The Danish fleet he would abide, + And give close battle side by side. + From Leire's coast the Danish king + Three hundred ocean steeds could bring, + And o'er the sea-weed plain in haste + Thought Harald's vessels would be chased." + + + + +65. BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE OF NIS-RIVER. + +As soon as King Harald was ready with his fleet, he orders the war-blast +to sound, and the men to row forward to the attack. So says Stein +Herdison:-- + + "Harald and Svein first met as foes, + Where the Nis in the ocean flows; + For Svein would not for peace entreat, + But, strong in ships, would Harald meet. + The Norsemen prove, with sword in hand, + That numbers cannot skill withstand. + Off Halland's coast the blood of Danes + The blue sea's calm smooth surface stains." + +Soon the battle began, and became very sharp; both kings urging on their +men. So says Stein Herdison:-- + + "Our king, his broad shield disregarding, + More keen for striking than for warding, + Now tells his lads their spears to throw,-- + Now shows them where to strike a blow. + From fleet to fleet so short the way, + That stones and arrows have full play; + And from the keen sword dropped the blood + Of short-lived seamen in the flood." + +It was late in the day when the battle began, and it continued the +whole night. King Harald shot for a long time with his bow. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "The Upland king was all the night + Speeding the arrows' deadly flight. + All in the dark his bow-string's twang + Was answered; for some white shield rang, + Or yelling shriek gave certain note + The shaft had pierced some ring-mail coat, + The foemen's shields and bulwarks bore + A Lapland arrow-scat(1) or more." + +Earl Hakon, and the people who followed him, did not make fast their +ships in the fleet, but rowed against the Danish ships that were loose, +and slew the men of all the ships they came up with. When the Danes +observed this each drew his ship out of the way of the earl; but he set +upon those who were trying to escape, and they were nearly driven to +flight. Then a boat came rowing to the earl's ship and hailed him and +said that the other wing of King Harald's fleet was giving way and many +of their people had fallen. Then the earl rowed thither and gave so +severe an assault that the Danes had to retreat before him. The earl +went on in this way all the night, coming forward where he was most +wanted, and wheresoever he came none could stand against him. Hakon +rowed outside around the battle. Towards the end of the night the +greatest part of the Danish fleet broke into flight, for then King +Harald with his men boarded the vessel of King Svein; and it was so +completely cleared that all the crew fell in the ship, except those who +sprang overboard. So says Arnor, the earls' skald:-- + + "Brave Svein did not his vessel leave + Without good cause, as I believe: + Oft on his casque the sword-blade rang, + Before into the sea he sprang. + Upon the wave his vessel drives; + All his brave crew had lost their lives. + O'er dead courtmen into the sea + The Jutland king had now to flee." + +And when King Svein's banner was cut down, and his ship cleared of its +crew, all his forces took to flight, and some were killed. The ships +which were bound together could not be cast loose, so the people who +were in them sprang overboard, and some got to the other ships that +were loose; and all King Svein's men who could get off rowed away, but +a great many of them were slain. Where the king himself fought the ships +were mostly bound together, and there were more than seventy left behind +of King Svein's vessels. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "Svein's ships rode proudly o'er the deep, + When, by a single sudden sweep, + Full seventy sail, as we are told, + Were seized by Norway's monarch bold." + +King Harald rowed after the Danes and pursued them; but that was not +easy, for the ships lay so thick together that they scarcely could move. +Earl Fin Arnason would not flee; and being also shortsighted, was taken +prisoner. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "To the six Danish earls who came + To aid his force, and raise his name, + No mighty thanks King Svein is owing + For mighty actions of their doing. + Fin Arnason, in battle known, + With a stout Norse heart of his own, + Would not take flight his life to gain, + And in the foremost ranks was ta'en." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The Laplanders paid their seat, or yearly tax, in bows and + arrows; and the meaning of the skald appears to be, that as + many as were paid in a year were shot at the foe.--L. + + + + +66. KING SVEIN'S FLIGHT. + +Earl Hakon lay behind with his ships, while the king and the rest of the +forces were pursuing the fugitives; for the earls' ships could not get +forward on account of the ships which lay in the way before him. Then +a man came rowing in a boat to the earl's ship and lay at the bulwarks. +The man was stout and had on a white hat. He hailed the ship, "Where is +the earl?" said he. + +The earl was in the fore-hold, stopping a man's blood. The earl cast +a look at the man in the hat and asked what his name was. He answered, +"Here is Vandrad: speak to me, earl." + +The earl leant over the ship's side to him. Then the man in the boat +said, "Earl, I will accept of my life from thee, if thou wilt give it." + +Then the earl raised himself up, called two men who were friends dear +to him, and said to them, "Go into the boat; bring Vandrad to the land; +attend him to my friend's Karl the bonde; and tell Karl, as a token that +these words come from me, that he let Vandrad have the horse which I +gave to him yesterday, and also his saddle, and his son to attend him." + +Thereupon they went into the boat and took the oars in hand, while +Vandrad steered. This took place just about daybreak, while the vessels +were in movement, some rowing towards the land, some towards the sea, +both small and great. Vandrad steered where he thought there was most +room between the vessels; and when they came near to Norway's ships the +earl's men gave their names and then they all allowed them to go where +they pleased. Vandrad steered along the shore, and only set in towards +the land when they had come past the crowd of ships. They then went up +to Karl the bonde's farm, and it was then beginning to be light. They +went into the room where Karl had just put on his clothes. The earl's +men told him their message and Karl said they must first take some food; +and he set a table before them and gave them water to wash with. + +Then came the housewife into the room and said, "I wonder why we could +get no peace or rest all night with the shouting and screaming." + +Karl replies, "Dost thou not know that the kings were fighting all +night?" + +She asked which had the better of it. + +Karl answered, "The Northmen gained." + +"Then," said she, "our king will have taken flight." + +"Nobody knows," says Karl, "whether he has fled or is fallen." + +She says, "What a useless sort of king we have! He is both slow and +frightened." + +Then said Vandrad, "Frightened he is not; but he is not lucky." + +Then Vandrad washed his hands; but he took the towel and dried them +right in the middle of the cloth. The housewife snatched the towel from +him, and said, "Thou hast been taught little good; it is wasteful to wet +the whole cloth at one time." + +Vandrad replies, "I may yet come so far forward in the world as to be +able to dry myself with the middle of the towel." + +Thereupon Karl set a table before them and Vandrad sat down between +them. They ate for a while and then went out. The horse was saddled and +Karl's son ready to follow him with another horse. They rode away to +the forest; and the earl's men returned to the boat, rowed to the earl's +ship and told the success of their expedition. + + + + +67. OF KING HARALD. + +King Harald and his men followed the fugitives only a short way, +and rowed back to the place where the deserted ships lay. Then the +battle-place was ransacked, and in King Svein's ship was found a heap +of dead men; but the king's body was not found, although people believed +for certain that he had fallen. Then King Harald had the greatest +attention paid to the dead of his men, and had the wounds of the living +bound up. The dead bodies of Svein's men were brought to the land, and +he sent a message to the peasants to come and bury them. Then he let +the booty be divided, and this took up some time. The news came now that +King Svein had come to Seeland, and that all who had escaped from the +battle had joined him, along with many more, and that he had a great +force. + + + + +68. FIN ARNASON GETS QUARTER. + +Earl Fin Arnason was taken prisoner in the battle, as before related; +and when he was led before King Harald the king was very merry, and +said, "Fin, we meet here now, and we met last in Norway. The Danish +court has not stood very firmly by thee; and it will be a troublesome +business for Northmen to drag thee, a blind old man, with them, and +preserve thy life." + +The earl replies, "The Northmen find it very difficult now to conquer, +and it is all the worse that thou hast the command of them." + +Then said King Harald, "Wilt thou accept of life and safety, although +thou hast not deserved it?" + +The earl replies, "Not from thee, thou dog." + +The king: "Wilt thou, then, if thy relation Magnus gives thee quarter?" + +Magnus, King Harald's son, was then steering the ship. + +The earl replies, "Can the whelp rule over life and quarter?" + +The king laughed, as if he found amusement in vexing him.--"Wilt thou +accept thy life, then, from thy she-relation Thorer?" + +The earl: "Is she here?" + +"She is here," said the king. + +Then Earl Fin broke out with the ugly expressions which since have been +preserved, as a proof that he was so mad with rage that he could not +govern his tongue:-- + +"No wonder thou hast bit so strongly, if the mare was with thee." + +Earl Fin got life and quarter and the king kept him a while about him. +But Fin was rather melancholy and obstinate in conversation; and King +Harald said, "I see, Fin, that thou dost not live willingly in company +with me and thy relations; now I will give thee leave to go to thy +friend King Svein." + +The earl said, "I accept of the offer willingly, and the more gratefully +the sooner I get away from hence." + +The king afterwards let Earl Fin be landed and the traders going to +Halland received him well. King Harald sailed from thence to Norway with +his fleet; and went first to Oslo, where he gave all his people leave to +go home who wished to do so. + + + + +69. OF KING SVEIN. + +King Svein, it is told, sat in Denmark all that winter, and had his +kingdom as formerly. In winter he sent men north to Halland for Karl the +bonde and his wife. When Karl came the king called him to him and asked +him if he knew him, or thought he had ever seen him before. + +Karl replies, "I know thee, sire, and knew thee before, the moment I saw +thee; and God be praised if the small help I could give was of any use +to thee." + +The king replies, "I have to reward thee for all the days I have to +live. And now, in the first place, I will give thee any farm in Seeland +thou wouldst desire to have; and, in the next place, will make thee a +great man, if thou knowest how to conduct thyself." + +Karl thanked the king for his promise, and said he had now but one thing +to ask. + +The king asked what that was. + +Karl said that he would ask to take his wife with him. + +The king said, "I will not let thee do that; but I will provide thee a +far better and more sensible wife. But thy wife can keep the bonde-farm +ye had before and she will have her living from it." + +The king gave Karl a great and valuable farm, and provided him a good +marriage; and he became a considerable man. This was reported far and +wide and much praised; and thus it came to be told in Norway. + + + + +70. OF THE TALK OF THE COURT-MEN. + +King Harald stayed in Oslo the winter after the battle at Nis-river +(A.D. 1063). In autumn, when the men came from the south, there was +much talk and many stories about the battle which they had fought +at Nis-river, and every one who had been there thought he could tell +something about it. Once some of them sat in a cellar and drank, and +were very merry and talkative. They talked about the Nis-river battle, +and who had earne'd the greatest praise and renown. They all agreed that +no man there had been at all equal to Earl Hakon. He was the boldest in +arms, the quickest, and the most lucky; what he did was of the greatest +help, and he won the battle. King Harald, in the meantime, was out in +the yard, and spoke with some people. He went then to the room-door, and +said, "Every one here would willingly be called Hakon;" and then went +his way. + + + + +71. OF THE ATTEMPT TO TAKE EARL HAKON. + +Earl Hakon went in winter to the Uplands, and was all winter in his +domains. He was much beloved by all the Uplanders. It happened, towards +spring, that some men were sitting drinking in the town, and the +conversation turned, as usual, on the Nis-river battle; and some praised +Earl Hakon, and some thought others as deserving of praise as he. When +they had thus disputed a while, one of them said, "It is possible that +others fought as bravely as the earl at Nis-river; but none, I think, +has had such luck with him as he." + +The others replied, that his best luck was his driving so many Danes to +flight along with other men. + +The same man replied, "It was greater luck that he gave King Svein +quarter." + +One of the company said to him, "Thou dost not know what thou art +saying." + +He replied, "I know it for certain, for the man told me himself who +brought the king to the land." + +It went, according to the old proverb, that the king has many ears. This +was told the king, and he immediately ordered horses to be gathered, +and rode away directly with 900 men. He rode all that night and the +following day. Then some men met them who were riding to the town with +mead and malt. In the king's retinue was a man called Gamal, who rode +to one of these bondes who was an acquaintance of his, and spoke to him +privately. "I will pay thee," said he, "to ride with the greatest speed, +by the shortest private paths that thou knowest, to Earl Hakon, and tell +him the king will kill him; for the king has got to the knowledge that +Earl Hakon set King Svein on shore at Nis-river." They agreed on the +payment. The bonde rode, and came to the earl just as he was sitting +drinking, and had not yet gone to bed. When the bonde told his errand, +the earl immediately stood up with all his men, had all his loose +property removed from the farm to the forest, and all the people left +the house in the night. When the king came he halted there all night; +but Hakon rode away, and came east to Svithjod to King Steinkel and +stayed with him all summer. King Harald returned to the town, travelled +northwards to Throndhjem district, and remained there all summer; but in +autumn he returned eastwards to Viken. + + + + +72. OF EARL HAKON. + +As soon as Earl Hakon heard the king had gone north he returned +immediately in summer to the Uplands (A.D. 1063), and remained there +until the king had returned from the north. Then the earl went east +into Vermaland, where he remained during the winter, and where the king, +Steinkel, gave him fiefs. For a short time in winter he went west to +Raumarike with a great troop of men from Gautland and Vermaland, and +received the scat and duties from the Upland people which belonged to +him, and then returned to Glutland, and remained there till spring. King +Harald had his seat in Oslo all winter (A.D. 1064), and sent his men to +the Uplands to demand the scat, together with the king's land dues, and +the mulcts of court; but the Uplanders said they would pay all the scat +and dues which they had to pay, to Earl Hakon as long as he was in life, +and had forfeited his life or his fief; and the king got no dues that +winter. + + + + +73. AGREEMENT BETWEEN KING HARALD AND KING SVEIN. + +This winter messengers and ambassadors went between Norway and Denmark, +whose errand was that both Northmen and Danes should make peace, and +a league with each other, and to ask the kings to agree to it. These +messages gave favourable hopes of a peace; and the matter proceeded so +far that a meeting for peace was appointed at the Gaut river between +King Harald and King Svein. When spring approached, both kings assembled +many ships and people for this meeting. So says a skald in a poem on +this expedition of the kings, which begins thus:-- + + "The king, who from the northern sound + His land with war-ships girds around, + The raven-feeder, filled the coast + With his proud ships, a gallant host! + The gold-tipped stems dash through the foam + That shakes the seamen's planked home; + The high wave breaks up to the mast, + As west of Halland on they passed, + + "Harald whose word is fixed and sure, + Whose ships his land from foes secure, + And Svein, whose isles maintain is fleet, + Hasten as friends again to meet; + And every creek with vessels teems,-- + All Denmark men and shipping seems; + And all rejoice that strife will cease, + And men meet now but to make peace." + +Here it is told that the two kings held the meeting that was agreed upon +between them, and both came to the frontiers of their kingdoms. So says +the skald:-- + + "To meet (since peace the Dane now craves) + On to the south upon the waves + Sailed forth our gallant northern king, + Peace to the Danes with him to bring. + Svein northward to his frontier hies + To get the peace his people prize, + And meet King Harald, whom he finds + On land hard used by stormy winds." + +When the kings found each other, people began at once to talk of their +being reconciled. But as soon as peace was proposed, many began to +complain of the damage they had sustained by harrying, robbing and +killing men; and for a long time it did not look very like peace. It is +here related:-- + + "Before this meeting of the kings + Each bende his own losses brings, + And loudly claims some recompense + From his king's foes, at their expense. + It is not easy to make peace, + Where noise and talking never cease: + The bondes' warmth may quickly spread, + And kings be by the people led. + + "When kings are moved, no peace is sure; + For that peace only is secure + Which they who make it fairly make,-- + To each side give, from each side take. + The kings will often rule but ill + Who listen to the people's will: + The people often have no view + But their own interests to pursue." + +At last the best men, and those who were the wisest, came between the +kings, and settled the peace thus:--that Harald should have Norway, and +Svein Denmark, according to the boundaries of old established between +Denmark and Norway; neither of them should pay to the other for any +damage sustained; the war should cease as it now stood, each retaining +what he had got; and this peace should endure as long as they were +kings. This peace was confirmed by oath. Then the kings parted, having +given each other hostages, as is here related:-- + + "And I have heard that to set fast + The peace God brought about at last, + Svein and stern Harald pledges sent, + Who witnessed to their sworn intent; + And much I wish that they and all + In no such perjury may fall + That this peace ever should be broken, + And oaths should fail before God spoken." + +King Harald with his people sailed northwards to Norway, and King Svein +southwards to Denmark. + + + + +74. KING HARALD'S BATTLE WITH EARL HAKON. + +King Harald was in Viken in the summer (A.D. 1064), and he sent his men +to the Uplands after the scat and duty which belonged to him; but the +bondes paid no attention to the demand, but said they would hold all for +Earl Hakon until he came for it. Earl Hakon was then up in Gautland +with a large armed force. When summer was past King Harald went south +to Konungahella. Then he took all the light-sailing vessels he could get +hold of and steered up the river. He had the vessels drawn past all +the waterfalls and brought them thus into the Wener lake. Then he rowed +eastward across the lake to where he heard Earl Hakon was; but when the +earl got news of the king's expedition he retreated down the country, +and would not let the king plunder the land. Earl Hakon had a large +armed force which the Gautland people had raised for him. King Harald +lay with his ships up in a river, and made a foray on land, but left +some of his men behind to protect the ships. The king himself rode up +with a part of the men, but the greater part were on foot. They had to +cross a forest, where they found a mire or lake, and close to it a wood; +and when they reached the wood they saw the earl's men, but the mire +was between them. They drew up their people now on both sides. Then King +Harald ordered his men to sit down on the hillside. "We will first see +if they will attack us. Earl Hakon does not usually wait to talk." It +was frosty weather, with some snow-drift, and Harald's men sat down +under their shields; but it was cold for the Gautlanders, who had but +little clothing with them. The earl told them to wait until King Harald +came nearer, so that all would stand equally high on the ground. Earl +Hakon had the same banner which had belonged to King Magnus Olafson. + +The lagman of the Gautland people, Thorvid, sat upon a horse, and the +bridle was fastened to a stake that stood in the mire. He broke out with +these words: "God knows we have many brave and handsome fellows here, +and we shall let King Steinkel hear that we stood by the good earl +bravely. I am sure of one thing: we shall behave gallantly against +these Northmen, if they attack us; but if our young people give way, and +should not stand to it, let us not run farther than to that stream; but +if they should give way farther, which I am sure they will not do, +let it not be farther than to that hill." At that instant the Northmen +sprang up, raised the war-cry, and struck on their shields; and the +Gautland army began also to shout. The lagman's horse got shy with the +war-cry, and backed so hard that the stake flew up and struck the lagman +on the head. He said, "Ill luck to thee, Northman, for that arrow!" and +away fled the lagman. King Harald had told his people, "If we do make +a clash with the weapons, we shall not however, go down from the hill +until they come nearer to us;" and they did so. When the war-cry was +raised the earl let his banner advance; but when they came under the +hill the king's army rushed down upon them, and killed some of the +earl's people, and the rest fled. The Northmen did not pursue the +fugitives long, for it was the fall of day; but they took Earl Hakon's +banner and all the arms and clothes they could get hold of. King Harald +had both the banners carried before him as they marched away. They spoke +among themselves that the earl had probably fallen. As they were riding +through the forest they could only ride singly, one following the +other. Suddenly a man came full gallop across the path, struck his spear +through him who was carrying the earl's banner, seized the banner-staff, +and rode into the forest on the other side with the banner. When this +was told the king he said, "Bring me my armour, for the earl is alive." +Then the king rode to his ships in the night; and many said that the +earl had now taken his revenge. But Thiodolf sang thus:-- + + "Steinkel's troops, who were so bold, + Who the Earl Hakon would uphold, + Were driven by our horsemen's power + To Hel, death goddess, in an hour; + And the great earl, so men say + Who won't admit he ran away, + Because his men fled from the ground, + Retired, and cannot now be found." + + + + +75. DEATH OF HAL, THE MURDERER OF KODRAN. + +The rest of the night Harald passed in his ships; but in the morning, +when it was daylight, it was found that so thick ice had gathered about +the vessels that one could walk around them. The king ordered his men to +cut the ice from the ships all the way out to the clear water; on which +they all went to break the ice. King Harald's son, Magnus, steered the +vessel that lay lowest down the river and nearest the water. When the +people had cleared the ice away almost entirely, a man ran out to the +ice, and began hewing away at it like a madman. Then said one of the +men, "It is going now as usual, that none can do so much as Hal who +killed Kodran, when once he lays himself to the work. See how he is +hewing away at the ice." There was a man in the crew of Magnus, the +king's son, who was called Thormod Eindridason; and when he heard the +name of Kodran's murderer he ran up to Hal, and gave him a death-wound. +Kodran was a son of Gudmund Eyjolfson; and Valgerd, who was a sister of +Gudmund, was the mother of Jorun, and the grandmother by the mother's +side of this Thormod. Thormod was a year old when Kodran was killed, and +had never seen Hal Utrygson until now. When the ice was broken all the +way out to the water, Magnus drew his ship out, set sail directly, and +sailed westward across the lake; but the king's ship, which lay farthest +up the river, came out the last. Hal had been in the king's retinue, +and was very dear to him; so that the king was enraged at his death. +The king came the last into the harbour, and Magnus had let the murderer +escape into the forest, and offered to pay the mulct for him; and the +king had very nearly attacked Magnus and his crew, but their friends +came up and reconciled them. + + + + +76. OF KING HARALD. + +That winter (A.D. 1065) King Harald went up to Raumarike, and had many +people with him; and he accused the bondes there of having kept from +him his scat and duties, and of having aided his enemies to raise +disturbance against him. He seized on the bondes and maimed some, killed +others, and robbed many of all their property. They who could do it fled +from him. He burned everything in the districts and laid them altogether +waste. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "He who the island-people drove, + When they against his power strove, + Now bridle's Raumarike's men, + Marching his forces through their glen. + To punish them the fire he lights + That shines afar off in dark nights + From house and yard, and, as he says, + Will warn the man who disobeys." + +Thereafter the king went up to Hedemark, burnt the dwellings, and made +no less waste and havoc there than in Raumarike. From thence he went +to Hadeland and Ringerike, burning and ravaging all the land. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "The bonde's household goods are seen + Before his door upon the green, + Smoking and singed: and sparks red hot + Glow in the thatched roof of his cot. + In Hedemark the bondes pray + The king his crushing hand to stay; + In Ringerike and Hadeland, + None 'gainst his fiery wrath can stand." + +Then the bondes left all to the king's mercy. After the death of King +Magnus fifteen years had passed when the battle at Nis-river took place, +and afterwards two years elapsed before Harald and Svein made peace. So +says Thiodolf:-- + + "The Hordland king under the land + At anchor lay close to the strand, + At last, prepared with shield and spear + The peace was settled the third year." + +After this peace the disturbances with the people of the Upland +districts lasted a year and a half. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "No easy task it is to say + How the king brought beneath his sway + The Upland bondes, and would give + Nought but their ploughs from which to live. + The king in eighteen months brought down + Their bonde power, and raised his own, + And the great honour he has gained + Will still in memory be retained." + + + + +77. OF THE KINGS OF ENGLAND. + +Edward, Ethelred's son, was king of England after his brother +Hardacanute. He was called Edward the Good; and so he was. King Edward's +mother was Queen Emma, daughter of Richard, earl of Rouen. Her brother +was Earl Robert, whose son was William the Bastard, who at that time was +earl at Rouen in Normandy. King Edward's queen was Gyda, a daughter of +Earl Godwin, the son of Ulfnad. Gyda's brothers were, Earl Toste, the +eldest; Earl Morukare the next; Earl Walter the third; Earl Svein the +fourth; and the fifth was Harald, who was the youngest, and he was +brought up at King Edward's court, and was his foster-son. The king +loved him very much, and kept him as his own son; for he had no +children. + + + + +78. OF HARALD GODWINSON. + +One summer it happened that Harald, the son of Godwin, made an +expedition to Bretland with his ships, but when they got to sea they met +a contrary wind, and were driven off into the ocean. They landed west +in Normandy, after suffering from a dangerous storm. They brought up at +Rouen, where they met Earl William, who received Harald and his company +gladly. Harald remained there late in harvest, and was hospitably +entertained; for the stormy weather continued, and there was no getting +to sea, and this continued until winter set in; so the earl and Harald +agreed that he should remain there all winter. Harald sat on the +high-seat on one side of the earl; and on the other side sat the earl's +wife, one of the most beautiful women that could be seen. They often +talked together for amusement at the drinking-table; and the earl +went generally to bed, but Harald and the earl's wife sat long in the +evenings talking together, and so it went on for a great part of the +winter. In one of their conversations she said to Harald, "The earl has +asked me what it is we have to talk about so much, for he is angry +at it." Harald replies, "We shall then at once let him know all our +conversation." The following day, Harald asked the earl to a conference, +and they went together into the conference-chamber; where also the queen +was, and some of the councillors. Then Harald began thus:--"I have to +inform you, earl, that there lies more in my visit here than I have let +you know. I would ask your daughter in marriage, and have often spoke +over this matter with her mother, and she has promised to support my +suit with you." As soon as Harald had made known this proposal of his, +it was well received by all who were present. They explained the case +to the earl; and at last it came so far that the earl was contracted +to Harald, but as she was very young, it was resolved that the wedding +should be deferred for some years. + + + + +79. KING EDWARD'S DEATH. + +When spring came Harald rigged his ships and set off; and he and the +earl parted with great friendship. Harald sailed over to England to King +Edward, but did not return to Valland to fulfill the marriage agreement. +Edward was king over England for twenty-three years and died on a bed +of sickness in London on the 5th of January, and was buried in Paul's +church. Englishmen call him a saint. + + + + +80. HARALD GODWINSON MADE KING OF ENGLAND. + +The sons of Earl Godwin were the most powerful men in England. Toste was +made chief of the English king's army, and was his land-defence man when +the king began to grow old; and he was also placed above all the other +earls. His brother Harald was always with the court itself, and +nearest to the king in all service, and had the charge of the king's +treasure-chamber. It is said that when the king was approaching his last +hour, Harald and a few others were with him. Harald first leans down +over the king, and then said, "I take you all to witness that the king +has now given me the kingdom, and all the realm of England:" and then +the king was taken dead out of the bed. The same day there was a meeting +of the chiefs, at which there was some talk of choosing a king; and then +Harald brought forward his witnesses that King Edward had given him the +kingdom on his dying day. The meeting ended by choosing Harald as king, +and he was consecrated and crowned the 13th day of Yule, in Paul's +church. Then all the chiefs and all the people submitted to him. Now +when his brother, Earl Toste, heard of this he took it very ill, as he +thought himself quite as well entitled to be king. "I want," said he, +"that the principal men of the country choose him whom they think best +fitted for it." And sharp words passed between the brothers. King Harald +says he will not give up his kingly dignity, for he is seated on the +throne which kings sat upon, and is anointed and consecrated a king. +On his side also was the strength of the people, for he had the king's +whole treasure. + + + + +81. EARL TOSTE'S EXPEDITION TO DENMARK. + +Now when King Harald perceived that his brother Toste wanted to have +him deprived of the kingdom he did not trust him; for Toste was a clever +man, and a great warrior, and was in friendship with the principal men +of the country. He therefore took the command of the army from Toste, +and also all the power he had beyond that of the other earls of the +country. Earl Toste, again, would not submit to be his own brother's +serving man; therefore he went with his people over the sea to Flanders, +and stayed there awhile, then went to Friesland, and from thence to +Denmark to his relation King Svein. Earl Ulf, King Svein's father, and +Gyda, Earl Toste's mother, were brother's and sister's children. The +earl now asked King Svein for support and help of men; and King Svein +invited him to stay with him, with the promise that he should get so +large an earldom in Denmark that he would be an important chief. + +The earl replies, "My inclination is to go back to my estate in England; +but if I cannot get help from you for that purpose, I will agree to help +you with all the power I can command in England, if you will go there +with the Danish army, and win the country, as Canute, your mother's +brother, did." + +The king replied, "So much smaller a man am I than Canute the Great, +that I can with difficulty defend my own Danish dominions against the +Northmen. King Canute, on the other hand, got the Danish kingdom in +heritage, took England by slash and blow, and sometimes was near losing +his life in the contest; and Norway he took without slash or blow. Now +it suits me much better to be guided by my own slender ability than to +imitate my relation, King Canute's, lucky hits." + +Then Earl Toste said, "The result of my errand here is less fortunate +than I expected of thee who art so gallant a man, seeing that thy +relative is in so great need. It may be that I will seek friendly help +where it could less be expected; and that I may find a chief who is less +afraid, king, than thou art of a great enterprise." + +Then the king and the earl parted, not just the best friends. + + + + +82. EARL TOSTE'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. + +Earl Toste turned away then and went to Norway, where he presented +himself to King Harald, who was at that time in Viken. When they met the +earl explained his errand to the king. He told him all his proceedings +since he left England, and asked his aid to recover his dominions in +England. + +The king replied that the Northmen had no great desire for a campaign in +England, and to have English chiefs over them there. "People say," added +he, "that the English are not to be trusted." + +The earl replied, "Is it true what I have heard people tell in England, +that thy relative, King Magnus, sent men to King Edward with the message +that King Magnus had right to England as well as to Denmark, and had got +that heritage after Hardacanute, in consequence of a regular agreement?" + +The king replied, "How came it that he did not get it, if he had a right +to it?" + +"Why," replied the earl, "hast thou not Denmark, as King Magnus, thy +predecessor, had it?" + +The king replies, "The Danes have nothing to brag of over us Northmen; +for many a place have we laid in ashes to thy relations." + +Then said the earl, "If thou wilt not tell me, I will tell thee. Magnus +subdued Denmark, because all the chiefs of the country helped him; +and thou hast not done it, because all the people of the country were +against thee. Therefore, also, King Magnus did not strive for England, +because all the nation would have Edward for king. Wilt thou take +England now? I will bring the matter so far that most of the principal +men in England shall be thy friends, and assist thee; for nothing is +wanting to place me at the side of my brother Harald but the king's +name. All men allow that there never was such a warrior in the northern +lands as thou art; and it appears to me extraordinary that thou hast +been fighting for fifteen years for Denmark, and wilt not take England +that lies open to thee." + +King Harald weighed carefully the earl's words, and perceived at once +that there was truth in much of what he said; and he himself had also a +great desire to acquire dominions. Then King Harald and the earl talked +long and frequently together; and at last he took the resolution to +proceed in summer to England, and conquer the country. King Harald sent +a message-token through all Norway and ordered out a levy of one-half +of all the men in Norway able to carry arms. When this became generally +known, there were many guesses about what might be the end of this +expedition. Some reckoned up King Harald's great achievements, and +thought he was also the man who could accomplish this. Others, again, +said that England was difficult to attack; that it was very full of +people; and the men-at-arms, who were called Thingmen, were so brave, +that one of them was better than two of Harald's best men. Then said Ulf +the marshal:-- + + "I am still ready gold to gain; + But truly it would be in vain, + And the king's marshal in the hall + Might leave his good post once for all, + If two of us in any strife + Must for one Thingman fly for life, + My lovely Norse maid, in my youth + We thought the opposite the truth." + +Ulf the marshal died that spring (A.D. 1066). King Harald stood over +his grave, and said, as he was leaving it, "There lies now the truest of +men, and the most devoted to his king." + +Earl Toste sailed in spring west to Flanders, to meet the people who had +left England with him, and others besides who had gathered to him both +out of England and Flanders. + + + + +83. GYRD'S DREAMS. + +King Harald's fleet assembled at the Solunds. When King Harald was ready +to leave Nidaros he went to King Olaf's shrine, unlocked it, clipped his +hair and nails, and locked the shrine again, and threw the keys into the +Nid. Some say he threw them overboard outside of Agdanes; and since then +the shrine of Saint Olaf, the king, has never been opened. Thirty-five +years had passed since he was slain; and he lived thirty-five years +here on earth (A.D. 1080-1066). King Harald sailed with his ships he +had about him to the south to meet his people, and a great fleet was +collected; so that, according to the people's reckoning, King Harald had +nearly 200 ships beside provision-ships and small craft. + +While they lay at the Solunds a man called Gyrd, on board the king's +ship, had a dream. He thought he was standing in the king's ship and saw +a great witch-wife standing on the island, with a fork in one hand and a +trough in the other. He thought also that he saw over all the fleet, and +that a fowl was sitting upon every ship's stern, and that these fowls +were all ravens or ernes; and the witch-wife sang this song:-- + + "From the east I'll 'tice the king, + To the west the king I'll bring; + Many a noble bone will be + Ravens o'er Giuke's ship are fitting, + Eyeing the prey they think most fitting. + Upon the stem I'll sail with them! + Upon the stem I'll sail with them!" + + + + +84. THORD'S DREAM. + +There was also a man called Thord, in a ship which lay not far from the +king's. He dreamt one night that he saw King Harald's fleet coming to +land, and he knew the land to be England. He saw a great battle-array on +the land; and he thought both sides began to fight, and had many banners +flapping in the air. And before the army of the people of the country +was riding a huge witch-wife upon a wolf; and the wolf had a man's +carcass in his mouth, and the blood was dropping from his jaws; and when +he had eaten up one body she threw another into his mouth, and so one +after another, and he swallowed them all. And she sang thus:-- + + "Skade's eagle eyes + The king's ill luck espies: + Though glancing shields + Hide the green fields, + The king's ill luck she spies. + To bode the doom of this great king, + The flesh of bleeding men I fling + To hairy jaw and hungry maw! + To hairy jaw and hungry maw!" + + + + +85. KING HARALD'S DREAM. + +King Harald also dreamt one night that he was in Nidaros, and met his +brother, King Olaf, who sang to him these verses:-- + + "In many a fight + My name was bright; + Men weep, and tell + How Olaf fell. + Thy death is near; + Thy corpse, I fear, + The crow will feed, + The witch-wife's steed." + +Many other dreams and forebodings were then told of, and most of them +gloomy. Before King Harald left Throndhjem, he let his son Magnus be +proclaimed king and set him as king over Norway while he was absent. +Thora, the daughter of Thorberg, also remained behind; but he took with +him Queen Ellisif and her two daughters, Maria and Ingegerd. Olaf, King +Harald's son, also accompanied his father abroad. + + + + +86. BATTLE AT SCARBOROUGH. + +When King Harald was clear for sea, and the wind became favourable, he +sailed out into the ocean; and he himself landed in Shetland, but a part +of his fleet in the Orkney Islands. King Harald stopped but a short time +in Shetland before sailing to Orkney, from whence he took with him +a great armed force, and the earls Paul and Erlend, the sons of +Earl Thorfin; but he left behind him here the Queen Ellisif, and her +daughters Maria and Ingegerd. Then he sailed, leaving Scotland and +England westward of him, and landed at a place called Klifland. There +he went on shore and plundered, and brought the country in subjection +to him without opposition. Then he brought up at Skardaburg, and fought +with the people of the place. He went up a hill which is there, and made +a great pile upon it, which he set on fire; and when the pile was in +clear flame, his men took large forks and pitched the burning wood down +into the town, so that one house caught fire after the other, and the +town surrendered. The Northmen killed many people there and took all the +booty they could lay hold of. There was nothing left for the Englishmen +now, if they would preserve their lives, but to submit to King Harald; +and thus he subdued the country wherever he came. Then the king +proceeded south along the land, and brought up at Hellornes, where there +came a force that had been assembled to oppose him, with which he had a +battle, and gained the victory. + + + + +87. OF HARALD'S ORDER OF BATTLE. + +Thereafter the king sailed to the Humber, and up along the river, and +then he landed. Up in Jorvik were two earls, Earl Morukare, and his +brother, Earl Valthiof, and they had an immense army. While the army +of the earls was coming down from the upper part of the country, King +Harald lay in the Usa. King Harald now went on the land, and drew up his +men. The one arm of this line stood at the outer edge of the river, the +other turned up towards the land along a ditch; and there was also a +morass, deep, broad, and full of water. The earls let their army proceed +slowly down along the river, with all their troops in line. The king's +banner was next the river, where the line was thickest. It was thinnest +at the ditch, where also the weakest of the men were. When the earls +advanced downwards along the ditch, the arm of the Northmen's line which +was at the ditch gave way; and the Englishmen followed, thinking the +Northmen would fly. The banner of Earl Morukare advanced then bravely. + + + + +88. THE BATTLE AT THE HUMBER. + +When King Harald saw that the English array had come to the ditch +against him, he ordered the charge to be sounded, and urged on his men. +He ordered the banner which was called the Land-ravager to be carried +before him, and made so severe an assault that all had to give way +before it; and there was a great loss among the men of the earls, and +they soon broke into flight, some running up the river, some down, and +the most leaping into the ditch, which was so filled with dead that the +Norsemen could go dry-foot over the fen. There Earl Morukare fell. So +says Stein Herdison:-- + + "The gallant Harald drove along, + Flying but fighting, the whole throng. + At last, confused, they could not fight, + And the whole body took to flight. + Up from the river's silent stream + At once rose desperate splash and scream; + But they who stood like men this fray + Round Morukare's body lay." + +This song was composed by Stein Herdison about Olaf, son of King Harald; +and he speaks of Olaf being in this battle with King Harald, his father. +These things are also spoken of in the song called "Harald's Stave":-- + + "Earl Valthiof's men + Lay in the fen, + By sword down hewed, + So thickly strewed, + That Norsemen say + They paved a way + Across the fen + For the brave Norsemen." + +Earl Valthiof, and the people who escaped, fled up to the castle of +York; and there the greatest loss of men had been. This battle took +place upon the Wednesday next Mathias' day (A.D. 1066). + + + + +89. OF EARL TOSTE. + +Earl Toste had come from Flanders to King Harald as soon as he arrived +in England, and the earl was present at all these battles. It happened, +as he had foretold the king at their first meeting, that in England +many people would flock to them, as being friends and relations of Earl +Toste, and thus the king's forces were much strengthened. After the +battle now told of, all people in the nearest districts submitted to +Harald, but some fled. Then the king advanced to take the castle, and +laid his army at Stanforda-bryggiur (Stamford Bridge); and as King +Harald had gained so great a victory against so great chiefs and so +great an army, the people were dismayed, and doubted if they could +make any opposition. The men of the castle therefore determined, in a +council, to send a message to King Harald, and deliver up the castle +into his power. All this was soon settled; so that on Sunday the king +proceeded with the whole army to the castle, and appointed a Thing of +the people without the castle, at which the people of the castle were +to be present. At this Thing all the people accepted the condition of +submitting to Harald, and gave him, as hostages, the children of the +most considerable persons; for Earl Toste was well acquainted with all +the people of that town. In the evening the king returned down to his +ships, after this victory achieved with his own force, and was very +merry. A Thing was appointed within the castle early on Monday morning, +and then King Harald was to name officers to rule over the town, to give +out laws, and bestow fiefs. The same evening, after sunset, King Harald +Godwinson came from the south to the castle with a numerous army, and +rode into the city with the good-will and consent of the people of the +castle. All the gates and walls were beset so that the Northmen could +receive no intelligence, and the army remained all night in the town. + + + + +90. OF KING HARALD'S LANDING. + +On Monday, when King Harald Sigurdson had taken breakfast, he ordered +the trumpets to sound for going on shore. The army accordingly got +ready, and he divided the men into the parties who should go, and who +should stay behind. In every division he allowed two men to land, and +one to remain behind. Earl Toste and his retinue prepared to land with +King Harald; and, for watching the ships, remained behind the king's son +Olaf; the earls of Orkney, Paul and Erlend; and also Eystein Orre, a son +of Thorberg Arnason, who was the most able and best beloved by the king +of all the lendermen, and to whom the king had promised his daughter +Maria. The weather was uncommonly fine, and it was hot sunshine. The men +therefore laid aside their armour, and went on the land only with their +shields, helmets and spears, and girt with swords; and many had also +arrows and bows, and all were very merry. Now as they came near the +castle a great army seemed coming against them, and they saw a cloud +of dust as from horses' feet, and under it shining shields and bright +armour. The king halted his people, and called to him Earl Toste, and +asked him what army this could be. The earl replied that he thought it +most likely to be a hostle army, but possibly it might be some of his +relations who were seeking for mercy and friendship, in order to obtain +certain peace and safety from the king. Then the king said, "We must all +halt, to discover what kind of a force this is." They did so; and the +nearer this force came the greater it appeared, and their shining arms +were to the sight like glancing ice. + + + + +91. OF EARL TOSTE'S COUNSEL. + +Then said King Harald, "Let us now fall upon some good sensible counsel; +for it is not to be concealed that this is an hostile army and the king +himself without doubt is here." + +Then said the earl, "The first counsel is to turn about as fast as we +can to our ships to get our men and our weapons, and then we will make a +defence according to our ability; or otherwise let our ships defend us, +for there these horsemen have no power over us." + +Then King Harald said, "I have another counsel. Put three of our best +horses under three of our briskest lads and let them ride with all speed +to tell our people to come quickly to our relief. The Englishmen shall +have a hard fray of it before we give ourselves up for lost." + +The earl said the king must order in this, as in all things, as he +thought best; adding, at the same time, it was by no means his wish to +fly. Then King Harald ordered his banner Land-ravager to be set up; and +Frirek was the name of him who bore the banner. + + + + +92. OF KING HARALD'S ARMY. + +Then King Harald arranged his army, and made the line of battle long, +but not deep. He bent both wings of it back, so that they met together; +and formed a wide ring equally thick all round, shield to shield, both +in the front and rear ranks. The king himself and his retinue were +within the circle; and there was the banner, and a body of chosen men. +Earl Toste, with his retinue, was at another place, and had a different +banner. The army was arranged in this way, because the king knew that +horsemen were accustomed to ride forwards with great vigour, but to +turn back immediately. Now the king ordered that his own and the earl's +attendants should ride forwards where it was most required. "And our +bowmen," said he, "shall be near to us; and they who stand in the +first rank shall set the spear-shaft on the ground, and the spear-point +against the horseman's breast, if he rides at them; and those who +stand in the second rank shall set the spear-point against the horse's +breast." + + + + +93. OF KING HARALD GODWINSON. + +King Harald Godwinson had come with an immense army, both of cavalry and +infantry. Now King Harald Sigurdson rode around his array, to see +how every part was drawn up. He was upon a black horse, and the horse +stumbled under him, so that the king fell off. He got up in haste and +said, "A fall is lucky for a traveller." + +The English king Harald said to the Northmen who were with him, "Do ye +know the stout man who fell from his horse, with the blue kirtle and the +beautiful helmet?" + +"That is the king himself." said they. + +The English king said, "A great man, and of stately appearance is he; +but I think his luck has left him." + + + + +94. OF THE TROOP OF THE NOBILITY. + +Twenty horsemen rode forward from the Thing-men's troops against the +Northmen's array; and all of them, and likewise their horses, were +clothed in armour. + +One of the horsemen said, "Is Earl Toste in this army?" + +The earl answered, "It is not to be denied that ye will find him here." + +The horseman says, "Thy brother, King Harald, sends thee salutation, +with the message that thou shalt have the whole of Northumberland; and +rather than thou shouldst not submit to him, he will give thee the third +part of his kingdom to rule over along with himself." + +The earl replies, "This is something different from the enmity and scorn +he offered last winter; and if this had been offered then it would have +saved many a man's life who now is dead, and it would have been better +for the kingdom of England. But if I accept of this offer, what will he +give King Harald Sigurdson for his trouble?" + +The horseman replied, "He has also spoken of this; and will give him +seven feet of English ground, or as much more as he may be taller than +other men." + +"Then," said the earl, "go now and tell King Harald to get ready for +battle; for never shall the Northmen say with truth that Earl Toste left +King Harald Sigurdson to join his enemy's troops, when he came to fight +west here in England. We shall rather all take the resolution to die +with honour, or to gain England by a victory." + +Then the horseman rode back. + +King Harald Sigurdson said to the earl, "Who was the man who spoke so +well?" + +The earl replied, "That was King Harald Godwinson." + +Then, said King Harald Sigurdson, "That was by far too long concealed +from me; for they had come so near to our army, that this Harald should +never have carried back the tidings of our men's slaughter." + +Then said the earl, "It was certainly imprudent for such chiefs, and it +may be as you say; but I saw he was going to offer me peace and a great +dominion, and that, on the other hand, I would be his murderer if I +betrayed him; and I would rather he should be my murderer than I his, if +one of two be to die." + +King Harald Sigurdson observed to his men, "That was but a little man, +yet he sat firmly in his stirrups." + +It is said that Harald made these verses at this time:-- + + "Advance! advance! + No helmets glance, + But blue swords play + In our array. + Advance! advance! + No mail-coats glance, + But hearts are here + That ne'er knew fear." + +His coat of mail was called Emma; and it was so long that it reached +almost to the middle of his leg, and so strong that no weapon ever +pierced it. Then said King Harald Sigurdson, "These verses are but ill +composed; I must try to make better;" and he composed the following:-- + + "In battle storm we seek no lee, + With skulking head, and bending knee, + Behind the hollow shield. + With eye and hand we fend the head; + Courage and skill stand in the stead + Of panzer, helm, and shield, + In hild's bloody field." + +Thereupon Thiodolf sang:-- + + "And should our king in battle fall,-- + A fate that God may give to all,-- + His sons will vengeance take; + And never shone the sun upon + Two nobler eaglet; in his run, + And them we'll never forsake." + + + + +95. OF THE BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE. + +Now the battle began. The Englishmen made a hot assault upon the +Northmen, who sustained it bravely. It was no easy matter for the +English to ride against the Northmen on account of their spears; +therefore they rode in a circle around them. And the fight at first was +but loose and light, as long as the Northmen kept their order of battle; +for although the English rode hard against the Northmen, they gave way +again immediately, as they could do nothing against them. Now when the +Northmen thought they perceived that the enemy were making but weak +assaults, they set after them, and would drive them into flight; but +when they had broken their shield-rampart the Englishmen rode up from +all sides, and threw arrows and spears on them. Now when King Harald +Sigurdson saw this, he went into the fray where the greatest crash of +weapons was, and there was a sharp conflict, in which many people fell +on both sides. King Harald then was in a rage, and ran out in front of +the array, and hewed down with both hands; so that neither helmet nor +armour could withstand him, and all who were nearest gave way before +him. It was then very near with the English that they had taken to +flight. So says Arnor, the earls' skald:-- + + "Where battle-storm was ringing, + Where arrow-cloud was singing, + Harald stood there, + Of armour bare, + His deadly sword still swinging. + The foeman feel its bite; + His Norsemen rush to fight, + Danger to share, + With Harald there, + Where steel on steel was ringing." + + + + +96. FALL OF KING HARALD. + +King Harald Sigurdson was hit by an arrow in the windpipe, and that +was his death-wound. He fell, and all who had advanced with him, except +those who retired with the banner. There was afterwards the warmest +conflict, and Earl Toste had taken charge of the king's banner. They +began on both sides to form their array again, and for a long time there +was a pause in fighting. Then Thiodolf sang these verses:-- + + "The army stands in hushed dismay; + Stilled is the clamour of the fray. + Harald is dead, and with him goes + The spirit to withstand our foes. + A bloody scat the folk must pay + For their king's folly on this day. + He fell; and now, without disguise, + We say this business was not wise." + +But before the battle began again Harald Godwinson offered his brother, +Earl Toste, peace, and also quarter to the Northmen who were still +alive; but the Northmen called out, all of them together, that they +would rather fall, one across the other, than accept of quarter from +the Englishmen. Then each side set up a war-shout, and the battle began +again. So says Arnor, the earls' skald:-- + + "The king, whose name would ill-doers scare, + The gold-tipped arrow would not spare. + Unhelmed, unpanzered, without shield, + He fell among us in the field. + The gallant men who saw him fall + Would take no quarter; one and all + Resolved to die with their loved king, + Around his corpse in a corpse-ring." + + + + +97. SKIRMISH OF ORRE. + +Eystein Orre came up at this moment from the ships with the men who +followed him, and all were clad in armour. Then Eystein got King +Harald's banner Land-ravager; and now was, for the third time, one of +the sharpest of conflicts, in which many Englishmen fell, and they were +near to taking flight. This conflict is called Orre's storm. Eystein +and his men had hastened so fast from the ships that they were quite +exhausted, and scarcely fit to fight before they came into the +battle; but afterwards they became so furious, that they did not guard +themselves with their shields as long as they could stand upright. At +last they threw off their coats of ringmail, and then the Englishmen +could easily lay their blows at them; and many fell from weariness, +and died without a wound. Thus almost all the chief men fell among the +Norway people. This happened towards evening; and then it went, as one +might expect, that all had not the same fate, for many fled, and were +lucky enough to escape in various ways; and darkness fell before the +slaughter was altogether ended. + + + + +98. OF STYRKAR THE MARSHAL. + +Styrkar, King Harald Sigurdson's marshal, a gallant man, escaped upon a +horse, on which he rode away in the evening. It was blowing a cold wind, +and Styrkar had not much other clothing upon him but his shirt, and +had a helmet on his head, and a drawn sword in his hand. As soon as his +weariness was over, he began to feel cold. A waggoner met him in a lined +skin-coat. Styrkar asks him, "Wilt thou sell thy coat, friend?" + +"Not to thee," says the peasant: "thou art a Northman; that I can hear +by thy tongue." + +Styrkar replies, "If I were a Northman, what wouldst thou do?" + +"I would kill thee," replied the peasant; "but as ill luck would have +it, I have no weapon just now by me that would do it." + +Then Styrkar says, "As you can't kill me, friend, I shall try if I can't +kill you." And with that he swung his sword, and struck him on the neck, +so that his head came off. He then took the skin-coat, sprang on his +horse, and rode down to the strand. + +Olaf Haraldson had not gone on land with the others, and when he +heard of his father's fall he made ready to sail away with the men who +remained. + + + + +99. OF WILLIAM THE BASTARD. + +When the Earl of Rouen, William the Bastard, heard of his relation, King +Edward's, death, and also that Harald Godwinson was chosen, crowned, +and consecrated king of England, it appeared to him that he had a +better right to the kingdom of England than Harald, by reason of the +relationship between him and King Edward. He thought, also, that he +had grounds for avenging the affront that Harald had put upon him +with respect to his daughter. From all these grounds William gathered +together a great army in Normandy, and had many men, and sufficient +transport-shipping. The day that he rode out of the castle to his ships, +and had mounted his horse, his wife came to him, and wanted to speak +with him; but when he saw her he struck at her with his heel, and set +his spurs so deep into her breast that she fell down dead; and the +earl rode on to his ships, and went with his ships over to England. +His brother, Archbishop Otto, was with him; and when the earl came to +England he began to plunder, and take possession of the land as he came +along. Earl William was stouter and stronger than other men; a great +horseman and warrior, but somewhat stern; and a very sensible man, but +not considered a man to be relied on. + + + + +100. FALL OF KING HARALD GODWINSON. + +King Harald Godwinson gave King Harald Sigurdson's son Olaf leave to go +away, with the men who had followed him and had not fallen in battle; +but he himself turned round with his army to go south, for he had heard +that William the Bastard was overwhelming the south of England with a +vast army, and was subduing the country for himself. With King Harald +went his brothers Svein and Gyrd, and Earl Valthiof. King Harald +and Earl William met each other south in England at Helsingja-port +(Hastings). There was a great battle in which King Harald and his +brother Earl Gyrd and a great part of his men fell. This was the +nineteenth day after the fall of King Harald Sigurdson. Harald's +brother, Earl Valthiof, escaped by flight, and towards evening fell in +with a division of William's people, consisting of 100 men; and when +they saw Earl Valthiof's troop they fled to a wood. Earl Valthiof set +fire to the wood, and they were all burnt. So says Thorkel Skallason in +Valthiof's ballad:-- + + "Earl Valthiof the brave + His foes a warming gave: + Within the blazing grove + A hundred men he drove. + The wolf will soon return, + And the witch's horse will burn + Her sharp claws in the ash, + To taste the Frenchman's flesh." + + + + +101. EARL VALTHIOF'S DEATH. + +William was proclaimed king of England. He sent a message to Earl +Valthiof that they should be reconciled, and gave him assurance of +safety to come to the place of meeting. The earl set out with a few men; +but when he came to a heath north of Kastala-bryggia, there met him two +officers of King William, with many followers, who took him prisoner, +put him in fetters, and afterwards he was beheaded; and the English call +him a saint. Thorkel tells of this:-- + + "William came o'er the sea, + With bloody sword came he: + Cold heart and bloody hand + Now rule the English land. + Earl Valthiof he slew,-- + Valthiof the brave and true. + Cold heart and bloody hand + Now rule the English land." + +William was after this king of England for twenty-one years, and his +descendants have been so ever since. + + + + +102. OF OLAF HARALDSON'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. + +Olaf, the son of King Harald Sigurdson, sailed with his fleet from +England from Hrafnseyr, and came in autumn to the Orkney Isles, where +the event had happened that Maria, a daughter of Harald Sigurdson, died +a sudden death the very day and hour her father, King Harald, fell. Olaf +remained there all winter; but the summer after he proceeded east to +Norway, where he was proclaimed king along with his brother Magnus. +Queen Ellisif came from the West, along with her stepson Olaf and her +daughter Ingegerd. There came also with Olaf over the West sea Skule, a +son of Earl Toste, and who since has been called the king's foster-son, +and his brother Ketil Krok. Both were gallant men, of high family in +England, and both were very intelligent; and the brothers were much +beloved by King Olaf. Ketil Krok went north to Halogaland, where King +Olaf procured him a good marriage, and from him are descended many great +people. Skule, the king's foster-son, was a very clever man, and the +handsomest man that could be seen. He was the commander of King Olaf's +court-men, spoke at the Things (1) and took part in all the country +affairs with the king. The king offered to give Skule whatever district +in Norway he liked, with all the income and duties that belonged to the +king in it. Skule thanked him very much for the offer, but said he +would rather have something else from him. "For if there came a shift +of kings," said he, "the gift might come to nothing. I would rather +take some properties lying near to the merchant towns, where you, sire, +usually take up your abode, and then I would enjoy your Yule-feasts." +The king agreed to this, and conferred on him lands eastward at +Konungahella, Oslo, Tunsberg, Sarpsborg, Bergen, and north at Nidaros. +These were nearly the best properties at each place, and have since +descended to the family branches which came from Skule. King Olaf +gave Skule his female relative, Gudrun, the daughter of Nefstein, in +marriage. Her mother was Ingerid, a daughter of Sigurd Syr and Asta, +King Olaf the Saint's mother. Ingerid was a sister of King Olaf the +Saint and of King Harald. Skule and Gudrun's son was Asolf of Reine, who +married Thora, a daughter of Skopte Ogmundson; Asolf's and Thora's son +was Guthorm of Reine, father of Bard, and grandfather of King Inge and +of Duke Skule. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Another instance of the old Norse or Icelandic tongue + having been generally known in a part of England. + + + + +103. OF KING HARALD SIGURDSON. + +One year after King Harald's fall his body was transported from England +north to Nidaros, and was buried in Mary church, which he had built. It +was a common observation that King Harald distinguished himself above +all other men by wisdom and resources of mind; whether he had to take a +resolution suddenly for himself and others, or after long deliberation. +He was, also, above all other men, bold, brave, and lucky, until his +dying day, as above related; and bravery is half victory. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "Harald, who till his dying day + Came off the best in many a fray, + Had one good rule in battle-plain, + In Seeland and elsewhere, to gain-- + That, be his foes' strength more or less, + Courage is always half success." + +King Herald was a handsome man, of noble appearance; his hair and beard +yellow. He had a short beard, and long mustaches. The one eyebrow was +somewhat higher than the other. He had large hands (1) and feet; but +these were well made. His height was five ells. He was stern and severe +to his enemies, and avenged cruelly all opposition or misdeed. So says +Thiodolf:-- + + "Severe alike to friends or foes, + Who dared his royal will oppose; + Severe in discipline to hold + His men-at-arms wild and bold; + Severe the bondes to repress; + Severe to punish all excess; + Severe was Harald--but we call + That just which was alike to all." + +King Harald was most greedy of power, and of all distinction and honour. +He was bountiful to the friends who suited him. So says Thiodolf:-- + + "I got from him, in sea-fight strong, + A mark of gold for my ship-song. + Merit in any way + He generously would pay." + +King Harald was fifty years old when he fell. We have no particular +account of his youth before he was fifteen years old, when he was +with his brother, King Olaf, at the battle of Stiklestad. He lived +thirty-five years after that, and in all that time was never free +from care and war. King Harald never fled from battle, but often tried +cunning ways to escape when he had to do with great superiority of +forces. All the men who followed King Harald in battle or skirmish said +that when he stood in great danger, or anything came suddenly upon him, +he always took that course which all afterwards saw gave the best hope +of a fortunate issue. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) It is a singular physical circumstance, that in almost all + the swords of those ages to be found in the collection of + weapons in the Antiquarian Museum at Copenhagen, the handles + indicate a size of hand very much smaller than the hands of + modern people of any class or rank. No modern dandy, with + the most delicate hands, would find room for his hand to + grasp or wield with case some of the swords of these + Northmen.--L. + + + + +104. KING HARALD AND KING OLAF COMPARED. + +When Haldor, a son of Brynjolf Ulfalde the Old, who was a sensible man +and a great chief, heard people talk of how unlike the brothers Saint +Olaf and King Harald were in disposition, he used to say, "I was in +great friendship with both the brothers, and I knew intimately the +dispositions of both, and never did I know two men more like in +disposition. Both were of the highest understanding, and bold in arms, +and greedy of power and property; of great courage, but not acquainted +with the way of winning the favour of the people; zealous in governing, +and severe in their revenge. King Olaf forced the people into +Christianity and good customs, and punished cruelly those who disobeyed. +This just and rightful severity the chiefs of the country could not +bear, but raised an army against him, and killed him in his own kingdom; +and therefore he is held to be a saint. King Harald, again, marauded to +obtain glory and power, forced all the people he could under his power, +and died in another king's dominions. Both brothers, in daily life, +were of a worthy and considerate manner of living; they were of great +experience, and very laborious, and were known and celebrated far and +wide for these qualities." + + + + +105. KING MAGNUS'S DEATH. + +King Magnus Haraldson ruled over Norway the first winter after King +Harald's death (A.D. 1067), and afterwards two years (A.D. 1068-1069) +along with his brother, King Olaf. Thus there were two kings of Norway +at that time; and Magnus had the northern and Olaf the eastern part of +the country. King Magnus had a son called Hakon, who was fostered by +Thorer of Steig in Gudbrandsdal, who was a brother of King Magnus by the +mother's side; and Hakon was a most agreeable man. + +After King Harald Sigurdson's death the Danish king Svein let it be +known that the peace between the Northmen and the Danes was at an end, +and insisted that the league between Harald and Svein was not for longer +time than their lives. There was a levy in both kingdoms. Harald's sons +called out the whole people in Norway for procuring men and ships, and +Svein set out from the south with the Danish army. Messengers then went +between with proposals for a peace; and the Northmen said they would +either have the same league as was concluded between King Harald and +Svein, or otherwise give battle instantly on the spot. Verses were made +on this occasion, viz.:-- + + "Ready for war or peace, + King Olaf will not cease + From foeman's hand + To guard his land." + +So says also Stein Herdison in his song of Olaf:-- + + "From Throndhjem town, where in repose + The holy king defies his foes, + Another Olaf will defend + His kingdom from the greedy Svein. + King Olaf had both power and right, + And the Saint's favour in the fight. + The Saint will ne'er his kin forsake, + And let Svein Ulfson Norway take." + +In this manner friendship was concluded between the kings and peace +between the countries. King Magnus fell ill and died of the ringworm +disease, after being ill for some time. He died and was buried at +Nidaros. He was an amiable king and bewailed by the people. + + + + +SAGA OF OLAF KYRRE. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Snorri's account of Olaf Kyrre corresponds with the statements found in +"Agrip", "Fagrskinna", and "Morkinskinna". + +There are but few events in Olaf's long reign, and hence he is very +appropriately called the Quiet (Kyrre). As Hildebrand says, this saga +seems to be written simply to fill out the empty space between Harald +Hardrade and Magnus Barefoot. + +Skalds quoted in this saga are: Stein Herdison and Stuf. + + + + +1. OLAF'S PERSONAL APPEARANCE. + +Olaf remained sole king of Norway after the death (A.D. 1069) of his +brother King Magnus. Olaf was a stout man, well grown in limbs; and +every one said a handsomer man could not be seen, nor of a nobler +appearance. His hair was yellow as silk, and became him well; his skin +was white and fine over all his body; his eyes beautiful, and his limbs +well proportioned. He was rather silent in general, and did not speak +much even at Things; but he was merry in drinking parties. He loved +drinking much, and was talkative enough then; but quite peaceful. He was +cheerful in conversation, peacefully inclined during all his reign, and +loving gentleness and moderation in all things. Stein Herdison speaks +thus of him:-- + + "Our Throndhjem king is brave and wise, + His love of peace our bondes prize; + By friendly word and ready hand + He holds good peace through every land. + He is for all a lucky star; + England he frightens from a war; + The stiff-necked Danes he drives to peace; + Troubles by his good influence cease." + + + + +2. OF KING OLAF'S MANNER OF LIVING. + +It was the fashion in Norway in old times for the king's high-seat to +be on the middle of a long bench, and the ale was handed across the fire +(1); but King Olaf had his high-seat made on a high bench across the +room; he also first had chimney-places in the rooms, and the floors +strewed both summer and winter. In King Olaf's time many merchant towns +arose in Norway, and many new ones were founded. Thus King Olaf founded +a merchant town at Bergen, where very soon many wealthy people settled +themselves, and it was regularly frequented by merchants from foreign +lands. He had the foundations laid for the large Christ church, which +was to be a stone church; but in his time there was little done to it. +Besides, he completed the old Christ church, which was of wood. King +Olaf also had a great feasting-house built in Nidaros, and in many other +merchant towns, where before there were only private feasts; and in his +time no one could drink in Norway but in these houses, adorned for +the purpose with branches and leaves, and which stood under the king's +protection. The great guild-bell in Throndhjem, which was called +the pride of the town, tolled to call together to these guilds. The +guild-brethren built Margaret's church in Nidaros of stone. In King +Olaf's time there were general entertainments and hand-in-hand feasts. +At this time also much unusual splendour and foreign customs and +fashions in the cut of clothes were introduced; as, for instance, costly +hose plaited about the legs. Some had gold rings about the legs, and +also used coats which had lists down the sides, and arms five ells long, +and so narrow that they must be drawn up with ties, and lay in folds +all the way up to the shoulders. The shoes were high, and all edged with +silk, or even with gold. Many other kinds of wonderful ornaments were +used at that time. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) We may understand the arrangement by supposing the fire in + the middle of the room, the smoke escaping by a hole in the + roof, and a long bench on each side of the fire; one bench + occupied by the high-seat of the king and great guests, the + other by the rest of the guests; and the cup handed across + the fire, which appears to have had a religious meaning + previous to the introduction of Christianity.--L. + + + + +3. FASHION OF KING OLAF'S COURT. + +King Olaf used the fashion, which was introduced from the courts of +foreign kings, of letting his grand-butler stand at the end of the +table, and fill the table-cups for himself and the other distinguished +guests who sat at the table. He had also torch-bearers, who held as many +candles at the table as there were guests of distinction present. +There was also a marshal's bench outside of the table-circle, where the +marshal and other persons of distinction sat with their faces towards +the high-seat. King Harald, and the kings before him, used to drink out +of deer-horn; and the ale was handed from the high-seat to the otherside +over the fire, and he drank to the memory of any one he thought of. So +says Stuf the skald:-- + + "He who in battle is the first, + And now in peace is best to trust, + A welcome, hearty and sincere, + Gave to me on my coming here. + He whom the ravens watch with care, + He who the gold rings does not spare, + A golden horn full to the brink + Gave me himself at Haug to drink." + + + + +4. ARRANGEMENT OF KING OLAF'S COURT. + +King Olaf had 120 courtmen-at-arms, and 60 pursuivants, besides 60 +house-servants, who provided what was wanted for the king's house +wherever it might be, or did other work required for the king. When +the bondes asked why he kept a greater retinue than the law allowed, or +former kings kept when they went in guest-quarters or feasts which the +bondes had to provide for them, the king answered, "It does not happen +that I rule the kingdom better, or produce greater respect for me than +ye had for my father, although I have one-half more people than he +had. I do not by any means do it merely to plague you, or to make your +condition harder than formerly." + + + + +5. KING SVEIN ULFSON'S DEATH. + +King Svein Ulfson died ten years after the fall of both the Haralds +(A.D. 1076). After him his son, Harald Hein, was king for three years +(A.D. 1077-1080); then Canute the Holy for seven years (A.D. 1081-1087); +afterwards Olaf, King Svein's third son, for eight years (A.D. +1088-1095). Then Eirik the Good, Svein's fourth son, for eight winters +(A.D. 1096-1103). Olaf, the king of Norway, was married to Ingerid, a +daughter of Svein, the Danish king; and Olaf, the Danish King Svein's +son, married Ingegerd, a daughter of King Harald, and sister of King +Olaf of Norway. King Olaf Haraldson, who was called by some Olaf Kyrre, +but by many Olaf the Bonde, had a son by Thora, Joan's daughter, who was +called Magnus, and was one of the handsomest lads that could be seen, +and was promising in every respect. He was brought up in the king's +court. + + + + +6. MIRACLES OF KING OLAF THE SAINT. + +King Olaf had a church of stone built in Nidaros, on the spot where King +Olaf's body had first been buried, and the altar was placed directly +over the spot where the king's grave had been. This church was +consecrated and called Christ Church; and King Olaf's shrine was removed +to it, and was placed before the altar, and many miracles took place +there. The following summer, on the same day of the year as the church +was consecrated, which was the day before Olafsmas, there was a great +assemblage of people, and then a blind man was restored to sight. And on +the mass-day itself, when the shrine and the holy relics were taken out +and carried, and the shrine itself, according to custom, was taken and +set down in the churchyard, a man who had long been dumb recovered his +speech again, and sang with flowing tongue praise-hymns to God, and to +the honour of King Olaf the Saint. The third miracle was of a woman +who had come from Svithjod, and had suffered much distress on this +pilgrimage from her blindness; but trusting in God's mercy, had come +travelling to this solemnity. She was led blind into the church to hear +mass this day; but before the service was ended she saw with both +eyes, and got her sight fully and clearly, although she had been blind +fourteen years. She returned with great joy, praising God and King Olaf +the Saint. + + + + +7. OF THE SHRINE OF KING OLAF THE SAINT. + +There happened a circumstance in Nidaros, when King Olaf's coffin was +being carried about through the streets, that it became so heavy that +people could not lift it from the spot. Now when the coffin was set +down, the street was broken up to see what was under it at that spot, +and the body of a child was found which had been murdered and concealed +there. The body was carried away, the street put in order again as it +had been before, and the shrine carried on according to custom. + + + + +8. KING OLAF WAS BLESSED WITH PEACE. + +In the days of King Olaf there were bountiful harvests in Norway and +many good things. In no man's life had times been so good in Norway +since the days of Harald Harfager. King Olaf modified for the better +many a matter that his father had inaugurated and maintained with +severity. He was generous, but a strict ruler, for he was a wise man, +and well understood what was of advantage to the kingdom. There are many +stories of his good works. How much he loved and how kind he was to the +people may be seen from the following words, which he once spoke at a +large banquet. He was happy and in the best of spirits, when one of his +men said, "It pleases us, sire, to see you so happy." He answered: "I +have reason to be glad when I see my subjects sitting happy and free in +a guild consecrated to my uncle, the sainted King Olaf. In the days of +my father these people were subjected to much terror and fear; the most +of them concealed their gold and their precious things, but now I see +glittering on his person what each one owns, and your freedom is my +gladness." In his reign there was no strife, and he protected himself and +his realm against enemies abroad; and his nearest neighbours stood in +great awe of him, although he was a most gentle man, as is confirmed by +the skald. + + + + +9. MEETING OF OLAF KYRRE AND CANUTE THE SAINT. + +King Olaf Kyrre was a great friend of his brother-in-law, the Danish +king, Canute the holy. They appointed a meeting and met at the Gaut +river at Konungahella, where the kings used to have their meetings. +There King Canute made the proposal that they should send an army +westward to England on account of the revenge they had to take there; +first and foremost King Olaf himself, and also the Danish king. "Do one +of two things," said King Canute,--"either take sixty ships, which I +will furnish thee with, and be thou the leader; or give me sixty ships, +and I shall be the leader." Then said King Olaf, "This speech of thine, +King Canute, is altogether according to my mind; but there is this +great difference between us; your family has had more luck in conquering +England with great glory, and, among others, King Canute the Great; +and it is likely that this good fortune follows your race. On the other +hand, when King Harald, my father, went westward to England, he got his +death there; and at that time the best men in Norway followed him. But +Norway was so emptied then of chosen men, that such men have not since +been to find in the country; for that expedition there was the most +excellent outfit, and you know what was the end of it. Now I know my own +capacity, and how little I am suited to be the leader; so I would rather +you should go, with my help and assistance." + +So King Olaf gave Canute sixty large ships, with excellent equipment and +faithful men, and set his lendermen as chiefs over them; and all must +allow that this armament was admirably equipt. It is also told in the +saga about Canute, that the Northmen alone did not break the levy +when the army was assembled, but the Danes would not obey their king's +orders. This king Canute acknowledged, and gave them leave to trade in +merchandise where they pleased through his country, and at the same time +sent the king of Norway costly presents for his assistance. On the other +hand he was enraged against the Danes, and laid heavy fines upon them. + + + + +10. A BONDE WHO UNDERSTOOD THE LANGUAGE OF BIRDS. + +One summer, when King Olaf's men had gone round the country collecting +his income and land dues, it happened that the king, on their +return home asked them where on their expedition they had been best +entertained. They said it was in the house of a bonde in one of the +king's districts. "There is an old bonde there who knows many things +before they happen. We asked him about many things, which he explained +to us; nay, we even believe that he understands perfectly the language +of birds." The king replies, "How can ye believe such nonsense?" and +insisted that it was wrong to put confidence in such things. It happened +soon after that the king was sailing along the coast; and as they +sailed through a Sound the king said, "What is that township up in the +country?" + +They replied, "That is the district, sire, where we told you we were +best entertained." + +Then said the king, "What house is that which stands up there, not far +from the Sound?" + +They replied, "That house belongs to the wise old bonde we told you of, +sire." + +They saw now a horse standing close to the house. Then said the king, +"Go there, and take that horse, and kill him." + +They replied, "We would not like to do him such harm." + +The king: "I will command. Cut off the horse's head; but take care of +yourselves that ye let no blood come to the ground, and bear the horse +out to my ship. Go then and bring to me the old man; but tell him +nothing of what has happened, as ye shall answer for it with your +lives." + +They did as they were ordered, and then came to the old man, and told +him the king's message. When he came before the king, the king asked +him, "Who owns the house thou art dwelling in?" + +He replies, "Sire, you own it, and take rent for it." + +The king: "Show us the way round the ness, for here thou must be a good +pilot." + +The old man went into his boat and rowed before the king's ship; and +when he had rowed a little way a crow came flying over the ship, and +croaking hideously. The peasant listens to the crow. The king said, "Do +you think, bonde, that betokens anything?" + +"Sire, that is certain," said he. + +Then another crow flies over the ship, and screeches dreadfully. The +bonde was so ill hearing this that he could not row, and the oars hung +loose in his hands. + +Then said the king, "Thy mind is turned much to these crows, bonde, and +to what they say." + +The bonde replies, "Now I suspect it is true what they say." + +The third time the crow came flying screeching at its very worst, and +almost settling on the ship. Now the bonde threw down his oars, regarded +them no more, and stood up before the king. + +Then the king said, "Thou art taking this much to heart, bonde; what is +it they say?" + +The peasant--"It is likely that either they or I have misunderstood--" + +"Say on," replied the king. + +The bonde replied in a song:-- + + "The 'one-year old' + Mere nonsense told; + The 'two-years' chatter + Seemed senseless matter; + The three-years' croak + Of wonders spoke. + The foul bird said + My old mare's head + I row along; + And, in her song, + She said the thief + Was the land's chief." + +The king said, "What is this, bonde! Wilt thou call me a thief?" + +Then the king gave him good presents, and remitted all the land-rent of +the place he lived on. So says Stein:-- + + "The pillar of our royal race + Stands forth adorned with every grace. + What king before e'er took such pride + To scatter bounty far and wide? + Hung round with shields that gleam afar; + The merchant ship on one bestows, + With painted streaks in glowing rows. + + "The man-at-arms a golden ring + Boasts as the present of his king; + At the king's table sits the guest, + By the king's bounty richly drest. + King Olaf, Norway's royal son, + Who from the English glory won, + Pours out with ready-giving hand + His wealth on children of the land. + + "Brave clothes to servants he awards, + Helms and ring-mail coats grace his guards; + Or axe and sword Har's warriors gain, + And heavy armour for the plain. + Gold, too, for service duly paid, + Red gold all pure, and duly weighed, + King Olaf gives--he loves to pay + All service in a royal way." + + + + +11. OF KING OLAF KYRRE'S DEATH. + +King Olaf lived principally in his domains on his large farms. Once when +he was east in Ranrike, on his estate of Haukby, he took the disease +which ended in his death. He had then been king of Norway for twenty-six +years (A.D. 1068-1093); for he was made king of Norway the year after +King Harald's death. King Olaf's body was taken north to Nidaros, and +buried in Christ church, which he himself had built there. He was the +most amiable king of his time, and Norway was much improved in riches +and cultivation during his reign. + + + + +MAGNUS BAREFOOT'S SAGA. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +The greater part of the contents of this saga is also found in "Agrip", +"Fagrskinna", and "Morkinskinna". + +Magnus and his cousin Hakon became kings in 1093, but Hakon ruled only +two years and died in 1095. King Magnus fell in the year 1103. + +Skalds quoted are: Bjorn Krephende, Thorkel Hamarskald, and Eldjarn. + + + + +1. BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING MAGNUS AND HIS COUSIN HAKON. + +Magnus, King Olaf's son, was, immediately after King Olaf's death, +proclaimed at Viken king of all Norway; but the Upland people, on +hearing of King Olaf's death, chose Hakon, Thorer's foster-son, a cousin +of King Magnus, as king. Thereupon Hakon and Thorer went north to the +Throndhjem country, and when they came to Nidaros they summoned the +Eyrathing; and at that Thing Hakon desired the bondes to give him the +kingly title, which was agreed to, and the Throndhjem people proclaimed +him king of half of Norway, as his father, King Magnus, had been before. +Hakon relieved the Throndhjem people of all harbour duties, and gave +them many other privileges. He did away with Yule-gifts, and gained by +this the good-will of all the Throndhjem people. Thereafter Hakon formed +a court, and then proceeded to the Uplands, where he gave the Upland +people the same privileges as the Throndhjem people; so that they also +were perfectly well affected to him, and were his friends. The people in +Throndhjem sang this ballad about him:-- + + "Young Hakon was the Norseman's pride, + And Steig-Thorer was on his side. + Young Hakon from the Upland came, + With royal birth, and blood, and name. + Young Hakon from the king demands + His royal birthright, half the lands; + Magnus will not the kingdom break,-- + The whole or nothing he will take." + + + + +2. HAKON'S DEATH. + +King Magnus proceeded north to the merchant town (Nidaros), and on his +arrival went straight to the king's house, and there took up his abode. +He remained here the first part of the winter (A.D. 1094), and kept +seven longships in the open water of the river Nid, abreast of the +king's house. Now when King Hakon heard that King Magnus was come to +Throndhjem, he came from the East over the Dovrefield, and thence down +from Throndhjem to the merchant town, where he took up his abode in the +house of Skule, opposite to Clement's church, which had formerly been +the king's house. King Magnus was ill pleased with the great gifts which +Hakon had given to the bondes to gain their favour, and thought it was +so much given out of his own property. This irritated his mind; and he +thought he had suffered injustice from his relative in this respect, +that he must now put up with less income than his father and his +predecessors before him had enjoyed; and he gave Thorer the blame. When +King Hakon and Thorer observed this, they were alarmed for what Magnus +might do; and they thought it suspicious that Magnus kept long-ships +afloat rigged out, and with tents. The following spring, after +Candlemas, King Magnus left the town in the night with his ships; the +tents up, and lights burning in the tents. They brought up at Hefring, +remained there all night, and kindled a fire on the land. Then Hakon and +the men in the town thought some treachery was on foot, and he let the +trumpets call all the men together out on the Eyrar, where the whole +people of the town came to him, and the people were gathering together +the whole night. When it was light in the morning, King Magnus saw the +people from all districts gathered together on the Eyrar; and he sailed +out of the fjord, and proceeded south to where the Gulathing is held. +Hakon thanked the people for their support which they had given him, and +got ready to travel east to Viken. But he first held a meeting in the +town, where, in a speech, he asked the people for their friendship, +promising them his; and added, that he had some suspicions of his +relation, King Magnus's intentions. Then King Hakon mounted his horse, +and was ready to travel. All men promised him their good-will and +support whenever he required them, and the people followed him out +to the foot of Steinbjorg. From thence King Hakon proceeded up the +Dovrefield; but as he was going over the mountains he rode all day after +a ptarmigan, which flew up beside him, and in this chase a sickness +overfell him, which ended in his death; and he died on the mountains. +His body was carried north, and came to the merchant town just half a +month after he left it. The whole townspeople went to meet the body, +sorrowing, and the most of them weeping; for all people loved him with +sincere affection. King Hakon's body was interred in Christ church, and +Hakon and Magnus had ruled the country for two years. Hakon was a man +full twenty-five years old, and was one of the chiefs the most beloved +by all the people. He had made a journey to Bjarmaland, where he had +given battle and gained a victory. + + + + +3. OF A FORAY IN HALLAND. + +King Magnus sailed in winter (A.D. 1095) eastward to Viken; but when +spring approached he went southwards to Halland, and plundered far and +wide. He laid waste Viskardal and many other districts, and returned +with a great booty back to his own kingdom. So says Bjorn Krephende in +his song on Magnus:-- + + "Through Halland wide around + The clang and shriek resound; + The houses burn, + The people mourn, + Through Halland wide around. + The Norse king strides in flame, + Through Viskardal he came; + The fire sweeps, + The widow weeps, + The Norse king strides in flame." + +Here it is told that King Magnus made the greatest devastation through +Halland. + + + + +4. OF THORER OF STEIG. + +"There was a man called Svein, a son of Harald Fietter. He was a Danish +man by family, a great viking and champion, and a very clever man, and +of high birth in his own country. He had been some time with King Hakon +Magnuson, and was very dear to him; but after King Hakon's decease +Thorer of Steig, his foster-father, had no great confidence in any +treaty or friendship with King Magnus, if the whole country came into +his power, on account of the position in which Thorer had stood to King +Magnus, and the opposition he had made to him. Thereupon Thorer and +Svein took counsel with each other, which they afterwards carried +into effect,--to raise, with Thorer's assistance, and his men, a troop +against Magnus. But as Thorer was old and heavy, Svein took the command, +and name of leader of the troop. In this design several chiefs took +part, among whom the principal was Egil Aslakson of Aurland. Egil was a +lenderman, and married to Ingebjorg, a daughter of Ogmund Thorbergson, a +sister of Skopte of Giske. The rich and powerful man, Skjalg Erlingson, +also joined their party. Thorkel Hamarskald speaks of this in his ballad +of Magnus: + + "Thorer and Egil were not wise, + They aimed too high to win a prize: + There was no reason in their plan, + And it hurt many a udalman. + The stone, too great for them to throw, + Fell back, and hurt them with the blow, + And now the udalmen must rue + That to their friends they were so true." + +Thorer and Svein collected a troop in the Uplands, and went down through +Raumsdal into Sunmore, and there collected vessels, with which they +afterwards sailed north to Throndhjem. + + + + +5. OF THORER'S ADVENTURES. + +The lenderman Sigurd Ulstreng, a son of Lodin Viggiarskalle, collected +men by sending round the war-token, as soon as he heard of Thorer and +the troop which followed him, and had a rendezvous with all the men +he could raise at Viggia. Svein and Thorer also met there with their +people, fought with Sigurd, and gained the victory after giving him a +great defeat; and Sigurd fled, and joined King Magnus. Thorer and his +followers proceeded to the town (Nidaros), and remained there some time +in the fjord, where many people joined them. King Magnus hearing this +news immediately collected an army, and proceeded north to Throndhjem. +And when he came into the fjord Thorer and his party heard of it while +they lay at Herring, and they were ready to leave the fjord; and they +rowed their ships to the strand at Vagnvik, and left them, and came into +Theksdal in Seliuhverfe, and Thorer was carried in a litter over the +mountains. Then they got hold of ships and sailed north to Halogaland. +As soon as King Magnus was ready for sea, he sailed from Throndhjem in +pursuit of them. Thorer and his party went north all the way to Bjarkey; +and Jon, with his son Vidkun, fled from thence. Thorer and his men +robbed all the movable goods, and burnt the house, and a good long-ship +that belonged to Vidkun. While the hull was burning the vessel keeled +to one side, and Thorer called out, "Hard to starboard, Vidkun!" Some +verses were made about this burning in Bjarkey:-- + + "The sweetest farm that I have seen + Stood on Bjarkey's island green; + And now, where once this farmhouse stood, + Fire crackles through a pile of wood; + And the clear red flame, burning high, + Flashes across the dark-night sky. + Jon and Vidkun, this dark night, + Will not be wandering without light." + + + + +6. DEATH OF THORER AND EGIL. + +Jon and Vidkun travelled day and night till they met King Magnus. Svein +and Thorer proceeded northwards with their men, and plundered far and +wide in Halogaland. But while they lay in a fjord called Harm, Thorer +and his party saw King Magnus coming under sail towards them; and +thinking they had not men enough to fight him, they rowed away and fled. +Thorer and Egil brought up at Hesjutun; but Svein rowed out to sea, and +some of their people rowed into the fjords. King Magnus pursued Thorer, +and the vessels struck together while they were landing. Thorer stood in +the forecastle of his ship, and Sigurd Ulstreng called out to him, and +asked, "Art thou well, Thorer?" Thorer replied, "I am well in hands, but +ill on my feet." + +Then all Thorer's men fled up the country, and Thorer was taken +prisoner. Egil was also taken prisoner, for he would not leave his wife. +King Magnus then ordered both of them to be taken out to Vambarholm; +and when they were leading Thorer from the ship he tottered on his legs. +Then Vidkun called out, "More to the larboard, Thorer!" When he was +being led to the gallows he sang:-- + + "We were four comrades gay,-- + Let one by the helm stay." + +When he came to the gallows he said, "Bad counsel comes to a bad end." +Then Thorer was hanged; but when he was hoisted up the gallows tree +he was so heavy that his neck gave way, and the body fell down to the +ground; for Thorer was a man exceedingly stout, both high of stature +and thick. Egil was also led to the gallows, and when the king's thralls +were about hanging him he said, "Ye should not hang me, for in truth +each of you deserves much more to be hanged." People sang these verses +about it:-- + + "I hear, my girl, that Egil said, + When to the gallows he was led, + That the king's thralls far more than he + Deserved to hang on gallows-tree. + It might be so; but, death in view, + A man should to himself be true,-- + End a stout life by death as stout, + Showing no fear; or care, or doubt." + +King Magnus sat near while they were being hanged, and was in such a +rage that none of his men was so bold as to ask mercy for them. The king +said, when Egil was spinning at the gallows, "Thy great friends help +thee but poorly in time of need." From this people supposed that the +king only wanted to have been entreated to have spared Egil's life. +Bjorn Krephende speaks of these things:-- + + "King Magnus in the robbers' gore + Dyed red his sword; and round the shore + The wolves howled out their wild delight, + At corpses swinging in their sight. + Have ye not heard how the king's sword + Punished the traitors to their lord? + How the king's thralls hung on the gallows + Old Thorer and his traitor-fellows?" + + + + +7. OF THE PUNISHMENT OF THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE. + +After this King Magnus sailed south to Throndhjem, and brought up in the +fjord, and punished severely all who had been guilty of treason towards +him; killing some, and burning the houses of others. So says Bjorn +Krephende:-- + + "He who despises fence of shields + Drove terror through the Throndhjem fields, + When all the land through which he came + Was swimming in a flood of flame. + The raven-feeder, will I know, + Cut off two chieftans at a blow; + The wolf could scarcely ravenous be, + The ernes flew round the gallows-tree." + +Svein Harald Fletter's son, fled out to sea first, and sailed then to +Denmark, and remained there; and at last came into great favour with +King Eystein, the son of King Magnus, who took so great a liking to +Svein that he made him his dish-bearer, and held him in great respect. +King Magnus had now alone the whole kingdom, and he kept good peace +in the land, and rooted out all vikings and lawless men. He was a +man quick, warlike, and able, and more like in all things to his +grandfather, King Harald, in disposition and talents than to his father. + + + + +8. OF THE BONDE SVEINKE, AND SIGURD ULSTRENG. + +There was a man called Sveinke Steinarson, who was very wealthy, and +dwelt in Viken at the Gaut river. He had brought up Hakon Magnuson +before Thorer of Steig took him. Sveinke had not yet submitted to King +Magnus. King Magnus ordered Sigurd Ulstreng to be called, and told him +he would send him to Sveinke with the command that he should quit the +king's land and domain. "He has not yet submitted to us, or shown us due +honour." He added, that there were some lendermen east in Viken, namely +Svein Bryggjufot, Dag Eilifson, and Kolbjorn Klakke, who could bring +this matter into right bearing. Then Sigurd said, "I did not know there +was the man in Norway against whom three lendermen besides myself were +needful." The king replied, "Thou needst not take this help, unless +it be necessary." Now Sigurd made himself ready for the journey with +a ship, sailed east to Viken, and there summoned the lendermen to him. +Then a Thing was appointed to Viken, to which the people were called +who dwelt on the Gaut river, besides others; so that it was a numerous +assembly. When the Thing was formed they had to wait for Sveinke. They +soon after saw a troop of men coming along, so well furnished with +weapons that they looked like pieces of shining ice; and now came +Sveinke and his people to the Thing, and set themselves down in a +circle. All were clad in iron, with glowing arms, and 500 in number. +Then Sigurd stood up, and spoke. "My master, King Magnus, sends God's +salutation and his own to all friends, lendermen and others, his +subjects in the kingdom; also to the powerful bondes, and the people in +general, with kind words and offers of friendship; and to all who will +obey him he offers his friendship and good will. Now the king will, with +all cheerfulness and peace, show himself a gracious master to all who +will submit to him, and to all in his dominions. He will be the leader +and defender of all the men of Norway; and it will be good for you to +accept his gracious speech, and this offer." + +Then stood up a man in the troop of the Elfgrims, who was of great +stature and grim countenance, clad in a leather cloak, with a halberd +on his shoulder, and a great steel hat upon his head. He looked sternly, +and said, "Here is no need of wheels, says the fox, when he draws the +trap over the ice." He said nothing more, but sat down again. + +Soon after Sigurd Ulstreng stood up again, and spoke thus: "But little +concern or help have we for the king's affairs from you, Elfgrims, and +but little friendship; yet by such means every man shows how much +he respects himself. But now I shall produce more clearly the king's +errand." Thereupon he demanded land-dues and levy-dues, together with +all other rights of the king, from the great bondes. He bade each of +them to consider with himself how they had conducted themselves in these +matters; and that they should now promote their own honour, and do the +king justice, if they had come short hitherto in doing so. And then he +sat down. + +Then the same man got up in the troop of Elfgrims who had spoken before, +lifted his hat a little up, and said, "The lads run well, say the +Laplanders, who have skates for nothing." Then he sat himself down +again. + +Soon after Sigurd arose, after speaking with the lendermen, and said +that so weighty a message as the king's ought not to be treated lightly +as a jest. He was now somewhat angry; and added, that they ought not +to receive the king's message and errand so scornfully, for it was not +decent. He was dressed in a red or scarlet coat, and had a blue coat +over it. He cast off his upper coat and said, "Now it is come so far +that every one must look to himself, and not loiter and jest with +others; for by so doing every man will show what he is. We do not +require now to be taught by others; for now we can see ourselves how +much we are regarded. But this may be borne with; but not that ye treat +so scornfully the king's message. Thereby every one shows how highly he +considers himself. There is one man called Sveinke Steinarson, who +lives east at the Gaut river; and from him the king will have his just +land-dues, together with his own land, or will banish him from the +country. It is of no use here to seek excuses, or to answer with sharp +words; for people are to be found who are his equals in power, although +he now receives our speech so unworthily; and it is better now than +afterwards to return to the right way, and do himself honour, rather +than await disgrace for his obstinancy." He then sat down. + +Sveinke then got up, threw back his steel-hat, and gave Sigurd many +scornful words, and said, "Tut! tut! 'tis a shame for the dogs, says +the proverb, when the fox is allowed to cast their excrements in the +peasant's well. Here will be a miracle! Thou useless fellow! with a coat +without arms, and a kirtle with skirts, wilt thou drive me out of the +country? Thy relation, Sigurd Woolsack, was sent before on this errand, +and one called Gille the Backthief, and one who had still a worse name. +They were a night in every house, and stole wherever they came. Wilt +thou drive me out of the country? Formerly thou wast not so mighty, and +thy pride was less when King Hakon, my foster-son, was in life. Then +thou wert as frightened for him when he met thee on the road as a mouse +in a mouse-trap, and hid thyself under a heap of clothes, like a dog on +board a ship. Thou wast thrust into a leather-bag like corn in a sack, +and driven from house and farm like a year-old colt from the mares; and +dost thou dare to drive me from the land? Thou shouldst rather think +thyself lucky to escape from hence with life. Let us stand up and attack +him." + +Then all his men stood up, and made a great clash with their weapons. +Then Svein Bryggjufot and the other lendermen saw there was no other +chance for Sigurd but to get him on horseback, which was done, and he +rode off into the forest. The end was that Sveinke returned home to his +farm, and Sigurd Ulstreng came, with great difficulty, by land north to +Throndhjem to King Magnus, and told the result of his errand. "Did I not +say," said the king, "that the help of my lendermen would be needed?" +Sigurd was ill pleased with his journey; insisted that he would be +revenged, cost what it will; and urged the king much. The king ordered +five ships to be fitted out; and as soon as they were ready for sea +he sailed south along the land, and then east to Viken, where he was +entertained in excellent guest-quarters by his lendermen. The king told +them he would seek out Sveinke. "For I will not conceal my suspicion +that he thinks to make himself king of Norway." They said that Sveinke +was both a powerful and an ungovernable man. Now the king went from +Viken until he came to Sveinke's farm. Then the lendermen desired that +they might be put on shore to see how matters stood; and when they came +to the land they saw that Sveinke had already come down from the farm, +and was on the road with a number of well-armed men. The lendermen held +up a white shield in the air, as a peace-token; and when Sveinke saw it +he halted his men, and they approached each other. Then said Kolbjorn +Klakke, "King Magnus sends thee God's salutation and his own, and bids +thee consider what becomes thee, and do him obedience, and not prepare +thyself to give him battle." Kolbjorn offered to mediate peace between +them, if he could, and told him to halt his troops. + +Sveinke said he would wait for them where he was. "We came out to meet +you," he said, "that ye might not tread down our corn-fields." + +The lendermen returned to the king, and told him all was now at his +pleasure. + +The king said, "My doom is soon delivered. He shall fly the country, and +never come back to Norway as long as the kingdom is mine; and he shall +leave all his goods behind." + +"But will it not be more for thy honour," said Kolbjorn, "and give thee +a higher reputation among other kings, if, in banishing him from the +country, thou shouldst allow him to keep his property, and show himself +among other people? And we shall take care that he never comes back +while we live. Consider of this, sire, by yourself, and have respect for +our assurance." + +The king replied, "Let him then go forth immediately." + +They went back, therefore, to Sveinke, and told him the king's words; +and also that the king had ordered him out of the country, and he should +show his obedience, since he had forgotten himself towards the king. +"It is for the honour of both that thou shouldst show obedience to the +king." + +Then Sveinke said, "There must be some great change if the king speaks +agreeably to me; but why should I fly the country and my properties? +Listen now to what I say. It appears to me better to die upon my +property than to fly from my udal estates. Tell the king that I will not +stir from them even an arrow-flight." + +Kolbjorn replied, "This is scarcely prudent, or right; for it is +better for one's own honour to give way to the best chief, than to make +opposition to one's own loss. A gallant man succeeds wheresoever he +goes; and thou wilt be the more respected wheresoever thou art, with men +of power, just because thou hast made head so boldly against so powerful +a chief. Hear our promises, and pay some attention to our errand. We +offer thee to manage thy estates, and take them faithfully under our +protection; and also never, against thy will, to pay scat for thy land +until thou comest back. We will pledge our lives and properties upon +this. Do not throw away good counsel from thee, and avoid thus the ill +fortune of other good men." + +Then Sveinke was silent for a short time, and said at last, "Your +endeavours are wise; but I have my suspicions that ye are changing +a little the king's message. In consideration, however, of the great +good-will that ye show me, I will hold your advice in such respect that +I will go out of the country for the whole winter, if, according to your +promises, I can then retain my estates in peace. Tell the king, also, +these my words, that I do this on your account, not on his." + +Thereupon they returned to the king, and said, that Sveinke left all in +the king's hands. "But entreats you to have respect to his honour. He +will be away for three years, and then come back, if it be the king's +pleasure. Do this; let all things be done according to what is suitable +for the royal dignity and according to our entreaty, now that the matter +is entirely in thy power, and we shall do all we can to prevent his +returning against thy will." + +The king replied, "Ye treat this matter like men, and, for your sakes, +shall all things be as ye desire. Tell him so." + +They thanked the king, and then went to Sveinke, and told him the +king's gracious intentions. "We will be glad," said they, "if ye can +be reconciled. The king requires, indeed that thy absence shall be for +three years; but, if we know the truth rightly, we expect that before +that time he will find he cannot do without thee in this part of the +country. It will be to thy own future honour, therefore, to agree to +this." + +Sveinke replies, "What condition is better than this? Tell the king that +I shall not vex him longer with my presence here, and accept of my goods +and estates on this condition." + +Thereupon he went home with his men, and set off directly; for he had +prepared everything beforehand. Kolbjorn remains behind, and makes +ready a feast for King Magnus, which also was thought of and prepared. +Sveinke, on the other hand, rides up to Gautland with all the men he +thought proper to take with him. The king let himself be entertained in +guest-quarters at his house, returned to Viken, and Sveinke's estates +were nominally the king's, but Kolbjorn had them under his charge. The +king received guest-quarters in Viken, proceeded from thence northwards, +and there was peace for a while; but now that the Elfgrims were without +a chief, marauding gangs infested them, and the king saw this eastern +part of the kingdom would be laid waste. It appeared to him, therefore, +most suitable and advisable to make Sveinke himself oppose the stream, +and twice he sent messages to him. But he did not stir until King Magnus +himself was south in Denmark, when Sveinke and the king met, and made +a full reconciliation; on which Sveinke returned home to his house and +estates, and was afterwards King Magnus's best and trustiest friend, +who strengthened his kingdom on the eastern border; and their friendship +continued as long as they lived. + + + + +9. KING MAGNUS MAKES WAR ON THE SOUTHERN HEBUDES. + +King Magnus undertook an expedition out of the country, with many fine +men and a good assortment of shipping. With this armament he sailed out +into the West sea, and first came to the Orkney Islands. There he took +the two earls, Paul and Erlend, prisoners, and sent them east to Norway, +and placed his son Sigurd as chief over the islands, leaving some +counsellors to assist him. From thence King Magnus, with his followers, +proceeded to the Southern Hebudes, and when he came there began to burn +and lay waste the inhabited places, killing the people and plundering +wherever he came with his men; and the country people fled in all +directions, some into Scotland-fjord, others south to Cantire, or out to +Ireland; some obtained life and safety by entering into his service. So +says Bjorn Krephende:-- + + "In Lewis Isle with fearful blaze + The house-destroying fire plays; + To hills and rocks the people fly, + Fearing all shelter but the sky. + In Uist the king deep crimson made + The lightning of his glancing blade; + The peasant lost his land and life + Who dared to bide the Norseman's strife. + The hunger battle-birds were filled + In Skye with blood of foemen killed, + And wolves on Tyree's lonely shore + Dyed red their hairy jaws in gore. + The men of Mull were tired of flight; + The Scottish foemen would not fight, + And many an island-girl's wail + Was heard as through the isles we strife sail." + + + + +10. OF LAGMAN, KING GUDROD'S SON. + +King Magnus came with his forces to the Holy Island (Iona), and gave +peace and safety to all men there. It is told that the king opened the +door of the little Columb's Kirk there, but did not go in, but instantly +locked the door again, and said that no man should be so bold as to go +into that church hereafter; which has been the case ever since. From +thence King Magnus sailed to Islay, where he plundered and burnt; +and when he had taken that country he proceeded south around Cantire, +marauding on both sides in Scotland and Ireland, and advanced with his +foray to Man, where he plundered. So says Bjorn Krephende:-- + + "On Sandey's plain our shield they spy: + From Isla smoke rose heaven-high, + Whirling up from the flashing blaze + The king's men o'er the island raise. + South of Cantire the people fled, + Scared by our swords in blood dyed red, + And our brave champion onward goes + To meet in Man the Norseman's foes." + +Lagman (Lawman) was the name of the son of Gudrod, king of the Hebudes. +Lawman was sent to defend the most northerly islands; but when King +Magnus and his army came to the Hebudes, Lawman fled here and there +about the isles, and at last King Magnus's men took him and his ship's +crew as he was flying over to Ireland. The king put him in irons to +secure him. So says Bjorn Krephende:-- + + "To Gudrod's son no rock or cave, + Shore-side or hill, a refuge gave; + Hunted around from isle to isle, + This Lawman found no safe asyle. + From isle to isle, o'er firth and sound, + Close on his track his foe he found. + At Ness the Agder chief at length + Seized him, and iron-chained his strength." + + + + +11. OF THE FALL OF EARL HUGE THE BRAVE. + +Afterwards King Magnus sailed to Wales; and when he came to the sound of +Anglesey there came against him an army from Wales, which was led by +two earls--Hugo the brave, and Hugo the Stout. They began immediately to +give battle, and there was a severe conflict. King Magnus shot with the +bow; but Huge the Brave was all over in armour, so that nothing was bare +about him excepting one eye. King Magnus let fly an arrow at him, as +also did a Halogaland man who was beside the king. They both shot at +once. The one shaft hit the nose-screen of the helmet, which was bent by +it to one side, and the other arrow hit the earl's eye, and went through +his head; and that was found to be the king's. Earl Huge fell, and the +Britons fled with the loss of many people. So says Bjorn Krephende:-- + + "The swinger of the sword + Stood by Anglesey's ford; + His quick shaft flew, + And Huge slew. + His sword gleamed a while + O'er Anglesey Isle, + And his Norsemen's band + Scoured the Anglesey land." + +There was also sung the following verse about it:-- + + "On the panzers arrows rattle, + Where our Norse king stands in battle; + From the helmets blood-streams flow, + Where our Norse king draws his bow: + His bowstring twangs,--its biting hail + Rattles against the ring-linked mail. + Up in the land in deadly strife + Our Norse king took Earl Huge's life." + +King Magnus gained the victory in this battle, and then took Anglesey +Isle, which was the farthest south the Norway kings of former days had +ever extended their rule. Anglesey is a third part of Wales. After +this battle King Magnus turned back with his fleet, and came first to +Scotland. Then men went between the Scottish king, Melkolm and King +Magnus, and a peace was made between them; so that all the islands lying +west of Scotland, between which and the mainland he could pass in a +vessel with her rudder shipped, should be held to belong to the king of +Norway. Now when King Magnus came north to Cantire, he had a skiff +drawn over the strand at Cantire, and shipped the rudder of it. The +king himself sat in the stern-sheets, and held the tiller; and thus he +appropriated to himself the land that lay on the farboard side. Cantire +is a great district, better than the best of the southern isles of the +Hebudes, excepting Man; and there is a small neck of land between it and +the mainland of Scotland, over which longships are often drawn. + + + + +12. DEATH OF THE EARLS OF ORKNEY. + +King Magnus was all the winter in the southern isles, and his men went +over all the fjords of Scotland, rowing within all the inhabited and +uninhabited isles, and took possession for the king of Norway of all +the islands west of Scotland. King Magnus contracted in marriage his son +Sigurd to Biadmynia, King Myrkjartan's daughter. Myrkjartan was a son of +the Irish king Thialfe, and ruled over Connaught. The summer after, King +Magnus, with his fleet, returned east to Norway. Earl Erland died of +sickness at Nidaros, and is buried there; and Earl Paul died in Bergen. + +Skopte Ogmundson, a grandson of Thorberg, was a gallant lenderman, who +dwelt at Giske in Sunmore, and was married to Gudrun, a daughter of +Thord Folason. Their children were Ogmund, Fin, Thord, and Thora, who +was married to Asolf Skulason. Skopte's and Gudrun's sons were the most +promising and popular men in their youth. + + + + +13. QUARRELS OF KING MAGNUS AND KING INGE. + +Steinkel, the Swedish king, died about the same time (A.D. 1066) as the +two Haralds fell, and the king who came after him in Svithjod was called +Hakon. Afterwards Inge, a son of Steinkel, was king, and was a good +and powerful king, strong and stout beyond most men; and he was king of +Svithjod when King Magnus was king of Norway. King Magnus insisted that +the boundaries of the countries in old times had been so, that the +Gaut river divided the kingdoms of the Swedish and Norwegian kings, but +afterwards the Vener lake up to Vermaland. Thus King Magnus insisted +that he was owner of all the places lying west of the Vener lake up +to Vermaland, which are the districts of Sundal, Nordal, Vear, and +Vardyniar, with all the woods belonging thereto. But these had for a +long time been under the Swedish dominion, and with respect to scat were +joined to West Gautland; and, besides, the forest-settlers preferred +being under the Swedish king. King Magnus rode from Viken up to Gautland +with a great and fine army, and when he came to the forest-settlements +he plundered and burnt all round; on which the people submitted, and +took the oath of fidelity to him. When he came to the Vener lake, +autumn was advanced and he went out to the island Kvaldinsey, and made +a stronghold of turf and wood, and dug a ditch around it. When the work +was finished, provisions and other necessaries that might be required +were brought to it. The king left in it 300 men, who were the chosen of +his forces, and Fin Skoptason and Sigurd Ulstreng as their commanders. +The king himself returned to Viken. + + + + +14. OF THE NORTHMEN. + +When the Swedish king heard this he drew together people, and the report +came that he would ride against these Northmen; but there was delay +about his riding, and the Northmen made these lines:-- + + "The fat-hipped king, with heavy sides, + Finds he must mount before he rides." + +But when the ice set in upon the Vener lake King Inge rode down, and had +near 300 men with him. He sent a message to the Northmen who sat in the +burgh that they might retire with all the booty they had taken, and go +to Norway. When the messengers brought this message, Sigurd Ulstreng +replied to it; saying that King Inge must take the trouble to come, if +he wished to drive them away like cattle out of a grass field, and said +he must come nearer if he wished them to remove. The messengers returned +with this answer to the king, who then rode out with all his army to +the island, and again sent a message to the Northmen that they might +go away, taking with them their weapons, clothes, and horses; but +must leave behind all their booty. This they refused. The king made an +assault upon them, and they shot at each other. Then the king ordered +timber and stones to be collected, and he filled up the ditch; and +then he fastened anchors to long spars which were brought up to the +timber-walls, and, by the strength of many hands, the walls were broken +down. Thereafter a large pile of wood was set on fire, and the lighted +brands were flung in among them. Then the Northmen asked for quarter. +The king ordered them to go out without weapons or cloaks. As they went +out each of them received a stroke with a whip, and then they set off +for Norway, and all the forest-men submitted again to King Inge. Sigurd +and his people went to King Magnus, and told him their misfortune. + + + + +15. KING MAGNUS AND GIPARDE. + +When King Magnus was east in Viken, there came to him a foreigner called +Giparde. He gave himself out for a good knight, and offered his services +to King Magnus; for he understood that in the king's dominions there was +something to be done. The king received him well. At that time the +king was preparing to go to Gautland, on which country the king had +pretensions; and besides he would repay the Gautland people the disgrace +they had occasioned him in spring, when he was obliged to fly from +them. He had then a great force in arms, and the West Gautlanders in the +northern districts submitted to him. He set up his camp on the borders, +intending to make a foray from thence. When King Inge heard of this +he collected troops, and hastened to oppose King Magnus; and when King +Magnus heard of this expedition, many of the chiefs of the people urged +him to turn back; but this the king would not listen to, but in the +night time went unsuspectedly against the Swedish king. They met at +Foxerne; and when he was drawing up his men in battle order he asked, +"Where is Giparde?" but he was not to be found. Then the king made these +verses:-- + + "Cannot the foreign knight abide + Our rough array?--where does he hide?" + +Then a skald who followed the king replied:-- + + "The king asks where the foreign knight + In our array rides to the fight: + Giparde the knight rode quite away + When our men joined in bloody fray. + When swords were wet the knight was slow + With his bay horse in front to go; + The foreign knight could not abide + Our rough array, and went to hide." + +There was a great slaughter, and after the battle the field was covered +with the Swedes slain, and King Inge escaped by flight. King Magnus +gained a great victory. Then came Giparde riding down from the country, +and people did not speak well of him for not being in the fight. He went +away, and proceeded westward to England; and the voyage was stormy, and +Giparde lay in bed. There was an Iceland man called Eldjarn, who went to +bale out the water in the ship's hold, and when he saw where Giparde was +lying he made this verse:-- + + "Does it beseem a courtman bold + Here to be dozing in the hold? + The bearded knight should danger face: + The leak gains on our ship apace. + Here, ply this bucket! bale who can; + We need the work of every man. + Our sea-horse stands full to the breast,-- + Sluggards and cowards must not rest." + +When they came west to England, Giparde said the Northmen had slandered +him. A meeting was appointed, and a count came to it, and the case was +brought before him for trial. He said he was not much acquainted with +law cases, as he was but young, and had only been a short time in +office; and also, of all things, he said what he least understood to +judge about was poetry. "But let us hear what it was." Then Eldjarn +sang:-- + + "I heard that in the bloody fight + Giparde drove all our foes to flight: + Brave Giparde would the foe abide, + While all our men ran off to hide. + At Foxerne the fight was won + By Giparde's valour all alone; + Where Giparde fought, alone was he; + Not one survived to fight or flee." + +Then said the count, "Although I know but little about skald-craft, +I can hear that this is no slander, but rather the highest praise and +honour." Giparde could say nothing against it, yet he felt it was a +mockery. + + + + +16. BATTLE OF FOXERNE. + +The spring after, as soon as the ice broke up, King Magnus, with a great +army, sailed eastwards to the Gaut river, and went up the eastern arm of +it, laying waste all that belonged to the Swedish dominions. When they +came to Foxerne they landed from their vessels; but as they came over +a river on their way an army of Gautland people came against them, +and there was immediately a great battle, in which the Northmen were +overwhelmed by numbers, driven to flight, and many of them killed near +to a waterfall. King Magnus fled, and the Gautlanders pursued, and +killed those they could get near. King Magnus was easily known. He was +a very stout man, and had a red short cloak over him, and bright yellow +hair like silk that fell over his shoulders. Ogmund Skoptason, who was +a tall and handsome man, rode on one side of the king. He said, "Sire, +give me that cloak." + +The king said, "What would you do with it?" + +"I would like to have it," said Ogmund; "and you have given me greater +gifts, sire." + +The road was such that there were great and wide plains, so that the +Gautlanders and Northmen were always in sight of each other, unless +where clumps of wood and bushes concealed them from each other now and +then. The king gave Ogmund the cloak and he put it on. When they came +out again upon the plain ground, Ogmund and his people rode off right +across the road. The Gautlanders, supposing this must be the king, rode +all after him, and the king proceeded to the ships. Ogmund escaped with +great difficulty; however, he reached the ships at last in safety. King +Magnus then sailed down the river, and proceeded north to Viken. + + + + +17. MEETING OF THE KINGS AT THE GAUT RIVER. + +The following summer a meeting of the kings was agreed upon at Konghelle +on the Gaut river; and King Magnus, the Swedish king, Inge, and the +Danish king, Eirik Sveinson, all met there, after giving each other safe +conduct to the meeting. Now when the Thing had sat down the kings went +forward upon the plain, apart from the rest of the people, and they +talked with each other a little while. Then they returned to their +people, and a treaty was brought about, by which each should possess the +dominions his forefathers had held before him; but each should make good +to his own men the waste and manslaughter suffered by them, and then +they should agree between themselves about settling this with each +other. King Magnus should marry King Inge's daughter Margaret, who +afterwards was called Peace-offering. This was proclaimed to the people; +and thus, within a little hour, the greatest enemies were made the best +of friends. + +It was observed by the people that none had ever seen men with more +of the air of chiefs than these had. King Inge was the largest and +stoutest, and, from his age, of the most dignified appearance. King +Magnus appeared the most gallant and brisk, and King Eirik the most +handsome. But they were all handsome men; stout, gallant, and ready in +speech. After this was settled they parted. + + + + +18. KING MAGNUS'S MARRIAGE. + +King Magnus got Margaret, King Inge's daughter, as above related; and +she was sent from Svithjod to Norway with an honourable retinue. King +Magnus had some children before, whose names shall here be given. The +one of his sons who was of a mean mother was called Eystein; the other, +who was a year younger, was called Sigurd, and his mother's name was +Thora. Olaf was the name of a third son, who was much younger than the +two first mentioned, and whose mother was Sigrid, a daughter of Saxe of +Vik, who was a respectable man in the Throndhjem country; she was the +king's concubine. People say that when King Magnus came home from +his viking cruise to the Western countries, he and many of his people +brought with them a great deal of the habits and fashion of clothing of +those western parts. They went about on the streets with bare legs, +and had short kirtles and over-cloaks; and therefore his men called +him Magnus Barefoot or Bareleg. Some called him Magnus the Tall, others +Magnus the Strife-lover. He was distinguished among other men by his +tall stature. The mark of his height is put down in Mary church, in the +merchant town of Nidaros, which King Harald built. In the northern door +there were cut into the wall three crosses, one for Harald's stature, +one for Olaf's, and one for Magnus's; and which crosses each of them +could with the greatest ease kiss. The upper was Harald's cross; the +lowest was Magnus's; and Olaf's was in the middle, about equally distant +from both. + +It is said that Magnus composed the following verses about the emperor's +daughter:-- + + "The ring of arms where blue swords gleam, + The battle-shout, the eagle's scream, + The Joy of war, no more can please: + Matilda is far o'er the seas. + My sword may break, my shield be cleft, + Of land or life I may be reft; + Yet I could sleep, but for one care,-- + One, o'er the seas, with light-brown hair." + +He also composed the following:-- + + "The time that breeds delay feels long, + The skald feels weary of his song; + What sweetens, brightens, eases life? + 'Tis a sweet-smiling lovely wife. + My time feels long in Thing affairs, + In Things my loved one ne'er appears. + The folk full-dressed, while I am sad, + Talk and oppose--can I be glad?" + +When King Magnus heard the friendly words the emperor's daughter had +spoken about him--that she had said such a man as King Magnus was +appeared to her an excellent man, he composed the following:-- + + "The lover hears,--across the sea, + A favouring word was breathed to me. + The lovely one with light-brown hair + May trust her thoughts to senseless air; + Her thoughts will find like thoughts in me; + And though my love I cannot see, + Affection's thoughts fly in the wind, + And meet each other, true and kind." + + + + +19. OF THE QUARREL OF KING MAGNUS AND SKOPTE. + +Skopte Ogmundson came into variance with King Magnus, and they +quarrelled about the inheritance of a deceased person which Skopte +retained; but the king demanded it with so much earnestness, that it had +a dangerous appearance. Many meetings were held about the affair, +and Skopte took the resolution that he and his son should never put +themselves into the king's power at the same time; and besides there was +no necessity to do so. When Skopte was with the king he represented to +him that there was relationship between the king and him; and also +that he, Skopte, had always been the king's friend, and his father's +likewise, and that their friendship had never been shaken. He added, +"People might know that I have sense enough not to hold a strife, sire, +with you, if I was wrong in what I asked; but it is inherited from my +ancestors to defend my rights against any man, without distinction of +persons." The king was just the same on this point, and his resolution +was by no means softened by such a speech. Then Skopte went home. + + + + +20. FIN SKOPTASON'S PROCEEDINGS. + +Then Fin Skoptason went to the king, spoke with him, and entreated +him to render justice to the father and son in this business. The king +answers angrily and sharply. Then said Fin, "I expected something else, +sire, from you, than that you would use the law's vexations against +me when I took my seat in Kvaldinsey Island, which few of your other +friends would do; as they said, what was true, that those who were left +there were deserted and doomed to death, if King Inge had not shown +greater generosity to us than you did; although many consider that we +brought shame and disgrace only from thence." The king was not to be +moved by this speech, and Fin returned home. + + + + +21. OGMUND SKOPTASON'S PROCEEDINGS. + +Then came Ogmund Skoptason to the king; and when he came before him he +produced his errand, and begged the king to do what was right and proper +towards him and his father. The king insisted that the right was on his +side, and said they were "particularly impudent." + +Then said Ogmund, "It is a very easy thing for thee, having the power, +to do me and my father injustice; and I must say the old proverb is +true, that one whose life you save gives none, or a very bad return. +This I shall add, that never again shall I come into thy service; nor +my father, if I can help it." Then Ogmund went home, and they never saw +each other again. + + + + +22. SKOPTE OGMUNDSON'S VOYAGE ABROAD. + +The spring after, Skopte Ogmundson made ready to travel out of the +country. They had five long-ships all well equipped. His sons, Ogmund, +Fin, and Thord, accompanied him on this journey. It was very late before +they were ready, and in autumn they went over to Flanders, and wintered +there. Early in spring they sailed westward to Valland, and stayed there +all summer. Then they sailed further, and through Norvasund; and came +in autumn to Rome, where Skopte died. All, both father and sons, died +on this journey. Thord, who died in Sicily, lived the longest. It is a +common saying among the people that Skopte was the first Northman who +sailed through Norvasund; and this voyage was much celebrated. + + + + +23. MIRACLE OF KING OLAF THE SAINT AT A FIRE. + +It happened once in the merchant town (Nidaros) where King Olaf reposes, +that there broke out a fire in the town which spread around. Then +Olaf's shrine was taken out of the church, and set up opposite the fire. +Thereupon came a crazy foolish man, struck the shrine, threatened the +holy saint, and said all must be consumed by the flames, both churches +and other houses, if he did not save them by his prayers. Now the +burning of the church did cease, by the help of Almighty God; but the +insane man got sore eyes on the following night, and he lay there until +King Olaf entreated God Almighty to be merciful to him; after which he +recovered in the same church. + + + + +24. MIRACLE OF KING OLAF ON A LAME WOMAN. + +It happened once in the merchant town that a woman was brought to the +place where the holy King Olaf reposes. She was so miserably shaped, +that she was altogether crumpled up; so that both her feet lay in a +circle against her loins. But as she was diligent in her prayers, often +weeping and making vows to King Olaf, he cured her great infirmities; so +that feet, legs, and other limbs straightened, and every limb and part +came to the right use for which they were made. Before she could not +creep there, and now she went away active and brisk to her family and +home. + + + + +25. WAR IN IRELAND. + +When King Magnus had been nine years king of Norway (A.D. 1094-1102), he +equipped himself to go out of the country with a great force. He sailed +out into the West sea with the finest men who could be got in Norway. +All the powerful men of the country followed him; such as Sigurd +Hranason, Vidkun Jonson, Dag Eilifson, Serk of Sogn, Eyvind Olboge, the +king's marshal Ulf Hranason, brother of Sigurd, and many other great +men. With all this armament the king sailed west to the Orkney Islands, +from whence he took with him Earl Erlend's sons, Magnus and Erling, +and then sailed to the southern Hebudes. But as he lay under the Scotch +land, Magnus Erlendson ran away in the night from the king's ship, swam +to the shore, escaped into the woods, and came at last to the Scotch +king's court. King Magnus sailed to Ireland with his fleet, and +plundered there. King Myrkjartan came to his assistance, and they +conquered a great part of the country, both Dublin and Dyflinnarskire +(Dublin shire). King Magnus was in winter (A.D. 1102) up in Connaught +with King Myrkjartan, but set men to defend the country he had taken. +Towards spring both kings went westward with their army all the way +to Ulster, where they had many battles, subdued the country, and had +conquered the greatest part of Ulster when Myrkjartan returned home to +Connaught. + + + + +26. KING MAGNUS'S FORAY ON THE LAND. + +King Magnus rigged his ships, and intended returning to Norway, but set +his men to defend the country of Dublin. He lay at Ulster ready for +sea with his whole fleet. As they thought they needed cattle for +ship-provision, King Magnus sent a message to King Myrkjartan, telling +him to send some cattle for slaughter; and appointed the day before +Bartholomew's day as the day they should arrive, if the messengers +reached him in safety; but the cattle had not made their appearance the +evening before Bartholomew's mass. On the mass-day itself, when the sun +rose in the sky, King Magnus went on shore himself with the greater part +of his men, to look after his people, and to carry off cattle from the +coast. The weather was calm, the sun shone, and the road lay through +mires and mosses, and there were paths cut through; but there was +brushwood on each side of the road. When they came somewhat farther, +they reached a height from which they had a wide view. They saw from +it a great dust rising up the country, as of horsemen, and they said +to each other, "That must be the Irish army;" but others said, "It was +their own men returning with the cattle." They halted there; and Eyvind +Olboge said, "How, sire, do you intend to direct the march? The men +think we are advancing imprudently. You know the Irish are treacherous; +think, therefore, of a good counsel for your men." Then the king said, +"Let us draw up our men, and be ready, if there be treachery." This was +done, and the king and Eyvind went before the line. King Magnus had a +helmet on his head; a red shield, in which was inlaid a gilded lion; +and was girt with the sword of Legbit, of which the hilt was of tooth +(ivory), and handgrip wound about with gold thread; and the sword was +extremely sharp. In his hand he had a short spear, and a red silk short +cloak, over his coat, on which, both before and behind, was embroidered +a lion in yellow silk; and all men acknowledged that they never had +seen a brisker, statelier man. Eyvind had also a red silk cloak like the +king's; and he also was a stout, handsome, warlike man. + + + + +27. FALL OF KING MAGNUS. + +When the dust-cloud approached nearer they knew their own men, who were +driving the cattle. The Irish king had been faithful to the promises he +had given the king, and had sent them. Thereupon they all turned towards +the ships, and it was mid-day. When they came to the mires they went +but slowly over the boggy places; and then the Irish started up on every +side against them from every bushy point of land, and the battle began +instantly. The Northmen were going divided in various heaps, so that +many of them fell. + +Then said Eyvind to the king, "Unfortunate is this march to our people, +and we must instantly hit upon some good plan." + +The king answered, "Call all the men together with the war-horns under +the banner, and the men who are here shall make a rampart with their +shields, and thus we will retreat backwards out of the mires; and we +will clear ourselves fast enough when we get upon firm ground." + +The Irish shot boldly; and although they fell in crowds, there came +always two in the place of one. Now when the king had come to the +nearest ditch there was a very difficult crossing, and few places were +passable; so that many Northmen fell there. Then the king called to his +lenderman Thorgrim Skinhufa, who was an Upland man, and ordered him to +go over the ditch with his division. "We shall defend you," said he, "in +the meantime, so that no harm shall come to you. Go out then to those +holms, and shoot at them from thence; for ye are good bowmen." + +When Thorgrim and his men came over the ditch they cast their shields +behind their backs, and set off to the ships. + +When the king saw this, he said, "Thou art deserting thy king in an +unmanly way. I was foolish in making thee a lenderman, and driving +Sigurd Hund out of the country; for never would he have behaved so." + +King Magnus received a wound, being pierced by a spear through both +thighs above the knees. The king laid hold of the shaft between his +legs, broke the spear in two, and said, "Thus we break spear-shafts, +my lads; let us go briskly on. Nothing hurts me." A little after King +Magnus was struck in the neck with an Irish axe, and this was his +death-wound. Then those who were behind fled. Vidkun Jonson instantly +killed the man who had given the king his death-wound, and fled, after +having received three wounds; but brought the king's banner and the +sword Legbit to the ships. Vidkun was the last man who fled; the other +next to him was Sigurd Hranason, and the third before him, Dag Eilifson. +There fell with King Magnus, Eyvind Olboge, Ulf Hranason, and many other +great people. Many of the Northmen fell, but many more of the Irish. +The Northmen who escaped sailed away immediately in autumn. Erling, Earl +Erlend's'son, fell with King Magnus in Ireland; but the men who fled +from Ireland came to the Orkney Islands. Now when King Sigurd heard that +his father had fallen, he set off immediately, leaving the Irish king's +daughter behind, and proceeded in autumn with the whole fleet directly +to Norway. + + + + +28. OF KING MAGNUS AND VIDKUN JONSON. + +King Magnus was ten years king of Norway (A.D. 1094-1105), and in his +days there was good peace kept within the country; but the people were +sorely oppressed with levies. King Magnus was beloved by his men, but +the bondes thought him harsh. The words have been transmitted from him +that he said when his friends observed that he proceeded incautiously +when he was on his expeditions abroad,--"The kings are made for honour, +not for long life." King Magnus was nearly thirty years of age when he +fell. Vidkun did not fly until he had killed the man who gave the king +his mortal wound, and for this cause King Magnus's sons had him in the +most affectionate regard. + + + + +SAGA OF SIGURD THE CRUSADER AND HIS BROTHERS EYSTEIN AND OLAF. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +"Agrip", "Fagrskinna", and "Morkinskinna" more or less complete the +story of the sons of Magnus. They contain some things omitted by Snorre, +while, on the other hand, some facts related by Snorre are not found in +the above sources. + +Thjodrek the Monk tells of Sigurd that he made a Journey to Jerusalem, +conquered many heathen cities, and among them Sidon; that he captured +a cave defended by robbers, received presents from Baldwin, returned to +Norway in Eystein's lifetime, and became insane, as a result, as some +say, of a poisonous drink. + +The three brothers became kings in the year A.D. 1103. Olaf died 1115, +Eystein 1122 or 1123, Sigurd 1130. + +Skalds quoted in this saga are: Thorarin Stutfeld, Einar Skulason, +Haldor Skvaldre, and Arne Fjoruskeif. + + + + +1. BEGINNING OF THE REIGN OF KING MAGNUS'S SONS. + +After King Magnus Barefoot's fall, his sons, Eystein, Sigurd, and Olaf, +took the kingdom of Norway. Eystein got the northern, and Sigurd the +southern part of the country. King Olaf was then four or five years old, +and the third part of the country which he had was under the management +of his two brothers. King Sigurd was chosen king when he was thirteen or +fourteen years old, and Eystein was a year older. King Sigurd left +west of the sea the Irish king's daughter. When King Magnus's sons were +chosen kings, the men who had followed Skopte Ogmundson returned home. +Some had been to Jerusalem, some to Constantinople; and there they had +made themselves renowned, and they had many kinds of novelties to talk +about. By these extraordinary tidings many men in Norway were incited to +the same expedition; and it was also told that the Northmen who liked to +go into the military service at Constantinople found many opportunities +of getting property. Then these Northmen desired much that one of the +two kings, either Eystein or Sigurd, should go as commander of the troop +which was preparing for this expedition. The kings agreed to this, and +carried on the equipment at their common expense. Many great men, both +of the lendermen and bondes, took part in this enterprise; and when all +was ready for the journey it was determined that Sigurd should go, +and Eystein in the meantime, should rule the kingdom upon their joint +account. + + + + +2. OF THE EARLS OF ORKNEY. + +A year or two after King Magnus Barefoot's fall, Hakon, a son of Earl +Paul, came from Orkney. The kings gave him the earldom and government +of the Orkney Islands, as the earls before him, his father Paul or +his Uncle Erland, had possessed it; and Earl Hakon then sailed back +immediately to Orkney. + + + + +3. KING SIGURD'S JOURNEY OUT OF THE COUNTRY. + +Four years after the fall of King Magnus (A.D. 1107), King Sigurd sailed +with his people from Norway. He had then sixty ships. So says Thorarin +Stutfeld:-- + + "A young king just and kind, + People of loyal mind: + Such brave men soon agree,-- + To distant lands they sail with glee. + To the distant Holy Land + A brave and pious band, + Magnificent and gay, + In sixty long-ships glide away." + +King Sigurd sailed in autumn to England, where Henry, son of William the +Bastard, was then king, and Sigurd remained with him all winter. So says +Einar Skulason:-- + + "The king is on the waves! + The storm he boldly braves. + His ocean-steed, + With winged speed, + O'er the white-flashing surges, + To England's coast he urges; + And there he stays the winter o'er: + More gallant king ne'er trod that shore." + + + + +4. OF KING SIGURD'S JOURNEY. + +In spring King Sigurd and his fleet sailed westward to Valland (A.D. +1108), and in autumn came to Galicia, where he stayed the second winter +(A.D. 1109). So says Einar Skulason:-- + + "Our king, whose land so wide + No kingdom stands beside, + In Jacob's land next winter spent, + On holy things intent; + And I have heard the royal youth + Cut off an earl who swerved from truth. + Our brave king will endure no ill,-- + The hawks with him will get their fill." + +It went thus:--The earl who ruled over the land made an agreement with +King Sigurd, that he should provide King Sigurd and his men a market at +which they could purchase victuals all the winter; but this he did not +fulfil longer than to about Yule. It began then to be difficult to get +food and necessaries, for it is a poor barren land. Then King Sigurd +with a great body of men went against a castle which belonged to the +earl; and the earl fled from it, having but few people. King Sigurd took +there a great deal of victuals and of other booty, which he put on board +of his ships, and then made ready and proceeded westward to Spain. It so +fell out, as the king was sailing past Spain, that some vikings who were +cruising for plunder met him with a fleet of galleys, and King Sigurd +attacked them. This was his first battle with heathen men; and he won +it, and took eight galleys from them. So says Haldor Skvaldre:-- + + "Bold vikings, not slow + To the death-fray to go, + Meet our Norse king by chance, + And their galleys advance. + The bold vikings lost + Many a man of their host, + And eight galleys too, + With cargo and crew." + +Thereafter King Sigurd sailed against a castle called Sintre and fought +another battle. This castle is in Spain, and was occupied by many +heathens, who from thence plundered Christian people. King Sigurd took +the castle, and killed every man in it, because they refused to be +baptized; and he got there an immense booty. So says Haldor Skvaldre:-- + + "From Spain I have much news to tell + Of what our generous king befell. + And first he routs the viking crew, + At Cintra next the heathens slew; + The men he treated as God's foes, + Who dared the true faith to oppose. + No man he spared who would not take + The Christian faith for Jesus' sake." + + + + +5. LISBON TAKEN. + +After this King Sigurd sailed with his fleet to Lisbon, which is a +great city in Spain, half Christian and half heathen; for there lies +the division between Christian Spain and heathen Spain, and all the +districts which lie west of the city are occupied by heathens. There +King Sigurd had his third battle with the heathens, and gained the +victory, and with it a great booty. So says Haldor Skvaldre:-- + + "The son of kings on Lisbon's plains + A third and bloody battle gains. + He and his Norsemen boldly land, + Running their stout ships on the strand." + +Then King Sigurd sailed westwards along heathen Spain, and brought up +at a town called Alkasse; and here he had his fourth battle with the +heathens, and took the town, and killed so many people that the town +was left empty. They got there also immense booty. So says Haldor +Skvaldre:-- + + "A fourth great battle, I am told, + Our Norse king and his people hold + At Alkasse; and here again + The victory fell to our Norsemen." + +And also this verse:-- + + "I heard that through the town he went, + And heathen widows' wild lament + Resounded in the empty halls; + For every townsman flies or falls." + + + + +6. BATTLE IN THE ISLAND FORMINTERRA. + +King Sigurd then proceeded on his voyage, and came to Norfasund; and +in the sound he was met by a large viking force, and the king gave them +battle; and this was his fifth engagement with heathens since the +time he left Norway. He gained the victory here also. So says Haldor +Skvaldre:-- + + "Ye moistened your dry swords with blood, + As through Norfasund ye stood; + The screaming raven got a feast, + As ye sailed onward to the East." + +King Sigurd then sailed eastward along the coast of Serkland, and came +to an island there called Forminterra. There a great many heathen Moors +had taken up their dwelling in a cave, and had built a strong stone wall +before its mouth. They harried the country all round, and carried all +their booty to their cave. King Sigurd landed on this island, and went +to the cave; but it lay in a precipice, and there was a high winding +path to the stone wall, and the precipice above projected over it. The +heathens defended the stone wall, and were not afraid of the Northmen's +arms; for they could throw stones, or shoot down upon the Northmen under +their feet; neither did the Northmen, under such circumstances, dare +to mount up. The heathens took their clothes and other valuable things, +carried them out upon the wall, spread them out before the Northmen, +shouted, and defied them, and upbraided them as cowards. Then Sigurd +fell upon this plan. He had two ship's boats, such as we call barks, +drawn up the precipice right above the mouth of the cave; and had thick +ropes fastened around the stem, stern, and hull of each. In these boats +as many men went as could find room, and then the boats were lowered +by the ropes down in front of the mouth of the cave; and the men in the +boats shot with stones and missiles into the cave, and the heathens were +thus driven from the stone wall. Then Sigurd with his troops climbed +up the precipice to the foot of the stone wall, which they succeeded in +breaking down, so that they came into the cave. Now the heathens fled +within the stone wall that was built across the cave; on which the king +ordered large trees to be brought to the cave, made a great pile in the +mouth of it, and set fire to the wood. When the fire and smoke got the +upper hand, some of the heathens lost their lives in it; some fled; some +fell by the hands of the Northmen; and part were killed, part burned; +and the Northmen made the greatest booty they had got on all their +expeditions. So says Halder Skvaldre:-- + + "Forminterra lay + In the victor's way; + His ships' stems fly + To victory. + The bluemen there + Must fire bear, + And Norsemen's steel + At their hearts feel." + +And also thus:-- + + "'Twas a feat of renown,-- + The boat lowered down, + With a boat's crew brave, + In front of the cave; + While up the rock scaling, + And comrades up trailing, + The Norsemen gain, + And the bluemen are slain." + +And also Thorarin Stutfeld says:-- + + "The king's men up the mountain's side + Drag two boats from the ocean's tide; + The two boats lay, + Like hill-wolves grey. + Now o'er the rock in ropes they're swinging + Well manned, and death to bluemen bringing; + They hang before + The robber's door." + + + + +7. OF THE BATTLES OF IVIZA AND MINORCA. + +Thereafter King Sigurd proceeded on his expedition, and came to an +island called Iviza (Ivica), and had there his seventh battle, and +gained a victory. So says Haldor Skvaldre:-- + + "His ships at Ivica now ride, + The king's, whose fame spreads far and wide; + And hear the bearers of the shield + Their arms again in battle wield." + +Thereafter King Sigurd came to an island called Manork (Minorca), and +held there his eighth battle with heathen men, and gained the victory. +So says Haldor Skvaldre:-- + + "On green Minorca's plains + The eighth battle now he gains: + Again the heathen foe + Falls at the Norse king's blow." + + + + +8. DUKE ROGER MADE A KING. + +In spring King Sigurd came to Sicily (A.D. 1109), and remained a long +time there. There was then a Duke Roger in Sicily, who received the king +kindly, and invited him to a feast. King Sigurd came to it with a great +retinue, and was splendidly entertained. Every day Duke Roger stood at +the company's table, doing service to the king; but the seventh day of +the feast, when the people had come to table, and had wiped their hands, +King Sigurd took the duke by the hand, led him up to the high-seat, and +saluted him with the title of king; and gave the right that there should +be always a king over the dominion of Sicily, although before there had +only been earls or dukes over that country. + + + + +9. OF KING ROGER. + +King Roger of Sicily was a very great king. He won and subdued all +Apulia, and many large islands besides in the Greek sea; and therefore +he was called Roger the Great. His son was William, king of Sicily, who +for a long time had great hostility with the emperor of Constantinople. +King William had three daughters, but no son. One of his daughters he +married to the Emperor Henry, a son of the Emperor Frederik; and their +son was Frederik, who for a short time after was emperor of Rome. His +second daughter was married to the Duke of Kipr. The third daughter, +Margaret, was married to the chief of the corsairs; but the Emperor +Henry killed both these brothers-in-law. The daughter of Roger +the Great, king of Sicily, was married to the Emperor Manuel of +Constantinople; and their son was the Emperor Kirjalax. + + + + +10. KING SIGURD'S EXPEDITION TO PALESTINE. + +In the summer (A.D. 1110) King Sigurd sailed across the Greek sea to +Palestine, and thereupon went up to Jerusalem, where he met Baldwin, +king of Palestine. King Baldwin received him particularly well, and rode +with him all the way to the river Jordan, and then back to the city of +Jerusalem. Einar Skulason speaks thus of it:-- + + "Good reason has the skald to sing + The generous temper of the king, + Whose sea-cold keel from northern waves + Ploughs the blue sea that green isles laves. + At Acre scarce were we made fast, + In holy ground our anchors cast, + When the king made a joyful morn + To all who toil with him had borne." + +And again he made these lines:-- + + "To Jerusalem he came, + He who loves war's noble game, + (The skald no greater monarch finds + Beneath the heaven's wide hall of winds) + All sin and evil from him flings + In Jordan's wave: for all his sins + (Which all must praise) he pardon wins." + +King Sigurd stayed a long time in the land of Jerusalem (Jorsalaland) in +autumn, and in the beginning of winter. + + + + +11. SIDON TAKEN. + +King Baldwin made a magnificent feast for King Sigurd and many of his +people, and gave him many holy relics. By the orders of King Baldwin +and the patriarch, there was taken a splinter off the holy cross; and +on this holy relic both made oath, that this wood was of the holy cross +upon which God Himself had been tortured. Then this holy relic was given +to King Sigurd; with the condition that he, and twelve other men with +him, should swear to promote Christianity with all his power, and erect +an archbishop's seat in Norway if he could; and also that the cross +should be kept where the holy King Olaf reposed, and that he should +introduce tithes, and also pay them himself. After this King Sigurd +returned to his ships at Acre; and then King Baldwin prepared to go to +Syria, to a heathen town called Saet. On this expedition King Sigurd +accompanied him, and after the kings had besieged the town some time it +surrendered, and they took possession of it, and of a great treasure of +money; and their men found other booty. King Sigurd made a present of +his share to King Baldwin. So say Haldor Skvaldre:-- + + "He who for wolves provides the feast + Seized on the city in the East, + The heathen nest; and honour drew, + And gold to give, from those he slew." + +Einar Skulason also tells of it:-- + + "The Norsemen's king, the skalds relate, + Has ta'en the heathen town of Saet: + The slinging engine with dread noise + Gables and roofs with stones destroys. + The town wall totters too,--it falls; + The Norsemen mount the blackened walls. + He who stains red the raven's bill + Has won,--the town lies at his will." + +Thereafter King Sigurd went to his ships and made ready to leave +Palestine. They sailed north to the island Cyprus; and King Sigurd +stayed there a while, and then went to the Greek country, and came +to the land with all his fleet at Engilsnes. Here he lay still for a +fortnight, although every day it blew a breeze for going before the wind +to the north; but Sigurd would wait a side wind, so that the sails might +stretch fore and aft in the ship; for in all his sails there was silk +joined in, before and behind in the sail, and neither those before nor +those behind the ships could see the slightest appearance of this, if +the vessel was before the wind; so they would rather wait a side wind. + + + + +12. SIGURD'S EXPEDITION TO CONSTANTINOPLE. + +When King Sigurd sailed into Constantinople, he steered near the land. +Over all the land there are burghs, castles, country towns, the one upon +the other without interval. There from the land one could see into the +bights of the sails; and the sails stood so close beside each other, +that they seemed to form one enclosure. All the people turned out to see +King Sigurd sailing past. The Emperor Kirjalax had also heard of King +Sigurd's expedition, and ordered the city port of Constantinople to be +opened, which is called the Gold Tower, through which the emperor rides +when he has been long absent from Constantinople, or has made a campaign +in which he has been victorious. The emperor had precious cloths spread +out from the Gold Tower to Laktjarna, which is the name of the emperor's +most splendid hall. King Sigurd ordered his men to ride in great state +into the city, and not to regard all the new things they might see; +and this they did. King Sigurd and his followers rode with this great +splendour into Constantinople, and then came to the magnificent hall, +where everything was in the grandest style. + +King Sigurd remained here some time. The Emperor Kirjalax sent his men +to him to ask if he would rather accept from the emperor six lispund of +gold, or would have the emperor give the games in his honour which the +emperor was used to have played at the Padreim. King Sigurd preferred +the games, and the messengers said the spectacle would not cost the +emperor less than the money offered. Then the emperor prepared for the +games, which were held in the usual way; but this day everything went +on better for the king than for the queen; for the queen has always the +half part in the games, and their men, therefore, always strive against +each other in all games. The Greeks accordingly think that when the +king's men win more games at the Padreim than the queen's, the king +will gain the victory when he goes into battle. People who have been in +Constantinople tell that the Padreim is thus constructed:--A high +wall surrounds a flat plain, which may be compared to a round bare +Thing-place, with earthen banks all around at the stone wall, on which +banks the spectators sit; but the games themselves are in the flat +plain. There are many sorts of old events represented concerning the +Asas, Volsungs, and Giukungs, in these games; and all the figures are +cast in copper, or metal, with so great art that they appear to be +living things; and to the people it appears as if they were really +present in the games. The games themselves are so artfully and cleverly +managed, that people appear to be riding in the air; and at them also +are used shot-fire (1), and all kinds of harp-playing, singing, and +music instruments. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Fireworks, or the Greek fire, probably were used.--L. + + + + +13. SIGURD AND THE EMPEROR OF CONSTANTINOPLE. + +It is related that King Sigurd one day was to give the emperor a feast, +and he ordered his men to provide sumptuously all that was necessary for +the entertainment; and when all things were provided which are suitable +for an entertainment given by a great personage to persons of high +dignity, King Sigurd ordered his men to go to the street in the city +where firewood was sold, as they would require a great quantity to +prepare the feast. They said the king need not be afraid of wanting +firewood, for every day many loads were brought into the town. When it +was necessary, however, to have firewood, it was found that it was all +sold, which they told the king. He replied, "Go and try if you can get +walnuts. They will answer as well as wood for fuel." They went and +got as many as they needed. Now came the emperor, and his grandees and +court, and sat down to table. All was very splendid; and King +Sigurd received the emperor with great state, and entertained him +magnificently. When the queen and the emperor found that nothing +was wanting, she sent some persons to inquire what they had used for +firewood; and they came to a house filled with walnuts, and they came +back and told the queen. "Truly," said she, "this is a magnificent king, +who spares no expense where his honour is concerned." She had contrived +this to try what they would do when they could get no firewood to dress +their feast with. + + + + +14. KING SIGURD THE CRUSADER'S RETURN HOME. + +King Sigurd soon after prepared for his return home. He gave the emperor +all his ships; and the valuable figureheads which were on the king's +ships were set up in Peter's church, where they have since been to be +seen. The emperor gave the king many horses and guides to conduct him +through all his dominions. Then King Sigurd left Constantinople; but a +great many Northmen remained, and went into the emperor's pay. Then King +Sigurd traveled from Bulgaria, and through Hungary, Pannonia. Suabia, +and Bavaria, where he met the Roman emperor, Lotharius, who received him +in the most friendly way, gave him guides through his dominions, and had +markets established for him at which he could purchase all he required. +When King Sigurd came to Slesvik in Denmark, Earl Eilif made a sumptuous +feast for him; and it was then midsummer. In Heidaby he met the Danish +king, Nikolas, who received him in the most friendly way, made a great +entertainment for him, accompanied him north to Jutland, and gave him a +ship provided with everything needful. From thence the king returned +to Norway, and was joyfully welcomed on his return to his kingdom (A.D. +1110). It was the common talk among the people, that none had ever +made so honourable a journey from Norway as this of King Sigurd. He +was twenty years of age, and had been three years on these travels. His +brother Olaf was then twelve years old. + + + + +15. EYSTEIN'S DOINGS IN THE MEANTIME. + +King Eystein had also effected much in the country that was useful while +King Sigurd was on his journey. He established a monastery at Nordnes +in Bergen, and endowed it with much property. He also built Michael's +church, which is a very splendid stone temple. In the king's house there +he also built the Church of the Apostles, and the great hall, which is +the most magnificent wooden structure that was ever built in Norway. +He also built a church at Agdanes with a parapet; and a harbour, where +formerly there had been a barren spot only. In Nidaros he built in +the king's street the church of Saint Nikolas, which was particularly +ornamented with carved work, and all in wood. He also built a church +north in Vagar in Halogaland, and endowed it with property and revenues. + + + + +16. OF KING EYSTEIN. + +King Eystein sent a verbal message to the most intelligent and powerful +of the men of Jamtaland, and invited them to him; received them all as +they came with great kindness; accompanied them part of the way home, +and gave them presents, and thus enticed them into a friendship with +him. Now as many of them became accustomed to visit him and receive +gifts from him, and he also sent gifts to some who did not come +themselves, he soon gained the favour of all the people who had most +influence in the country. Then he spoke to the Jamtaland people, and +told them they had done ill in turning away from the kings of Norway, +and withdrawing from them their taxes and allegiance. He began by +saying how the Jamtaland people had submitted to the reign of Hakon, the +foster-son of Athelstane, and had long afterwards been subjected to the +kings of Norway, and he represented to them how many useful things they +could get from Norway, and how inconvenient it was for them to apply +to the Swedish king for what they needed. By these speeches he brought +matters so far that the Jamtaland people of their own accord offered to +be subject to him, which they said was useful and necessary for them; +and thus, on both sides, it was agreed that the Jamtalanders should put +their whole country under King Eystein. The first beginning was with the +men of consequence, who persuaded the people to take an oath of fidelity +to King Eystein; and then they went to King Eystein and confirmed the +country to him by oath; and this arrangement has since continued for a +long time. King Eystein thus conquered Jamtaland by his wisdom, and not +by hostile inroads, as some of his forefathers had done. + + + + +17. OF KING EYSTEIN'S PERFECTIONS. + +King Eystein was the handsomest man that could be seen. He had blue +open eyes; his hair yellow and curling; his stature not tall, but of the +middle size. He was wise, intelligent, and acquainted with the laws and +history. He had much knowledge of mankind, was quick in counsel, prudent +in words, and very eloquent and very generous. He was very merry, yet +modest; and was liked and beloved, indeed, by all the people. He was +married to Ingebjorg, a daughter of Guthorm, son of Thorer of Steig; and +their daughter was Maria, who afterwards married Gudbrand Skafhogson. + + + + +18. OF IVAR INGIMUNDSON. + +King Eystein had in many ways improved the laws and priveleges of the +country people, and kept strictly to the laws; and he made himself +acquainted with all the laws of Norway, and showed in everything great +prudence and understanding. What a valuable man King Eystein was, how +full of friendship, and how much he turned his mind to examining and +avoiding everything that could be of disadvantage to his friends, may be +seen from his friendship to an Iceland man called Ivar Ingimundson. The +man was witty, of great family, and also a poet. The king saw that Ivar +was out of spirits, and asked him why he was so melancholy. "Before, +when thou wast with us, we had much amusement with thy conversation. I +know thou art a man of too good an understanding to believe that I would +do anything against thee. Tell me then what it is." + +He replied, "I cannot tell thee what it is." + +Then said the king, "I will try to guess what it is. Are there any men +who displease thee?" + +To this he replied, "No." + +"Dost thou think thou art held in less esteem by me than thou wouldst +like to be?" + +To this he also replied, "No." + +"Hast thou observed anything whatever that has made an impression on +thee at which thou art ill pleased?" + +He replied, it was not this either. + +The king: "Would you like to go to other chiefs or to other men?" + +To this he answered, "No." + +The king: "It is difficult now to guess. Is there any girl here, or in +any other country, to whom thy affections are engaged?" + +He said it was so. + +The king said, "Do not be melancholy on that account. Go to Iceland +when spring sets in, and I shall give thee money, and presents, and with +these my letters and seal to the men who have the principal sway there; +and I know no man there who will not obey my persuasions or threats." + +Ivar replied, "My fate is heavier, sire; for my own brother has the +girl." + +Then said the king, "Throw it out of thy mind; and I know a counsel +against this. After Yule I will travel in guest-quarters. Thou shalt +come along with me, and thou will have an opportunity of seeing many +beautiful girls; and, provided they are not of the royal stock, I will +get thee one of them in marriage." + +Ivar replies, "Sire, my fate is still the heavier; for as oft as I see +beautiful and excellent girls I only remember the more that girl, and +they increase my misery." + +The king: "Then I will give thee property to manage, and estates for thy +amusement." + +He replied, "For that I have no desire." + +The king: "Then I will give thee money, that thou mayest travel in other +countries." + +He said he did not wish this. + +Then said the king, "It is difficult for me to seek farther, for I have +proposed everything that occurs to me. There is but one thing else; +and that is but little compared to what I have offered thee. Come to me +every day after the tables are removed, and, if I am not sitting upon +important business, I shall talk with thee about the girl in every way +that I can think of; and I shall do so at leisure. It sometimes happens +that sorrow is lightened by being brought out openly; and thou shalt +never go away without some gift." + +He replied, "This I will do, sire, and return thanks for this inquiry." + +And now they did so constantly; and when the king was not occupied with +weightier affairs he talked with him, and his sorrow by degrees wore +away, and he was again in good spirits. + + + + +19. OF KING SIGURD. + +King Sigurd was a stout and strong man, with brown hair; of a manly +appearance, but not handsome; well grown; of little speech, and often +not friendly, but good to his friends, and faithful; not very eloquent, +but moral and polite. King Sigurd was self-willed, and severe in his +revenge; strict in observing the law; was generous; and withal an +able, powerful king. His brother Olaf was a tall, thin man; handsome +in countenance; lively, modest, and popular. When all these brothers, +Eystein, Sigurd and Olaf were kings of Norway, they did away with many +burthens which the Danes had laid upon the people in the time that Svein +Alfifason ruled Norway; and on this account they were much beloved, both +by the people and the great men of the country. + + + + +20. OF KING SIGURD'S DREAM. + +Once King Sigurd fell into low spirits, so that few could get him to +converse, and he sat but a short time at the drinking table. This was +heavy on his counsellors, friends, and court; and they begged King +Eystein to consider how they could discover the cause why the people who +came to the king could get no reply to what they laid before him. King +Eystein answered them, that it was difficult to speak with the king +about this; but at last, on the entreaty of many, he promised to do +it. Once, when they were both together, King Eystein brought the matter +before his brother, and asked the cause of his melancholy. "It is a +great grief, sire, to many to see thee so melancholy; and we would like +to know what has occasioned it, or if perchance thou hast heard any news +of great weight?" + +King Sigurd replies, that it was not so. + +"Is it then, brother," says King Eystein, "that you would like to travel +out of the country, and augment your dominions as our father did?" + +He answered, that it was not that either. + +"Is it, then, that any man here in the country has offended?" + +To this also the king said "No." + +"Then I would like to know if you have dreamt anything that has +occasioned this depression of mind?" + +The king answered that it was so. + +"Tell me, then, brother, thy dream." + +King Sigurd said, "I will not tell it, unless thou interpret it as it +may turn out; and I shall be quick at perceiving if thy interpretation +be right or not." + +King Eystein replies, "This is a very difficult matter, sire, on both +sides; as I am exposed to thy anger if I cannot interpret it, and to the +blame of the public if I can do nothing in the matter; but I will rather +fall under your displeasure, even if my interpretation should not be +agreeable." + +King Sigurd replies, "It appeared to me, in a dream, as if we brothers +were all sitting on a bench in front of Christ church in Throndhjem; and +it appeared to me as if our relative, King Olaf the Saint, came out of +the church adorned with the royal raiment glancing and splendid, and +with the most delightful and joyful countenance. He went to our brother +King Olaf, took him by the hand, and said cheerfully, to him, 'Come with +me, friend.' On which he appeared to stand up and go into the church. +Soon after King Olaf the Saint came out of the church, but not so gay +and brilliant as before. Now he went to thee, brother, and said to thee +that thou shouldst go with him; on which he led thee with him, and ye +went into the church. Then I thought, and waited for it, that he would +come to me, and meet me; but it was not so. Then I was seized with +great sorrow, and great dread and anxiety fell upon me, so that I was +altogether without strength; and then I awoke." + +King Eystein replies, "Thus I interpret your dream, sire,--That the +bench betokens the kingdom we brothers have; and as you thought King +Olaf came with so glad a countenance to our brother, King Olaf, he +will likely live the shortest time of us brothers, and have all good to +expect hereafter; for he is amiable, young in years, and has gone but +little into excess, and King Olaf the Saint must help him. But as you +thought he came towards me, but not with so much joy, I may possibly +live a few years longer, but not become old, and I trust his providence +will stand over me; but that he did not come to me with the same +splendour and glory as to our brother Olaf, that will be because, in +many ways, I have sinned and transgressed his command. If he delayed +coming to thee, I think that in no way betokens thy death, but rather a +long life; but it may be that some heavy accident may occur to thee, as +there was an unaccountable dread overpowering thee; but I foretell that +thou will be the oldest of us, and wilt rule the kingdom longest." + +Then said Sigurd, "This is well and intelligently interpreted, and it is +likely it will be so." And now the king began to be cheerful again. + + + + +21. OF KING SIGURD'S MARRIAGE. + +King Sigurd married Malmfrid, a daughter of King Harald Valdemarson, +eastward in Novgorod. King Harald Valdemarson's mother was Queen Gyda +the Old, a daughter of the Swedish king, Inge Steinkelson. Harald +Valdemarson's other daughter, sister to Malmfrid, was Ingebjorg, who was +married to Canute Lavard, a son of the Danish king, Eirik the Good, and +grandson of King Svein Ulfson. Canute's and Ingebjorg's children were, +the Danish king, Valdemar, who came to the Danish kingdom after Svein +Eirikson; and daughters Margaret, Christina, and Catherine. Margaret was +married to Stig Hvitaled; and their daughter was Christina, married to +the Swedish king, Karl Sorkvison, and their son was King Sorkver. + + + + +22. OF THE CASES BEFORE THE THING. + +The king's relative, Sigurd Hranason, came into strife with King Sigurd. +He had had the Lapland collectorship on the king's account, because of +their relationship and long friendship, and also of the many services +Sigurd Hranason had done to the kings; for he was a very distinguished, +popular man. But it happened to him, as it often does to others, that +persons more wicked and jealous than upright slandered him to King +Sigurd, and whispered in the king's ear that he took more of the +Laplander's tribute to himself than was proper. They spoke so long about +this, that King Sigurd conceived a dislike and anger to him, and sent a +message to him. When he appeared before the king, the king carried these +feelings with him, and said, "I did not expect that thou shouldst have +repaid me for thy great fiefs and other dignities by taking the king's +property, and abstracting a greater portion of it than is allowable." + +Sigurd Hranason replies, "It is not true that has been told you; for I +have only taken such portion as I had your permission to take." + +King Sigurd replies, "Thou shalt not slip away with this; but the matter +shall be seriously treated before it comes to an end." With that they +parted. + +Soon after, by the advice of his friends, the king laid an action +against Sigurd Hranason at the Thing-meeting in Bergen, and would have +him made an outlaw. Now when the business took this turn, and appeared +so dangerous, Sigurd Hranason went to King Eystein, and told him what +mischief King Sigurd intended to do him, and entreated his assistance. +King Eystein replied, "This is a difficult matter that you propose to +me, to speak against my brother; and there is a great difference between +defending a cause and pursuing it in law;" and added, that this was a +matter which concerned him and Sigurd equally. "But for thy distress, +and our relationship, I shall bring in a word for thee." + +Soon after Eystein visited King Sigurd, and entreated him to spare the +man, reminding him of the relationship between them and Sigurd Hranason, +who was married to their aunt, Skialdvor; and said he would pay the +penalty for the crime committed against the king, although he could not +with truth impute any blame to him in the matter. Besides, he reminded +the king of the long friendship with Sigurd Hranason. King Sigurd +replied, that it was better government to punish such acts. Then King +Eystein replied, "If thou, brother, wilt follow the law, and punish +such acts according to the country's privileges, then it would be most +correct that Sigurd Hranason produce his witnesses, and that the case be +judged at the Thing, but not at a meeting; for the case comes under +the law of the land, not under Bjarkey law." Then said Sigurd, "It +may possibly be so that the case belongs to it, as thou sayest, King +Eystein; and if it be against law what has hitherto been done in this +case, then we shall bring it before the Thing." Then the kings parted, +and each seemed determined to take his own way. King Sigurd summoned the +parties in the case before the Arnarnes Thing, and intended to pursue it +there. King Eystein came also to the Thing-place; and when the case +was brought forward for judgment, King Eystein went to the Thing before +judgment was given upon Sigurd Hranason. Now King Sigurd told the lagmen +to pronounce the judgment; but King Eystein replied thus: "I trust there +are here men acquainted sufficiently with the laws of Norway, to know +that they cannot condemn a lendermen to be outlawed at this Thing." And +he then explained how the law was, so that every man clearly understood +it. Then said King Sigurd, "Thou art taking up this matter very warmly, +King Eystein, and it is likely the case will cost more trouble before +it comes to an end than we intended; but nevertheless we shall follow it +out. I will have him condemned to be outlawed in his native place." Then +said King Eystein, "There are certainly not many things which do not +succeed with thee, and especially when there are but few and small folks +to oppose one who has carried through such great things." And thus they +parted, without anything being concluded in the case. Thereafter King +Sigurd called together a Gula Thing, went himself there, and summoned to +him many high chiefs. King Eystein came there also with his suite; and +many meetings and conferences were held among people of understanding +concerning this case, and it was tried and examined before the lagmen. +Now King Eystein objected that all the parties summoned in any cases +tried here belonged to the Thing-district; but in this case the deed and +the parties belonged to Halogaland. The Thing accordingly ended in doing +nothing, as King Eystein had thus made it incompetent. The kings parted +in great wrath; and King Eystein went north to Throndhjem. King +Sigurd, on the other hand, summoned to him all lendermen, and also +the house-servants of the lendermen, and named out of every district a +number of the bondes from the south parts of the country, so that he +had collected a large army about him; and proceeded with all this crowd +northwards along the coast to Halogaland, and intended to use all his +power to make Sigurd Hranason an outlaw among his own relations. For +this purpose he summoned to him the Halogaland and Naumudal people, and +appointed a Thing at Hrafnista. King Eystein prepared himself also, and +proceeded with many people from the town of Nidaros to the Thing, where +he made Sigurd Hranason, by hand-shake before witnesses, deliver over to +him the following and defending this case. At this Thing both the kings +spoke, each for his own side. Then King Eystein asks the lagmen where +that law was made in Norway which gave the bondes the right to judge +between the kings of the country, when they had pleas with each other. +"I shall bring witnesses to prove that Sigurd has given the case into my +hands; and it is with me, not with Sigurd Hranason, that King Sigurd has +to do in this case." The lagmen said that disputes between kings must be +judged only at the Eyra Thing in Nidaros. + +King Eystein said, "So I thought that it should be there, and the cases +must be removed there." + +Then King Sigurd said, "The more difficulties and inconvenience thou +bringest upon me in this matter, the more I will persevere in it." And +with that they parted. + +Both kings then went south to Nidaros town, where they summoned a Thing +from eight districts. King Eystein was in the town with a great many +people, but Sigurd was on board his ships. When the Thing was opened, +peace and safe conduct was given to all; and when the people were all +collected, and the case should be gone into, Bergthor, a son of Svein +Bryggjufot, stood up, and gave his evidence that Sigurd Hranason had +concealed a part of the Laplanders' taxes. + +Then King Eystein stood up and said, "If thy accusation were true, +although we do not know what truth there may be in thy testimony, yet +this case has already been dismissed from three Things, and a fourth +time from a town meeting; and therefore I require that the lagmen acquit +Sigurd in this case according to law." And they did so. + +Then said King Sigurd, "I see sufficiently, King Eystein, that thou hast +carried this case by law-quirks (1), which I do not understand. But now +there remains, King Eystein, a way of determining the case which I am +more used to, and which I shall now apply." + +He then retired to his ships, had the tents taken down, laid his whole +fleet out at the holm, and held a Thing of his people; and told them +that early in the morning they should land at Iluvellir, and give battle +to King Eystein. But in the evening, as King Sigurd sat at his table in +his ship taking his repast, before he was aware of it a man cast himself +on the floor of the forehold, and at the king's feet. This was Sigurd +Hranason, who begged the king to take what course with regard to him the +king himself thought proper. Then came Bishop Magne and Queen Malmfrid, +and many other great personages, and entreated forgiveness for Sigurd +Hranason; and at their entreaty the king raised him up, took him by the +hand, and placed him among his men, and took him along with himself to +the south part of the country. In autumn the king gave Sigurd Hranason +leave to go north to his farm, gave him an employment, and was always +afterward his friend. After this day, however, the brothers were never +much together, and there was no cordiality or cheerfulness among them. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) These law-quirks show a singularly advanced state of law. + and deference to the Law Things, amidst such social disorder + and misdeeds.--L. + + + + +23. OF KING OLAF'S DEATH. + +King Olaf Magnuson fell into a sickness which ended in his death. He was +buried in Christ church in Nidaros, and many were in great grief at his +death. After Olaf's death, Eystein and Sigurd ruled the country, the +three brothers together having been kings of Norway for twelve years +(A.D. 1104-1115); namely, five years after King Sigurd returned home, +and seven years before. King Olaf was seventeen years old when he died, +and it happened on the 24th of December. + + + + +24. MAGNUS THE BLIND; HIS BIRTH. + +King Eystein had been about a year in the east part of the country at +that time, and King Sigurd was then in the north. King Eystein remained +a long time that winter in Sarpsborg. There was once a powerful and rich +bonde called Olaf of Dal, who dwelt in Great Dal in Aumord, and had two +children,--a son called Hakon Fauk, and a daughter called Borghild, who +was a very beautiful girl, and prudent, and well skilled in many things. +Olaf and his children were a long time in winter in Sarpsborg, and +Borghild conversed very often with King Eystein; so that many reports +were spread about their friendship. The following summer King Eystein +went north, and King Sigurd came eastward, where he remained all +winter, and was long in Konungahella, which town he greatly enlarged and +improved. He built there a great castle of turf and stone, dug a great +ditch around it, and built a church and several houses within the +castle. The holy cross he allowed to remain at Konungahella, and therein +did not fulfill the oath he had taken in Palestine; but, on the other +hand, he established tithe, and most of the other things to which he had +bound himself by oath. The reason of his keeping the cross east at the +frontier of the country was, that he thought it would be a protection to +all the land; but it proved the greatest misfortune to place this relic +within the power of the heathens, as it afterwards turned out. + +When Borghild, Olaf's daughter, heard it whispered that people talked +ill of her conversations and intimacy with King Eystein, she went to +Sarpsborg; and after suitable fasts she carried the iron as proof of her +innocence, and cleared herself thereby fully from all offence. When +King Sigurd heard this, he rode one day as far as usually was two days' +travelling, and came to Dal to Olaf, where he remained all night, made +Borghild his concubine, and took her away with him. They had a son, +who was called Magnus, and he was sent immediately to Halogaland, to +be fostered at Bjarkey by Vidkun Jonson; and he was brought up there. +Magnus grew up to be the handsomest man that could be seen, and was very +soon stout and strong. + + + + +25. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE TWO KINGS. + +King Eystein and King Sigurd went both in spring to guest-quarters +in the Uplands; and each was entertained in a separate house, and the +houses were not very distant from each other. The bondes, however, +thought it more convenient that both should be entertained together by +turns in each house; and thus they were both at first in the house of +King Eystein. But in the evening, when the people began to drink, the +ale was not good; so that the guests were very quiet and still. Then +said King Eystein, "Why are the people so silent? It is more usual in +drinking parties that people are merry, so let us fall upon some jest +over our ale that will amuse people; for surely, brother Sigurd, all +people are well pleased when we talk cheerfully." + +Sigurd replies, bluntly, "Do you talk as much as you please, but give me +leave to be silent." + +Eystein says, "It is a common custom over the ale-table to compare one +person with another, and now let us do so." Then Sigurd was silent. + +"I see," says King Eystein, "that I must begin this amusement. Now I +will take thee, brother, to compare myself with, and will make it appear +so as if we had both equal reputation and property, and that there is no +difference in our birth and education." + +Then King Sigurd replies, "Do you remember that I was always able to +throw you when we wrestled, although you are a year older?" + +Then King Eystein replied, "But I remember that you was not so good at +the games which require agility." + +Sigurd: "Do you remember that I could drag you under water, when we swam +together, as often as I pleased?" + +Eystein: "But I could swim as far as you, and could dive as well as you; +and I could run upon snow-skates so well that nobody could beat me, and +you could no more do it than an ox." + +Sigurd: "Methinks it is a more useful and suitable accomplishment for +a chief to be expert at his bow; and I think you could scarcely draw my +bow, even if you took your foot to help." + +Eystein: "I am not strong at the bow as you are, but there is less +difference between our shooting near; and I can use the skees +much better than you, and in former times that was held a great +accomplishment." + +Sigurd: "It appears to me much better for a chief who is to be the +superior of other men, that he is conspicuous in a crowd, and strong +and powerful in weapons above other men; easily seen, and easily known, +where there are many together." + +Eystein: "It is not less a distinction and an ornament that a man is +of a handsome appearance, so as to be easily known from others on that +account; and this appears to me to suit a chief best, because the best +ornament is allied to beauty. I am moreover more knowing in the law than +you, and on every subject my words flow more easily than yours." + +Sigurd: "It may be that you know more law-quirks, for I have had +something else to do; neither will any deny you a smooth tongue. But +there are many who say that your words are not to be trusted; that what +you promise is little to be regarded; and that you talk just according +to what those who are about you say, which is not kingly." + +Eystein: "This is because, when people bring their cases before me, I +wish first to give every man that satisfaction in his affairs which +he desires; but afterwards comes the opposite party, and then there +is something to be given or taken away very often, in order to mediate +between them, so that both may be satisfied. It often happens, too, that +I promise whatever is desired of me, that all may be joyful about me. It +would be an easy matter for me to do as you do,--to promise evil to all; +and I never hear any complain of your not keeping this promise to them." + +Sigurd: "It is the conversation of all that the expedition that I made +out of the country was a princely expedition, while you in the meantime +sat at home like your father's daughter." + +Eystein: "Now you touched the tender spot. I would not have brought up +this conversation if I had not known what to reply on this point. I can +truly say that I equipt you from home like a sister, before you went +upon this expedition." + +Sigurd: "You must have heard that on this expedition I was in many a +battle in the Saracen's land, and gained the victory in all; and you +must have heard of the many valuable articles I acquired, the like +of which were never seen before in this country, and I was the most +respected wherever the most gallant men were; and, on the other hand, +you cannot conceal that you have only a home-bred reputation." + +Eystein: "I have heard that you had several battles abroad, but it was +more useful for the country what I was doing in the meantime here at +home. I built five churches from the foundations, and a harbour out at +Agdanes, where it before was impossible to land, and where vessels ply +north and south along the coast. I set a warping post and iron ring in +the sound of Sinholm, and in Bergen I built a royal hall, while you were +killing bluemen for the devil in Serkland. This, I think, was of but +little advantage to our kingdom." + +King Sigurd said: "On this expedition I went all the way to Jordan +and swam across the river. On the edge of the river there is a bush of +willows, and there I twisted a knot of willows, and said this knot thou +shouldst untie, brother, or take the curse thereto attached." + +King Eystein said: "I shall not go and untie the knot which you tied for +me; but if I had been inclined to tie a knot for thee, thou wouldst +not have been king of Norway at thy return to this country, when with a +single ship you came sailing into my fleet." + +Thereupon both were silent, and there was anger on both sides. More +things passed between the brothers, from which it appeared that each +of them would be greater than the other; however, peace was preserved +between them as long as they lived. + + + + +26. OF KING SIGURD'S SICKNESS. + +King Sigurd was at a feast in the Upland, and a bath was made ready for +him. When the king came to the bath and the tent was raised over the +bathing-tub, the king thought there was a fish in the tub beside him; +and a great laughter came upon him, so that he was beside himself, and +was out of his mind, and often afterwards these fits returned. + +Magnus Barefoot's daughter, Ragnhild, was married by her brothers to +Harald Kesia, a son of the Danish king, Eirik the Good; and their sons +were Magnus, Olaf, Knut and Harald. + + + + +27. OF KING EYSTEIN'S DEATH. + +King Eystein built a large ship at Nidaros, which, in size and shape, +was like the Long Serpent which King Olaf Trygvason had built. At the +stem there was a dragon's head, and at the stern a crooked tail, and +both were gilded over. The ship was high-sided; but the fore and aft +parts appeared less than they should be. He also made in Nidaros many +and large dry-docks of the best material, and well timbered. + +Six years after King Olaf's death, it happened that King Eystein, at a +feast at Hustadir in Stim, was seized with an illness which soon carried +him off. He died the 29th of August, 1123, and his body was carried +north to Nidaros, and buried in Christ church; and it is generally said +that so many mourners never stood over any man's grave in Norway as over +King Eystein's, at least since the time Magnus the Good, Saint Olaf's +son, died. Eystein had been twenty years (A.D. 1104-1123) king of +Norway; and after his decease his brother, King Sigurd, was the sole +king of Norway as long as he lived. + + + + +28. BAPTIZING THE PEOPLE OF SMALAND. + +The Danish king, Nikolas, a son of Svein Ulfson, married afterwards the +Queen Margaret, a daughter of King Inge, who had before been married to +King Magnus Barefoot; and their sons were Nikolas and Magnus the Strong. +King Nikolas sent a message to King Sigurd the Crusader, and asked him +if he would go with him with all his might and help him to the east +of the Swedish dominion, Smaland, to baptize the inhabitants; for the +people who dwelt there had no regard for Christianity, although some of +them had allowed themselves to be baptized. At that time there were many +people all around in the Swedish dominions who were heathens, and many +were bad Christians; for there were some of the kings who renounced +Christianity, and continued heathen sacrifices, as Blotsvein, and +afterwards Eirik Arsale, had done. King Sigurd promised to undertake +this journey, and the kings appointed their meeting at Eyrarsund. King +Sigurd then summoned all people in Norway to a levy, both of men and +ships; and when the fleet was assembled he had about 300 ships. King +Nikolas came very early to the meeting-place, and stayed there a long +time; and the bondes murmured much, and said the Northmen did not intend +to come. Thereupon the Danish army dispersed, and the king went away +with all his fleet. King Sigurd came there soon afterwards, and was ill +pleased; but sailed east to Svimraros, and held a House-thing, at which +Sigurd spoke about King Nikolas's breach of faith, and the Northmen, +on this account, determined to go marauding in his country. They first +plundered a village called Tumathorp, which is not far from Lund; and +then sailed east to the merchant-town of Calmar, where they plundered, +as well as in Smaland, and imposed on the country a tribute of +1500 cattle for ship provision; and the people of Smaland received +Christianity. After this King Sigurd turned about with his fleet, and +came back to his kingdom with many valuable articles and great booty, +which he had gathered on this expedition; and this levy was called the +Calmar levy. This was the summer before the eclipse. This was the only +levy King Sigurd carried out as long as he was king. + + + + +29. OF THORARIN STUTFELD. + +It happened once when King Sigurd was going from the drinking-table to +vespers, that his men were very drunk and merry; and many of them sat +outside the church singing the evening song, but their singing was very +irregular. Then the king said, "Who is that fellow I see standing at the +church with a skin jacket on?" They answered, that they did not know. +Then the king said:-- + + "This skin-clad man, in sorry plight, + Puts all our wisdom here to flight." + +Then the fellow came forward and said:-- + + "I thought that here I might be known, + Although my dress is scanty grown. + 'Tis poor, but I must be content: + Unless, great king, it's thy intent + To give me better; for I have seen + When I and rags had strangers been." + +The king answered, "Come to me to-morrow when I am at the drink-table." +The night passed away; and the morning after the Icelander, who was +afterwards called Thorarin Stutfetd, went into the drinking-room. A man +stood outside of the door of the room with a horn in his hand, and said, +"Icelander! the king says that if thou wilt deserve any gift from him +thou shalt compose a song before going in, and make it about a man whose +name is Hakon Serkson, and who is called Morstrut (1); and speak about +that surname in thy song." The man who spoke to him was called Arne +Fioruskeif. Then they went into the room; and when Thorarin came before +the king's seat he recited these verses:-- + + "Throndhjem's warrior-king has said + The skald should be by gifts repaid, + If he before this meeting gave + The king's friend Serk a passing stave. + The generous king has let me know + My stave, to please, must be framed so + That my poor verse extol the fame + Of one called Hakon Lump by name." + +Then said the king, "I never said so, and somebody has been making a +mock of thee. Hakon himself shall determine what punishment thou shalt +have. Go into his suite." Hakon said, "He shall be welcome among us, for +I can see where the joke came from;" and he placed the Icelander at his +side next to himself, and they were very merry. The day was drawing to +a close, and the liquor began to get into their heads, when Hakon said, +"Dost thou not think, Icelander, that thou owest me some penalty? and +dost thou not see that some trick has been played upon thee?" + +Thorarin replies, "It is true, indeed, that I owe thee some +compensation." + +Hakon says, "Then we shall be quits, if thou wilt make me another stave +about Arne." + +He said he was ready to do so; and they crossed over to the side of the +room where Arne was sitting, and Thorarin gave these verses:-- + + "Fioruskeif has often spread, + With evil heart and idle head, + The eagle's voidings round the land, + Lampoons and lies, with ready hand. + Yet this landlouper we all know, + In Africa scarce fed a crow, + Of all his arms used in the field, + Those in most use were helm and shield." + +Arne sprang up instantly, drew his sword, and was going to fall upon +him; but Hakon told him to let it alone and be quiet, and bade him +remember that if it came to a quarrel he would come off the worst +himself. Thorarin afterwards went up to the king, and said he had +composed a poem which he wished the king to hear. The king consented, +and the song is known by the name of the Stutfeld poem. The king asked +Thorarin what he intended to do. He replied, it was his intention to go +to Rome. Then the king gave him much money for his pilgrimage, and told +him to visit him on his return, and promised to provide for him. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Morstrut is a short, fat, punchy fellow.--L. + + + + +30. OF SIGURD AND OTTAR BIRTING. + +It is told that King Sigurd, one Whitsunday, sat at table with many +people, among whom were many of his friends; and when he came to his +high-seat, people saw that his countenance was very wild, and as if he +had been weeping, so that people were afraid of what might follow. +The king rolled his eyes, and looked at those who were seated on the +benches. Then he seized the holy book which he had brought with him +from abroad, and which was written all over with gilded letters; so that +never had such a costly book come to Norway. His queen sat by his side. +Then said King Sigurd, "Many are the changes which may take place during +a man's lifetime. I had two things which were dear to me above all when +I came from abroad, and these were this book and the queen; and now +I think the one is only worse and more loathsome than the other, and +nothing I have belonging to me that I more detest. The queen does not +know herself how hideous she is; for a goat's horn is standing out on +her head, and the better I liked her before the worse I like her +now." Thereupon he cast the book on the fire which was burning on the +hall-floor, and gave the queen a blow with his fist between the eyes. +The queen wept; but more at the king's' illness than at the blow, or the +affront she had suffered. + +Then a man stood up before the king; his name was Ottar Birting; and he +was one of the torch-bearers, although a bonde's son, and was on service +that day. He was of small stature, but of agreeable appearance; lively, +bold, and full of fun; black haired, and of a dark skin. He ran and +snatched the book which the king had cast into the fire, held it out, +and said, "Different were the days, sire, when you came with great state +and splendour to Norway, and with great fame and honour; for then all +your friends came to meet you with joy, and were glad at your coming. +All as one man would have you for king, and have you in the highest +regard and honour. But now days of sorrow are come over us; for on +this holy festival many of your friends have come to you, and cannot be +cheerful on account of your melancholy and ill health. It is much to be +desired that you would be merry with them; and do, good king, take this +saving advice, make peace first with the queen, and make her joyful whom +you have so highly affronted, with a friendly word; and then all your +chiefs, friends, and servants; that is my advice." + +Then said King Sigurd, "Dost thou dare to give me advice, thou great +lump of a houseman's lad!" And he sprang up, drew his sword, and swung +it with both hands as if going to cut him down. + +But Ottar stood quiet and upright; did not stir from the spot, nor show +the slightest sign of fear; and the king turned round the sword-blade +which he had waved over Ottar's head, and gently touched him on the +shoulder with it. Then he sat down in silence on his high-seat. + +All were silent who were in the hall, for nobody dared to say a word. +Now the king looked around him, milder than before, and said, "It is +difficult to know what there is in people. Here sat my friends, and +lendermen, marshals and shield-bearers, and all the best men in the +land; but none did so well against me as this man, who appears to you +of little worth compared to any of you, although now he loves me most. I +came here like a madman, and would have destroyed my precious property; +but he turned aside my deed, and was not afraid of death for it. Then he +made an able speech, ordering his words so that they were honourable to +me, and not saying a single word about things which could increase my +vexation; but even avoiding what might, with truth, have been said. +So excellent was his speech, that no man here, however great his +understanding, could have spoken better. Then I sprang up in a pretended +rage, and made as if I would have cut him down; but he was courageous as +if he had nothing to fear; and seeing that, I let go my purpose; for he +was altogether innocent. Now ye shall know, my friends, how I intend to +reward him; he was before my torchbearer, and shall now be my lenderman; +and there shall follow what is still more, that he shall be the most +distinguished of my lendermen. Go thou and sit among the lendermen, and +be a servant no longer." + +Ottar became one of the most celebrated men in Norway for various good +and praiseworthy deeds. + + + + +31. OF KING SIGURD'S DREAM. + +In King Sigurd's latter days he was once at an entertainment at one +of his farms; and in the morning when he was dressed he was silent +and still, so that his friends were afraid he was not able to govern +himself. Now the farm bailiff, who was a man of good sense and courage, +brought him into conversation, and asked if he had heard any news of +such importance that it disturbed his mirth; or if the entertainment +had not satisfied him; or if there was anything else that people could +remedy. + +King Sigurd said, that none of the things he had mentioned was the +cause. "But it is that I think upon the dream I had in the night." + +"Sire," replied he, "may it prove a lucky dream! I would gladly hear +it." + +The king: "I thought that I was in Jadar, and looked out towards the +sea; and that I saw something very black moving itself; and when it came +near it appeared to be a large tree, of which the branches stretched far +above the water, and the roots were down in the sea. Now when the tree +came to the shore it broke into pieces, and drove all about the land, +both the mainland and the out-islands, rocks and strands; and it +appeared to me as if I saw over all Norway along the sea-coast, and +saw pieces of that tree, some small and some large, driven into every +bight." + +Then said the bailiff, "It is likely that you an best interpret this +dream yourself; and I would willingly hear your interpretation of it." + +Then said the king, "This dream appears to me to denote the arrival in +this country of some man who will fix his seat here, and whose posterity +will spread itself over the land; but with unequal power, as the dream +shows." + + + + +32. OF ASLAK HANE. + +It so happened once, that King Sigurd sat in a gloomy mood among many +worthy men. It was Friday evening, and the kitchen-master asked what +meat should be made ready. + +The king replies, "What else but flesh-meat?" And so harsh were his +words that nobody dared to contradict him, and all were ill at ease. +Now when people prepared to go to table, dishes of warm flesh-meat were +carried in; but all were silent, and grieved at the king's illness. +Before the blessing was pronounced over the meat, a man called Aslak +Hane spoke. He had been a long time with King Sigurd on his journey +abroad, and was not a man of any great family; and was small of stature, +but fiery. When he perceived how it was, and that none dared to accost +the king, he asked, "What is it, sire, that is smoking on the dish +before you?" + +The king replies, "What do you mean, Aslak? what do you think it is?" + +Aslak: "I think it is flesh-meat; and I would it were not so." + +The king: "But if it be so, Aslak?" + +He replied, "It would be vexatious to know that a gallant king, who has +gained so much honour in the world, should so forget himself. When you +rose up out of Jordan, after bathing in the same waters as God himself, +with palm-leaves in your hands, and the cross upon your breast, it was +something else you promised, sire, than to eat flesh-meat on a Friday. +If a meaner man were to do so, he would merit a heavy punishment. This +royal hall is not so beset as it should be, when it falls upon me, a +mean man, to challenge such an act." + +The king sat silent, and did not partake of the meat; and when the time +for eating was drawing to an end, the king ordered the flesh dishes to +be removed and other food was brought in, such as it is permitted to +use. When the meal-time was almost past, the king began to be cheerful, +and to drink. People advised Aslak to fly, but he said he would not do +so. "I do not see how it could help me; and to tell the truth, it is +as good to die now that I have got my will, and have prevented the king +from committing a sin. It is for him to kill me if he likes." + +Towards evening the king called him, and said, "Who set thee on, Aslak +Hane, to speak such free words to me in the hearing of so many people?" + +"No one, sire, but myself." + +The king: "Thou wouldst like, no doubt, to know what thou art to have +for such boldness; what thinkest thou it deserves." + +He replies, "If it be well rewarded, sire, I shall be glad; but should +it be otherwise, then it is your concern." + +Then the king said, "Smaller is thy reward than thou hast deserved. +I give thee three farms. It has turned out, what could not have been +expected, that thou hast prevented me from a great crime,--thou, and +not the lendermen, who are indebted to me for so much good." And so it +ended. + + + + +33. OF A WOMAN BROUGHT TO THE KING. + +One Yule eve the king sat in the hall, and the tables were laid out, and +the king said, "Get me flesh-meat." + +They answered, "Sire, it is not the custom to eat flesh-meat on Yule +eve." + +The king said, "If it be not the custom I will make it the custom." + +They went out, and brought him a dolphin. The king stuck his knife into +it, but did not eat of it. Then the king said, "Bring me a girl here +into the hall." They brought him a woman whose head-dress went far down +her brows. The king took her hand in his hands, looked at her, and said, +"An ill looking girl!" + +((LACUNA--The rest of this story is missing)) + + + + +34. HARALD GILLE COMES TO NORWAY. + +Halkel Huk, a son of Jon Smiorbalte, who was lenderman in More, made a +voyage in the West sea, all the way to the South Hebudes. A man came to +him out of Ireland called Gillikrist, and gave himself out for a son of +King Magnus Barefoot. His mother came with him, and said his other name +was Harald. Halkel received the man, brought him to Norway with him, and +went immediately to King Sigurd with Harald and his mother. When they +had told their story to the king, he talked over the matter with his +principal men, and bade them give their opinions upon it. They were of +different opinions, and all left it to the king himself, although there +were several who opposed this; and the king followed his own counsel. +King Sigurd ordered Harald to be called before him, and told him that he +would not deny him the proof, by ordeal, of who his father was; but on +condition that if he should prove his descent according to his claim, he +should not desire the kingdom in the lifetime of King Sigurd, or of King +Magnus: and to this he bound himself by oath. King Sigurd said he must +tread over hot iron to prove his birth; but this ordeal was thought by +many too severe, as he was to undergo it merely to prove his father, and +without getting the kingdom; but Harald agreed to it, and fixed on the +trial by iron: and this ordeal was the greatest ever made in Norway; for +nine glowing plowshares were laid down, and Harald went over them with +bare feet, attended by two bishops. + +Three days after the iron trial the ordeal was taken to proof, and the +feet were found unburnt. Thereafter King Sigurd acknowledged Harald's +relationship; but his son Magnus conceived a great hatred of him, and +in this many chiefs followed Magnus. King Sigurd trusted so much to his +favour with the whole people of the country, that he desired all men, +under oath, to promise to accept Magnus after him as their king; and all +the people took this oath. + + + + +35. RACE BETWEEN MAGNUS AND HARALD GILLE. + +Harald Gille was a tall, slender-grown man, of a long neck and face, +black eyes, and dark hair, brisk and quick, and wore generally the +Irish dress of short light clothes. The Norse language was difficult for +Harald, and he brought out words which many laughed at. Harald sat late +drinking one evening. He spoke with another man about different things +in the west in Ireland; and among other things, said that there were +men in Ireland so swift of foot that no horse could overtake them in +running. Magnus, the king's son, heard this, and said, "Now he is lying, +as he usually does." + +Harald replies, "It is true that there are men in Ireland whom no horse +in Norway could overtake." They exchanged some words about this, and +both were drunk. Then said Magnus, "Thou shalt make a wager with me, and +stake thy head if thou canst not run so fast as I ride upon my horse, +and I shall stake my gold ring." + +Harald replies, "I did not say that I could run so swiftly; but I said +that men are to be found in Ireland who will run as fast; and on that I +would wager." + +The king's son Magnus replies, "I will not go to Ireland about it; we +are wagering here, and not there." + +Harald on this went to bed, and would not speak to him more about it. +This was in Oslo. The following morning, when the early mass was over, +Magnus rode up the street, and sent a message to Harald to come to him. +When Harald came he was dressed thus. He had on a shirt and trousers +which were bound with ribands under his foot-soles, a short cloak, an +Irish hat on his head, and a spear-shaft in his hand. Magnus set up a +mark for the race. Harald said, "Thou hast made the course too long;" +but Magnus made it at once even much longer, and said it was still +too short. There were many spectators. They began the race, and Harald +followed always the horse's pace; and when they came to the end of the +race course, Magnus said, "Thou hadst hold of the saddle-girth, and the +horse dragged thee along." Magnus had his swift runner, the Gautland +horse. They began the race again, and Harald ran the whole race-course +before the horse. When came to the end Harald asked, "Had I hold of the +saddle-girths now?" + +Magnus replied, "Thou hadst the start at first." + +Then Magnus let his horse breathe a while, and when he was ready he put +the spurs to him, and set off in full gallop. Harald stood still, and +Magnus looked back, and called, "Set off now." + +Then Harald ran quickly past the horse, and came to the end of the +course so long before him that he lay down, and got up and saluted +Magnus as he came in. + +Then they went home to the town. In the meantime King Sigurd had been at +high mass, and knew nothing of this until after he had dined that day. +Then he said to Magnus angrily, "Thou callest Harald useless; but I +think thou art a great fool, and knowest nothing of the customs of +foreign people. Dost thou not know that men in other countries exercise +themselves in other feats than in filling themselves with ale, and +making themselves mad, and so unfit for everything that they scarcely +know each other? Give Harald his ring, and do not try to make a fool of +him again, as long as I am above ground." + + + + +36. OF SIGURD'S SWIMMING. + +It happened once that Sigurd was out in his ship, which lay in the +harbour; and there lay a merchant ship, which was an Iceland trader, at +the side of it. Harald Gille was in the forecastle of the king's ship, +and Svein Rimhildson, a son of Knut Sveinson of Jadar, had his berth the +next before him. There was also Sigurd Sigurdson, a gallant lenderman, +who himself commanded a ship. It was a day of beautiful weather and warm +sunshine, and many went out to swim, both from the long-ship and the +merchant vessel. An Iceland man, who was among the swimmers, amused +himself by drawing those under water who could not swim so well as +himself; and at that the spectators laughed. When King Sigurd saw and +heard this, he cast off his clothes, sprang into the water, and swam to +the Icelander, seized him, and pressed him under the water, and held him +there; and as soon as the Icelander came up the king pressed him down +again, and thus the one time after the other. + +Then said Sigurd Sigurdson, "Shall we let the king kill this man?" + +Somebody said, "No one has any wish to interfere." + +Sigurd replies, that "If Dag Eilifson were here, we should not be +without one who dared." + +Then Sigurd sprang overboard, swam to the king, took hold of him, and +said, "Sire, do not kill the man. Everybody sees that you are a much +better swimmer." + +The king replies, "Let me loose, Sigurd: I shall be his death, for he +will destroy our people under water." + +Sigurd says, "Let us first amuse ourselves; and, Icelander, do thou set +off to the land," which he did. The king now got loose from Sigurd, and +swam to his ship, and Sigurd went his way: but the king ordered that +Sigurd should not presume to come into his presence; this was reported +to Sigurd, and so he went up into the country. + + + + +37. OF HARALD AND SVEIN RIMHILDSON. + +In the evening, when people were going to bed, some of the ship's men +were still at their games up in the country. Harald was with those who +played on the land, and told his footboy to go out to the ship, make his +bed, and wait for him there. The lad did as he was ordered. The king had +gone to sleep; and as the boy thought Harald late, he laid himself in +Harald's berth. Svein Rimhildson said, "It is a shame for brave men to +be brought from their farms at home, and to have here serving boys to +sleep beside them." The lad said that Harald had ordered him to come +there. Svein Rimhildson said, "We do not so much care for Harald himself +lying here, if he do not bring here his slaves and beggars;" and seized +a riding-whip, and struck the boy on the head until the blood flowed +from him. The boy ran immediately up the country, and told Harald what +had happened, who went immediately out to the ship, to the aft part of +the forecastle, and with a pole-axe struck Svein so that he received a +severe wound on his hands; and then Harald went on shore. Svein ran to +the land after him, and, gathering his friends, took Harald prisoner, +and they were about hanging him. But while they were busy about this, +Sigurd Sigurdson went out to the king's ship and awoke him. When the +king opened his eyes and recognised Sigurd, he said. "For this reason +thou shalt die, that thou hast intruded into my presence; for thou +knowest that I forbade thee:" and with these words the king sprang up. + +Sigurd replied, "That is in your power as soon as you please; but other +business is more urgent. Go to the land as quickly as possible to help +thy brother; for the Rogaland people are going to hang him." + +Then said the king, "God give us luck, Sigurd! Call my trumpeter, and +let him call the people all to land, and to meet me." + +The king sprang on the land, and all who knew him followed him to where +the gallows was being erected. The king instantly took Harald to him; +and all the people gathered to the king in full armour, as they heard +the trumpet. Then the king ordered that Svein and all his comrades +should depart from the country as outlaws; but by the intercession of +good men the king was prevailed on to let them remain and hold their +properties, but no mulct should be paid for Svein's wound. + +Then Sigurd Sigurdson asked if the king wished that he should go forth +out of the country. + +"That will I not," said the king; "for I can never be without thee." + + + + +38. OF KING OLAF'S MIRACLE. + +There was a young and poor man called Kolbein; and Thora, King Sigurd +the Crusader's mother, had ordered his tongue to be cut out of his +mouth, and for no other cause than that this young man had taken a piece +of meat out of the king-mother's tub which he said the cook had given +him, and which the cook had not ventured to serve up to her. The man had +long gone about speechless. So says Einar Skulason in Olaf's ballad:-- + + "The proud rich dame, for little cause, + Had the lad's tongue cut from his jaws: + The helpless man, of speech deprived, + His dreadful sore wound scarce survived. + A few weeks since at Hild was seen, + As well as ever he had been, + The same poor lad--to speech restored + By Olaf's power, whom he adored." + +Afterwards the young man came to Nidaros, and watched in the Christ +church; but at the second mass for Olaf before matins he fell asleep, +and thought he saw King Olaf the Saint coming to him; and that Olaf +talked to him, and took hold with his hands of the stump of his tongue +and pulled it. Now when he awoke he found himself restored, and joyfully +did he thank our Lord and the holy Saint Olaf, who had pitied and helped +him; for he had come there speechless, and had gone to the holy shrine, +and went away cured, and with his speech clear and distinct. + + + + +39. KING OLAF'S MIRACLE WITH A PRISONER. + +The heathens took prisoner a young man of Danish family and carried him +to Vindland, where he was in fetters along with other prisoners. In +the day-time he was alone in irons, without a guard; but at night a +peasant's son was beside him in the chain, that he might not escape from +them. This poor man never got sleep or rest from vexation and sorrow, +and considered in many ways what could help him; for he had a great +dread of slavery, and was pining with hunger and torture. He could not +again expect to be ransomed by his friends, as they had already restored +him twice from heathen lands with their own money; and he well knew that +it would be difficult and expensive for them to submit a third time to +this burden. It is well with the man who does not undergo so much in the +world as this man knew he had suffered. He saw but one way; and that +was to get off and escape if he could. He resolved upon this in the +night-time, killed the peasant, and cut his foot off after killing him, +and set off to the forest with the chain upon his leg. Now when the +people knew this, soon after daylight in the morning, they pursued him +with two dogs accustomed to trace any one who escaped, and to find him +in the forest however carefully he might be concealed. They got him +into their hands and beat him, and did him all kinds of mischief; and +dragging him home, left barely alive, and showed him no mercy. They +tortured him severely; put him in a dark room, in which there lay +already sixteen Christian men; and bound him both with iron and other +tyings, as fast as they could. Then he began to think that the +misery and pain he had endured before were but shadows to his present +sufferings. He saw no man before his eyes in this prison who would beg +for mercy for him; no one had compassion on his wretchedness, except +the Christian men who lay bound with him, who sorrowed with him, and +bemoaned his fate together with their own misfortunes and helplessness. +One day they advised him to make a vow to the holy King Olaf, to devote +himself to some office in his sacred house, if he, by God's compassion +and Saint Olaf's prayers could get away from this prison. He gladly +agreed to this, and made a vow and prepared himself for the situation +they mentioned to him. The night after he thought in his sleep that he +saw a man, not tall, standing at his side, who spoke to him thus, "Here, +thou wretched man, why dost thou not get up?" + +He replied, "Sir, who are you?" + +"I am King Olaf, on whom thou hast called." + +"Oh, my good lord! gladly would I raise myself; but I lie bound with +iron and with chains on my legs, and also the other men who lie here." + +Thereupon the king accosts him with the words, "Stand up at once and be +not afraid; for thou art loose." + +He awoke immediately, and told his comrades what, had appeared to him in +his dream. They told him to stand up, and try if it was true. He stood +up, and observed that he was loose. Now said his fellow-prisoners, this +would help him but little, for the door was locked both on the inside +and on the outside. Then an old man who sat there in a deplorable +condition put in his word, and told him not to doubt the mercy of the +man who had loosened his chains; "For he has wrought this miracle on +thee that thou shouldst enjoy his mercy, and hereafter be free, without +suffering more misery and torture. Make haste, then, and seek the door; +and if thou are able to slip out, thou art saved." + +He did so, found the door open, slipped out, and away to the forest. As +soon as the Vindland people were aware of this they set loose the dogs, +and pursued him in great haste; and the poor man lay hid, and saw well +where they were following him. But now the hounds lost the trace when +they came nearer, and all the eyes that sought him were struck with a +blindness, so that nobody could find him, although he lay before their +feet; and they all returned home, vexed that they could not find him. +King Olaf did not permit this man's destruction after he had reached the +forest, and restored him also to his health and hearing; for they had so +long tortured and beaten him that he had become deaf. At last he came +on board of a ship, with two other Christian men who had been long +afflicted in that country. All of them worked zealously in this vessel, +and so had a successful flight. Then he repaired to the holy man's +house, strong and fit to bear arms. Now he was vexed at his vow, went +from his promise to the holy king, ran away one day, and came in the +evening to a bonde who gave him lodging for God's sake. Then in the +night he saw three girls coming to him; and handsome and nobly dressed +were they. They spoke to him directly, and sharply reprimanded him for +having been so bold as to run from the good king who had shown so much +compassion to him, first in freeing him from his irons, and then from +the prison; and yet he had deserted the mild master into whose service +he had entered. Then he awoke full of terror, got up early, and told the +house-father his dream. The good man had nothing so earnest in life as +to send him-back to the holy place. This miracle was first written down +by a man who himself saw the man, and the marks of the chains upon his +body. + + + + +40. KING SIGURD MARRIES CECILIA. + +In the last period of King Sigurd's life, his new and extraordinary +resolution was whispered about, that he would be divorced from his +queen, and would take Cecilia, who was a great man's daughter, to wife. +He ordered accordingly a great feast to be prepared, and intended to +hold his wedding with her in Bergen. Now when Bishop Magne heard this, +he was very sorry; and one day the bishop goes to the king's hall, and +with him a priest called Sigurd, who was afterwards bishop of Bergen. +When they came to the king's hall, the bishop sent the king a message +that he would like to meet him; and asked the king to come out to him. +He did so, and came out with a drawn sword in his hand. He received the +bishop kindly and asked him to go in and sit down to table with him. + +The bishop replies, "I have other business now. Is it true, sire, what +is told me, that thou hast the intention of marrying, and of driving +away thy queen, and taking another wife?" + +The king said it was true. + +Then the bishop changed countenance, and angrily replied, "How can it +come into your mind, sire, to do such an act in our bishopric as to +betray God's word and law, and the holy church? It surprises me that +you treat with such contempt our episcopal office, and your own royal +office. I will now do what is my duty; and in the name of God, of the +holy King Olaf, of Peter the apostle, and of the other saints, forbid +thee this wickedness." + +While he thus spoke he stood straight up, as if stretching out his neck +to the blow, as if ready if the king chose to let the sword fall; and +the priest Sigurd, who afterwards was bishop, has declared that the +sky appeared to him no bigger than a calf's skin, so frightful did the +appearance of the king present itself to him. The king returned to the +hall, however, without saying a word; and the bishop went to his house +and home so cheerful and gay that he laughed, and saluted every child on +his way, and was playing with his fingers. Then the priest Sigurd +asked him the reason, saying, "Why are you so cheerful, sir? Do you not +consider that the king may be exasperated against you? and would it not +be better to get out of the way?" + +Then said the bishop, "It appears to me more likely that he will not act +so; and besides, what death could be better, or more desirable, than +to leave life for the honour of God? or to die for the holy cause of +Christianity and our own office, by preventing that which is not right? +I am so cheerful because I have done what I ought to do." + +There was much noise in the town about this. The king got ready for +a journey, and took with him corn, malt and honey. He went south to +Stavanger, and prepared a feast there for his marriage with Cecilia. +When a bishop who ruled there heard of this he went to the king, and +asked if it were true that he intended to marry in the lifetime of the +queen. + +The king said it was so. + +The bishop answers, "If it be so, sire, you must know how much such a +thing is forbidden to inferior persons. Now it appears as if you thought +it was allowable for you, because you have great power, and that it is +proper for you, although it is against right and propriety; but I do +not know how you will do it in our bishopric, dishonouring thereby God's +command, the holy Church, and our episcopal authority. But you must +bestow a great amount of gifts and estates on this foundation, and +thereby pay the mulct due to God and to us for such transgression." + +Then said the king, "Take what thou wilt of our possessions. Thou art +far more reasonable than Bishop Magne." + +Then the king went away, as well pleased with this bishop as ill pleased +with him who had laid a prohibition on him. Thereafter the king married +the girl, and loved her tenderly. + + + + +41. IMPROVEMENT OF KONUNGAHELLA. + +King Sigurd improved the town of Konungahella so much, that there was +not a greater town in Norway at the time, and he remained there long for +the defence of the frontiers. He built a king's house in the castle, and +imposed a duty on all the districts in the neighbourhood of the town, as +well as on the townspeople, that every person of nine years of age and +upwards should bring to the castle five missile stones for weapons, or +as many large stakes sharp at one end and five ells long. In the castle +the king built a cross-church of timber, and carefully put together, +as far as regards the wood and other materials. The cross-church was +consecrated in the 24th year of King Sigurd's reign (A.D. 1127). Here +the king deposited the piece of the holy cross, and many other holy +relics. It was called the castle church; and before the high altar he +placed the tables he had got made in the Greek country, which were of +copper and silver, all gilt, and beautifully adorned with jewels. Here +was also the shrine which the Danish king Eirik Eimune had sent to +King Sigurd; and the altar book, written with gold letters, which the +patriarch had presented to King Sigurd. + + + + +42. KING SIGURD'S DEATH. + +Three years after the consecration of the cross-church, when King Sigurd +was stopping at Viken, he fell sick (A.D. 1130). He died the night +before Mary's-mass (August 15), and was buried in Halvard's church, +where he was laid in the stone wall without the choir on the south side. +His son Magnus was in the town at the time and took possession of the +whole of the king's treasury when King Sigurd died. Sigurd had been king +of Norway twenty-seven years (A.D. 1104-1130), and was forty years of +age when he died. The time of his reign was good for the country; for +there was peace, and crops were good. + + + + +SAGA OF MAGNUS THE BLIND AND OF HARALD GILLE. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS + +An age of conflict now begins in Norway. On his death, in 1130, Sigurd +left his son Magnus and his brother Harald. They soon divided the +government, and then entered upon a five-years' conflict, until Magnus, +in 1135, with eyes picked out, went into a convent. + +The next year, 1136, a new pretender appeared in the person of Sigurd +Slembe, who took King Harald's life in 1137. Magnus died in 1139. + +Other literature in regard to this epoch is "Fagrskinna" and +"Morkinskinna". The corresponding part of "Agrip" is lost. + +Skalds quoted are: Haldor Skvaldre, Einar Skulason, and Ivar +Ingemundson. + + + + +1. MAGNUS AND HARALD PROCLAIMED KINGS. + +King Sigurd's son Magnus was proclaimed in Oslo king of all the country +immediately after his father's death, according to the oath which the +whole nation had sworn to King Sigurd; and many went into his service, +and many became his lendermen. Magnus was the handsomest man then in +Norway; of a passionate temper, and cruel, but distinguished in bodily +exercises. The favour of the people he owed most to the respect for his +father. He was a great drinker, greedy of money, hard, and obstinate. + +Harald Gille, on the other hand, was very pleasing in intercourse, gay, +and full of mirth; and so generous that he spared in nothing for the +sake of his friends. He willingly listened to good advice, so that he +allowed others to consult with him and give counsel. With all this he +obtained favour and a good repute, and many men attached themselves as +much to him as to King Magnus. Harald was in Tunsberg when he heard of +his brother King Sigurd's death. He called together his friends to a +meeting, and it was resolved to hold the Hauga Thing (1) there in the +town. At this Thing, Harald was chosen king of half the country, and it +was called a forced oath which had been taken from him to renounce his +paternal heritage. Then Harald formed a court, and appointed lendermen; +and very soon he had as many people about him as King Magnus. Then men +went between them, and matters stood in this way for seven days; but +King Magnus, finding he had fewer people, was obliged to give way, +and to divide the kingdom with Harald into two parts. The kingdom +accordingly was so divided (October 3, 1130) that each of them should +have the half part of the kingdom which King Sigurd had possessed; but +that King Magnus alone should inherit the fleet of ships, the table +service, the valuable articles and the movable effects which had +belonged to his father, King Sigurd. He was notwithstanding the +least satisfied with his share. Although they were of such different +dispositions, they ruled the country for some time in peace. King Harald +had a son called Sigurd, by Thora, a daughter of Guthorm Grabarde. King +Harald afterwards married Ingerid, a daughter of Ragnvald, who was a +son of the Swedish King Inge Steinkelson. King Magnus was married to +a daughter of Knut Lavard, and she was a sister of the Danish King +Valdernar; but King Magnus having no affection for her, sent her back to +Denmark; and from that day everything went ill with him, and he brought +upon himself the enmity of her family. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Hauga-thing means a Thing held at the tumuli or burial + mounds.--L. + + + + +2. OF THE FORCES OF HARALD AND MAGNUS. + +When the two relations, Harald and Magnus, had been about three years +kings of Norway (A.D. 1131-1133), they both passed the fourth winter +(A.D. 1134) in the town of Nidaros, and invited each other as guests; +but their people were always ready for a fight. In spring King Magnus +sailed southwards along the land with his fleet, and drew all the men he +could obtain out of each district, and sounded his friends if they would +strengthen him with their power to take the kingly dignity from Harald, +and give him such a portion of the kingdom, as might be suitable; +representing to them that King Harald had already renounced the kingdom +by oath. King Magnus obtained the consent of many powerful men. The same +spring Harald went to the Uplands, and by the upper roads eastwards +to Viken; and when he heard what King Magnus was doing, he also drew +together men on his side. Wheresoever the two parties went they killed +the cattle, or even the people, upon the farms of the adverse party. +King Magnus had by far the most people, for the main strength of the +country lay open to him for collecting men from it. King Harald was in +Viken on the east side of the fjord, and collected men, while they were +doing each other damage in property and life. King Harald had with him +Kristrod, his brother by his mother's side, and many other lendermen; +but King Magnus had many more. King Harald was with his forces at a +place called Fors in Ranrike, and went from thence towards the sea. The +evening before Saint Lawrence day (August 10), they had their supper at +a place called Fyrileif, while the guard kept a watch on horseback all +around the house. The watchmen observed King Magnus's army hastening +towards the house, and consisting of full 6000 men, while King Harald +had but 1500. Now come the watchmen who had to bring the news to King +Harald of what was going on and say that King Magnus's army was now very +near the town. + +The king says, "What will my relation King Magnus Sigurdson have? He +wants not surely to fight us." + +Thjostolf Alason replies, "You must certainly, sire, make preparation +for that, both for yourself and your men. King Magnus has been drawing +together an army all the summer for the purpose of giving you battle +when he meets you." + +Then King Harald stood up, and ordered his men to take their arms. "We +shall fight, if our relative King Magnus wants to fight us." + +Then the war-horns sounded, and all Harald's men went out from the house +to an enclosed field, and set up their banners. King Harald had on two +shirts of ring-mail, but his brother Kristrod had no armour on; and a +gallant man he was. When King Magnus and his men saw King Harald's troop +they drew up and made their array, and made their line so long that +they could surround the whole of King Harald's troop. So says Haldor +Skvaldre:-- + + "King Magnus on the battle-plain + From his long troop-line had great gain; + The plain was drenched with warm blood, + Which lay a red and reeking flood." + + + + +3. BATTLE AT FYRILEIF. + +King Magnus had the holy cross carried before him in this battle, and +the battle was great and severe. The king's brother, Kristrod, had +penetrated with his troop into the middle of King Magnus's array, +and cut down on each side of him, so that people gave way before him +everywhere. But a powerful bonde who was in King Harald's array raised +his spear with both hands, and drove it through between Kristrod's +shoulders, so that it came out at his breast; and thus fell Kristrod. +Many who were near asked the bonde why he had done so foul a deed. + +The bonde replies, "He knows the consequences now of slaughtering my +cattle in summer, and taking all that was in my house, and forcing me +to follow him here. I determined to give him some return when the +opportunity came." + +After this King Harald's army took to flight, and he fled himself, with +all his men. Many fell; and Ingemar Sveinson of Ask, a great chief and +lenderman, got there his death-wound, and nearly sixty of King Harald's +court-men also fell. Harald himself fled eastward to Viken to his ships, +and went out of the country to King Eirik Eimune in Denmark, and found +him in Seeland and sought aid from him. King Eirik received him well, +and principally because they had sworn to each other to be as brothers +(1); and gave him Halland as a fief to rule over, and gave him +seven long-ships, but without equipment. Thereafter King Harald went +northwards through Halland, and many Northmen came to meet him. After +this battle King Magnus subdued the whole country, giving life and +safety to all who were wounded, and had them taken care of equally with +his own men. He then called the whole country his own, and had a choice +of the best men who were in the country. When they held a council among +themselves afterwards, Sigurd Sigurdson, Thorer Ingeridson, and all the +men of most understanding, advised that they should keep their forces +together in Viken, and remain there, in case Harald should return from +the south; but King Magnus would take his own way, and went north to +Bergen. There he sat all winter (A.D. 1135), and allowed his men to +leave him; on which the lendermen returned home to their own houses. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) These brotherhoods, by which one man was bound by oath to + aid or avenge another, were common in the Middle Ages among + all ranks. "Sworn brothers" is still a common expression + with us.--L. + + + + +4. DEATH OF ASBJORN AND OF NEREID. + +King Harald came to Konungahella with the men who had followed him from +Denmark. The lendermen and town's burgesses collected a force against +him, which they drew up in a thick array above the town. King Harald +landed from his ships, and sent a message to the bondes, desiring that +they would not deny him his land, as he wanted no more than what of +right belonged to him. Then mediators went between them; and it came +to this, that the bondes dismissed their troops, and submitted to him. +Thereupon he bestowed fiefs and property on the lendermen, that they +might stand by him, and paid the bondes who joined him the lawful +mulcts for what they had lost. A great body of men attached themselves, +therefore, to King Harald; and he proceeded westwards to Viken, where he +gave peace to all men, except to King Magnus's people, whom he plundered +and killed wherever he found them. And when he came west to Sarpsborg he +took prisoners two of King Magnus s lendermen, Asbjorn and his brother +Nereid; and gave them the choice that one should be hanged, and the +other thrown into the Sarpsborg waterfall, and they might choose as they +pleased. Asbjorn chose to be thrown into the cataract, for he was the +elder of the two, and this death appeared the most dreadful; and so it +was done. Halder Skvaldre tells of this:-- + + "Asbjorn, who opposed the king, + O'er the wild cataract they fling: + Nereid, who opposed the king, + Must on Hagbard's high tree swing. + The king given food in many a way + To foul-mouthed beasts and birds of prey: + The generous men who dare oppose + Are treated as the worst of foes." + +Thereafter King Harald proceeded north to Tunsberg, where he was well +received, and a large force gathered to him. + + + + +5. OF THE COUNSELS PROPOSED. + +When King Magnus, who was in Bergen, heard these tidings, he called +together all the chiefs who were in the town, and asked them their +counsel, and what they should now do. Then Sigurd Sigurdson said, "Here +I can give a good advice. Let a ship be manned with good men, and put +me, or any other lenderman, to command it; send it to thy relation, King +Harald, and offer him peace according to the conditions upright men may +determine upon, and offer him the half of the kingdom. It appears to +me probable that King Harald, by the words and counsel of good men, may +accept this offer, and thus there may be a peace established between +you." + +Then King Magnus replied, "This proposal I will not accept of; for of +what advantage would it be, after we have gained the whole kingdom in +summer to give away the half of it now? Give us some other counsel." + +Then Sigurd Sigurdson answered, "It appears to me, sire, that your +lendermen who in autumn asked your leave to return home will now sit +at home and will not come to you. At that time it was much against my +advice that you dispersed so entirely the people we had collected; for +I could well suppose that Harald would come back to Viken as soon as he +heard that it was without a chief. Now there is still another counsel, +and it is but a poor one; but it may turn out useful to us. Send out +your pursuivants, and send other people with them, and let them go +against the lendermen who will not join you in your necessity, and +kill them; and bestow their property on others who will give you help +although they may have been of small importance before. Let them drive +together the people, the bad as well as the good; and go with the men +you can thus assemble against King Harald, and give him battle." + +The king replies, "It would be unpopular to put to death people of +distinction, and raise up inferior people who often break faith and +law, and the country would be still worse off. I would like to hear some +other counsel still." + +Sigurd replies, "It is difficult for me now to give advice, as you will +neither make peace nor give battle. Let us go north to Throndhjem, where +the main strength of the country is most inclined to our side; and on +the way let us gather all the men we can. It may be that these Elfgrims +will be tired of such a long stride after us." + +The king replies, "We must not fly from those whom we beat in summer. +Give some better counsel still." + +Then Sigurd stood up and said, while he was preparing to go out, "I will +now give you the counsel which I see you will take, and which must have +its course. Sit here in Bergen until Harald comes with his troops, and +then you will either suffer death or disgrace." + +And Sigurd remained no longer at that meeting. + + + + +6. OF HARALD'S FORCE. + +King Harald came from the East along the coast with a great army, and +this winter (A.D. 1135) is called on that account the Crowd-winter. King +Harald came to Bergen on Christmas eve, and landed with his fleet at +Floruvagar; but would not fight on account of the sacred time. But King +Magnus prepared for defence in the town. He erected a stone-slinging +machine out on the holm, and had iron chains and wooden booms laid +across over the passage from the king's house to Nordnes, and to the +Monks bridge. He had foot-traps made, and thrown into Saint John's +field, and did not suspend these works except during the three sacred +days of Christmas. The last holyday of Yule, King Harald ordered his +war-horns to sound the gathering of his men for going to the town; and, +during the Yule holydays, his army had been increased by about 900 men. + + + + +7. KING MAGNUS TAKEN PRISONER. + +King Harald made a promise to King Olaf the Saint for victory, that he +would build an Olaf's church in the town at his own expense. King Magnus +drew up his men in the Christ church yard; but King Harald laid his +vessels first at Nordnes. Now when King Magnus and his people saw that, +they turned round towards the town, and to the end of the shore; but +as they passed through the streets many of the burgesses ran into their +houses and homes, and those who went across the fields fell into the +foot-traps. Then King Magnus and his men perceived that King Harald had +rowed with all his men across to Hegravik, and landed there, and had +gone from thence the upper road up the hill opposite the town. Now +Magnus returned back again through the streets, and then his men fled +from him in all directions; some up to the mountains, some up to +the neighbourhood of the convent of nuns, some to churches, or hid +themselves as they best could. King Magnus fled to his ship; but +there was no possibility of getting away, for the iron chains outside +prevented the passage of vessels. He had also but few men with him, and +therefore could do nothing. Einar Skulason tells of this in the song of +Harald:-- + + "For a whole week an iron chain + Cut off all sailing to the main: + Bergen's blue stable was locked fast,-- + Her floating wains could not get past." + +Soon after Harald's people came out to the ships, and then King Magnus +was made prisoner. He was sitting behind in the forecastle upon the +chests of the high-seat, and at his side Hakon Fauk, his mother's +brother, who was very popular but was not considered very wise, and Ivar +Assurson. They, and many others of King Magnus's friends, were taken, +and some of them killed on the spot. + + + + +8. KING MAGNUS MUTILATED. + +Thereafter King Harald had a meeting of his counsellors, and desired +their counsel; and in this meeting the judgment was given that Magnus +should be deposed from his dominions, and should no longer be called +king. Then he was delivered to the king's slaves, who mutilated him, +picked out both his eyes, cut off one foot, and at last castrated him. +Ivar Assurson was blinded, and Hakon Fauk killed. The whole country then +was reduced to obedience under King Harald. Afterwards it was diligently +examined who were King Magnus's best friends, or who knew most of his +concealments of treasure or valuables. The holy cross King Magnus had +kept beside him since the battle of Fyrileif, but would not tell where +it was deposited for preservation. Bishop Reinald of Stavanger, who +was an Englishman, was considered very greedy of money. He was a great +friend of King Magnus, and it was thought likely that great treasure +and valuables had been given into his keeping. Men were sent for him +accordingly, and he came to Bergen, where it was insisted against +him that he had some knowledge of such treasure; but he denied it +altogether, would not admit it, and offered to clear himself by ordeal. +King Harald would not have this, but laid on the bishop a money fine +of fifteen marks of gold, which he should pay to the king. The bishop +declared he would not thus impoverish his bishop's see, but would rather +offer his life. On this they hanged the bishop out on the holm, beside +the sling machine. As he was going to the gallows he threw the sock from +his foot, and said with an oath, "I know no more about King Magnus's +treasure than what is in this sock;" and in it there was a gold ring. +Bishop Reinald was buried at Nordnes in Michael's church, and this deed +was much blamed. After this Harald Gille was sole king of Norway as long +as he lived. + + + + +9. WONDERFUL OMENS IN KONUNGAHELLA. + +Five years after King Sigurd's death remarkable occurrences took place +in Konungahella (A.D. 1135). Guthorm, a son of Harald Fletter, and +Saemund Husfreyja, were at that time the king's officers there. Saemund +was married to Ingebjorg, a daughter of the priest Andres Brunson. Their +sons were Paul Flip and Gunne Fis. Saemund's natural son was called +Asmund. Andres Brunson was a very remarkable man, who carried on divine +service in the Cross church. His wife (1) was called Solveig. Jon +Loptson, who was then eleven years old, was in their house to be +fostered and educated. The priest Lopt Saemundson, Jon's father, was +also in the town at that time. The priest Andres and Solveig had +a daughter by name Helga, who was Einar's wife. It happened now in +Konungahella, the next Sunday night after Easter week, that there was +a great noise in the streets through the whole town as if the king was +going through with all his court-men. The dogs were so affected that +nobody could hold them, but they slipped loose; and when they came out +they ran mad, biting all that came in their way, people and cattle. +All who were bitten by them till the blood came turned raging mad; and +pregnant women were taken in labour prematurely, and became mad. From +Easter to Ascension-day, these portentous circumstances took place +almost every night. People were dreadfully alarmed at these wonders; and +many made themselves ready to remove, sold their houses, and went out +to the country districts, or to other towns. The most intelligent men +looked upon it as something extremely remarkable; were in dread of it; +and said, as it proved to be, that it was an omen of important events +which had not yet taken place. And the priest Andres, on Whit Sunday, +made a long and excellent speech, and turned the conclusion of it to +the distressing situation of the townspeople; telling them to muster +courage, and not lay waste their excellent town by deserting it, but +rather to take the utmost care in all things, and use the greatest +foresight against all dangers, as of fire or the enemy, and to pray to +God to have mercy on them. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The Catholic priests appear to have had wives at that time + in Norway, and celibacy to have been confined to the monks. + --L. + + + + +10. THE RISE OF WAR IN KONUNGAHELLA. + +Thirteen loaded merchant ships made ready to leave the town, intending +to proceed to Bergen; but eleven of them were lost, men and goods, and +all that was in them; the twelfth was lost also, but the people were +saved, although the cargo went to the bottom. At that time the priest +Lopt went north to Bergen, with all that belonged to him, and arrived +safely. The merchant vessels were lost on Saint Lawrence eve (August +10). The Danish king Eirik and the Archbishop Assur, both sent notice to +Konungahella to keep watch on their town; and said the Vindland people +had a great force on foot with which they made war far around on +Christian people, and usually gained the victory. But the townspeople +attended very little to this warning, were indifferent, and forgot more +and more the dreadful omens the longer it was since they happened. On +the holy Saint Lawrence day, while the words of high mass were spoken, +came to the Vindland king Rettibur to Konungahella with 550 Vindland +cutters, and in each cutter were forty-four men and two horses. The +king's sister's son Dunimiz, and Unibur, a chief who ruled over many +people, were with him. These two chiefs rowed at once, with a part of +their troops, up the east arm of the Gaut river past Hising Isle, and +thus came down to the town; but a part of the fleet lay in the western +arm, and came so to the town. They made fast their ships at the piles, +and landed their horses, and rode over the height of Bratsas, and from +thence up around the town. Einar, a relation of priest Andres, brought +these tidings up to the Castle church; for there the whole inhabitants +of the town were gathered to hear high mass. Einar came just as the +priest Andres was holding his discourse; and he told the people that +an army was sailing up against the town with a great number of ships of +war, and that some people were riding over Bratsas. Many said it must be +the Danish king Eirik, and from him they might expect peace. The people +ran down into the town to their properties, armed themselves, and went +down upon the piers, whence they immediately saw there was an enemy +and an immense army. Nine East-country trading vessels belonging to the +merchants were afloat in the river at the piers. The Vindland people +first directed their course toward these and fought with the merchants, +who armed themselves, and defended themselves long, well, and manfully. +There was a hard battle, and resistance, before the merchant vessels +were cleared of their men; and in this conflict the Vindland people +lost 150 of their ships, with all the men on board. When the battle was +sharpest the townsmen stood upon the piers, and shot at the heathens. +But when the fight slackened the burgesses fled up to the town, and from +thence into the castle; and the men took with them all their valuable +articles, and such goods as they could carry. Solveig and her daughters, +with two other women, went on shore when the Vindlanders took possession +of the merchant vessels. Now the Vindlanders landed, and mustered their +men, and discovered their loss. Some of them went up into the town, some +on board the merchant ships, and took all the goods they pleased; +and then they set fire to the town, and burnt it and the ships. They +hastened then with all their army to assault the castle. + + + + +11. THE SECOND BATTLE. + +King Rettibur made an offer to those who were in the castle that they +should go out, and he would give them their lives, weapons, clothes, +silver, and gold; but all exclaimed against it, and went out on the +fortification; some shot, some threw stones, some sharp stakes. It was +a great battle, in which many fell on both sides, but by far the most +of the Vindlanders. Solveig came up to a large farm called Solbjorg, and +brought the news. A message war-token was there split, and sent out to +Skurbagar, where there happened to be a joint ale-drinking feast, and +many men were assembled. A bonde called Olver Miklimun (Mickle Mouth) +was there, who immediately sprang up, took helmet and shield, and a +great axe in his hand, and said, "Stand up, brave lads, and take your +weapons. Let us go help the townspeople; for it would appear shameful +to every man who heard of it, if we sit here sipping our ale, while good +men in the town are losing their lives by our neglect." + +Many made an objection, and said they would only be losing their own +lives, without being of any assistance to the townspeople. + +Then said Olver, "Although all of you should hold back, I will go alone; +and one or two heathens, at any rate, shall fall before I fall." + +He ran down to the town, and a few men after him to see what he would +do, and also whether they could assist him in any way. When he came +near the castle, and the heathens saw him, they sent out eight men fully +armed against him; and when they met, the heathen men ran and surrounded +him on all sides. Olver lifted his axe, and struck behind him with +the extreme point of it, hitting the neck of the man who was coming up +behind him, so that his throat and jawbone were cut through, and he fell +dead backwards. Then he heaved his axe forwards, and struck the next man +in the head, and clove him down to the shoulders. He then fought with +the others, and killed two of them; but was much wounded himself. The +four who remained took to flight, but Olver ran after them. There was +a ditch before them, and two of the heathens jumped into it, and Olver +killed them both; but he stuck fast himself in the ditch, so that two of +the eight heathens escaped. The men who had followed Olver took him +up, and brought him back to Skurbagar, where his wounds were bound and +healed; and it was the talk of the people, that no single man had ever +made such a bloody onset. Two lendermen, Sigurd Gyrdson, a brother of +Philip, and Sigard, came with 600 men to Skurbagar; on which Sigurd +turned back with 400 men. He was but little respected afterwards, and +soon died. Sigard, on the other hand, proceeded with 200 men towards the +town; and they gave battle to the heathens, and were all slain. While +the Vindlanders were storming the castle, their king and his chiefs were +out of the battle. At one place there was a man among the Vindlanders +shooting with a bow, and killing a man for every arrow; and two men +stood before him, and covered him with their shields. Then Saemund +Husfreyja said to his son Asmund, that they should both shoot together +at this bowman. "But I will shoot at the man who holds the shield before +him." He did so, and he knocked the shield down a little before the man; +and in the same instant Asmund shot between the shields, and the arrow +hit the bowman in the forehead, so that it came out at his neck, and he +fell down dead. When the Vindlanders saw it they howled like dogs, or +like wolves. Then King Rettibur called to them that he would give them +safety and life, but they refused terms. The heathens again made a +hard assault. One of the heathens in particular fought so bravely, and +ventured so near, that he came quite up to the castle-gate, and pierced +the man who stood outside the gate with his sword; and although they +used both arrows and stones against him, and he had neither shield nor +helmet, nothing could touch him, for he was so skilled in witchcraft +that weapon could not wound him. Then priest Andres took consecrated +fire; blew upon it; cut tinder in pieces, and laid it on the fire; and +then laid the tinder on the arrow-point, and gave it to Asmund. He shot +this arrow at the warlock; and the shaft hit so well that it did its +business, and the man of witchcraft fell dead. Then the heathens crowded +together as before, howling and whining dreadfully; and all gathered +about their king, on which the Christians believed that they were +holding a council about retreating. The interpreters, who understood +the Vindland tongue, heard the chief Unibur make the following speech: +"These people are brave, and it is difficult to make anything of them; +and even if we took all the goods in their town, we might willingly give +as much more that we had never come here, so great has been our loss of +men and chiefs. Early in the day, when we began to assault the castle, +they defended themselves first with arrows and spears; then they fought +against us with stones; and now with sticks and staves, as against dogs. +I see from this that they are in want of weapons and means of defense; +so we shall make one more hard assault, and try their strength." It +was as he said, that they now fought with stakes; because, in the first +assault, they had imprudently used up all their missile weapons and +stones; and now when the Christians saw the number of their stakes +diminishing, they clave each stake in two. The heathens now made a very +hot attack, and rested themselves between whiles, and on both sides they +were exhausted. During a rest the Vindland king Rettibur again offered +terms, and that they should retain the weapons, clothes, and silver they +could carry out of the castle. Saemund Husfreyja had fallen, and the men +who remained gave the counsel to deliver up the castle and themselves +into the power of the heathens; but it was a foolish counsel; for the +heathens did not keep their promises, but took all people, men, women, +and children, and killed all of them who were wounded or young, or could +not easily be carried with them. They took all the goods that were in +the castle; went into the Cross church, and plundered it of all its +ornaments. The priest Andres gave King Rettibur a silver-mounted gilt +sceptre, and to his sister's son Dunimiz he gave a gold ring. They +supposed from this that he was a man of great importance in the town, +and held him in higher respect than the others. They took away with them +the holy cross, and also the tables which stood before the altar, which +Sigurd had got made in the Greek country, and had brought home himself. +These they took, and laid flat down on the steps before the altar. Then +the heathens went out of the church. Rettibur said, "This house has +been adorned with great zeal for the God to whom it is dedicated; but, +methinks, He has shown little regard for the town or house: so I see +their God has been angry at those who defended them." King Rettibur gave +the priest Andres the church, the shrine, the holy cross, the Bible, +the altar-book, and four clerks (prisoners); but the heathens burnt the +Castle church, and all the houses that were in the castle. As the fire +they had set to the church went out twice, they hewed the church down, +and then it burnt like other houses. Then the heathens went to their +ships with the booty; but when they mustered their people and saw their +loss, they made prisoners of all the people, and divided them among the +vessels. Now priest Andres went on board the king's ship with the holy +cross, and there came a great terror over the heathens on account of the +portentous circumstance which took place in the king's ship; namely, +it became so hot that all thought they were to be burnt up. The king +ordered the interpreter to ask the priest why this happened. He replied, +that the Almighty God on whom the Christians believed, sent them a proof +of His anger, that they who would not believe in their Creator presumed +to lay hands on the emblem of His suffering; and that there lay so much +power in the cross, that such, and even clearer miracles, happened to +heathen men who had taken the cross in their hands. The king had the +priest put into the ship's boat, and the priest Andres carried the holy +cross in his grasp. They led the boat along past the ship's bow, +and then along the side of the next ship, and then shoved it with a +boat-hook in beside the pier. Then Andres went with the cross by night +to Solbjorg, in rain and dreadful weather; but brought it in good +preservation. King Rettibur, and the men he had remaining, went home +to Vindland, and many of the people who were taken at Konungahella were +long afterwards in slavery in Vindland; and those who were ransomed and +came back to Norway to their udal lands and properties, throve worse +than before their capture. The merchant town of Konungahella has never +since risen to the importance it was of before this event. + + + + +12. OF MAGNUS THE BLIND. + +King Magnus, after he was deprived of sight, went north to Nidaros, +where he went into the cloister on the holm, and assumed the monk's +dress. The cloister received the farm of Great Hernes in Frosta for his +support. King Harald alone ruled the country the following winter, gave +all men peace and pardon who desired it, and took many of the men into +his court-service who had been with King Magnus. Einar Skulason says +that King Harald had two battles in Denmark; the one at Hvedn Isle, and +the other at Hlesey Isle:-- + + "Unwearied champion! who wast bred + To stain thy blue-edged weapons red! + Beneath high Hvedn's rocky shore, + The faithless felt thy steel once more." + +And again, thus:-- + + "On Hlesey's plain the foe must quail + 'Fore him who dyes their shirts of mail. + His storm-stretched banner o'er his head + Flies straight, and fills the foe with dread." + + + + +13. OF KING HARALD GILLE AND BISHOP MAGNUS. + +King Harald Gille was a very generous man. It is told that in his time +Magnus Einarson came from Iceland to be consecrated a bishop, and the +king received him well, and showed him much respect. When the bishop was +ready to sail for Iceland again, and the ship was rigged out for sea, he +went to the hall where the king was drinking, saluted him politely and +warmly, and the king received him joyfully. The queen was sitting beside +the king. + +Then said the king, "Are you ready, bishop, for your voyage?" + +He replied that he was. + +The king said, "You come to us just now at a bad time; for the tables +are just removed, and there is nothing at hand suitable to present to +you. What is there to give the bishop?" + +The treasurer replies, "Sire, as far as I know, all articles of any +value are given away." + +The king: "Here is a drinking goblet remaining; take this, bishop; it is +not without value." + +The bishop expressed his thanks for the honour shown him. + +Then said the queen, "Farewell, bishop! and a happy voyage." + +The king said to her, "When did you ever hear a noble lady say so to a +bishop without giving him something?" + +She replies, "Sire, what have I to give him?" + +The king: "Thou hast the cushion under thee." + +Thereupon this, which was covered with costly cloth, and was a valuable +article, was given to the bishop. When the bishop was going away the +king took the cushion from under himself and gave it him, saying, "They +have long been together." When the bishop arrived in Iceland to his +bishop's see, it was talked over what should be done with the goblet +that would be serviceable for the king; and when the bishop asked +the opinion of other people, many thought it should be sold, and the +value-bestowed on the poor. Then said the bishop, "I will take another +plan. I will have a chalice made of it for this church, and consecrate +it, so that all the saints of whom there are relics in this church shall +let the king have some good for his gift every time a mass is sung over +it." This chalice has since belonged to the bishopric of Skalholt; and +of the costly cloth with which the cushions given him by the king were +covered, were made the choristers' cloaks which are now in Skalholt. +From this the generous spirit of King Harald may be seen, as well as +from many other things, of which but a few are set down here. + + + + +14. BEGINNING OF SIGURD SLEMBIDJAKN. + +There was a man, by name Sigurd, who was brought up in Norway, and was +called priest Adalbrikt's son. Sigurd's mother was Thora, a daughter of +Saxe of Vik, a sister of Sigrid, who was mother of King Olaf Magnuson, +and of Kare, the king's brother who married Borghild, a daughter of Dag +Eilifson. Their sons were Sigurd of Austrat and Dag. Sigurd of Austrat's +sons were Jon of Austrat, Thorstein, and Andres the Deaf. Jon was +married to Sigrid, a sister of King Inge and of Duke Skule. This +Sigurd, in his childhood, was kept at his book, became a clerk, and was +consecrated a deacon; but as he ripened in years and strength he became +a very clever man, stout, strong, distinguished for all perfections and +exercises beyond any of his years,--indeed, beyond any man in Norway. +Sigurd showed early traces of a haughty ungovernable spirit, and was +therefore called Slembidjakn. He was as handsome a man as could be seen, +with rather thin but beautiful hair. When it came to Sigurd's ears that +his mother said King Magnus was his father, he laid aside all clerkship; +and as soon as he was old enough to be his own master, he left the +country. He was a long time on his travels, went to Palestine; was at +the Jordan river; and visited many holy places, as pilgrims usually do. +When he came back, he applied himself to trading expeditions. One winter +he was in Orkney with Earl Harald, and was with him when Thorkel Fostre +Summarlidason was killed. Sigurd was also in Scotland with the Scottish +king David, and was held in great esteem by him. Thereafter Sigurd went +to Denmark; and according to the account of himself and his men, he +there submitted to the iron ordeal to confirm his paternal descent, and +proved by it, in the presence of five bishops, that he was a son of King +Magnus Barefoot. So says Ivar Ingemundson, in Sigurd's song:-- + + "The holiest five + Of men alive,-- + Bishops were they,-- + Solemnly say, + The iron glowing + Red hot, yet showing + No scaith on skin, + Proves cause and kin." + +King Harald Gille's friends, however, said this was only a lie, and +deceit of the Danes. + + + + +15. SIGURD IN ICELAND. + +It is told before of Sigurd that he passed some years in merchant +voyages, and he came thus to Iceland one winter, and took up his lodging +with Thorgils Odson in Saurby; but very few knew where he was. In +autumn, when the sheep were being driven into a fold to be slaughtered, +a sheep that was to be caught ran to Sigurd; and as Sigurd thought the +sheep ran to him for protection, he stretched out his hands to it and +lifted it over the fold dyke, and let it run to the hills, saying, +"There are not many who seek help from me, so I may well help this one." +It happened the same winter that a woman had committed a theft, and +Thorgils, who was angry at her for it, was going to punish her; but +she ran to Sigurd to ask his help, and he set her upon the bench by +his side. Thorgils told him to give her up, and told him what she had +committed; but Sigurd begged forgiveness for her since she had come +to him for protection, and that Thorgils would dismiss the complaint +against her, but Thorgils insisted that she should receive her +punishment. When Sigurd saw that Thorgils would not listen to his +entreaty, he started up, drew his sword, and bade him take her if he +dared; and Thorgils seeing that Sigurd would defend the woman by force +of arms, and observing his commanding mien, guessed who he must be, +desisted from pursuing the woman, and pardoned her. There were many +foreign men there, and Sigurd made the least appearance among them. One +day Sigurd came into the sitting-room, and a Northman who was splendidly +clothed was playing chess with one of Thorads house-servants. The +Northman called Sigurd, and asked him his advice how to play; but when +Sigurd looked at the board, he saw the game was lost. The man who +was playing against the Northman had a sore foot, so that one toe was +bruised, and matter was coming out of it. Sigurd, who was sitting on the +bench, takes a straw, and draws it along the floor, so that some young +kittens ran after it. He drew the straw always before them, until they +came near the house-servant's foot, who jumping up with a scream, threw +the chessmen in disorder on the board; and thus it was a dispute how the +game had stood. This is given as a proof of Sigurd's cunning. People did +not know that he was a learned clerk until the Saturday before Easter, +when he consecrated the holy water with chant; and the longer he stayed +there the more he was esteemed. The summer after, Sigurd told Thorgils +before they parted, that he might with all confidence address his +friends to Sigurd Slembidjakn. Thorgils asked how nearly he was related +to him, on which he replies, "I am Sigurd Slembidjakn, a son of King +Magnus Barefoot." He then left Iceland. + + + + +16. OF SIGURD SLEMBE. + +When Harald Gille had been six years (A.D. 1136), king of Norway, Sigurd +came to the country and went to his brother King Harald, and found him +in Bergen. He placed himself entirely in the king's hands, disclosed +who his father was, and asked him to acknowledge their relationship. The +king gave him no hasty or distinct reply; but laid the matter before +his friends in a conference at a specially appointed meeting. After +this conference it became known that the king laid an accusation against +Sigurd, because he had been at the killing of Thorkel Fostre in the +West. Thorkel had accompanied Harald to Norway when he first came to +the country, and had been one of Harald's best friends. This case was +followed up so severely, that a capital accusation against Sigurd was +made, and, by the advice of the lendermen, was carried so far, that some +of the king's pursuivants went one evening late to Sigurd, and called +him to them. They then took a boat and rowed away with Sigurd from the +town south to Nordnes. Sigurd sat on a chest in the stern of the boat, +and had his suspicions that foul play was intended. He was clothed in +blue trousers, and over his shirt he had a hood tied with ribands, +which served him for a cloak. He sat looking down, and holding his +hood-strings; and sometimes moved them over his head, sometimes let +them fall again before him. Now when they had passed the ness, they +were drunk, and merry, were rowing so eagerly that they were not taking +notice of anything. Sigurd stood up, and went on the boat's deck; but +the two men who were placed to guard him stood up also, and followed +him to the side of the vessel, holding by his cloak, as is the custom in +guarding people of distinction. As he was afraid that they would catch +hold of more of his clothes, he seized them both, and leaped overboard +with them. The boat, in the meantime, had gone on a long way, and it was +a long time before those on board could turn the vessel, and long before +they could get their own men taken on board again; and Sigurd dived +under water, and swam so far away that he reached the land before they +could get the boat turned to pursue him. Sigurd, who was very swift of +foot, hied up to the mountains, and the king's men travelled about the +whole night seeking him without finding him. He lay down in a cleft of +the rocks; and as he was very cold he took off his trousers, cut a hole +in the seat of them, and stuck his head through it, and put his arms +in the legs of them. He escaped with life this time; and the king's men +returned, and could not conceal their unsuccessful adventure. + + + + +17. TREACHERY TOWARDS KING HARALD. + +Sigurd thought now that it would be of no use to seek any help from +King Harald again; and he kept himself concealed all the autumn and the +beginning of the winter. He lay hid in Bergen, in the house of a priest. +King Harald was also in the town, and many great people with him. Now +Sigurd considered how, with his friends' help, he might take the king by +surprise, and make an end of him. Many men took part in this design; and +among them some who were King Harald's court-men and chamberlains, +but who had formerly been King Magnus's court-men. They stood in great +favour with the king, and some of them sat constantly at the king's +table. On Saint Lucia's day (December 13), in the evening when they +proposed to execute this treason, two men sat at the king's table +talking together; and one of them said to the king, "Sire, we two +table-companions submit our dispute to your judgment, having made a +wager of a basket of honey to him who guesses right. I say that you +will sleep this night with your Queen Ingerid; and he says that you will +sleep with Thora, Guthorm's daughter." + +The king answered laughing, and without suspecting in the least that +there lay treachery under the question, that he who had asked had lost +his bet. + +They knew thus where he was to be found that night; but the main guard +was without the house in which most people thought the king would sleep, +viz., that which the queen was in. + + + + +18. MURDER OF KING HARALD. + +Sigurd Slembe, and some men who were in his design, came in the night +to the lodging in which King Harald was sleeping; killed the watchman +first; then broke open the door, and went in with drawn swords. Ivar +Kolbeinson made the first attack on King Harald; and as the king had +been drunk when he went to bed he slept sound, and awoke only when the +men were striking at him. Then he said in his sleep, "Thou art treating +me hardly, Thora." She sprang up, saying, "They are treating thee hardly +who love thee less than I do." Harald was deprived of life. Then Sigurd +went out with his helpers, and ordered the men to be called to him who +had promised him their support if he should get King Harald taken out +of the way. Sigurd and his men then went on, and took a boat, set +themselves to the oars, and rowed out in front of the king's house; and +then it was just beginning to be daylight. Then Sigurd stood up, spoke +to those who were standing on the king's pier, made known to them the +murder of King Harald by his hand, and desired that they would take him, +and choose him as chief according to his birth. Now came many swarming +down to the pier from the king's house; and all with one voice replied, +that they would never give obedience or service to a man who had +murdered his own brother. "And if thou are not his brother, thou hast no +claim from descent to be king." They clashed their weapons together, and +adjudged all murderers to be banished and outlawed men. Now the king's +horn sounded, and all lendermen and courtmen were called together. +Sigurd and his companions saw it was best for them to get way; and +he went northward to North Hordaland, where he held a Thing with the +bondes, who submitted to him, and gave him the title of king. From +thence he went to Sogn, and held a Thing there with the bondes and was +proclaimed king. Then he went north across the fjords, and most people +supported his cause. So says Ivar Ingemundson:-- + + "On Harald's fall + The bondes all, + In Hord and Sogn, + Took Magnus' son. + The Things swore too + They would be true + To this new head + In Harald's stead." + +King Harald was buried in the old Christ church. + + + + +SAGA OF SIGURD, INGE, AND EYSTEIN, THE SONS OF HARALD + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +Sigurd died A.D. 1155, Eystein 1157, and Inge 1161. + +Other literature is "Morkinskinna" and "Fagrskinna." + +Sigurd Slembe is the subject of a drama by Bjornstjerne Bjornson, +translated into English by William Morton Payne, and published by +Houghton, Mifflin & Co., Boston, 1888. + +Skalds quoted are: Kolle, Einar Skulason, and Thorbjorn Skakkaskald. + + + + +1. HISTORY OF KINGS SIGURD AND INGE. + +Queen Ingerid, and with her the lendermen and the court which had been +with King Harald, resolved to send a fast-sailing vessel to Throndhjem +to make known King Harald's death, and also to desire the Throndhjem +people to take King Harald's son Sigurd for king. He was then in the +north, and was fostered by Sadagyrd Bardson. Queen Ingerid herself +proceeded eastward immediately to Viken. Inge was the name of her son by +King Harald, and he was then fostered by Amunde Gyrdson, a grandson of +Logberse. When they came to Viken a Borgar-thing was immediately called +together, at which Inge, who was in the second year of his age, was +chosen king. This resolution was supported by Amunde and Thjostolf +Alason, together with many other great chiefs. Now when the tidings came +north to Throndhjem that King Harald was murdered, the Throndhjem people +took Sigurd, King Harald's son, to be the king; and this resolution was +supported by Ottar Birting, Peter Saudaulfson, the brothers Guthorm +of Reine, and Ottar Balle, sons of Asolf and many other great chiefs. +Afterwards the whole nation almost submitted to the brothers, and +principally because their father was considered holy; and the country +took the oath to them, that the kingly power should not go to any other +man as long as any of King Harald's sons were alive. + + + + +2. OF SIGURD SLEMBIDJAKN. + +Sigurd Slembe sailed north around Stad; and when he came to North More, +he found that letters and full powers had arrived before him from the +leaders who had given in their allegiance to Harald's sons; so that +there he got no welcome or help. As Sigurd himself had but few people +with him, he resolved to go with them to Throndhjem, and seek out Magnus +the Blind; for he had already sent a message before him to Magnus's +friends. Now when they came to the town, they rowed up the river Nid +to meet King Magnus, and fastened their land-ropes on the shore at +the king's house; but were obliged to set off immediately, for all the +people rose against them. They then landed at Monkholm, and took Magnus +the Blind out of the cloister against the will of the monks; for he had +been consecrated a monk. It is said by some that Magnus willingly went +with them; although it was differently reported, in order to make his +cause appear better. Sigurd, immediately after Yule (January, A.D. +1137), went forth with his suite, expecting aid from his relations and +Magnus's friends, and which they also got. Sigurd sailed with his men +out of the fjord, and was joined afterwards by Bjorn Egilson, Gunnar +of Gimsar, Haldor Sigurdson, Aslak Hakonson, the brothers Bendikt and +Eirik, and also the court which had before been with King Magnus, and +many others. With this troop they went south to More, and down to the +mouth of Raumsdal fjord. Here Sigurd and Magnus divided their forces, +and Sigurd went immediately westwards across the sea. King Magnus again +proceeded to the Uplands, where he expected much help and strength, and +which he obtained. He remained there the winter and all the summer (A.D. +1137), and had many people with him; but King Inge proceeded against him +with all his forces, and they met at a place called Mynne. There was a +great battle, at which King Magnus had the most people. It is related +that Thjostolf Alason carried King Inge in his belt as long as the +battle lasted, and stood under the banner; but Thjostolf was hard +pressed by fatigue and fighting; and it is commonly said that King Inge +got his ill health there, and which he retained as long as he lived, so +that his back was knotted into a hump, and the one foot was shorter than +the other; and he was besides so infirm that he could scarcely walk as +long as he lived. The defeat began to turn upon Magnus and his men; and +in the front rank of his array fell Haldor Sigurdson, Bjorn Egilson, +Gunnar of Gimsar, and a great number of his men, before he himself would +take to his horse and fly. So says Kolle:-- + + "Thy arrow-storm on Mynne's banks + Fast thinn'd the foemen's strongest ranks; + Thy good sword hewed the raven's feast + On Mynne's banks up in the East. + Shield clashed on shield, and bucklers broke + Under thy battle-axe's stroke; + While thou, uncovered, urged the fray, + Thy shield and mail-coat thrown away." + +And also this:-- + + "The king to heaven belonging fled, + When thou, in war's quick death-game bred, + Unpanzered, shieldless on the plain + His heavy steel-clad guards hadst slain. + The painted shield, and steel-plate mail, + Before thy fierce attack soon fail, + To Magnus who belongs to heaven, + + Was no such fame in battle given." + +Magnus fled eastward to Gautland, and then to Denmark. At that time +there was in Gautland an earl, Karl Sonason, who was a great and +ambitious man. Magnus the Blind and his men said, wherever they happened +to meet with chiefs, that Norway lay quite open to any great chieftain +who would attack it; for it might well be said there was no king in the +country, and the kingdom was only ruled by lendermen, and, among those +who had most sway, there was, from mutual jealousy, most discord. Now +Karl, being ambitious of power, listens willingly to such speeches; +collects men, and rides west to Viken, where many people, out of fear, +submit to him. When Thjostolf Alason and Amunde heard of this, they went +with the men they could get together, and took King Inge with them. They +met Earl Karl and the Gautland army eastward in Krokaskog, where there +was a great battle and a great defeat, King Inge gaining the victory. +Munan Ogmundson, Earl Karl's mother's brother, fell there. Ogmund, the +father of Munan, was a son of Earl Orm Eilifson, and Sigrid, a daughter +of Earl Fin Arnason. Astrid, Ogrnund's daughter, was the mother of Earl +Karl. Many others of the Gautland people fell at Krokaskog; and the earl +fled eastward through the forest. King Inge pursued them all the way out +of the kingdom; and this expedition turned out a great disgrace to them. +So says Kolle:-- + + "I must proclaim how our great lord + Coloured deep red his ice-cold sword; + And ravens played with Gautland bones, + And wolves heard Gautlanders' last groans. + Their silly jests were well repaid,-- + In Krokaskog their laugh was laid: + Thy battle power was then well tried, + And they who won may now deride." + + + + +3. KING EIRIK'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. + +Magnus the Blind then went to Denmark to King Eirik Eimune, where he +was well received. He offered the king to follow him if he would invade +Norway with a Danish army, and subdue the country; saying, that if he +came to Norway with his army, no man in Norway would venture to throw +a spear against him. The king allowed himself to be moved by Magnus's +persuasions, ordered a levy, and went north to Norway with 200 ships; +and Magnus and his men were with him on this expedition. When they came +to Viken, they proceeded peacefully and gently on the east side of the +fjord; but when the fleet came westward to Tunsberg, a great number +of King Inge's lendermen came against them. Their leader was Vatnorm +Dagson, a brother of Gregorius. The Danes could not land to get water +without many of them being killed; and therefore they went in through +the fjord to Oslo, where Thjostolf Alason opposed them. It is told that +some people wanted to carry the holy Halvard's coffin out of the town in +the evening when the fleet was first observed, and as many as could took +hold of it; but the coffin became so heavy that they could not carry +it over the church floor. The morning after, however, when they saw the +fleet sailing in past the Hofud Isle, four men carried the coffin out of +the town, and Thjostolf and all the townspeople followed it. + + + + +4. THE TOWN OF OSLO BURNT. + +King Eirik and his army advanced against the town; and some of his men +hastened after Thjostolf and his troop. Thjostolf threw a spear at a +man named Askel, which hit him under the throat, so that the spear point +went through his neck; and Thjostolf thought he had never made a better +spear-cast, for, except the place he hit, there was nothing bare to be +seen. The shrine of St. Halvard, was taken up to Raumarike, where it +remained for three months. Thjostolf went up to Raumarike, and collected +men during the night, with whom he returned towards the town in the +morning. In the meantime King Eirik set fire to Halvard's church, and +to the town, which was entirely burnt. Thjostolf came soon after to the +town with the men he had assembled, and Eirik sailed off with his fleet; +but could not land anywhere on that side of the fjord, on account of the +troops of the lendermen who came down against them; and wherever they +attempted a landing, they left five or six men or more upon the strand. +King Inge lay with a great number of people into Hornborusund, but when +he learned this, he turned about southwards to Denmark again. King Inge +pursued him, and took from him all the ships he could get hold of; and +it was a common observation among people, that never was so poor an +expedition made with so great an armament in another king's dominions. +King Eirik was ill pleased at it, and thought King Magnus and his men +had been making a fool of him by encouraging him to undertake this +expedition, and he declared he would never again besuch friends with +them as before. + + + + +5. OF SIGURD SLEMBIDJAKN. + +Sigurd Slembidjakn came that summer from the West sea to Norway, +where he heard of his relation King Magnus's unlucky expedition; so he +expected no welcome in Norway, but sailed south, outside the rocks, past +the land, and set over to Denmark, and went into the Sound. He fell in +with some Vindland cutters south of the islands, gave them battle, and +gained the victory. He cleared eight ships, killing many of the men, and +he hanged the others. + +He also had a battle off the Island Mon with the Vindland men, and +gained a victory. He then sailed from the south and came to the eastern +arm of the Gaut river, and took three ships of the fleet of Thorer +Hvinantorde, and Olaf, the son of Harald Kesia, who was Sigurd's own +sister's son; for Ragnhild, the mother of Olaf, was a daughter of King +Magnus Barefoot. He drove Olaf up the country. + +Thjostolf was at this time in Konungahella, and had collected people to +defend the country, and Sigurd steered thither with his fleet. They shot +at each other, but he could not effect a landing; and, on both sides, +many were killed and many wounded. Ulfhedin Saxolfson, Sigurd's +forecastle man, fell there. He was an Icelander, from the north quarter. +Sigurd continued his course northwards to Viken and plundered far +and wide around. Now when Sigurd lay in a harbour called Portyrja on +Limgard's coast, and watched the ships going to or coming from Viken to +plunder them, the Tunsberg men collected an armed force against him, +and came unexpectedly upon them while Sigurd and his men were on shore +dividing their booty. Some of the men came down from the land, but some +of the other party laid themselves with their ships right across the +harbour outside of them. Sigurd ran up into his ship, and rowed out +against them. Vatnorm's ship was the nearest, and he let his ship fall +behind the line, and Sigurd rowed clear past, and thus escaped with one +ship and the loss of many men. This verse was made upon Vatnorm (1):-- + + "The water serpent, people say, + From Portyrja slipped away." + + + ENDNOTES: (1) Vatnorm, the name of this man, means the water-serpent, + and appears to have been a favourite name for war-ships also; + hence the pun in the lines upon Vatnorm.--L. + + + + +6. THE MURDER OF BEINTEIN. + +Sigurd Slembidjakn sailed from thence to Denmark; and at that time a man +was lost in his ship, whose name was Kolbein Thorliotson of Batald. +He was sitting in a boat which was made fast to the vessel, and upset +because she was sailing quickly. When they came south to Denmark, +Sigurd's ship itself was cast away; but he got to Alaborg, and was +there in winter. The summer after (A.D. 1138) Magnus and Sigurd sailed +together from the south with seven ships, and came unexpectedly in +the night to Lister, where they laid their ships on the land. Beintein +Kolbeinson, a court-man of King Inge, and a very brave man, was there. +Sigurd and his men jumped on shore at daylight, came unexpectedly on the +people, surrounded the house, and were setting fire to the buildings; +but Beintein came out of a store-house with his weapons, well armed, and +stood within the door with drawn sword, his shield before him, helmet +on, and ready to defend himself. The door was somewhat low. Sigurd asked +which of his lads had most desire to go in against Beintein, which he +called brave man's work; but none was very hurried to make ready for +it. While they were discussing this matter Sigurd rushed into the house, +past Beintein. Beintein struck at him, but missed him. Sigurd turned +instantly on Beintein; and after exchanging blows, Sigurd gave him his +death-stroke, and came out presently bearing his head in his hands. + +They took all the goods that were in the farm-house, carried the booty +to their ships, and sailed away. When King Inge and his friends, and +also Kolbein's sons, Sigurd and Gyrd, the brothers of Beintein, heard of +Beintein's murder, the king sent a great force against Sigurd Slembe and +his followers; and also travelled himself, and took a ship from Hakon +Paulson Pungelta, who was a daughter's son of Aslak, a son of Erling +Skjalgson of Sole, and cousin of Hakon Mage. King Inge drove Hakon and +his followers up the country, and took all their gear. Sigurd Stork, +a son of Eindride of Gautdal, and his brother, Eirik Hael, and Andres +Kelduskit, son of Grim of Vist, all fled away into the fjords. But +Sigurd Slembe, Magnus the Blind and Thorieif Skiappa sailed outside the +isles with three ships north to Halogaland; and Magnus was in winter +(A.D. 1139) north in Bjarkey Isle with Vidkun Jonson. But Sigurd had the +stem and stern-post of his ship cut out, made a hole in her, and sank +her in the inner part of Egisfjord, and thereafter he passed the winter +at Tialdasund by Gljufrafjord in Hin. Far up the fjord there is a cave +in the rock; in that place Sigurd sat with his followers, who were above +twenty men, secretly, and hung a grey cloth before the mouth of the +hole, so that no person could see them from the strand. Thorleif +Skiappa, and Einar, son of Ogmund of Sand, and of Gudrun, daughter of +Einar Arason of Reikiaholar, procured food for Sigurd during the winter. +It is said that Sigurd made the Laplanders construct two boats for him +during the winter up in the fjord; and they were fastened together with +deer sinews, without nails, and with twigs of willow instead of knees, +and each boat could carry twelve men. Sigurd was with the Laplanders +while they were making the boats; and the Laplanders had good ale, with +which they entertained Sigurd. Sigurd made these lines on it:-- + + "In the Lapland tent + Brave days we spent. + Under the grey birch tree; + In bed or on bank + We knew no rank, + And a merry crew were we. + + "Good ale went round + As we sat on the ground, + Under the grey birch tree; + And up with the smoke + Flew laugh and joke, + And a merry crew were we." + +These boats were so light that no ship could overtake them in the water, +according to what was sung at the time:-- + + "Our skin-sewed Fin-boats lightly swim, + Over the sea like wind they skim. + Our ships are built without a nail; + Few ships like ours can row or sail." + +In spring Sigurd and Magnus went south along the coast with the two +boats which the Laplanders had made; and when they came to Vagar they +killed Svein the priest and his two sons. + + + + +7. OF SIGURD'S SLEMBE'S CAMPAIGN. + +Thereafter Sigurd came south to Vikar, and seized King Sigurd's +lendermen, William Skinnare and Thorald Kept, and killed them both. Then +Sigurd turned south-wards along the coast, and met Styrkar Glaesirofa +south of Byrda, as he was coming from the south from the town of +Nidaros, and killed him. Now when Sigurd came south to Valsnes, he met +Svinagrim outside of the ness, and cut off his right hand. From thence +he went south to More, past the mouth of the Throndhjem fjord, where +they took Hedin Hirdmage and Kalf Kringluauge. They let Hedin escape, +but killed Kalf. When King Sigurd, and his foster-father, Sadagyrd, +heard of Sigurd Slembidjakn's proceedings, and what he was doing, they +sent people to search for him; and their leader was Jon Kauda, a son of +Kalf Range. Bishop Ivar's brother, and besides the priest Jon Smyril. +They went on board the ship the Reindeer, which had twenty-two rowing +benches, and was one of the swiftest sailing vessels, to seek Sigurd; +but as they could not find him, they returned north-wards with little +glory; for people said that they had got sight of Sigurd and his people, +and durst not attack them. Afterwards Sigurd proceeded southwards to +Hordaland, and came to Herdla, where Einar, a son of Laxapaul, had a +farm; and went into Hamar's fjord, to the Gangdaga-thing. They took all +the goods that were at the farm, and a long-ship of twenty-two benches +which belonged to Einar; and also his son, four years old, who was +living with one of his labouring people. Some wanted to kill the boy, +but others took him and carried him with them. The labouring man said, +"It will not be lucky for you to kill the child; and it will be of no +use to you to carry him away, for it is my son, and not Einar's." And on +his word they let the boy remain, and went away. When Einar came home he +gave the labourer money to the value of two ore of gold, and thanked him +for his clever invention, and promised him his constant friendship. +So says Eirik Odson, who first wrote down this relation; and he heard +himself Einar Paulson telling these circumstances in Bergen. Sigurd then +went southward along the coast all the way east to Viken, and met Fin +Saudaulfson east at Kvildar, as he was engaged in drawing in King Inge's +rents and duties, and hanged him. Then they sailed south to Denmark. + + + + +8. OF KING INGE'S LETTER TO KING SIGURD. + +The people of Viken and of Bergen complained that it was wrong for +King Sigurd and his friends to be sitting quietly north in the town of +Nidaros, while his father's murderer was cruising about in the ordinary +passage at the mouth of the Throndhjem fjord; and King Inge and his +people, on the other hand, were in Viken in the midst of the danger, +defending the country and holding many battles. Then King Inge sent a +letter north to the merchant-town Nidaros, in which were these words: +"King Inge Haraldson sends his brother King Sigurd, as also +Sadagyrd, Ogmund Svipte, Ottar Birting, and all lendermen, court-men, +house-people, and all the public, rich and poor, young and old, his own +and God's salutation. The misfortune is known to all men that on account +of our childhoods--thou being five, and I but three years of age--we can +undertake nothing without the counsel of our friends and other good men. +Now I and my men think that we stand nearer to the danger and necessity +common to us both, than thou and thy friends; therefore make it so +that thou, as soon as possible, come to me, and as strong in troops as +possible, that we may be assembled to meet whatever may come. He will be +our best friend who does all he can that we may be united, and may take +an equal part in all things. But if thou refuse, and wilt not come after +this message which I send thee in need, as thou hast done before, then +thou must expect that I will come against thee with an armament; and let +God decide between us; for we are not in a condition to sit here at so +great an expense, and with so numerous a body of troops as are necessary +here on account of the enemy, and besides many other pressing charges, +whilst thou hast half of all the land-tax and other revenues of Norway. +Live in the peace of God!" + + + + +9. OTTAR BIRTING'S SPEECH. + +Then Ottar Birting stood up in the Thing, and first of all answered +thus: "This is King Sigurd's reply to his brother King Inge--that God +will reward him for his good salutation, and likewise for the trouble +and burden which he and his friends have in this kingdom, and in matters +of necessity which effect them both. Although now some think there is +something sharp in King Inge's message to his brother Sigurd, yet he has +in many respects sufficient cause for it. Now I will make known to you +my opinion, and we will hear if King Sigurd and the other people of +power will agree to it; and it is, that thou, King Sigurd, make thyself +ready, with all the people who will follow thee, to defend thy country; +and go as strong in men as possible to thy brother King Inge as soon as +thou art prepared, in order to assist each other in all things that +are for the common good; and may God Almighty strengthen and assist you +both! Now, king, we will have thy words." + +Peter, a son of Saudaulf, who was afterwards called Peter Byrdarsvein, +bore King Sigurd to the Thing. Then the king said, "Ye must know that, +if I am to advise, I will go as soon as possible to my brother King +Inge." Then others spoke, one after the other; but although each began +his speech in his own way, he ended with agreeing to what Ottar Birting +had proposed; and it was determined to call together the war-forces, and +go to the east part of the country. King Sigurd accordingly went with +great armament east to Viken, and there he met his brother King Inge. + + + + +10. FALL OF MAGNUS THE BLIND. + +The same autumn (A.D. 1139) Sigurd Slembe and Magnus the Blind came from +Denmark with thirty ships, manned both with Danes and Northmen. It was +near to winter. When the kings heard of this, they set out with their +people eastwards to meet them. They met at Hvalar, near Holm the Grey, +the day after Martinmas, which was a Sunday. King Inge and King Sigurd +had twenty ships, which were all large. There was a great battle; but, +after the first assault, the Danes fled home to Denmark with eighteen +ships. On this Sigurd's and Magnus's ships were cleared; and as the +last was almost entirely bare of men, and Magnus was lying in his bed, +Hreidar Griotgardson, who had long followed him, and been his courtman, +took King Magnus in his arms, and tried to run with him on board some +other ship. But Hreidar was struck by a spear, which went between his +shoulders; and people say King Magnus was killed by the same spear. +Hreidar fell backwards upon the deck, and Magnus upon him; and every +man spoke of how honourably he had followed his master and rightful +sovereign. Happy are they who have such praise! There fell, on King +Magnus's ship, Lodin Saupprud of Linustadar, Bruse Thormodson; and +the forecastle-men to Sigurd Slembidjakn, Ivar Kolbeinson and Halyard +Faeger, who had been in Sigurd Slembe's fore-hold. This Ivar had been +the first who had gone in, in the night, to King Harald, and had laid +hands on him. There fell a great number of the men of King Magnus and +Sigurd Slembe, for Inge's men let not a single one escape if they got +hold of him; but only a few are named here. They killed upon a holm +more than forty men, among whom were two Icelanders--the priest Sigurd +Bergthorson, a grandson of Mas; the other Clemet, a son of Are Einarson. +But three Icelanders obtained their lives: namely, Ivar Skrauthanke, a +son of Kalf Range, and who afterwards was bishop of Throndhjem, and was +father of the archbishop Eirik. Ivar had always followed King Magnus, +and he escaped into his brother Jon Kauda's ship. Jon was married to +Cecilia, a daughter of Gyrd Bardson, and was then in King Inge's and +Sigurd's armament. There were three in all who escaped on board of Jon's +ship. The second was Arnbjorn Ambe, who afterwards married Thorstein's +daughter in Audsholt; the third was Ivar Dynta, a son of Stare, but on +the mother's side of a Throndhjem family,--a very agreeable man. When +the troops came to know that these three were on board his ship, +they took their weapons and assaulted the vessel, and some blows +were exchanged, and the whole fleet had nearly come to a fight among +themselves; but it came to an agreement, so that Jon ransomed his +brothers Ivar and Arnbjorn for a fixed sum in ransom, which, however, +was afterwards remitted. But Ivar Dynta was taken to the shore, and +beheaded; for Sigurd and Gyrd, the sons of Kolbein, would not take any +mulct for him, as they knew he had been at their brother Beintein's +murder. Ivar the bishop said, that never was there anything that touched +him so nearly, as Ivar's going to the shore under the axe, and turning +to the others with the wish that they might meet in joy here-after. +Gudrid Birger's daughter, a sister of Archbishop Jon, told Eirik Odson +that she heard Bishop Ivar say this. + + + + +11. SIGURD SLEMBE TAKEN PRISONER. + +A man called Thrand Gialdkere was the steersman of King Inge's ship. It +was come so far, that Inge's men were rowing in small boats between the +ships after those who were swimming in the water, and killed those they +could get hold of. Sigurd Slembe threw himself overboard after his ship +had lost her crew, stripped off his armour under the water, and then +swam with his shield over him. Some men from Thrand's vessel took +prisoner a man who was swimming, and were about to kill him; but he +begged his life, and offered to tell them where Sigurd Slembe was, and +they agreed to it. Shields and spears, dead men, weapons, and clothes, +were floating all around on the sea about the ships, "Ye can see," said +he, "a red shield floating on the water; he is under it." They rowed +to it immediately, took him, and brought him on board of Thrand's ship. +Thrand then sent a message to Thjostolf, Ottar, and Amunde. Sigurd +Slembe had a tinder box on him; and the tinder was in a walnut-shell, +around which there was wax. This is related, because it seems an +ingenious way of preserving it from ever getting wet. He swam with a +shield over him, because nobody could know one shield from another where +so many were floating about; and they would never have hit upon him, if +they had not been told where he was. When Thrand came to the land with +Sigurd, and it was told to the troops that he was taken, the army set +up a shout of joy. When Sigurd heard it he said, "Many a bad man will +rejoice over my head this day." Then Thjostolf Alason went to where +Sigurd was sitting, struck from his head a silk hat with silver fringes, +and said. "Why wert thou so impudent, thou son of a slave! to dare to +call thyself King Magnus Barefoot's son?" + +Sigurd replied, "Presume not to compare my father to a slave; for thy +father was of little worth compared to mine." + +Hal, a son of the doctor Thorgeir Steinson, King Inge's court-man, was +present at this circumstance, and told it to Eirik Odson, who afterwards +wrote these relations in a book, which he called "Hryggjarstykke". In +this book is told all concerning Harald Gille and his sons, and Magnus +the Blind, and Sigurd Slembidjakn, until their deaths. Eirik was a +sensible man, who was long in Norway about that time. Some of his +narratives he wrote down from Hakon Mage's account; some were from +lendermen of Harald's sons, who along with his sons were in all this +feud, and in all the councils. Eirik names, moreover, several men of +understanding and veracity, who told him these accounts, and were so +near that they saw or heard all that happened. Something he wrote from +what he himself had heard or seen. + + + + +12. TORTURE OF SIGURD SLEMBE. + +Hal says that the chiefs wished to have Sigurd killed instantly; but the +men who were the most cruel, and thought they had injuries to avenge, +advised torturing him; and for this they named Beintein's brothers, +Sigurd and Gyrd, the sons of Kolbein. Peter Byrdarsvein would also +avenge his brother Fin. But the chiefs and the greater part of the +people went away. They broke his shin-bones and arms with an axe-hammer. +Then they stripped him, and would flay him alive; but when they tried to +take off the skin, they could not do it for the gush of blood. They took +leather whips and flogged him so long, that the skin was as much taken +off as if he had been flayed. Then they stuck a piece of wood in his +back until it broke, dragged him to a tree and hanged him; and then +cut off his head, and brought the body and head to a heap of stones and +buried them there. All acknowledge, both enemies and friends, that no +man in Norway, within memory of the living, was more gifted with all +perfections, or more experienced, than Sigurd, but in some respects he +was an unlucky man. Hal says that he spoke little, and answered only +a few, and in single words, under his tortures, although they spoke to +him. Hal says further, that he never moved when they tortured him, more +than if they were striking a stock or a stone. This Hal alleged as proof +that he was a brave hero, who had courage to endure tortures; for he +still held his tongue, and never moved from the spot. And farther he +says, that he never altered his voice in the least, but spoke with as +much ease as if he was sitting at the ale-table; neither speaking higher +nor lower, nor in a more tremulous voice than he was used to do. He +spoke until he gave up the ghost, and sang between whiles parts of the +Psalm-book, and which Hal considered beyond the powers and strength of +ordinary men. And the priest who had the church in the neighbourhood let +Sigurd's body be transported thither to the church. This priest was a +friend of Harald's sons: but when they heard it they were angry at him, +had the body carried back to where it had been, and made the priest pay +a fine. Sigurd's friends afterwards came from Denmark with a ship for +his body, carried it to Alaborg, and interred it in Mary church in that +town. So said Dean Ketil, who officiated as priest at Mary church, to +Eirik; and that Sigurd was buried there. Thjostolf Alason transported +Magnus the Blind's body to Oslo, and buried it in Halvard's church, +beside King Sigurd his father. Lodin Saupprud was transported to +Tunsberg; but the others of the slain were buried on the spot. + + + + +13. EYSTEIN HARALDSON COMES TO NORWAY. + +When the kings Sigurd and Inge had ruled over Norway about six years, +Eystein, who was a son of Harald Gille, came in spring from Scotland +(A.D. 1142). Arne Sturla, Thorleif Brynjolfson, and Kolbein Hruga had +sailed westward over the sea after Eystein, accompanied him to Norway, +and sailed immediately with him to Throndhjem. The Throndhjem people +received him well; and at the Eyra-thing of Ascension-day he was chosen +king, so that he should have the third part of Norway with his brothers +Sigurd and Inge. They were at this time in the east part of the country; +and men went between the kings who brought about a peace, and that +Eystein should have a third part of the kingdom. People believed what he +said of his paternal descent, because King Harald himself had testified +to it, and he did not resort to the ordeal of iron. King Eystein's +mother was called Bjadok, and she followed him to Norway. Magnus was the +name of King Harald Gille's fourth son, who was fostered by Kyrpingaorm. +He also was chosen king, and got a fourth part of the country; but +Magnus was deformed in his feet, lived but a short time, and died in his +bed. Einar Skulason speaks of them:-- + + "The generous Eystein money gave; + Sigurd in fight was quick and brave; + Inge loved well the war-alarm; + Magnus to save his land from harm. + No country boasts a nobler race + The battle-field, or Thing, to grace. + Four brothers of such high pretence + The sun ne'er shone upon at once." + + + + +14. MURDER OF OTTAR BIRTING. + +After King Harald Gille's death Queen Ingerid married Ottar Birting, +who was a lendermen and a great chief, and of a Throndhjem family, who +strengthened King Inge's government much while he was in his childhood. +King Sigurd was not very friendly to Ottar; because, as he thought, +Ottar always took King Inge's side. Ottar Birting was killed north in +the merchant town (Nidaros), in an assault upon him in the twilight as +he was going to the evening song. When he heard the whistling of the +blow he held up his cloak with his hands against it; thinking, no doubt, +it was a snowball thrown at him, as young boys do in the streets. Ottar +fell by the stroke; but his son, Alf Hrode, who just at the same moment +was coming into the churchyard, saw his father's fall, and saw that the +man who had killed him ran east about the church. Alf ran after him, and +killed him at the corner of the choir; and people said that he had good +luck in avenging his father, and afterwards was much more respected than +he had been before. + + + + +15. BEGINNING OF KING EYSTEIN. + +King Eystein Haraldson was in the interior of the Throndhjem district +when he heard of Ottar's murder, and summoned to him the bonde-army, +with which he proceeded to the town; and he had many men. Ottar's +relations and other friends accused King Sigurd, who was in the town, +of having instigated this deed; and the bondes were much enraged against +him. But the king offered to clear himself by the ordeal of iron, and +thereby to establish the truth of his denial; and accordingly a peace +was made. King Sigurd went to the south end of the country, and the +ordeal was never afterwards heard of. + + + + +16. BEGINNING OF ORM THE KING-BROTHER. + +Queen Ingerid had a son to Ivar Sneis, and he was called Orm, and got +the surname of King-brother. He was a handsome man in appearance, and +became a great chief, as shall be told hereafter. Ingerid afterwards +married Arne of Stodreim, who was from this called King's-mate; and +their children were Inge, Nikolas, Philip of Herdla, and Margaret, who +was first married to Bjorn Buk, and afterwards to Simon Karason. + + + + +17. JOURNEY OF ERLING SKAKKE AND EARL RAGNVALD. + +Kyrpingaorm and Ragnhild, a daughter of Sveinke Steinarson, had a son +called Erling. Kyrpingaorm was a son of Svein Sveinson, who was a son of +Erling of Gerd. Otto's mother was Ragna, a daughter of Earl Orm Eilifson +and Sigrid, a daughter of Earl Fin Arnason. The mother of Earl Orm +was Ragnhild, a daughter of Earl Hakon the Great. Erling was a man of +understanding, and a great friend of King Inge, by whose assistance and +counsel Erling obtained in marriage Christina, a daughter of King Sigurd +the Crusader and Queen Malmfrid. Erling possessed a farm at Studla in +South Hordaland. Erling left the country; and with him went Eindride +Unge and several lendermen, who had chosen men with them. They intended +to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, and went across the West sea to +Orkney. There Earl Ragnvald and Bishop William joined them; and they had +in all fifteen ships from Orkney, with which they first sailed to the +South Hebrides, from thence west to Valland, and then the same way King +Sigurd the Crusader had sailed to Norvasund; and they plundered all +around in the heathen part of Spain. Soon after they had sailed +through the Norvasund, Eindride Unge and his followers, with six ships, +separated from them; and then each was for himself. Earl Ragnvald +and Erling Skakke fell in with a large ship of burden at sea called a +dromund, and gave battle to it with nine ships. At last they laid their +cutters close under the dromund; but the heathens threw both weapons and +stones, and pots full of pitch and boiling oil. Erling laid his ship so +close under the dromund, that the missiles of the heathens fell without +his ship. Then Erling and his men cut a hole in the dromund, some +working below and some above the water-mark; and so they boarded +the vessel through it. So says Thorbjorn Skakkaskald, in his poem on +Erling:-- + + "The axes of the Northmen bold + A door into the huge ships' hold + Hewed through her high and curved side, + As snug beneath her bulge they ride. + Their spears bring down the astonished foe, + Who cannot see from whence the blow. + The eagle's prey, they, man by man, + Fall by the Northmen's daring plan." + +Audunraude, Erling's forecastle-man, was the first man who got into the +dromund. Then they carried her, killing an immense number of people; +making an extraordinarily valuable booty, and gaining a famous victory. +Earl Ragnvald and Erling Skakke came to Palestine in the course of their +expedition, and all the way to the river Jordan. From thence they +went first to Constantinople, where they left their ships, travelled +northwards by land, and arrived in safety in Norway, where their journey +was highly praised. Erling Skakke appeared now a much greater man than +before, both on account of his journey and of his marriage; besides he +was a prudent sensible man, rich, of great family, eloquent, and devoted +to King Inge by the strictest friendship more than to the other royal +brothers. + + + + +18. BIRTH OF HAKON HERDEBREID. + +King Sigurd went to a feast east in Viken along with his court, and rode +past a house belonging to a great bonde called Simon. While the king was +riding past the house, he heard within such beautiful singing that he +was quite enchanted with it, and rode up to the house, and saw a lovely +girl standing at the handmill and grinding. The king got off his horse, +and went to the girl and courted her. When the king went away, the bonde +Simon came to know what the object of the king's visit had been. The +girl was called Thora, and she was Simon the bonde's servant-girl. Simon +took good care of her afterwards, and the girl brought forth a male +child (A.D. 1047), who was called Hakon, and was considered King +Sigurd's son. Hakon was brought up by Simon Thorbergson and his wife +Gunhild. Their own sons also, Onund and Andreas, were brought up with +Hakon, and were so dear to him that death only could have parted them. + + + + +19. EYSTEIN AND THE PEASANTS OF HISING ISLE. + +While King Eystein Haraldson was in Viken, he fell into disputes with +the bondes of Reine and the inhabitants of Hising Isle, who assembled +to oppose him; but he gave them battle at a place called Leikberg, and +afterwards burnt and destroyed all around in Hising; so that the +bondes submitted to his will, paid great fines to the king, and he took +hostages from them. So says Einar Skulason:-- + + "The Viken men + Won't strive again, + With words or blows, + The king to oppose. + None safety found + On Viken's ground, + Till all, afraid, + Pledge and scat paid." + +And further:-- + + "The king came near; + He who is dear + To all good men + Came down the glen, + By Leikberg hill. + They who do ill, + The Reine folk, fly + Or quarter cry." + + + + +20. WAR EXPEDITION OF KING HARALDSON. + +Soon after King Eystein began his journey out of the country over sea to +the West (A.D. 1153), and sailed first to Caithness. Here he heard that +Earl Harald Maddad's son was in Thursa, to which he sailed directly +in three small boats. The earl had a ship of thirty banks of oars, and +nearly eighty men in her. But they were not prepared to make resistance, +so that King Eystein was able to board the ship with his men; and he +took the earl prisoner, and carried him to his own ship, but the earl +ransomed himself with three marks of gold: and thus they parted. Einar +Skulason tells of it thus:-- + + "Earl Harald in his stout ship lay + On the bright sand in Thursa bay; + With fourscore men he had no fear, + Nor thought the Norse king was so near, + He who provides the eagle's meals + In three small boats along-shore steals; + And Maddad's son must ransom pay + For his bad outlook that fair day." + +From thence King Eystein sailed south along the east side of Scotland, +and brought up at a merchant-town in Scotland called Aberdeen, where he +killed many people, and plundered the town. So says Einar Skulason:-- + + "At Aberdeen, too, I am told, + Fell many by our Norsemen bold; + Peace was disturbed, and blue swords broke + With many a hard and bloody stroke." + +The next battle was at Hartlepool in the south, with a party of +horsemen. The king put them to flight, and seized some ships there. So +says Einar:-- + + "At Hartlepool, in rank and row, + The king's court-men attack the foe. + The king's sharp sword in blood was red, + Blood dropped from every Norse spear-head. + Ravens rejoice o'er the warm food + Of English slain, each where he stood; + And in the ships their thirst was quenched: + The decks were in the foe's blood drenched." + +Then he went southwards to England, and had his third battle at Whitby, +and gained the victory, and burnt the town. So says Einar:-- + + "The ring of swords, the clash of shields, + Were loud in Whitby's peaceful fields; + For here the king stirred up the strife.-- + Man against man, for death or life. + O'er roof and tower, rose on high + The red wrath-fire in the sky; + House after house the red fiend burns; + By blackened walls the poor man mourns." + +Thereafter he plundered wide around in England, where Stephen was +then the king. After this King Eystein fought with some cavalry at +Skarpasker. So says Einar:-- + + "At Skarpasker the English horse + Retire before the Norse king's force: + The arrow-shower like snow-drift flew, + And the shield-covered foemen slew." + +He fought next at Pilavik, and gained the victory. So says Einar:-- + + "At Pilavik the wild wolf feeds, + Well furnished by the king's brave deeds + He poured upon the grass-green plain + A red shower from the Perthmen slain. + On westwards in the sea he urges, + With fire and sword the country purges: + Langtown he burns; the country rang, + For sword on shield incessant clang." + + +Here they burnt Langatun, a large village; and people say that the town +has never since risen to its former condition. After this King Eystein +left England in autumn, and returned to Norway. People spoke in various +ways about this expedition. + + + + +21. OF HARALD'S SONS. + +There was good peace maintained in Norway in the first years of the +government of Harald's sons; and as long as their old counsellors were +alive, there was some kind of unanimity among them. While Inge and +Sigurd were in their childhood, they had a court together; but Eystein, +who was come to age of discretion, had a court for himself. But when +Inge's and Sigurd's counsellors were dead,--namely, Sadagyrd Bardson, +Ottar Birting, Amunde Gyrdson, Thjostolf Alason, Ogmund Svipter, and +Ogmund Denger, a brother of Erling Skakke (Erling was not much looked +up to while Ogmund lived),--the two kings, Inge and Sigurd divided their +courts. King Inge then got great assistance from Gregorius Dagson, a son +of Dag Eilifson by Ragnhild a daughter of Skapte Ogmundson. Gregorius +had much property, and was himself a thriving, sagacious man. He +presided in the governing the country under King Inge, and the king +allowed him to manage his property for him according to his own +judgment. + + + + +22. HABITS AND MANNERS OF HARALD'S SONS. + +When King Sigurd grew up he was a very ungovernable, restless man in +every way; and so was King Eystein, but Eystein was the more reasonable +of the two. King Sigurd was a stout and strong man, of a brisk +appearance; he had light brown hair, an ugly mouth; but otherwise a +well-shaped countenance. He was polite in his conversation beyond any +man, and was expert in all exercises. Einar Skulason speaks of this:-- + + "Sigurd, expert in every way + To wield the sword in bloody fray, + Showed well that to the bold and brave + God always luck and victory gave. + In speech, as well as bloody deeds, + The king all other men exceeds; + And when he speaks we think that none + Has said a word but he alone." + +King Eystein was dark and dingy in complexion, of middle height, and a +prudent able man; but what deprived him of consideration and popularity +with those under him were his avarice and narrowness. He was married to +Ragna, a daughter of Nicolas Mase. King Inge was the handsomest among +them in countenance. He had yellow but rather thin hair, which was much +curled. His stature was small; and he had difficulty in walking alone, +because he had one foot withered, and he had a hump both on his back and +his breast. He was of cheerful conversation, and friendly towards his +friends; was generous, and allowed other chiefs to give him counsel in +governing the country. He was popular, therefore, with the public; and +all this brought the kingdom and the mass of the people on his side. +King Harald Gille's daughter Brigida was first married to the Swedish +king Inge Halsteinson, and afterwards to Earl Karl Sonason, and then to +the Swedish king Magnus. She and King Inge Haraldson were cousins by the +mother's side. At last Brigida married Earl Birger Brose, and they had +four sons, namely, Earl Philip, Earl Knut, Folke, and Magnus. Their +daughters were Ingegerd, who was married to the Swedish king Sorkver, +and their son was King Jon; a second daughter was called Kristin, and a +third Margaret. Harald Gille's second daughter was called Maria, who was +married to Simon Skalp, a son of Halkel Huk; and their son was called +Nikolas. King Harald Gille's third daughter was called Margaret, who was +married to Jon Halkelson, a brother of Simon. Now many things occurred +between the brothers which occasioned differences and disputes; but I +will only relate what appears to me to have produced the more important +events. + + + + +23. CARDINAL NIKOLAS COMES TO THE COUNTRY. + +In the days of Harald's sons Cardinal Nikolas came from Rome to Norway, +being sent there by the pope. The cardinal had taken offence at +the brothers Sigurd and Eystein, and they were obliged to come to a +reconciliation with him; but, on the other hand, he stood on the most +affectionate terms with King Inge, whom he called his son. Now when +they were all reconciled with him, he moved them to let Jon Birgerson +be consecrated archbishop of Throndhjem and gave him a vestment which is +called a pallium; and settled moreover that the archbishop's seat should +be in Nidaros, in Christ church, where King Olaf the Saint reposes. +Before that time there had only been common bishops in Norway. The +cardinal introduced also the law, that no man should go unpunished who +appeared with arms in the merchant-town, excepting the twelve men who +were in attendancce on the king. He improved many of the customs of the +Northmen while he was in the country. There never came a foreigner to +Norway whom all men respected so highly, or who could govern the people +so well as he did. After some time he returned to the South with many +friendly presents, and declared ever afterwards that he was the greatest +friend of the people of Norway. When he came south to Rome the former +pope died suddenly, and all the people of Rome would have Cardinal +Nikolas for pope, and he was consecrated under the name of Adrian; and +according to the report of men who went to Rome in his days, he had +never any business, however important, to settle with other people, but +he would break it off to speak with the Northmen who desired to see him. +He was not long pope, and is now considered a saint. + + + + +24. MIRACLE OF KING OLAF. + +In the time of Harald Gille's sons, it happened that a man called Haldor +fell into the hands of the Vindland people, who took him and mutilated +him, cut open his neck, took out the tongue through the opening, and cut +out his tongue root. He afterwards sought out the holy King Olaf, fixed +his mind entirely on the holy man, and weeping besought King Olaf to +restore his speech and health. Thereupon he immediately recovered his +speech by the good king's compassion, went immediately into his service +for all his life, and became an excellent trustworthy man. This miracle +took place a fortnight before the last Olafsmas, upon the day that +Cardinal Nikolas set foot on the land of Norway. + + + + +25. MIRACLES OF KING OLAF ON RICHARD. + +In the Uplands were two brothers, men of great family, and men of +fortune, Einar and Andres, sons of Guthorm Grabard, and brothers of +King Sigurd Haraldson's mother; and they had great properties and udal +estates in that quarter. They had a sister who was very handsome, but +did not pay sufficient regard to the scandal of evil persons, as it +afterwards appeared. She was on a friendly footing with an English +priest called Richard, who had a welcome to the house of her brothers, +and on account of their friendship for him she did many things to please +him, and often to his advantage; but the end of all this was, that an +ugly report flew about concerning this girl. When this came into the +mouth of the public all men threw the blame on the priest. Her brothers +did the same, and expressed publicly, as soon as they observed it, that +they laid the blame most on him. The great friendship that was between +the earl and the priest proved a great misfortune to both, which might +have been expected, as the brothers were silent about their secret +determination, and let nothing be observed. But one day they called the +priest to them, who went, expecting nothing but good from them; enticed +him from home with them, saying that they intended to go to another +district, where they had some needful business, and inviting him to go +with them. They had with them a farm-servant who knew their purpose. +They went in a boat along the shore of a lake which is called Rands +lake, and landed at a ness called Skiptisand, where they went on shore +and amused themselves awhile. Then they went to a retired place, and +commanded their servant-man to strike the priest with an axe-hammer. +He struck the priest so hard that he swooned; but when he recovered he +said, "Why are ye playing so roughly with me?" They replied, "Although +nobody has told thee of it before, thou shalt now find the consequence +of what thou hast done." They then upbraided him; but he denied their +accusations, and besought God and the holy King Olaf to judge between +them. Then they broke his leg-bones, and dragged him bound to the forest +with them; and then they put a string around his head, and put a board +under his head and shoulders, and made a knot on the string, and bound +his head fast to the board. Then the elder brother, Einar, took a wedge, +and put it on the priest's eye, and the servant who stood beside him +struck upon it with an axe, so that the eye flew out, and fell upon the +board. Then he set the pin upon the other eye, and said to the servant, +"Strike now more softly." He did so, and the wedge sprang from the +eye-stone, and tore the eyelid loose. Then Einar took up the eyelid in +his hand, and saw that the eye-stone was still in its place; and he set +the wedge on the cheek, and when the servant struck it the eye-stone +sprang out upon the cheek-bone. Thereafter they opened his mouth, took +his tongue and cut it off, and then untied his hands and his head. As +soon as he came to himself, he thought of laying the eye-stones in their +place under the eyelids, and pressing then with both hands as much as +he could. Then they carried him on board, and went to a farm called +Saeheimrud, where they landed. They sent up to the farm to say that a +priest was lying in the boat at the shore. While the message was going +to the farm, they asked the priest if he could talk; and he made a noise +and attempted to speak. Then said Einar to his brother, "If he recover +and the stump of his tongue grow, I am afraid he will get his speech +again." Thereupon they seized the stump with a pair of tongs, drew it +out, cut it twice, and the third time to the very roots, and left him +lying half dead. The housewife in the farm was poor; but she hastened to +the place with her daughter, and they carried the priest home to their +farm in their cloaks. They then brought a priest, and when he arrived he +bound all his wounds; and they attended to his comfort as much as they +were able. And thus lay the wounded priest grievously handled, but +trusting always to God's grace, and never doubting; and although he was +speechless, he prayed to God in thought with a sorrowful mind, but with +the more confidence the worse he was. He turned his thoughts also to the +mild King Olaf the Saint, God's dear favourite, of whose excellent deeds +he had heard so much told, and trusted so much more zealously on him +with all his heart for help in his necessity. As he lay there lame, and +deprived of all strength, he wept bitterly, moaned, and prayed with a +sore heart that the dear King Olaf would help him. Now when this wounded +priest was sleeping after midnight, he thought he saw a gallant man +coming to him, who spoke these words, "Thou art ill off, friend Richard, +and thy strength is little." He thought he replied to this assentingly. +Then the man accosted him again, "Thou requirest compassion?" The priest +replies, "I need the compassion of Almighty God and the holy King Olaf." +He answered, "Thou shalt get it." Thereupon he pulled the tongue-stump +so hard that it gave the priest pain; then he stroked with his hands his +eyes, and legs, and other wounded members. Then the priest asked who he +was. He looked at him, and said, "Olaf, come here from Throndhjem;" and +then disappeared. But the priest awoke altogether sound, and thus he +spoke: "Happy am I, and thanks be to the Almighty God and the holy King +Olaf, who have restored me!" Dreadfully mishandled as he had been, yet +so quickly was he restored from his misfortune that he scarcely thought +he had been wounded or sick. His tongue was entire; both his eyes were +in their places, and were clear-sighted; his broken legs and every other +wound were healed, or were free from pain; and, in short, he had got +perfect health. But as a proof that his eyes had been punched out, there +remained a white scar on each eyelid, in order that this dear king's +excellence might be manifest on the man who had been so dreadfully +misused. + + + + +26. KING INGE AND SIGURD HOLD A THING. + +King Eystein and King Sigurd had quarrelled, because King Sigurd had +killed King Eystein's court-man Harald, the Viken man, who owned a house +in Bergen, and also the priest Jon Tapard, a son of Bjarne Sigurdson. +On account of this affair, a conference to settle it was appointed in +winter in the Uplands. The two sat together in the conference for a long +time, and so much was known of their conference that all three brothers +were to meet the following summer in Bergen. It was added, that their +conference was to the effect that King Inge should have two or three +farms, and as much income as would keep thirty men beside him, as he had +not health to be a king. When King Inge and Gregorius heard this report, +they came to Bergen with many followers. King Sigurd arrived there a +little later, and was not nearly so strong in men. Sigurd and Inge had +then been nineteen years kings of Norway (A.D. 1155). King Eystein came +later still from the south than the other two from the north. Then King +Inge ordered the Thing to be called together on the holm by the sound +of trumpet; and Sigurd and Inge came to it with a great many people. +Gregorius had two long-ships, and at the least ninety men, whom he kept +in provisions. He kept his house-men better than other lendermen; for he +never took part in any entertainment where each guest brings his liquor, +without having all his house-men to drink with him. He went now to the +Thing in a gold-mounted helmet, and all his men had helmets on. Then +King Inge stood up, and told the assembly what he had heard; how his +brothers were going to use him, and depose him from his kingdom; and +asked for their assistance. The assembled people made a good return to +his speech, and declared they would follow him. + + + + +27. OF GREGORIUS DAGSON. + +Then King Sigurd stood up and said it was a false accusation that King +Inge had made against him and his brother, and insisted that Gregorius +had invented it; and insinuated that it would not be long, if he had +his will, before they should meet so that the golden helmet should be +doffed; and ended his speech by hinting that they could not both live. +Gregorius replied, that Sigurd need not long so much for this, as he +was ready now, if it must be so. A few days after, one of Gregorius's +house-men was killed out upon the street, and it was Sigurd's house-men +who killed him. Gregorius would then have fallen upon King Sigurd and +his people; but King Inge, and many others, kept him back. But one +evening, just as Queen Ingerid, King Inge's mother, was coming from +vespers, she came past where Sigurd Skrudhyrna, a courtman of King Inge, +lay murdered. He was then an old man, and had served many kings. King +Sigurd's courtmen, Halyard Gunnarson, and Sigurd, a son of Eystein +Trafale, had killed him; and people suspected it was done by order of +King Sigurd. She went immediately to King Inge, and told him he would +be a little king if he took no concern, but allowed his court-men to be +killed, the one after the other, like swine. The king was angry at her +speech; and while they were scolding about it, came Gregorius in helmet +and armour, and told the king not to be angry, for she was only saying +the truth. "And I am now," says he, "come to thy assistance, if thou +wilt attack King Sigurd; and here we are, above 100 men in helmets and +armour, and with them we will attack where others think the attack may +be worst." But the most dissuaded from this course, thinking that Sigurd +would pay the mulct for the slaughter done. Now when Gregorius saw +that there would be no assault, he accosted King Inge thus: "Thou wilt +frighten thy men from thee in this way; for first they lately killed my +house-man, and now thy court-man, and afterwards they will chase me, +or some other of thy lendermen whom thou wouldst feel the loss of, when +they see that thou art indifferent about such things; and at last, after +thy friends are killed, they will take the royal dignity from thee. +Whatever thy other lendermen may do, I will not stay here longer to be +slaughtered like an ox; but Sigurd the king and I have a business to +settle with each other to-night, in whatever way it may turn out. It is +true that there is but little help in thee on account of thy ill health, +but I should think thy will should not be less to hold thy hand over thy +friends, and I am now quite ready to go from hence to meet Sigurd, and +my banner is flying in the yard." + +Then King Inge stood up, and called for his arms, and ordered every man +who wished to follow him to get ready, declaring it was of no use to try +to dissuade him; for he had long enough avoided this, but now steel must +determine between them. + + + + +28. OF KING SIGURD'S FALL. + +King Sigurd sat and drank in Sigrid Saeta's house ready for battle, +although people thought it would not come to an assault at all. Then +came King Inge with his men down the road from the smithy shops, +against the house. Arne, the king's brother-in-law, came out from the +Sand-bridge, Aslak Erlendson from his own house, and Gregorius from the +street where all thought the assault would be worst. King Sigurd and +his men made many shots from the holes in the loft, broke down the +fireplaces, and threw stones on them. Gregorius and his men cut down the +gates of the yard; and there in the port fell Einar, a son of Laxapaul, +who was of Sigurd's people, together with Halvard Gunnarson, who was +shot in a loft, and nobody lamented his death. They hewed down the +houses, and many of King Sigurd's men left him, and surrendered for +quarter. Then King Sigurd went up into a loft, and desired to be heard. +He had a gilt shield, by which they knew him, but they would not listen +to him, and shot arrows at him as thick as snow in a snow-shower, so +that he could not stay there. As his men had now left him, and the +houses were being hewn down, he went out from thence, and with him his +court-man Thord Husfreyja from Viken. They wanted to come where King +Inge was to be found, and Sigurd called to his brother King Inge, and +begged him to grant him life and safety; but both Thord and Sigurd +were instantly killed, and Thord fell with great glory. King Sigurd +was interred in the old Christ church out on the holm. King Inge gave +Gregorius the ship King Sigurd had owned. There fell many of King +Sigurd's and King Inge's men, although I only name a few; but of +Gregorius's men there fell four; and also some who belonged to no party, +but were shot on the piers, or out in the ships. It was fought on a +Friday, and fourteen days before Saint John the Baptist's day (June 10, +1155). Two or three days after King Eystein came from the eastward with +thirty ships, and had along with him his brother's son Hakon, a son of +King Sigurd. Eystein did not come up to the town, but lay in Floruvagar, +and good men went between to get a reconciliation made. But Gregorius +wanted that they should go out against him, thinking there never would +be a better opportunity; and offered to be himself the leader. "For +thou, king, shalt not go, for we have no want of men." But many +dissuaded from this course, and it came to nothing. King Eystein +returned back to Viken, and King Inge to Throndhjem, and they were in a +sort reconciled; but they did not meet each other. + + + + +29. OF GREGORIUS DAGSON. + +Somewhat later than King Eystein, Gregorius Dagson also set out to the +eastward and came to his farm Bratsberg in Hofund; but King Eystein was +up in the fjord at Oslo, and had his ships drawn above two miles over +the frozen sea, for there was much ice at that time in Viken. King +Eystein went up to Hofund to take Gregorius; but he got news of what was +on foot, and escaped to Thelemark with ninety men, from thence over the +mountains, and came down in Hardanger; and at last to Studla in Etne, to +Erling Skakke's farm. Erling himself had gone north to Bergen; but +his wife Kristin, a daughter of King Sigurd, was at home, and offered +Gregorius all the assistance he wanted; and he was hospitably received. +He got a long-ship there which belonged to Erling, and everything else +he required. Gregorius thanked her kindly, and allowed that she had +behaved nobly, and as might have been expected of her. Gregorius then +proceeded to Bergen, where he met Erling, who thought also that his wife +had done well. + + + + +30. RECONCILIATION OF EYSTEIN AND INGE. + +Then Gregorius went north to Throndhjem, and came there before Yule. +King Inge was rejoiced at his safety, and told him to use his property +as freely as his own, King Eystein having burnt Gregorius's house, and +slaughtered his stock of cattle. The ship-docks which King Eystein the +Elder had constructed in the merchant town of Nidaros, and which had +been exceedingly expensive, were also burnt this winter, together with +some good vessels belonging to King Inge. This deed was ascribed to King +Eystein and Philip Gyrdson, King Sigurd's foster-brother, and occasioned +much displeasure and hatred. The following summer King Inge went south +with a very numerous body of men; and King Eystein came northwards, +gathering men also. They met in the east (A.D. 1156) at the Seleys, +near to the Naze; but King Inge was by far the strongest in men. It was +nearly coming to a battle; but at last they were reconciled on these +conditions, that King Eystein should be bound to pay forty-five marks of +gold, of which King Inge should have thirty marks, because King Eystein +had occasioned the burning of the docks and ships; and, besides, +that Philip, and all who had been accomplices in the deed, should be +outlawed. Also that the men should be banished the country, against whom +it could be proved that they gave blow or wound to King Sigurd; for King +Eystein accused King Inge of protecting these men; and that Gregorius +should have fifteen marks of gold for the value of his property burnt by +King Eystein. King Eystein was ill pleased with these terms, and looked +upon the treaty as one forced upon him. From that meeting King Inge went +eastward to Viken, and King Eystein north to Throndhjem; and they had no +intercourse with each other, nor were the messages which passed between +them very friendly, and on both sides they killed each other's friends. +King Eystein, besides, did not pay the money; and the one accused the +other of not fulfilling what was promised. King Inge and Gregorius +enticed many people from King Eystein; among others, Bard Standale +Brynjolfson, Simon Skalp, a son of Halkel Huk, Halder Brynjolfson, Jon +Halkelson, and many other lendermen. + + + + +31. OF EYSTEIN AND INGE. + +Two years after King Sigurd's fall (A.D. 1157) both kings assembled +armaments; namely, King Inge in the east of the country, where he +collected eighty ships; and King Eystein in the north, where he had +forty-five, and among these the Great Dragon, which King Eystein +Magnuson had built after the Long Serpent; and they had on both sides +many and excellent troops. King Inge lay with his ships south at Moster +Isle, and King Eystein a little to the north in Graeningasund. +King Eystein sent the young Aslak Jonson, and Arne Sturla, a son of +Snaebjorn, with one ship to meet King Inge; but when the king's men knew +them, they assaulted them, killed many of their people, and took all +that was in the ship belonging to them. Aslak and Arne and a few more +escaped to the land, went to King Eystein, and told him how King Inge +had received them. Thereupon King Eystein held a House-thing, and told +his followers how ill King Inge had treated his men, and desired the +troops to follow him. "I have," said he, "so many, and such excellent +men, that I have no intention to fly, if ye will follow me." But this +speech was not received with much favour. Halkel Huk was there; but both +his sons, Simon and Jon, were with King Inge. Halkel replied, so loud +that many heard him, "Let thy chests of gold follow thee, and let them +defend thy land." + + + + +32. KING EYSTEIN'S DEATH. + +In the night many of King Eystein's ships rowed secretly away, some of +them joining King Inge, some going to Bergen, or up into the fjords; so +that when it was daylight in the morning the king was lying behind with +only ten ships. Then he left the Great Dragon, which was heavy to row, +and several other vessels behind; and cut and destroyed the Dragon, +started out the ale, and destroyed all that they could not take with +them. King Eystein went on board of the ship of Eindride, a son of Jon +Morner, sailed north into Sogn, and then took the land-road eastwards to +Viken. King Inge took the vessels, and sailed with them outside of the +isles to Viken. King Eystein had then got east as far as Fold, and had +with him 1200 men; but when they saw King Inge's force, they did not +think themselves sufficiently strong to oppose him, and they retired to +the forest. Every one fled his own way, so that the king was left with +but one man. King Inge and his men observed King Eystein's flight, and +also that he had but few people with him, and they went immediately to +search for him. Simon Skalp met the king just as he was coming out of a +willow bush. Simon saluted him. "God save you, sire," said he. + +The king replied, "I do not know if thou are not sire here." + +Simon replied, "That is as it may happen." + +The king begged him to conceal him, and said it was proper to do so. +"For there was long friendship between us, although it has now gone +differently." + +Simon replied, it could not be. + +Then the king begged that he might hear mass before he died, which +accordingly took place. Then Eystein laid himself down on his face on +the grass, stretched out his hands on each side, and told them to cut +the sign of the cross between his shoulders, and see whether he could +not bear steel as King Inge's followers had asserted of him. Simon told +the man who had to put the king to death to do so immediately, for +the king had been creeping about upon the grass long enough. He was +accordingly slain, and he appears to have suffered manfully. His body +was carried to Fors, and lay all night under the hill at the south side +of the church. King Eystein was buried in Fors church, and his grave is +in the middle of the church-floor, where a fringed canopy is spread over +it, and he is considered a saint. Where he was executed, and his blood +ran upon the ground, sprang up a fountain, and another under the hill +where his body lay all night. From both these waters many think they +have received a cure of sickness and pain. It is reported by the Viken +people that many miracles were wrought at King Eystein's grave, until +his enemies poured upon it soup made of boiled dog's flesh. Simon Skalp +was much hated for this deed, which was generally ascribed to him; but +some said that when King Eystein was taken Simon sent a message to King +Inge, and the king commanded that King Eystein should not come before +his face. So King Sverre has caused it to be written; but Einar Skulason +tells of it thus:-- + + "Simon Skalp, the traitor bold, + For deeds of murder known of old, + His king betrayed; and ne'er will he + God's blessed face hereafter see." + + + + +SAGA OF HAKON HERDEBREID (HAKON THE BROAD-SHOULDERED) (1) + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +This saga describes the feud between Hakon Sigurdson and his uncle Inge. + +The only skald quoted is Einar Skulason. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The period is from A.D. 1157 to 1161.--L. + + + + +1. BEGINNING OF HAKON HERDEBREID. + +Hakon, King Sigurd's son, was chosen chief of the troop which had +followed King Eystein, and his adherents gave him the title of king. He +was ten years old. At that time he had with him Sigurd, a son of +Halvard Hauld of Reyr, and Andreas and Onund, the sons of Simon, his +foster-brothers, and many chiefs, friends of King Sigurd and King +Eystein; and they went first up to Gautland. King Inge took possession +of all the estates they had left behind, and declared them banished. +Thereafter King Inge went to Viken, and was sometimes also in the north +of the country. Gregorius Dagson was in Konungahella, where the danger +was greatest, and had beside him a strong and handsome body of men, with +which he defended the country. + + + + +2. OF GREGORIUS DAGSON. + +The summer after (A.D. 1158) Hakon came with his men, and proceeded to +Konungahella with a numerous and handsome troop. Gregorius was then in +the town, and summoned the bondes and townspeople to a great Thing, at +which he desired their aid; but he thought the people did not hear him +with much favour, so he did not much trust them. Gregorius set off with +two ships to Viken, and was very much cast down. He expected to meet +King Inge there, having heard he was coming with a great army to Viken. +Now when Gregorius had come but a short way north he met Simon Skalp, +Haldor Brynjolfson, and Gyrd Amundason, King Inge's foster-brothers. +Gregorius was much delighted at this meeting, and turned back with them, +being all in one body, with eleven ships. As they were rowing up to +Konungahella, Hakon, with his followers, was holding a Thing without the +town, and saw their approach; and Sigurd of Reyr said, "Gregorius must +be fey to be throwing himself with so few men into our hands." Gregorius +landed opposite the town to wait for King Inge, for he was expected, +but he did not come. King Hakon put himself in order in the town, and +appointed Thorliot Skaufaskalle, who was a viking and a robber, to be +captain of the men in the merchant ships that were afloat in the river; +and King Hakon and Sigurd were within the town, and drew up the men on +the piers, for all the townspeople had submitted to King Hakon. + + + + +3. KING HAKON'S FLIGHT. + +Gregorius rowed up the river, and let the ship drive down with the +stream against Thorliot. They shot at each other a while, until Thorliot +and his comrades jumped overboard; and some of them were killed, some +escaped to the land. Then Gregorius rowed to the piers, and let a +gangway be cast on shore at the very feet of Hakon's men. There the man +who carried his banner was slain, just as he was going to step on shore. +Gregorius ordered Hal, a son of Audun Halson, to take up the banner, +which he did, and bore the banner up to the pier. Gregorius followed +close after him, held his shield over his head, and protected him as +well as himself. As soon as Gregorius came upon the pier, and Hakon's +men knew him, they gave way, and made room for him on every side. +Afterwards more people landed from the ships, and then Gregorius made a +severe assault with his men; and Hakon's men first moved back, and then +ran up into the town. Gregorius pursued them eagerly, drove them twice +from the town, and killed many of them. By the report of all men, never +was there so glorious an affair as this of Gregorius; for Hakon had more +than 4000 men, and Gregorius not full 400. After the battle, Gregorius +said to Hal Audunson, "Many men, in my opinion, are more agile in battle +than ye Icelanders are, for ye are not so exercised as we Norwegians; +but none, I think, are so bold under arms as ye are." King Inge came up +soon after, and killed many of the men who had taken part with Hakon; +made some pay heavy fines, burnt the houses of some, and some he drove +out of the country, or treated otherwise very ill. Hakon fled at first +up to Gautland with all his men; but the winter after (A.D. 1159), he +proceeded by the upper road to Throndhjem, and came there before Easter. +The Throndhjem people received him well, for they had always served +under that shield. It is said that the Throndhjem people took Hakon +as king, on the terms that he should have from Inge the third part of +Norway as his paternal heritage. King Inge and Gregorius were in Viken, +and Gregorius wanted to make an expedition against the party in the +north; but it came to nothing that winter, as many dissuaded from it. + + + + +4. FALL OF GYRD AND HAVARD. + +King Hakon left Throndhjem in spring with thirty ships nearly; and some +of his men sailed before the rest with seven ships, and plundered in +North and South More. No man could remember that there ever before had +been plundering between the two towns (Bergen and Nidaros). Jon the son +of Halkel Huk collected the bondes in arms, and proceeded against them; +took Kolbein Ode prisoner, killed every woman's son of them in his ship. +Then they searched for the others, found them all assembled in seven +ships, and fought with them; but his father Halkel not coming to his +assistance as he had promised, many good bondes were killed, and Jon +himself was wounded. Hakon proceeded south to Bergen with his forces; +but when he came to Stiornvelta, he heard that King Inge and Gregorius +had arrived a few nights before from the east at Bergen, and therefore +he did not venture to steer thither. They sailed the outer course +southwards past Bergen, and met three ships of King Inge's fleet, which +had been outsailed on the voyage from the east. On board of them were +Gyrd Amundason, King Inge's foster-brother, who was married to Gyrid +a sister of Gregorius, and also lagman Gyrd Gunhildson, and Havard +Klining. King Hakon had Gyrd Amundason and Havard Klining put to death; +but took lagman Gyrd southwards, and then proceeded east to Viken. + + + + +5. OF THE CONSULTATIONS OF KING INGE. + +When King Inge heard of this he sailed east after them, and they met +east in the Gaut river. King Inge went up the north arm of the river, +and sent out spies to get news of Hakon and his fleet; but he himself +landed at Hising, and waited for his spies. Now when the spies came back +they went to the king, and said that they had seen King Hakon's forces, +and all his ships which lay at the stakes in the river, and Hakon's +men had bound the stems of their vessels to them. They had two great +East-country trading vessels, which they had laid outside of the fleet, +and on both these were built high wooded stages (castles). When King +Inge heard the preparations they had made, he ordered a trumpet to call +a House-thing of all the men; and when the Thing was seated he asked +his men for counsel, and applied particularly to Gregorius Dagson, his +brother-in-law Erling Skakke, and other lendermen and ship-commanders, +to whom he related the preparations of Hakon and his men. + +Then Gregorius Dagson replied first, and made known his mind in the +following words:--"Sometimes we and Hakon have met, and generally they +had the most people; but, notwithstanding, they fell short in battle +against us. Now, on the other hand, we have by far the greatest force; +and it will appear probable to the men who a short time ago lost gallant +relations by them, that this will be a good occasion to get vengeance, +for they have fled before us the greater part of the summer; and we have +often said that if they waited for us, as appears now to be the case, we +would have a brush with them. Now I will tell my opinion, which is, that +I will engage them, if it be agreeable to the king's pleasure; for I +think it will go now as formerly, that they must give way before us if +we attack them bravely; and I shall always attack where others may think +it most difficult." + +The speech was received with much applause, and all declared they were +ready to engage in battle against Hakon. Then they rowed with all the +ships up the river, until they came in sight of each other, and then +King Inge turned off from the river current under the island. Now the +king addressed the lendermen again, and told them to get ready for +battle. He turned himself especially to Erling Skakke, and said, what +was true, that no man in the army had more understanding and knowledge +in fighting battles, although some were more hot. The king then +addressed himself to several of the lendermen, speaking to them by name; +and ended by desiring that each man should make his attack where he +thought it would be of advantage, and thereafter all would act together. + + + + +6. ERLING'S SPEECH. + +Erling Skakke replied thus to the king's speech: "It is my duty, sire, +not to be silent; and I shall give my advice, since it is desired. +The resolution now adopted is contrary to my judgment; for I call it +foolhardy to fight under these circumstances, although we have so many +and such fine men. Supposing we make an attack on them, and row up +against this river-current; then one of the three men who are in each +half room must be employed in rowing only, and another must be covering +with the shield the man who rows; and what have we then to fight with +but one third of our men? It appears to me that they can be of little +use in the battle who are sitting at their oars with their backs turned +to the enemy. Give me now some time for consideration, and I promise you +that before three days are over I shall fall upon some plan by which we +can come into battle with advantage." + +It was evident from Erling's speech that he dissuaded from an attack; +but, notwithstanding, it was urged by many who thought that Hakon would +now, as before, take to the land. "And then," said they, "we cannot get +hold of him; but now they have but few men, and we have their fate in +our own hands." + +Gregorius said but little; but thought that Erling rather dissuaded from +an attack that Gregorius's advice should have no effect, than that he +had any better advice to give. + + + + +7. OF HAKON'S FLEET. + +Then said King Inge to Erling, "Now we will follow thy advice, brother, +with regard to the manner of attacking; but seeing how eager our +counsellors are for it, we shall make the attack this day." + +Erling replied, "All the boats and light vessels we have should row +outside the island, and up the east arm of the river, and then down with +the stream upon them, and try if they cannot cut them loose from the +piles. Then we, with the large ships, shall row from below here against +them; and I cannot tell until it be tried, if those who are now so +furiously warm will be much brisker at the attack than I am." + +This counsel was approved by all. There was a ness stretched out between +their fleet and Hakon's, so that they could not see each other. Now when +Hakon and his men, who had taken counsel with each other in a meeting, +saw the boat-squadron rowing down the river, some thought King Inge +intended to give them battle; but many believed they did not dare, for +it looked as if the attack was given up; and they, besides, were very +confident, both in their preparations and men. There were many great +people with Hakon: there were Sigurd of Reyr, and Simon's sons; Nikolas +Skialdvarson; Eindride, a son of Jon Mornef, who was the most gallant +and popular man in the Throndhjem country; and many other lendermen and +warriors. Now when they saw that King Inge's men with many ships were +rowing out of the river, Hakon and his men believed they were going to +fly; and therefore they cut their land-ropes with which they lay fast at +the piles, seized their oars, and rowed after them in pursuit. The +ships ran fast down with the stream; but when they came further down +the river, abreast of the ness, they saw King Inge's main strength lying +quiet at the island Hising. King Inge's people saw Hakon's ships under +way, and believed they were coming to attack them; and now there was +great bustle and clash of arms, and they encouraged each other by a +great war-shout. Hakon with his fleet turned northwards a little to the +land, where there was a turn in the bight of the river, and where there +was no current. They made ready for battle, carried land-ropes to the +shore, turned the stems of their ships outwards, and bound them all +together. They laid the large East-country traders without the +other vessels, the one above, the other below, and bound them to the +long-ships. In the middle of the fleet lay the king's ship, and next to +it Sigurd's; and on the other side of the king's ship lay Nikolas, and +next to him Endride Jonson. All the smaller ships lay farther off, and +they were all nearly loaded with weapons and stones. + + + + +8. SIGURD OF REYR'S SPEECH. + +Then Sigurd of Reyr made the following speech: "Now there is hope that +the time is come which has been promised us all the summer, that we +shall meet King Inge in battle. We have long prepared ourselves for +this; and many of our comrades have boasted that they would never fly +from or submit to King Inge and Gregorius, and now let them remember +their words. But we who have sometimes got the toothache in our +conflicts with them, speak less confidently; for it has happened, as +all have heard, that we very often have come off without glory. But, +nevertheless, it is now necessary to fight manfully, and stand to it +with steadiness; for the only escape for us is in victory. Although we +have somewhat fewer men than they, yet luck determines which side shall +have the advantage, and God knows that the right is on our side. Inge +has killed two of his brothers; and it is obvious to all men that the +mulct he intends to pay King Hakon for his father's murder is to murder +him also, as well as his other relations, which will be seen this day to +be his intent. King Hakon desired from the beginning no more of Norway +than the third part, which his father had possessed, and which was +denied him; and yet, in my opinion, King Hakon has a better right to +inherit after his father's brother, King Eystein, than Inge or Simon +Skalp, or the other men who killed King Eystein. Many of them who would +save their souls, and yet have defiled their hands with such bloody +deeds as Inge has done, must think it a presumption before God that +he takes the name of king; and I wonder God suffers such monstrous +wickedness as his; but it may be God's will that we shall now put him +down. Let us fight then manfully, and God will give us victory; and, if +we fall, will repay us with joys unspeakable for now allowing the might +of the wicked to prevail over us. Go forth then in confidence, and be +not afraid when the battle begins. Let each watch over his own and his +comrade's safety, and God protect us all." There went a good report +abroad of this speech of Sigurd, and all promised fairly, and to do +their duty. King Hakon went on board of the great East-country ship, and +a shield-bulwark was made around him; but his standard remained on the +long-ship in which it had been before. + + + + +9. OF KING INGE'S MEN. + +Now must we tell about King Inge and his men. When they saw that King +Hakon and his people were ready for battle, and the river only was +between them, they sent a light vessel to recall the rest of the fleet +which had rowed away; and in the meantime the king waited for them, +and arranged the troops for the attack. Then the chiefs consulted in +presence of the army, and told their opinions; first, which ships should +lie nearest to the enemy; and then where each should attack. + +Gregorius spoke thus: "We have many and fine men; and it is my advice, +King Inge, that you do not go to the assault with us, for everything is +preserved if you are safe. And no man knows where an arrow may hit, even +from the hands of a bad bowman; and they have prepared themselves so, +that missiles and stones can be thrown from the high stages upon the +merchant ships, so that there is less danger for those who are farthest +from them. They have not more men than we lendermen can very well engage +with. I shall lay my ship alongside their largest ship, and I expect the +conflict between us will be but short; for it has often been so in our +former meetings, although there has been a much greater want of men +with us than now." All thought well of the advice that the king himself +should not take part in the battle. + +Then Erling Skakke said, "I agree also to the counsel that you, sire, +should not go into the battle. It appears to me that their preparations +are such, that we require all our precaution not to suffer a great +defeat from them; and whole limbs are the easiest cured. In the council +we held before to-day many opposed what I said, and ye said then that +I did not want to fight; but now I think the business has altered its +appearance, and greatly to our advantage, since they have hauled off +from the piles, and now it stands so that I do not dissuade from giving +battle; for I see, what all are sensible of, how necessary it is to put +an end to this robber band who have gone over the whole country with +pillage and destruction, in order that people may cultivate the land in +peace, and serve a king so good and just as King Inge who has long had +trouble and anxiety from the haughty unquiet spirit of his relations, +although he has been a shield of defence for the whole people, and has +been exposed to manifold perils for the peace of the country." Erling +spoke well and long, and many other chiefs also; and all to the same +purpose--all urging to battle. In the meantime they waited until all the +fleet should be assembled. King Inge had the ship Baekisudin; and, at +the entreaty of his friends, he did not join the battle, but lay still +at the island. + + + + +10. BEGINNING OF THE BATTLE. + +When the army was ready they rowed briskly against the enemy, and both +sides raised a war-shout. Inge's men did not bind their ships together, +but let them be loose; for they rowed right across the current, by which +the large ships were much swayed. Erling Skakke laid his ship beside +King Hakon's ship, and ran the stem between his and Sigurd's ship, by +which the battle began. But Gregorius's ship swung upon the ground, +and heeled very much over, so that at first she could not come into the +battle; and when Hakon's men saw this they laid themselves against her, +and attacked Gregorius's ship on all sides. Ivar, Hakon Mage's son, +laid his ship so that the stems struck together; and he got a boat-hook +fastened on Gregorius, on that part of his body where the waist is +smallest, and dragged him to him, by which Gregorius stumbled against +the ship's rails; but the hook slipped to one side, or Gregorius +would have been dragged over-board. Gregorius, however, was but little +wounded, for he had on a plate coat of armour. Ivar called out to him, +that he had a "thick bark." Gregorius replied, that if Ivar went on so +he would "require it all, and not have too much." It was very near then +that Gregorius and his men had sprung overboard; but Aslak Unge threw an +anchor into their ship, and dragged them off the ground. Then Gregorius +laid himself against Ivar's ship, and they fought a long while; but +Gregorius's ship being both higher sided and more strongly manned, +many people fell in Ivar's ship, and some jumped overboard. Ivar was so +severely wounded that he could not take part in the fight. When his ship +was cleared of the men, Gregorius let Ivar be carried to the shore, so +that he might escape; and from that time they were constant friends. + + + + +11. KING HAKON'S FLIGHT. + +When King Inge and his men saw that Gregorius was aground, he encouraged +his crew to row to his assistance. "It was," he said, "the most +imprudent advice that we should remain lying here, while our friends are +in battle; for we have the largest and best ship in all the fleet. But +now I see that Gregorius, the man to whom I owe the most, is in need of +help; so we must hasten to the fight where it is sharpest. It is also +most proper that I should be in the battle; for the victory, if we win +it, will belong to me. And if I even knew beforehand that our men were +not to gain the battle, yet our place is where our friends are; for I +can do nothing if I lose the men who are justly called the defence of +the country, who are the bravest, and have long ruled for me and my +kingdom." Thereupon he ordered his banner to be set up, which was done; +and they rowed across the river. Then the battle raged, and the king +could not get room to attack, so close lay the ships before him. First +he lay under the East-country trading ship, and from it they threw down +upon his vessel spears, iron-shod stakes, and such large stones that +it was impossible to hold out longer there, and he had to haul off. Now +when the king's people saw that he was come they made place for him, and +then he laid alongside of Eindride Jonson's ship. Now King Hakon's men +abandoned the small ships, and went on board the large merchant vessels; +but some of them sprang on shore. Erling Skakke and his men had a +severe conflict. Erling himself was on the forecastle, and called his +forecastlemen, and ordered them to board the king's ship; but they +answered, this was no easy matter, for there were beams above with an +iron comb on them. Then Erling himself went to the bow, and stayed there +a while, until they succeeded in getting on board the king's ship: and +then the ship was cleared of men on the bows, and the whole army gave +way. Many sprang into the water, many fell, but the greater number got +to the land. So says Einar Skulason:-- + + "Men fall upon the slippery deck-- + Men roll off from the blood-drenched wreck; + Dead bodies float down with the stream, + And from the shores witch-ravens scream. + The cold blue river now runs red + With the warm blood of warriors dead, + And stains the waves in Karmt Sound + With the last drops of the death-wound. + + "All down the stream, with unmann'd prow, + Floats many an empty long-ship now, + Ship after ship, shout after shout, + Tell that Kign Hakon can't hold out. + The bowmen ply their bows of elm, + The red swords flash o'er broken helm: + King Hakon's men rush to the strand, + Out of their ships, up through the land." + +Einar composed a song about Gregorius Dagson, which is called the +River-song. King Inge granted life and peace to Nikolas Skialdvarson +when his ship was deserted, and thereupon he went into King Inge's +service, and remained in it as long as the king lived. Eindride Jonson +leaped on board of King Inge's ship when his own was cleared of men, and +begged for his life. King Inge wished to grant it; but Havard Klining's +son ran up, and gave him a mortal wound, which was much blamed; but he +said Eindride had been the cause of his father's death. There was much +lamentation at Eindride's death, but principally in the Throndhjem +district. Many of Hakon's people fell here, but not many chiefs. Few of +King Inge's people fell, but many were wounded. King Hakon fled up the +country, and King Inge went north to Viken with his troops; and he, as +well as Gregorius, remained in Viken all winter (A.D. 1160). When King +Inge's men, Bergliot and his brothers, sons of Ivar of Elda, came from +the battle to Bergen, they slew Nickolas Skeg, who had been Hakon's +treasurer, and then went north to Throndhjem. + +King Hakon came north before Yule, and Sigurd was sometimes home at +Reyr; for Gregorius, who was nearly related to Sigurd, had obtained for +him life and safety from King Inge, so that he retained all his estates. +King Hakon was in the merchant-town of Nidaros in Yule; and one evening +in the beginning of Yule his men fought in the room of the court, and in +this affray eight men were killed, and many were wounded. The eighth +day of Yule, King Hakon's man Alf Rode, son of Ottar Birting, with about +eighty men, went to Elda, and came in the night unexpectedly on the +people, who were very drunk, and set fire to the room; but they went +out, and defended themselves bravely. There fell Bergliot, Ivar's son, +and Ogmund, his brother, and many more. They had been nearly thirty +altogether in number. In winter died, north in the merchant-town, Andres +Simonson, King Hakon's foster-brother; and his death was much deplored. +Erling Skakke and Inge's men, who were in Bergen, threatened that in +winter they would proceed against Hakon and his men; but it came to +nothing. Gregorius sent word from the east, from Konungahella, that +if he were so near as Erling and his men, he would not sit quietly in +Bergen while Hakon was killing King Inge's friends and their comrades in +war north in the Throndhjem country. + + + + +12. THE CONFLICT UPON THE PIERS. + +King Inge and Gregorius left the east in spring, and came to Bergen; but +as soon as Hakon and Sigurd heard that Inge had left Viken, they went +there by land. When King Inge and his people came to Bergen, a quarrel +arose between Haldor Brynjolfson and Bjorn Nikolason. Bjorn's house-man +asked Haldor's when they met at the pier, why he looked so pale. + +He replied, because he had been bled. + +"I could not look so pale if I tried, at merely being bled." + +"I again think," retorted the other, "that thou wouldst have borne it +worse, and less manfully." And no other beginning was there for their +quarrel than this. Afterwards one word followed another, till from +brawling they came to fighting. It was told to Haldor Brynjolfson, who +was in the house drinking, that his house-man was wounded down on the +pier and he went there immediately. But Bjorn's house-men had come there +before, and as Haldor thought his house-man had been badly treated, he +went up to them and beat them; and it was told to Bjorn Buk that the +people of Viken were beating his house-men on the pier. Then Bjorn and +his house-men took their weapons, hurried down to the pier, and would +avenge their men; and a bloody strife began. It was told Gregorius that +his relation Haldor required assistance, and that his house-men were +being cut down in the street; on which Gregorius and his men ran to the +place in their armour. Now it was told Erling Skakke that his sister's +son Bjorn was fighting with Gregorius and Haldor down on the piers, and +that he needed help. Then he proceeded thither with a great force, and +exhorted the people to stand by him; saying it would be a great disgrace +never to be wiped out, if the Viken people should trample upon them +in their own native place. There fell thirteen men, of whom nine +were killed on the spot, and four died of their wounds, and many were +wounded. When the word came to King Inge that Gregorius and Erling were +fighting down on the piers, he hastened there, and tried to separate +them; but could do nothing, so mad were they on both sides. Then +Gregorius called to Inge, and told him to go away; for it was in vain to +attempt coming between them, as matters now stood. He said it would be +the greatest misfortune if the king mixed himself up with it; for he +could not be certain that there were not people in the fray who would +commit some great misdeed if they had opportunity. Then King Inge +retired; and when the greatest tumult was over, Gregorius and his men +went to Nikolas church, and Erling behind them, calling to each other. +Then King Inge came a second time, and pacified them; and both agreed +that he should mediate between them. + +When King Inge and Gregorius heard that King Hakon was in Viken, they +went east with many ships; but when they came King Hakon fled from them, +and there was no battle. Then King Inge went to Oslo, and Gregorius was +in Konungahella. + + + + +13. MUNAN'S DEATH. + +Soon after Gregorius heard that Hakon and his men were at a farm called +Saurby, which lies up beside the forest. Gregorius hastened there; came +in the night; and supposing that King Hakon and Sigurd would be in the +largest of the houses, set fire to the buildings there. But Hakon and +his men were in the smaller house, and came forth, seeing the fire, to +help their people. There Munan fell, a son of Ale Uskeynd, a brother of +King Sigurd Hakon's father. Gregorius and his men killed him, because he +was helping those whom they were burning within the house. Some escaped, +but many were killed. Asbjorn Jalda, who had been a very great viking, +escaped from the house, but was grievously wounded. A bonde met him, and +he offered the man money to let him get away; but the bonde replied, he +would do what he liked best; and, adding that he had often been in fear +of his life for him, he slew him. King Hakon and Sigurd escaped, but +many of their people were killed. Thereafter Gregorius returned home +to Konungahella. Soon after King Hakon and Sigurd went to Haldor +Brynjolfson's farm of Vettaland, set fire to the house, and burnt it. +Haldor went out, and was cut down instantly with his house-men; and in +all there were about twenty men killed. Sigrid, Haldor's wife, was a +sister of Gregorius, and they allowed her to escape into the forest in +her night-shift only; but they took with them Amunde, who was a son +of Gyrd Amundason and of Gyrid Dag's daughter, and a sister's son of +Gregorius, and who was then a boy about five years old. + + + + +14. OF THE FALL OF GREGORIUS DAGSON. + +When Gregorius heard the news he took it much to heart, and inquired +carefully where they were. Gregorius set out from Konungahella late in +Yule, and came to Fors the thirteenth day of Yule, where he remained a +night, and heard vespers the last day of Yule, which was a Saturday, and +the holy Evangel was read before him. When Gregorius and his followers +saw the men of King Hakon and Sigurd, the king's force appeared to them +smaller than their own. There was a river called Befia between them, +where they met; and there was unsound ice on the river, for there went +a stream under the ice from it. King Hakon and his men had cut a rent +in the ice, and laid snow over it, so that nobody could see it. When +Gregorius came to the ice on the river the ice appeared to him unsound, +he said; and he advised the people to go to the bridge, which was close +by, to cross the river. The bonde-troops replied, that they did not know +why he should be afraid to go across the ice to attack so few people +as Hakon had, and the ice was good enough. Gregorius said it was seldom +necessary to encourage him to show bravery, and it should not be so now. +Then he ordered them to follow him, and not to be standing on the land +while he was on the ice, and he said it was their council to go out upon +the dangerous ice, but he had no wish to do so, or to be led by them. +Then he ordered the banner to be advanced, and immediately went out +on the ice with the men. As soon as the bondes found that the ice was +unsound they turned back. Gregorius fell through the ice, but not very +deep, and he told his men to take care. There were not more than twenty +men with him, the others having turned back. A man of King Hakon's troop +shot an arrow at Gregorius, which hit him under the throat, and thus +ended his life. Gregorius fell, and ten men with him. It is the talk of +all men that he had been the most gallant lenderman in Norway that any +man then living could remember; and also he behaved the best towards +us Icelanders of any chief since King Eystein the Elder's death. +Gregorius's body was carried to Hofund, and interred at Gimsey Isle, in +a nunnery which is there, of which Gregorius's sister, Baugeid, was then +the abbess. + + + + +15. KING INGE HEARS OF GREGORIUS'S FALL. + +Two bailiffs went to Oslo to bring the tidings to King Inge. When they +arrived they desired to speak to the king: and he asked, what news they +brought. + +"Gregorius Dagson's death," said they. + +"How came that misfortune?" asked the king. + +When they had told him how it happened, he said, "They gave advice who +understood the least." + +It is said he took it so much to heart that he cried like a child. When +he recovered himself he said, "I wanted to go to Gregorius as soon as +I heard of Haldor's murder; for I thought that Gregorius would not +sit long before thinking of revenge. But the people here would think +nothing so important as their Yule feasts, and nothing could move them +away; and I am confident that if I had been there, he would either have +proceeded more cautiously, or I and Gregorius would now have shared one +lodging. Now he is gone, the man who has been my best friend, and more +than any other has kept the kingdom in my hands; and I think it will +be but a short space between us. Now I make an oath to go forth against +Hakon, and one of two things shall happen: I shall either come to +my death, or shall walk over Hakon and his people; and such a man as +Gregorius is not avenged, even if all were to pay the penalty of their +lives for him." + +There was a man present who replied, "Ye need not seek after them, for +they intend to seek you." + +Kristin, King Sigurd's daughter and King Inge's cousin, was then in +Oslo. The king heard that she intended going away. He sent a message to +her to inquire why she wished to leave the town. + +She thought it was dangerous and unsafe for a female to be there. The +king would not let her go. "For if it go well with me, as I hope, you +will be well here; and if I fall, my friends may not get leave to dress +my body; but you can ask permission, and it will not be denied you, and +you will thereby best requite what I have done for you." + + + + +16. OF KING INGE. + +On Saint Blasius' day (February 3, 1161), in the evening, King Inge's +spies brought him the news that King Hakon was coming towards the town. +Then King Inge ordered the war-horns to call together all the troops +up from the town; and when he drew them up he could reckon them to be +nearly 4000 men. The king let the array be long, but not more than five +men deep. Then some said that the king should not be himself in the +battle, as they thought the risk too great; but that his brother +Orm should be the leader of the army. The king replied, "I think if +Gregorius were alive and here now, and I had fallen and was to be +avenged, he would not lie concealed, but would be in the battle. Now, +although I, on account of my ill health, am not fit for the combat as he +was, yet will I show as good will as he would have had; and it is not to +be thought of that I should not be in the battle." + +People say that Gunhild, who was married to Simon, King Hakon's +foster-brother, had a witch employed to sit out all night and procure +the victory for Hakon; and that the answer was obtained, that they +should fight King Inge by night, and never by day, and then the result +would be favourable. The witch who, as people say, sat out was called +Thordis Skeggia; but what truth there may be in the report I know not. + +Simon Skalp had gone to the town, and was gone to sleep, when the +war-shouts awoke him. When the night was well advanced, King Inge's +spies came to him, and told him that King Hakon and his army were coming +over the ice; for the ice lay the whole way from the town to Hofud Isle. + + + + +17. KING INGE'S SPEECH. + +Thereupon King Inge went with his army out on the ice, and he drew it up +in order of battle in front of the town. Simon Skalp was in that wing +of the array which was towards Thraelaberg; and on the other wing, which +was towards the Nunnery, was Gudrod, the king of the South Hebudes, a +son of Olaf Klining, and Jon, a son of Svein Bergthor Buk. When King +Hakon and his army came near to King Inge's array, both sides raised a +war-shout. Gudrod and Jon gave King Hakon and his men a sign, and let +them know where they were in the line; and as soon as Hakon's men in +consequence turned thither, Gudrod immediately fled with 1500 men; and +Jon, and a great body of men with him, ran over to King Hakon's army, +and assisted them in the fight. When this news was told to King Inge, he +said, "Such is the difference between my friends. Never would Gregorius +have done so in his life!" There were some who advised King Inge to get +on horseback, and ride from the battle up to Raumarike; "where," said +they, "you would get help enough, even this very day." The king replied, +he had no inclination to do so. "I have heard you often say, and I think +truly, that it was of little use to my brother, King Eystein, that he +took to flight; and yet he was a man distinguished for many qualities +which adorn a king. Now I, who labour under so great decrepitude, can +see how bad my fate would be, if I betook myself to what proved so +unfortunate for him; with so great a difference as there is between our +activity, health, and strength. I was in the second year of my age when +I was chosen king of Norway, and I am now twenty-five; and I think I +have had misfortune and sorrow under my kingly dignity, rather than +pleasure and peaceful days. I have had many battles, sometimes with +more, sometimes with fewer people; and it is my greatest luck that I +have never fled. God will dispose of my life, and of how long it shall +be; but I shall never betake myself to flight." + + + + +18. KING INGE'S FALL. + +Now as Jon and his troop had broken the one wing of King Inge's array, +many of those who were nearest to him fled, by which the whole array was +dispersed, and fell into disorder. But Hakon and his men went briskly +forwards; and now it was near daybreak. An assault was made against King +Inge's banner, and in this conflict King Inge fell; but his brother +Orm continued the battle, while many of the army fled up into the +town. Twice Orm went to the town after the king's fall to encourage +the people, and both times returned, and went out again upon the ice to +continue the battle. Hakon's men attacked the wing of the array which +Simon Skalp led; and in that assault fell of King Inge's men his +brother-in-law, Gudbrand Skafhogson. Simon Skalp and Halvard Hikre went +against each other with their troops, and fought while they drew aside +past Thraelaberg; and in this conflict both Simon and Halvard fell. Orm, +the king's brother, gained great reputation in this battle; but he +at last fled. Orm the winter before had been contracted with Ragna, a +daughter of Nikolas Mase, who had been married before to King Eystein +Haraldson; and the wedding was fixed for the Sunday after Saint +Blasius's mass, which was on a Friday. Orm fled east to Svithjod, where +his brother Magnus was then king; and their brother Ragnvald was an +earl there at that time. They were the sons of Queen Ingerid and Henrik +Halte, who was a son of the Danish king Svein Sveinson. The princess +Kristin took care of King Inge's body, which was laid on the stone wall +of Halvard's church, on the south side without the choir. He had then +been king for twenty-three years (A.D. 1137-1161). In this battle many +fell on both sides, but principally of King Inge's men. Of King Hakon's +people fell Arne Frirekson. Hakon's men took all the feast and victuals +prepared for the wedding, and a great booty besides. + + + + +19. OF KING HAKON AND QUEEN KRISTIN. + +Then King Hakon took possession of the whole country, and distributed +all the offices among his own friends, both in the towns and in the +country. King Hakon and his men had a meeting in Halvard's church, where +they had a private conference concerning the management of the country. +Kristin the princess gave the priest who kept the church keys a large +sum of money to conceal one of her men in the church, so that she might +know what Hakon and his counsellors intended. When she learnt what they +had said, she sent a man to Bergen to her husband Erling Skakke, with +the message that he should never trust Hakon or his men. + + + + +20. OF OLAF'S MIRACLE. + +It happened at the battle of Stiklestad, as before related, that King +Olaf threw from him the sword called Hneiter when he received his wound. +A Swedish man, who had broken his own sword, took it up, and fought with +it. When this man escaped with the other fugitives he came to Svithjod, +and went home to his house. From that time he kept the sword all his +days, and afterwards his son, and so relation after relation; and when +the sword shifted its owner, the one told to the other the name of the +sword and where it came from. A long time after, in the days of Kirjalax +the emperor of Constantinople, when there was a great body of Varings in +the town, it happened in the summer that the emperor was on a campaign, +and lay in the camp with his army. The Varings who had the guard, and +watched over the emperor, lay on the open plain without the camp. They +changed the watch with each other in the night, and those who had been +before on watch lay down and slept; but all completely armed. It was +their custom, when they went to sleep, that each should have his helmet +on his head, his shield over him, sword under the head, and the right +hand on the sword-handle. One of these comrades, whose lot it was to +watch the latter part of the night, found, on awakening towards morning, +that his sword was gone. He looked after it, and saw it lying on +the flat plain at a distance from him. He got up and took the sword, +thinking that his comrades who had been on watch had taken the sword +from him in a joke; but they all denied it. The same thing happened +three nights. Then he wondered at it, as well as they who saw or heard +of it; and people began to ask him how it could have happened. He said +that his sword was called Hneiter, and had belonged to King Olaf the +Saint, who had himself carried it in the battle of Stiklestad; and he +also related how the sword since that time had gone from one to another. +This was told to the emperor, who called the man before him to whom the +sword belonged, and gave him three times as much gold as the sword was +worth; and the sword itself he had laid in Saint Olaf's church, which +the Varings supported, where it has been ever since over the altar. +There was a lenderman of Norway while Harald Gille's sons, Eystein, +Inge, and Sigurd lived, who was called Eindride Unge; and he was in +Constantinople when these events took place. He told these circumstances +in Norway, according to what Einar Skulason says in his song about King +Olaf the Saint, in which these events are sung. + + + + +21. OLAF'S MIRACLE IN FAVOUR OF THE VARINGS. + +It happened once in the Greek country, when Kirjalax was emperor there, +that he made an expedition against Blokumannaland. When he came to the +Pezina plains, a heathen king came against him with an innumerable host. +He brought with him many horsemen, and many large waggons, in which +were large loop-holes for shooting through. When they prepared for their +night quarters they drew up their waggons, one by the side of the other, +without their tents, and dug a great ditch without; and all which made a +defence as strong as a castle. The heathen king was blind. Now when the +Greek king came, the heathens drew up their array on the plains before +their waggon-fortification. The Greeks drew up their array opposite, and +they rode on both sides to fight with each other; but it went on so +ill and so unfortunately, that the Greeks were compelled to fly after +suffering a great defeat, and the heathens gained a victory. Then the +king drew up an array of Franks and Flemings, who rode against the +heathens, and fought with them; but it went with them as with the +others, that many were killed, and all who escaped took to flight. +Then the Greek king was greatly incensed at his men-at-arms; and they +replied, that he should now take his wine-bags, the Varings. The king +says that he would not throw away his jewels, and allow so few men, +however bold they might be, to attack so vast an army. Then Thorer +Helsifig, who at that time was leader of the Varings replied to the +king's words, "If there was burning fire in the way, I and my people +would run into it, if I knew the king's advantage required it." Then the +king replied, "Call upon your holy King Olaf for help and strength." +The Varings, who were 450 men, made a vow with hand and word to build a +church in Constantinople, at their own expense and with the aid of other +good men, and have the church consecrated to the honour and glory of the +holy King Olaf; and thereupon the Varings rushed into the plain. When +the heathens saw them, they told their king that there was another troop +of the Greek king's army come out upon the plain; but they were only a +handful of people. The king says, "Who is that venerable man riding on +a white horse at the head of the troop?" They replied, "We do not see +him." There was so great a difference of numbers, that there were sixty +heathens for every Christian man; but notwithstanding the Varings went +boldly to the attack. As soon as they met terror and alarm seized the +army of the heathens, and they instantly began to fly; but the Varings +pursued, and soon killed a great number of them. When the Greeks and +Franks who before had fled from the heathens saw this, they hastened to +take part, and pursue the enemy with the others. Then the Varings had +reached the waggon-fortification, where the greatest defeat was given to +the enemy. The heathen king was taken in the flight of his people, and +the Varings brought him along with them; after which the Christians took +the camp of the heathens, and their waggon-fortification. + + + + +MAGNUS ERLINGSON'S SAGA. + + +PRELIMINARY REMARKS. + +With this saga, which describes a series of conflicts, Snorre's +"Heimskringla" ends. King Eystein died in 1177, but Magnus Erlingson +continued to reign until his death in 1184. The conflicts continued +until the opposition party was led to victory by King Sverre. + +The only skald quoted is Thorbjorn Skakkaskald. + + + + +1. OF MAGNUS ERLINGSON'S BEGINNING. + +When Erling got certain intelligence of the determinations of Hakon and +his counsellors, he sent a message to all the chiefs who he knew had +been steady friends of King Inge, and also to his court-men and his +retinue, who had saved themselves by flight, and also to all Gregorius's +house-men, and called them together to a meeting. When they met, and +conversed with each other, they resolved to keep their men together; and +which resolution they confirmed by oath and hand-shake to each other. +Then they considered whom they should take to be king. Erling Skakke +first spoke, and inquired if it was the opinion of the chiefs and other +men of power that Simon Skalp's son, the son of the daughter of King +Harald Gille, should be chosen king, and Jon Halkelson be taken to +lead the army; but Jon refused it. Then it was inquired if Nikolas +Skialdvarson, a sister's son of King Magnus Barefoot, would place +himself at the head of the army; but he answered thus:--It was his +opinion that some one should be chosen king who was of the royal race; +and, for leader of the troops, some one from whom help and understanding +were to be looked for; and then it would be easier to gather an army. +It was now tried whether Arne would let any of his sons, King Inge's +brothers, be proclaimed king. Arne replies, that Kristin's son, she was +the daughter of King Sigurd the Crusader, was nearest by propinquity +of descent to the crown of Norway. "And here is also a man to be his +adviser, and whose duty it is to take care of him and of the kingdom; +and that man is his father Erling, who is both prudent, brave, +experienced in war, and an able man in governing the kingdom; he wants +no capability of bringing this counsel into effect, if luck be with +him." Many thought well of this advice. + +Erling replied to it, "As far as I can see or hear in this meeting, the +most will rather be excused from taking upon themselves such a difficult +business. Now it appears to me altogether uncertain, provided we begin +this work, whether he who puts himself at the head of it will gain any +honour; or whether matters will go as they have done before when any +one undertakes such great things, that he loses all his property and +possibly his life. But if this counsel be adopted, there may be men +who will undertake to carry it through; but he who comes under such an +obligation must seek, in every way, to prevent any opposition or enmity +from those who are now in this council." + +All gave assurance that they would enter into this confederacy with +perfect fidelity. Then said Erling, "I can say for myself that it would +almost be my death to serve King Hakon; and however dangerous it may +be, I will rather venture to adopt your advice, and take upon me to lead +this force, if that be the will, counsel, and desire of you all, and if +you will all bind yourselves to this agreement by oath." + +To this they all agreed; and in this meeting it was determined to take +Erling's son Magnus to be king. They afterwards held a Thing in the +town; and at this Thing Magnus Erlingson, then five years old, was +elected king of the whole country. All who had been servants of King +Inge went into his service, and each of them retained the office and +dignity he had held under King Inge (A.D. 1161). + + + + +2. KING MAGNUS GOES TO DENMARK. + +Erling Skakke made himself ready to travel, fitted out ships, and had +with him King Magnus, together with the household-men who were on the +spot. In this expedition were the king's relatives,--Arne; Ingerid, King +Inge's mother, with her two sons; besides Jon Kutiza, a son of Sigurd +Stork, and Erling's house-men, as well as those who had been Gregorius's +house-men; and they had in all ten ships. They went south to Denmark to +King Valdemar and Buriz Heinrekson, King Inge's brother. King Valdemar +was King Magnus's blood-relation; for Ingebjorg, mother of King +Valdemar, and Malmfrid, mother of Kristin, King Magnus's mother, were +cousins. The Danish king received them hospitably, and he and Erling +had private meetings and consultations: and so much was known of their +counsels, that King Valdemar was to aid King Magnus with such help as +might be required from his kingdom to win and retain Norway. On the +other hand, King Valdemar should get that domain in Norway which his +ancestors Harald Gormson and Svein Forked-beard had possessed; namely, +the whole of Viken as far north as Rygiarbit. This agreement was +confirmed by oath and a fixed treaty. Then Erling and King Magnus made +themselves ready to leave Denmark, and they sailed out of Vendilskage. + + + + +3. BATTLE OF TUNSBERG. + +King Hakon went in spring, after the Easter week, north to Throndhjem, +and had with him the whole fleet that had belonged to King Inge. He held +a Thing there in the merchant-town, and was chosen king of the whole +country. Then he made Sigurd of Reyr an earl, and gave him an earldom, +and afterwards proceeded southwards with his followers all the way +to Viken. The king went to Tunsberg; but sent Earl Sigurd east to +Konungahella, to defend the country with a part of the forces in case +Erling should come from the south. Erling and his fleet came to Agder, +and went straight north to Bergen, where they killed Arne Brigdarskalle, +King Hakon's officer, and came back immediately against King Hakon. Earl +Sigurd, who had not observed the journey of Erling and his followers +from the south, was at that time east in the Gaut river, and King Hakon +was in Tunsberg. Erling brought up at Hrossanes, and lay there some +nights. In the meantime King Hakon made preparations in the town. When +Erling and his fleet were coming up to the town, they took a merchant +vessel, filled it with wood and straw, and set fire to it; and the wind +blowing right towards the town, drove the vessel against the piers. +Erling had two cables brought on board the vessel, and made fast to two +boats, and made them row along as the vessel drove. Now when the fire +was come almost abreast of the town, those who were in the boats held +back the vessel by the ropes, so that the town could not be set on fire; +but so thick a smoke spread from it over the town, that one could not +see from the piers where the king's array was. Then Erling drew the +whole fleet in where the wind carried the fire, and shot at the enemy. +When the townspeople saw that the fire was approaching their houses, +and many were wounded by the bowmen, they resolved to send the priest +Hroald, the long-winded speaker, to Erling, to beg him to spare them and +the town; and they dissolved the array in favour of Hakon, as soon +as Hroald told them their prayer was granted. Now when the array of +towns-people had dispersed, the men on the piers were much thinned: +however, some urged Hakon's men to make resistance: but Onund Simonson, +who had most influence over the army, said, "I will not fight for Earl +Sigurd's earldom, since he is not here himself." Then Onund fled, +and was followed by all the people, and by the king himself; and they +hastened up the country. King Hakon lost many men here; and these verses +were made about it:-- + + "Onund declares he will not go + In battle 'gainst Earl Sigurd's foe, + If Earl Sigurd does not come, + But with his house-men sits at home. + King Magnus' men rush up the street, + Eager with Hakon's troop to meet; + But Hakon's war-hawks, somewhat shy, + Turn quick about, and off they fly." + +Thorbjorn Skakkaskald also said:-- + + "The Tunsberg men would not be slow + In thy good cause to risk a blow; + And well they knew the chief could stain + The wolves' mouths on a battle-plain. + But the town champion rather fears + The sharp bright glance of levelled spears; + Their steel-clad warrior loves no fight + Where bowstring twangs, or fire flies bright." + +King Hakon then took the land-road northwards to Throndhjem. When Earl +Sigurd heard of this, he proceeded with all the ships he could get the +seaway north-wards, to meet King Hakon there. + + + + +4. OF ERLING AND HAKON. + +Erling Skakke took all the ships in Tunsberg belonging to King Hakon, +and there he also took the Baekisudin which had belonged to King Inge. +Then Erling proceeded, and reduced the whole of Viken in obedience to +King Magnus, and also the whole country north wheresoever he appeared up +to Bergen, where he remained all winter. There Erling killed Ingebjorn +Sipil, King Hakon's lenderman of the north part of the Fjord district. +In winter (A.D. 1162) King Hakon was in Throndhjem; but in the following +spring he ordered a levy, and prepared to go against Erling. He had with +him Earl Sigurd, Jon Sveinson, Eindride Unge, Onund Simonson, Philip +Peterson, Philip Gyrdson, Ragnvald Kunta, Sigurd Kapa, Sigurd Hiupa, +Frirek Keina, Asbjorn of Forland, Thorbjorn, a son of Gunnar the +treasurer, and Stradbjarne. + + + + +5. OF ERLING'S PEOPLE. + +Erling was in Bergen with a great armament, and resolved to lay a +sailing prohibition on all the merchant vessels which were going north +to Nidaros; for he knew that King Hakon would soon get tidings of him, +if ships were sailing between the towns. Besides, he gave out that it +was better for Bergen to get the goods, even if the owners were obliged +to sell them cheaper than they wished than that they should fall into +the hands of enemies and thereby strengthen them. And now a great many +vessels were assembled at Bergen, for many arrived every day, and none +were allowed to go away. Then Erling let some of the lightest of his +vessels be laid ashore, and spread the report that he would wait for +Hakon, and, with the help of his friends and relations, oppose the enemy +there. He then one day called a meeting of the ship-masters, and gave +them and all the merchant ships and their steersmen leave to go where +they pleased. When the men who had charge of the cargoes, and were all +ready to sail away with their goods, some for trade, others on various +business, had got leave from Erling Skakke to depart, there was a +soft and favourable wind for sailing north along the coast. Before the +evening all who were ready had set sail, and hastened on as fast as they +could, according to the speed of their vessels, the one vying with the +other. When this fleet came north to More, Hakon's fleet had arrived +there before them: and he himself was there fully engaged in collecting +people, and summoning to him the lendermen, and all liable to serve in +the levy, without having for a long time heard any news from Bergen. +Now, however, they heard, as the latest news, that Erling Skakke had +laid his ships up in Bergen, and there they would find him; and also +that he had a large force with him. King Hakon sailed from thence to +Veey, and sent away Earl Sigurd and Onund Simonson to gather people, and +sent men also to both the More districts. After King Hakon had remained +a few days at the town he sailed farther, and proceeded to the South, +thinking that it would both promote his journey and enable new levies to +join him sooner. + +Erling Skakke had given leave on Sunday to all the merchant vessels to +leave Bergen; and on Tuesday, as soon as the early mass was over, he +ordered the warhorns to sound, summoned to him the men-at-arms and the +townsmen, and let the ships which were laid up on shore be drawn down +into the water. Then Erling held a House-Thing with his men and the +people of the levy; told them his intentions; named ship commanders; +and had the names called over of the men who were to be on board of the +king's ship. This Thing ended with Erling's order to every man to make +himself ready in his berth wherever a place was appointed him; and +declared that he who remained in the town after the Baekisudin was +hauled out, should be punished by loss of life or limb. Orm, the king's +brother, laid his ships out in the harbour immediately that evening, and +many others, and the greater number were afloat before. + + + + +6. OF ERLING SKAKKE. + +On Wednesday, before mass was sung in the town, Erling sailed from +Bergen with all his fleet, consisting of twenty-one ships; and there was +a fresh breeze for sailing northwards along the coast. Erling had his +son King Magnus with him, and there were many lendermen accompanied by +the finest men. When Erling came north, abreast of the Fjord district, +he sent a boat on shore to Jon Halkelson's farm, and took Nikolas, a son +of Simon Skalp and of Maria, Harald Gille's daughter, and brought him +out to the fleet, and put him on board the king's ship. On Friday, +immediately after matins, they sailed to Steinavag, and King Hakon, +with thirteen ships, was lying in the harbour in the neighbourhood. He +himself and his men were up at play upon the island, and the lendermen +were sitting on the hill, when they saw a boat rowing from the south +with two men in it, who were bending back deep towards the keel, and +taking hasty strokes with their oars. When they came to the shore they +did not belay the boat, but both ran from it. The great men seeing this, +said to each other, "These men must have some news to tell;" and got up +to meet them. When they met, Onund Simonson asked, "Have ye any news of +Erling Skakke, that ye are running so fast?" + +They answered, as soon as they could get out the words, for they had +lost their breath, "Here comes Erling against you, sailing from the +south, with twenty-one ships, or thereabouts, of which many are great +enough; and now ye will soon see their sails." + +Then said Eindride Unge, "Too near to the nose, said the peasant, when +his eye was knocked out." + +They went in haste now to where the games were playing, and immediately +the war-horns resounded, and with the battle-call all the people were +gathered down to the ships in the greatest haste. It was just the time +of day when their meat was nearly cooked. All the men rushed to the +ships, and each ran on board the vessel that was nearest to him, so that +the ships were unequally manned. Some took to the oars; some raised the +masts, turned the heads of the vessels to the north, and steered for +Veey, where they expected much assistance from the towns. + + + + +7. FALL OF KING HAKON. + +Soon after they saw the sails of Erling's fleet, and both fleets came in +sight of each other. Eindride Unge had a ship called Draglaun, which was +a large buss-like long-ship, but which had but a small crew; for +those who belonged to her had run on board of other ships, and she was +therefore the hindmost of Hakon's fleet. When Eindride came abreast of +the island Sek, the Baekisudin, which Erling Skakke himself commanded, +came up with her; and these two ships were bound fast together. King +Hakon and his followers had arrived close to Veey; but when they heard +the war-horn they turned again to assist Eindride. Now they began the +battle on both sides, as the vessels came up. Many of the sails lay +midships across the vessels; and the ships were not made fast to each +other, but they lay side by side. The conflict was not long before +there came disorder in Hakon's ship; and some fell, and others sprang +overboard. Hakon threw over him a grey cloak, and jumped on board +another ship; but when he had been there a short time he thought he had +got among his enemies; and when he looked about him he saw none of his +men nor of his ships near him. Then he went into the Baekisudin to the +forecastle-men, and begged his life. They took him in their keeping, and +gave him quarter. In this conflict there was a great loss of people, +but principally of Hakon's men. In the Baekisudin fell Nikolas, +Simon Skalp's son; and Erling's men are accused of having killed him +themselves. Then there was a pause in the battle, and the vessels +separated. It was now told to Erling that Hakon was on board of his +ship; that the forecastle-men had taken him, and threatened that they +would defend him with arms. Erling sent men forwards in the ship to +bring the forecastle-men his orders to guard Hakon well, so that he +should not get away. He at the same time let it be understood that he +had no objection to giving the king life and safety, if the other chiefs +were willing, and a peace could be established. All the forecastle-men +gave their chief great credit and honour for these words. Then Erling +ordered anew a blast of the war-horns, and that the ships should be +attacked which had not lost their men; saying that they would never +have such another opportunity of avenging King Inge. Thereupon they all +raised a war-shout, encouraged each other, and rushed to the assault. +In this tumult King Hakon received his death-wound. When his men knew he +had fallen they rowed with all their might against the enemy, threw away +their shields, slashed with both hands, and cared not for life. This +heat and recklessness, however, proved soon a great loss to them; for +Erling's men saw the unprotected parts of their bodies, and where their +blows would have effect. The greater part of Hakon's men who remained +fell here; and it was principally owing to the want of numbers, as they +were not enough to defend themselves. They could not get quarter, also +excepting those whom the chiefs took under their protection and bound +themselves to pay ransom for. The following of Hakon's people fell: +Sigurd Kapa, Sigurd Hiupa, and Ragnvald Kunta; but some ships crews got +away, rowed into the fjords, and thus saved their lives. Hakon's body +was carried to Raumsdal, and buried there; but afterwards his brother, +King Sverre, had the body transported north to the merchant town +Nidaros, and laid in the stone wall of Christ church south of the choir. + + + + +8. FLIGHT OF THE CHIEFS OF HAKON'S MEN. + +Earl Sigurd, Eindride Unge, Onund Simonson, Frirek Keina, and other +chiefs kept the troop together, left the ships in Raumsdal, and went +up to the Uplands. King Magnus and his father Erling sailed with their +troops north to Nidaros in Throndhjem, and subdued the country as they +went along. Erling called together an Eyra-thing, at which King Magnus +was proclaimed king of all Norway. Erling, however, remained there but a +short time; for he thought the Throndhjem people were not well affected +towards him and his son. King Magnus was then called king of the whole +country. + +King Hakon had been a handsome man in appearance, well grown, tall and +thin; but rather broad-shouldered, on which account his men called him +Herdebreid. As he was young in years, his lendermen ruled for him. He +was cheerful and friendly in conversation, playful and youthful in his +ways, and was much liked by the people. + + + + +9. OF KING SIGURD'S BEGINNING. + +There was an Upland man called Markus of Skog, who was a relation of +Earl Sigurd. Markus brought up a son of King Sigurd Mun, who was also +called Sigurd. This Sigurd was chosen king (A.D. 1162) by the Upland +people, by the advice of Earl Sigurd and the other chiefs who had +followed King Hakon. They had now a great army, and the troops were +divided in two bodies; so that Markus and the king were less exposed +where there was anything to do, and Earl Sigurd and his troop, along +with the lendermen, were most in the way of danger. They went with their +troops mostly through the Uplands, and sometimes eastwards to Viken. +Erling Skakke had his son King Magnus always with him, and he had also +the whole fleet and the land defence under him. He was a while in Bergen +in autumn; but went from thence eastward to Viken, where he settled in +Tunsberg for his winter quarters (A.D. 1163), and collected in Viken all +the taxes and revenues that belonged to Magnus as king; and he had +many and very fine troops. As Earl Sigurd had but a small part of the +country, and kept many men on foot, he soon was in want of money; and +where there was no chief in the neighbourhood he had to seek money by +unlawful ways,--sometimes by unfounded accusations and fines, sometimes +by open robbery. + + + + +10. EARL SIGURD'S CONDEMNATION. + +At that time the realm of Norway was in great prosperity. The bondes +were rich and powerful, unaccustomed to hostilities or violence, and the +oppression of roving troops; so that there was soon a great noise and +scandal when they were despoiled and robbed. The people of Viken were +very friendly to Erling and King Magnus, principally from the popularity +of the late King Inge Haraldson; for the Viken people had always served +under his banner. Erling kept a guard in the town, and twelve men were +on watch every night. Erling had Things regularly with the bondes, at +which the misdeeds of Sigurd's people were often talked over; and by +the representations of Erling and his adherents, the bondes were brought +unanimously to consider that it would be a great good fortune if these +bands should be rooted out. Arne, the king's relation, spoke well and +long on this subject, and at last severely; and required that all +who were at the Thing,--men-at-arms, bondes, towns-men, and +merchants,--should come to the resolution to sentence according to law +Earl Sigurd and all his troop, and deliver them to Satan, both living +and dead. From the animosity and hatred of the people, this was agreed +to by all; and thus the unheard-of deed was adopted and confirmed by +oath, as if a judgment in the case was delivered there by the Thing +according to law. The priest Hroald the Long-winded, who was a very +eloquent man, spoke in the case; but his speech was to the same purpose +as that of others who had spoken before. Erling gave a feast at Yule in +Tunsberg, and paid the wages of the men-at-arms at Candlemas. + + + + +11. OF ERLING. + +Earl Sigurd went with his best troops down to Viken, where many people +were obliged to submit to his superior force, and many had to pay money. +He drove about thus widely higher up the country, penetrating into +different districts. But there were some in his troop who desired +privately to make peace with Erling; but they got back the answer, +that all who asked for their lives should obtain quarter, but they only +should get leave to remain in the country who had not been guilty of any +great offenses against Erling. And when Sigurd's adherents heard that +they would not get leave to remain in the country, they held together +in one body; for there were many among them who knew for certain that +Erling would look upon them as guilty of offences against him. Philip +Gyrdson made terms with Erling, got his property back, and went home to +his farm; but soon after Sigurd's men came there, and killed him. They +committed many crimes against each other, and many men were slain in +their mutual persecution; but here what was committed by the chiefs only +is written down. + + + + +12. ERLING GETS NEWS OF EARL SIGURD. + +It was in the beginning of Lent that news came to Erling that Earl +Sigurd intended to come upon him; and news of him came here and there, +sometimes nearer, sometimes farther off. Erling sent out spies in all +quarters around to discover where they were. Every evening he assembled +all the men-at-arms by the war-horn out of the town; and for a long time +in the winter they lay under arms all night, ready to be drawn up in +array. At last Erling got intelligence that Sigurd and his followers +were not far distant, up at the farm Re. Erling then began his +expedition out of the town, and took with him all the towns-people who +were able to carry arms and had arms, and likewise all the merchants; +and left only twelve men behind to keep watch in the town. Erling +went out of the town on Thursday afternoon, in the second week of Lent +(February 19); and every man had two days' provisions with him. They +marched by night, and it was late before they got out of the town with +the men. Two men were with each shield and each horse; and the people, +when mustered, were about 1200 men. When they met their spies, they were +informed that Sigurd was at Re, in a house called Rafnnes, and had 500 +men. Then Erling called together his people; told them the news he had +received, and all were eager to hasten their march, fall on them in the +houses, or engage them by night. + +Erling replied to them thus:--"It is probable that we and Earl Sigurd +shall soon meet. There are also many men in this band whose handy-work +remains in our memories; such as cutting down King Inge, and so many +more of our friends, that it would take long to reckon them up. These +deeds they did by the power of Satan, by witchcraft, and by villainy; +for it stands in our laws and country rights, that however highly a man +may have been guilty, it shall be called villainy and cowardly murder to +kill him in the night. This band has had its luck hitherto by following +the counsel of men acquainted with witchcraft and fighting by night, +and not in the light of day; and by this proceeding have they been +victorious hitherto over the chiefs whose heads they have laid low +on the earth. Now we have often seen, and proved, how unsuitable and +improper it is to go into battle in the nighttime; therefore let us +rather have before our eyes the example of chiefs better known to us, +and who deserve better to be imitated, and fight by open day in regular +battle array, and not steal upon sleeping men in the night. We have +people enough against them, so few as they are. Let us, therefore, wait +for day and daylight, and keep together in our array in case they attack +us." + +Thereafter the whole army sat down. Some opened up bundles of hay, and +made a bed of it for themselves; some sat upon their shields, and thus +waited the daydawn. The weather was raw, and there was a wet snowdrift. + + + + +13. OF EARL SIGURD'S BATTLE ARRAY. + +Earl Sigurd got the first intelligence of Erling's army, when it was +already near to the house. His men got up, and armed themselves; but not +knowing how many men Erling had with him, some were inclined to fly, but +the most determined to stand. Earl Sigurd was a man of understanding, +and could talk well, but certainly was not considered brave enough to +take a strong resolution; and indeed the earl showed a great inclination +to fly, for which he got many stinging words from his men-at-arms. As +day dawned, they began on both sides to draw up their battle array. Earl +Sigurd placed his men on the edge of a ridge between the river and the +house, at a place at which a little stream runs into the river. Erling +and his people placed their array on the other side of the river; but at +the back of his array were men on horseback well armed, who had the king +with them. When Earl Sigurd's men saw that there was so great a want +of men on their side, they held a council, and were for taking to the +forest. But Earl Sigurd said, "Ye alleged that I had no courage, but it +will now be proved; and let each of you take care not to fail, or fly, +before I do so. We have a good battle-field. Let them cross the bridge; +but as soon as the banner comes over it let us then rush down the hill +upon them, and none desert his neighbour." + +Earl Sigurd had on a red-brown kirtle, and a red cloak, of which the +corners were tied and turned back; shoes on his feet; and a shield and +sword called Bastard. The earl said, "God knows that I would rather get +at Erling Skakke with a stroke of Bastard, than receive much gold." + + + + +14. EARL SIGURD'S FALL. + +Erling Skakke's army wished to go on to the bridge; but Erling told them +to go up along the river, which was small, and not difficult to cross, +as its banks were flat; and they did so. Earl Sigurd's array proceeded +up along the ridge right opposite to them; but as the ridge ended, and +the ground was good and level over the river, Erling told his men +to sing a Paternoster, and beg God to give them the victory who best +deserved it. Then they all sang aloud "Kyrie Eleison", and struck +with their weapons on their shields. But with this singing 300 men of +Erling's people slipped away and fled. Then Erling and his people went +across the river, and the earl's men raised the war-shout; but there was +no assault from the ridge down upon Erling's array, but the battle began +upon the hill itself. They first used spears then edge weapons; and the +earl's banner soon retired so far back, that Erling and his men scaled +the ridge. The battle lasted but a short time before the earl's men +fled to the forest, which they had close behind them. This was told Earl +Sigurd, and his men bade him fly; but he replied, "Let us on while we +can." And his men went bravely on, and cut down on all sides. In this +tumult fell Earl Sigurd and Jon Sveinson, and nearly sixty men. Erling +lost few men, and pursued the fugitives to the forest. There Erling +halted his troops, and turned back. He came just as the king's slaves +were about stripping the clothes off Earl Sigurd, who was not quite +lifeless. He had put his sword in the sheath, and it lay by his side. +Erling took it, struck the slaves with it, and drove them away. Then +Erling, with his troops, returned, and sat down in Tunsberg. Seven days +after Earl Sigurd's fall Erling's men took Eindride Unge prisoner, and +killed him, with all his ship's crew. + + + + +15. MARKUS OF SKOG, AND SIGURD SIGURDSON. + +Markus of Skog, and King Sigurd, his foster-son, rode down to Viken +towards spring, and there got a ship; but when Erling heard it he went +eastwards against them, and they met at Konungahella. Markus fled with +his followers to the island Hising; and there the country people of +Hising came down in swarms, and placed themselves in Markus's and +Sigurd's array. Erling and his men rowed to the shore; but Markus's men +shot at them. Then Erling said to his people, "Let us take their ships, +but not go up to fight with a land force. The Hisingers are a bad set +to quarrel with,--hard, and without understanding. They will keep this +troop but a little while among them, for Hising is but a small +spot." This was done: they took the ships, and brought them over to +Konungahella. Markus and his men went up to the forest district, from +which they intended to make assaults, and they had spies out on both +sides. Erling had many men-at-arms with him, whom he brought from other +districts, and they made attacks on each other in turn. + + + + +16. BEGINNING OF ARCHBISHOP EYSTEIN. + +Eystein, a son of Erlend Himaide, was selected to be archbishop, after +Archbishop Jon's death; and he was consecrated the same year King Inge +was killed. Now when Archbishop Eystein came to his see, he made himself +beloved by all the country, as an excellent active man of high birth. +The Throndhjem people, in particular, received him with pleasure; for +most of the great people in the Throndhjem district were connected with +the archbishop by relationship or other connection, and all were his +friends. The archbishop brought forward a request to the bondes in a +speech, in which he set forth the great want of money for the see, and +also how much greater improvement of the revenues would be necessary +to maintain it suitably, as it was now of much more importance than +formerly when the bishop's see was first established. He requested of +the bondes that they should give him, for determining law-suits, an ore +of silver value, instead of what they had before paid, which was an ore +of judgment money, of that kind which was paid to the king in judging +cases; and the difference between the two kinds of ore was, that the +ore he desired was a half greater than the other. By help of the +archbishop's relations and friends, and his own activity, this was +carried; and it was fixed by law in all the Throndhjem district, and in +all the districts belonging to his archbishopric. + + + + +17. OF MARKUS AND KING SIGURD. + +When Sigurd and Markus lost their ships in the Gaut river, and saw they +could get no hold on Erling, they went to the Uplands, and proceeded by +land north to Throndhjem. Sigurd was received there joyfully, and chosen +king at an Eyra-thing; and many gallant men, with their sons, attached +themselves to his party. They fitted out ships, rigged them for a +voyage, and proceeded when summer came southwards to More, and took up +all the royal revenues wheresoever they came. At this time the +following lendermen were appointed in Bergen for the defence of the +country:--Nikolas Sigurdson, Nokve Palson, and several military leaders; +as Thorolf Dryl, Thorbjorn Gjaldkere, and many others. As Markus and +Sigurd sailed south, they heard that Erling's men were numerous +in Bergen; and therefore they sailed outside the coast-rocks, and +southwards past Bergen. It was generally remarked, that Markus's men +always got a fair wind, wherever they wished to sail to. + + + + +18. MARKUS AND KING SIGURD KILLED. + +As soon as Erling Skakke heard that Sigurd and Markus had sailed +southwards, he hastened to Viken, and drew together an armed force; and +he soon had a great many men, and many stout ships. But when he came +farther in Viken, he met with a strong contrary wind, which kept him +there in port the whole summer. Now when Sigurd and Markus came east +to Lister, they heard that Erling had a great force in Viken; so they +turned to the north again. But when they reached Hordaland, with the +intention of sailing to Bergen, and came opposite the town, Nikolas and +his men rowed out against them, with more men and larger ships than +they had. Sigurd and Markus saw no other way of escaping but to row away +southwards. Some of them went out to sea, others got south to the sound, +and some got into the Fjords. Markus, and some people with him, sprang +upon an isle called Skarpa. Nikolas and his men took their ships, gave +Jon Halkelson and a few others quarter, but killed the most of them they +could get hold of. Some days after Eindride Heidafylja found Sigurd and +Markus, and they were brought to Bergen. Sigurd was beheaded outside of +Grafdal, and Markus and another man were hanged at Hvarfsnes. This took +place on Michaelmas day (September 29, 1163), and the band which had +followed them was dispersed. + + + + +19. ERLING AND THE PEOPLE OF HISING ISLE. + +Frirek Keina and Bjarne the Bad, Onund Simonson and Ornolf Skorpa had +rowed out to sea with some ships, and sailed outside along the land to +the east. Wheresoever they came to the land they plundered, and killed +Erling's friends. Now when Erling heard that Sigurd and Markus were +killed, he gave leave to the lendermen and people of the levy to return +home; but he himself, with his men, set his course eastward across +the Folden fjord, for he heard of Markus's men there. Erling sailed to +Konungahella, where he remained the autumn; and in the first week of +winter Erling went out to the island Hising with his men, and called the +bondes to a Thing. When the Hising people came to the Thing, Erling +laid his law-suit against them for having joined the bands of Sigurd and +Markus, and having raised men against him. Assur was the name of one +of the greatest of the bondes on the island, and he answered Erling on +account of the others. The Thing was long assembled; but at the close +the bondes gave the case into Erling's own power, and he appointed a +meeting in the town within one week, and named fifteen bondes who should +appear there. When they came, he condemned them to pay a penalty of +300 head of cattle; and the bondes returned home ill pleased at this +sentence. Soon after the Gaut river was frozen, and Erling's ships were +fast in the ice; and the bondes kept back the mulct, and lay assembled +for some time. Erling made a Yule feast in the town; but the Hising +people had joint-feasts with each other, and kept under arms during +Yule. The night after the fifth day of Yule Erling went up to Hising, +surrounded Assur's house, and burnt him in it. He killed one hundred +men in all, burnt three houses, and then returned to Konungahella. The +bondes came then, according to agreement, to pay the mulct. + + + + +20. DEATH OF FRIREK KEINA AND BJARNE. + +Erling Skakke made ready to sail in spring as soon as he could get his +ships afloat for ice, and sailed from Konungahella; for he heard that +those who had formerly been Markus's friends were marauding in the north +of Viken. Erling sent out spies to learn their doings, searched for +them, and found them lying in a harbour. Onund Simonson and Ornolf +Skorpa escaped, but Frirek Keina and Bjarne the Bad were taken, and many +of their followers were killed. Erling had Frirek bound to an anchor +and thrown overboard; and for that deed Erling was much detested in the +Throndhjem country, for the most powerful men there were relatives of +Frirek. Erling ordered Bjarne the Bad to be hanged; and he uttered, +according to his custom, many dreadful imprecations during his +execution. Thorbjorn Skakkaskald tells of this business:-- + + "East of the Fjord beyond the land, + Unnoticed by the pirate band, + Erling stole on them ere they knew, + And seized and killed all Keina's crew. + Keina, fast to an anchor bound, + Was thrown into the deep-blue Sound; + And Bjarne swung high on gallows-tree, + A sight all good men loved to see." + +Onund and Ornolf, with the band that had escaped, fled to Denmark; but +were sometimes in Gautland, or in Viken. + + + + +21. CONFERENCE BETWEEN ERLING AND EYSTEIN. + +Erling Skakke sailed after this to Tunsberg, and remained there very +long in spring (A.D. 1164); but when summer came he proceeded north to +Bergen, where at that time a great many people were assembled. There +was the legate from Rome, Stephanus; the Archbishop Eystein, and other +bishops of the country. There was also Bishop Brand, who was consecrated +bishop of Iceland, and Jon Loptson, a daughter's son of King Magnus +Barefoot; and on this occasion King Magnus and Jon's other relations +acknowledged the relationship with him. + +Archbishop Eystein and Erling Skakke often conversed together in +private; and, among other things, Erling asked one day, "Is it true, +sir, what people tell me, that you have raised the value of the ore upon +the people north in Throndhjem, in the law cases in which money-fees are +paid you?" + +"It is so," said the archbishop, "that the bondes have allowed me an +advance on the ore of law casualties; but they did it willingly, and +without any kind of compulsion, and have thereby added to their honour +for God and the income of the bishopric." + +Erling replies, "Is this according to the law of the holy Olaf? or have +you gone to work more arbitrarily in this than is written down in the +lawbook?" + +The archbishop replies, "King Olaf the Holy fixed the laws, to which he +received the consent and affirmative of the people; but it will not be +found in his laws that it is forbidden to increase God's right." + +Erling: "If you augment your right, you must assist us to augment as +much the king's right." + +The archbishop: "Thou hast already augmented enough thy son's power and +dominion; and if I have exceeded the law in taking an increase of the +ore from the Throndhjem people, it is, I think, a much greater breach of +the law that one is king over the country who is not a king's son, and +which has neither any support in the law, nor in any precedent here in +the country." + +Erling: "When Magnus was chosen king, it was done with your knowledge +and consent, and also of all the other bishops here in the country." + +Archbishop: "You promised then, Erling, that provided we gave our +consent to electing Magnus king, you would, on all occasions, and with +all your power, strengthen God's rights." + +Erling: "I may well admit that I have promised to preserve and +strengthen God's commands and the laws of the land with all my power, +and with the king's strength; and now I consider it to be much more +advisable, instead of accusing each other of a breach of our promises, +to hold firmly by the agreement entered into between us. Do you +strengthen Magnus in his dominion, according to what you have promised; +and I will, on my part, strengthen your power in all that can be of +advantage or honour." + +The conversation now took a more friendly turn; and Erling said, +"Although Magnus was not chosen king according to what has been the +old custom of this country, yet can you with your power give him +consecration as king, as God's law prescribes, by anointing the king to +sovereignty; and although I be neither a king, nor of kingly race, yet +most of the kings, within my recollection, have not known the laws or +the constitution of the country so well as I do. Besides, the mother of +King Magnus is the daughter of a king and queen born in lawful wedlock, +and Magnus is son of a queen and a lawfully married wife. Now if you +will give him royal consecration, no man can take royalty from him. +William Bastard was not a king's son; but he was consecrated and crowned +king of England, and the royalty in England has ever since remained with +his race, and all have been crowned. Svein Ulfson was not a king's son +in Denmark, and still he was a crowned king, and his sons likewise, and +all his descendants have been crowned kings. Now we have here in Norway +an archiepiscopal seat, to the glory and honour of the country; let us +also have a crowned king, as well as the Danes and Englishmen." + +Erling and the archbishop afterwards talked often of this matter, and +they were quite agreed. Then the archbishop brought the business before +the legate, and got him easily persuaded to give his consent. Thereafter +the archbishop called together the bishops, and other learned men, and +explained the subject to them. They all replied in the same terms, that +they would follow the counsels of the archbishop, and all were eager to +promote the consecration as soon as the archbishop pleased. + + + + +22. KING MAGNUS'S CONSECRATION. + +Erling Skakke then had a great feast prepared in the king's house. The +large hall was covered with costly cloth and tapestry, and adorned +with great expense. The court-men and all the attendants were there +entertained, and there were numerous guests, and many chiefs. Then King +Magnus received the royal consecration from the Archbishop Eystein; +and at the consecration there were five other bishops and the legate, +besides a number of other clergy. Erling Skakke, and with him twelve +other lendermen, administered to the king the oath of the law; and +the day of the consecration the king and Erling had the legate, the +archbishop, and all the other bishops as guests; and the feast was +exceedingly magnificent, and the father and son distributed many great +presents. King Magnus was then eight years of age, and had been king for +three years. + + + + +23. KING VALDEMAR'S EMBASSY. + +When the Danish king Valdemar heard the news from Norway that Magnus +was become king of the whole country, and all the other parties in the +country were rooted out, he sent his men with a letter to King Magnus +and Erling, and reminded them of the agreement which Erling had entered +into, under oath, with King Valdemar, of which we have spoken before; +namely, that Viken from the east to Rygiarbit should be ceded to King +Valdemar, if Magnus became the sole king of Norway. When the ambassadors +came forward and showed Erling the letter of the Danish king, and he +heard the Danish king's demand upon Norway, he laid it before the other +chiefs by whose counsels he usually covered his acts. All, as one +man, replied that the Danes should never hold the slightest portion of +Norway; for never had things been worse in the land than when the Danes +had power in it. The ambassadors of the Danish king were urgent with +Erling for an answer, and desired to have it decided; but Erling begged +them to proceed with him east to Viken, and said he would give his final +answer when he had met with the men of most understanding and influence +in Viken. + + + + +24. ERLING AND THE PEOPLE OF VIKEN. + +Erling Skakke proceeded in autumn to Viken, and stayed in Tunsberg, +from whence he sent people to Sarpsborg to summon a Thing (1) of four +districts; and then Erling went there with his people. + +When the Thing was seated Erling made a speech in which he explained the +resolutions which had been settled upon between him and the Danish king, +the first time he collected troops against his enemies. "I will," said +Erling, "keep faithfully the agreement which we then entered into with +the king, if it be your will and consent, bondes, rather to serve the +Danish king than the king who is now consecrated and crowned king of +this country." + +The bondes replied thus to Erling's speech: "Never will we become the +Danish king's men, as long as one of us Viken men is in life." And the +whole assembly, with shouts and cries, called on Erling to keep the oath +he had taken to defend his son's dominions, "should we even all follow +thee to battle." And so the Thing was dissolved. + +The ambassadors of the Danish king then returned home, and told the +issue of their errand. The Danes abused Erling, and all Northmen, and +declared that evil only proceeded from them; and the report was spread, +that in Spring the Danish king would send out an army and lay waste +Norway. Erling returned in autumn north to Bergen, stayed there all +winter, and gave their pay to his people. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) This reference to a Thing of the people in the affairs of + the country is a striking example of the right of the Things + being recognised, in theory at least, as fully as the right + of our parliaments in later times.--L. + + + + +25. LETTERS OF THE THRONDHJEM PEOPLE. + +The same winter (A.D. 1165) some Danish people came by land through the +Uplands, saying they were to go, as was then the general practice, to +the holy King Olaf's festival. But when they came to the Throndhjem +country, they went to many men of influence, and told their business; +which was, that the Danish king had sent them to desire their +friendship, and consent, if he came to the country, promising them both +power and money. With this verbal message came also the Danish king's +letter and seal, and a message to the Throndhjem people that they should +send back their letters and seals to him. They did so, and the most of +them received well the Danish king's message; whereupon the messengers +returned back towards Lent. Erling was in Bergen; and towards spring +Erling's friends told him the loose reports they had heard by some +merchant vessels that had arrived from Throndhjem, that the Throndhjem +people were in hostility openly against him; and had declared that if +Erling came to Throndhjem, he should never pass Agdanes in life. Erling +said this was mere folly and idle talk. Erling now made it known that +he would go to Unarheim to the Gangdag-thing; and ordered a cutter of +twenty rowing benches to be fitted out, a boat of fifteen benches, and +a provision-ship. When the vessels were ready, there came a strong +southerly gale. On the Thursday of the Ascension week, Erling called his +people by sound of trumpet to their departure; but the men were loath +to leave the town, and were ill inclined to row against the wind. Erling +brought his vessels to Biskupshafn. "Well," said Erling, "since ye are +so unwilling to row against the wind, raise the mast, hoist the sails, +and let the ship go north." They did so, and sailed northwards both day +and night. On Wednesday, in the evening, they sailed in past Agdanes, +where they found a fleet assembled of many merchant vessels, rowing +craft, and boats, all going towards the town to the celebration of the +festival,--some before them, some behind them--so that the townspeople +paid no attention to the long-ships coming. + + + + +26. ERLING AND THE PEOPLE OF THRONDHJEM. + +Erling came to the town just as vespers was being sung in Christ church. +He and his men ran into the town, to where it was told them that the +lenderman, Alf Rode, a son of Ottar Birting, was still sitting at table, +and drinking with his men. Erling fell upon them; and Alf was killed, +with almost all his men. Few other men were killed; for they had almost +all gone to church, as this was the night before Christ's Ascension-day. +In the morning early, Erling called all the people by sound of trumpet +to a Thing out upon Evrar. At the Thing Erling laid a charge against the +Throndhjem people, accusing them of intending to betray the country, +and take it from the king; and named Bard Standale, Pal Andreason, and +Razabard, who then presided over the town's affairs, and many others. +They, in their defence, denied the accusation; but Erling's writer stood +up, produced many letters with seals, and asked if they acknowledged +their seals which they had sent to the Danish king; and thereupon the +letters were read. There was also a Danish man with Erling who had gone +with the letters in winter, and whom Erling for that purpose had taken +into his service. He told to these men the very words which each of them +had used. "And you, Razabard, spoke, striking your breast; and the +very words you used were, 'Out of this breast are all these counsels +produced.'" Bard replied, "I was wrong in the head, sirs, when I spoke +so." There was now nothing to be done but to submit the case entirely to +the sentence Erling might give upon it. He took great sums of money from +many as fines, and condemned all those who had been killed as lawless, +and their deeds as lawless; making their deaths thereby not subject to +mulct. Then Erling returned south to Bergen. + + + + +27. KING VALDEMAR'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY. + +The Danish king Valdemar assembled in spring (A.D. 1165) a great +army, and proceeded with it north to Viken. As soon as he reached +the dominions of the king of Norway, the bondes assembled in a great +multitude. The king advanced peacefully; but when they came to the +mainland, the people shot at them even when there were only two or three +together, from which the ill-will of the country people towards them +was evident. When they came to Tunsberg, King Valdemar summoned a +Hauga-thing; but nobody attended it from the country parts. Then +Valdemar spoke thus to his troops: "It is evident that all the +country-people are against us; and now we have two things to choose: the +one to go through the country, sword in hand, sparing neither man nor +beast; the other is to go back without effecting our object. And it +is more my inclination to go with the army to the East against the +heathens, of whom we have enough before us in the East country, than to +kill Christian people here, although they have well deserved it." All +the others had a greater desire for a foray; but the king ruled, and +they all returned back to Denmark without effecting their purpose. They +pillaged, however, all around in the distant islands, or where the +king was not in the neighbourhood. They then returned south to Denmark +without doing anything. + + + + +28. ERLING'S EXPEDITION TO JUTLAND. + +As soon as Erling heard that a Danish force had come to Viken, he +ordered a levy through all the land, both of men and ships, so that +there was a great assemblage of men in arms; and with this force he +proceeded eastward along the coast. But when he came to Lidandisnes, +he heard that the Danish army had returned south to Denmark, after +plundering all around them in Viken. Then Erling gave all the people of +the levy permission to return home; but he himself and some lendermen, +with many vessels, sailed to Jutland after the Danes. When they came to +a place called Dyrsa, the Danes who had returned from the expedition lay +there with many ships. Erling gave them battle, and there was a fight, +in which the Danes soon fled with the loss of many people; and Erling +and his men plundered the ships and the town, and made a great booty, +with which they returned to Norway. Thereafter, for a time, there was +hostility between Norway and Denmark. + + + + +29. ERLING'S EXPEDITION TO DENMARK. + +The princess Krisfin went south in autumn (A.D. 1165) to Denmark, to +visit her relation King Valdemar, who was her cousin. The king received +her kindly, and gave her fiefs in his kingdom, so that she could +support her household well. She often conversed with the king, who was +remarkably kind towards her. In the spring following (A.D. 1166) Kristin +sent to Erling, and begged him to pay a visit to the Danish king, and +enter into a peace with him. In summer Erling was in Viken, where he +fitted out a long-ship, manned it with his finest lads, and sailed +(a single ship) over to Jutland. When he heard that the Danish king +Valdemar was in Randaros, Erling sailed thither, and came to the town +just as the king sat at the dinner-table, and most of the people were +taking their meal. When his people had made themselves ready according +to Erling's orders, set up the ship-tents, and made fast the ship, +Erling landed with twelve men, all in armour, with hats over their +helmets, and swords under their cloaks. They went to the king's lodging, +where the doors stood open, and the dishes were being carried in. +Erling and his people went in immediately, and drew up in front of the +high-seat. Erling said, "Peace and safe conduct we desire, king, both +here and to return home." + +The king looked at him, and said, "Art thou here, Erling?" + +He replies, "Here is Erling; and tell us, at once, if we shall have +peace and safe conduct." + +There were eighty of the king's men in the room, but all unarmed. The +king replies, "Peace ye shall have, Erling, according to thy desire; for +I will not use force or villainy against a man who comes to visit me." + +Erling then kissed the king's hand, went out, and down to his ship. +Erling stayed at Randaros some time with the king, and they talked about +terms of peace between them and between the countries. They agreed that +Erling should remain as hostage with the Danish king; and that Asbjorn +Snara, Bishop Absalon's brother, should go to Norway as hostage on the +other part. + + + + +30. KING VALDEMAR AND ERLING. + +In a conference which King Valdemar and Erling once had together. Erling +said, "Sire, it appears to me likely that it might lead to a peace +between the countries if you got that part of Norway which was promised +you in our agreement; but if it should be so, what chief would you place +over it? Would he be a Dane?" + +"No," replied the king; "no Danish chief would go to Norway, where he +would have to manage an obstinate hard people, when he has it so easy +here with me." + +Erling: "It was on that very consideration that I came here; for I would +not on any account in the world deprive myself of the advantage of your +friendship. In days of old other men, Hakon Ivarson and Fin Arnason, +came also from Norway to Denmark, and your predecessor, King Svein, made +them both earls. Now I am not a man of less power in Norway than they +were then, and my influence is not less than theirs; and the king gave +them the province of Halland to rule over, which he himself had and +owned before. Now it appears to me, sire, that you, if I become your +man and vassal, can allow me to hold of you the fief which my son +Magnus will not deny me, by which I will be bound in duty, and ready, to +undertake all the service belonging to that title." + +Erling spoke such things, and much more in the same strain, until it +came at last to this, that Erling became Valdemar's man and vassal; and +the king led Erling to the earl's seat one day, and gave him the title +of earl, and Viken as a fief under his rule. Earl Erling went thereafter +to Norway, and was earl afterwards as long as he lived; and also the +peace with the Danish king was afterwards always preserved. Earl Erling +had four sons by his concubines. The one was called Hreidar, the next +Ogmund; and these by two different mothers: the third was called Fin; +the fourth Sigurd: these were younger, and their mother was Asa the +Fair. The princess Kristin and Earl Erling had a daughter called +Ragnhild, who was married to Jon Thorbergson of Randaberg. Kristin went +away from the country with a man called Grim Rusle; and they went to +Constantinople, where they were for a time, and had some children. + + + + +31. BEGINNING OF OLAF. + +Olaf, a son of Gudbrand Skafhaug, and Maria, a daughter of King Eystein +Magnuson, were brought up in the house of Sigurd Agnhot in the Uplands. +While Earl Erling was in Denmark (A.D. 1166), Olaf and his foster-father +gathered a troop together, and many Upland people joined them; and Olaf +was chosen king by them. They went with their bands through the +Uplands, and sometimes down to Viken, and sometimes east to the forest +settlements; but never came on board of ships. Now when, Earl Erling got +news of this troop, he hastened to Viken with his forces; and was there +in summer in his ships, and in Oslo in autumn (A.D. 1167) and kept Yule +there. He had spies up the country after this troop, and went himself, +along with Orm, the King-brother, up the country to follow them. Now +when they came to a lake called.... .... (1) they took all the vessels +that were upon the lake. + + + ENDNOTES: (1) The name of the lake not given. + + + + +32. OF ERLING. + +The priest who performed divine service at a place called Rydiokul, +close by the lake, invited the earl to a feast at Candlemas. The earl +promised to come; and thinking it would be good to hear mass there, he +rowed with his attendants over the lake the night before Candlemas day. +But the priest had another plan on hand. He sent men to bring Olaf news +of Earl Erling's arrival. The priest gave Erling strong drink in the +evening, and let him have an excessive quantity of it. When the +earl wished to lie down and sleep, the beds were made ready in the +drinking-room; but when they had slept a short time the earl awoke, and +asked if it was not the hour for matins. The priest replied, that only +a small part of the night was gone, and told him to sleep in peace. The +earl replied, "I dream of many things to-night, and I sleep ill." He +slumbered again, but awoke soon, and told the priest to get up and sing +mass. The priest told the earl to sleep, and said it was but midnight. +Then the earl again lay down, slept a little while, and, springing out +of bed, ordered his men to put on their clothes. They did so; took +their weapons, went to the church, and laid their arms outside while the +priest was singing matins. + + + + +33. BATTLE AT RYDIOKUL. + +As Olaf got the message in the evening, they travelled in the night +six miles, which people considered an extraordinarily long march. They +arrived at Rydiokul while the priest was still singing mass, and it was +pitch-dark. Olaf and his men went into the room, raised a war-shout, and +killed some of the earl's men who had not gone to the early mass. Now +when Erling and his men heard the war-shout, they ran to their weapons, +and hastened down to their ships. Olaf and his men met them at a fence, +at which there was a sharp conflict. Erling and his men retreated along +the fence, which protected them. Erling had far fewer men, and many of +them had fallen, and still more were wounded. What helped Earl Erling +and his men the most was, that Olaf's men could not distinguish them, it +was so dark; and the earl's men were always drawing down to their ships. +Are Thorgeirson, father of Bishop Gudmund fell there, and many other +of Erling's court-men. Erling himself was wounded in the left side; but +some say he did it himself in drawing his sword. Orm the King-brother +was also severely wounded; and with great difficulty they escaped +to their ships, and instantly pushed off from land. It was generally +considered as a most unlucky meeting for Olaf's people, as Earl Erling +was in a manner sold into their hands, if they had proceeded with common +prudence. He was afterwards called Olaf the Unlucky; but others called +his people Hat-lads. They went with their bands through the Uplands as +before. Erling again went down to Viken to his ships, and remained there +all summer. Olaf was in the Uplands, and sometimes east in the forest +districts, where he and his troop remained all the next winter (A.D. +1168). + + + + +34. BATTLE AT STANGAR. + +The following spring the Hat-lads went down to Viken, and raised the +king's taxes all around, and remained there long in summer. When Earl +Erling heard this, he hastened with his troops to meet them in Viken, +and fell in with them east of the Fjord, at a place called Stangar; +where they had a great battle, in which Erling was victorious. Sigurd +Agnhot, and many others of Olaf's men, fell there; but Olaf escaped by +flight, went south to Denmark, and was all winter (A.D. 1169) in Alaborg +in Jutland. The following spring Olaf fell into an illness which ended +in death, and he was buried in the Maria church; and the Danes call him +a saint. + + + + +35. HARALD'S DEATH. + +King Magnus had a lenderman called Nikolas Kufung, who was a son of Pal +Skaptason. He took Harald prisoner, who called himself a son of King +Sigurd Haraldson and the princess Kristin, and a brother of King Magnus +by the mother's side. Nikolas brought Harald to Bergen, and delivered +him into Earl Erling's hands. It was Erling's custom when his enemies +came before him, that he either said nothing to them, or very little, +and that in all gentleness, when he had determined to put them to death; +or rose with furious words against them, when he intended to spare their +lives. Erling spoke but little to Harald, and many, therefore, suspected +his intentions; and some begged King Magnus to put in a good word +for Harald with the earl; and the king did so. The earl replies, "Thy +friends advise thee badly. Thou wouldst govern this kingdom but a short +time in peace and safety, if thou wert to follow the counsels of the +heart only." Earl Erling ordered Harald to be taken to Nordnes, where he +was beheaded. + + + + +36. EYSTEIN EYSTEINSON AND THE BIRKEBEINS. + +There was a man called Eystein, who gave himself out for a son of King +Eystein Haraldson. He was at this time young, and not full grown. It is +told of him that he one summer appeared in Svithjod, and went to +Earl Birger Brosa, who was then married to Brigida, Eystein's aunt, a +daughter of King Harald Gille. Eystein explained his business to him, +and asked their assistance. Both Earl Birger and his wife listened to +him in a friendly way, and promised him their confidence, and he stayed +with them a while. Earl Birger gave him some assistance of men, and a +good sum for travelling expenses; and both promised him their friendship +on his taking leave. Thereafter Eystein proceeded north into Norway +(A.D. 1174), and when he came down to Viken people flocked to him in +crowds; and Eystein was there proclaimed king, and he remained in Viken +in winter. As they were very poor in money, they robbed all around, +wherefore the lendermen and bondes raised men against them; and being +thus overpowered by numbers, they fled away to the forests and deserted +hill grounds, where they lived for a long time. Their clothes being worn +out, they wound the bark of the birch-tree about their legs, and thus +were called by the bondes Birkebeins. They often rushed down upon the +settled districts, pushed on here or there, and made an assault where +they did not find many people to oppose them. They had several battles +with the bondes with various success; and the Birkebeins held three +battles in regular array, and gained the victory in them all. At +Krokaskog they had nearly made an unlucky expedition, for a great number +of bondes and men-at-arms were assembled there against them; but the +Birkebeins felled brushwood across the roads, and retired into the +forest. They were two years (A.D. 1175-1176) in Viken before they showed +themselves in the northern parts of the country. + + + + +37. BIRKEBEINS, KING EYSTEIN, AND SKAKKE. + +Magnus had been king for thirteen years when the Birkebeins first made +their appearance. They got themselves ships in the third summer (A.D. +1176), with which they sailed along the coast gathering goods and +men. They were first in Viken; but when summer advanced they proceeded +northwards, and so rapidly that no news preceded them until they came to +Throndhjem. The Birkebeins' troop consisted principally of hill-men and +Elfgrims, and many were from Thelemark; and all were well armed. +Their king, Eystein, was a handsome man, and with a little but good +countenance; and he was not of great stature, for his men called him +Eystein Meyla. King Magnus and Earl Erling were in Bergen when the +Birkebeins sailed past it to the north; but they did not hear of them. + +Earl Erling was a man of great understanding and power, an excellent +leader in war, and an able and prudent ruler of the country; but he +had the character of being cruel and severe. The cause of this was +principally that he never allowed his enemies to remain in the country, +even when they prayed to him for mercy; and therefore many joined the +bands which were collected against him. Erling was a tall strong-made +man, somewhat short-necked and high-shouldered; had a long and sharp +countenance of a light complexion, and his hair became very grey. +He bore his head a little on one side; was free and agreeable in his +manners. He wore the old fashion of clothes,--long body-pieces and long +arms to his coats, foreign cloak, and high shoes. He made the king wear +the same kind of dress in his youth; but when he grew up, and acted for +himself, he dressed very sumptuously. + +King Magnus was of a light turn of mind, full of jokes; a great lover of +mirth, and not less of women. + + + + +38. OF NIKOLAS. + +Nikolas was a son of Sigurd Hranason and of Skialdvor, a daughter of +Brynjolf Ulfalde, and a sister of Haldor Brynjolfson by the father's +side, and of King Magnus Barefoot by the mother's side. Nikolas was a +distinguished chief, who had a farm at Ongul in Halogaland, which was +called Steig. Nikolas had also a house in Nidaros, below Saint Jon's +church, where Thorgeir the scribe lately dwelt. Nikolas was often in +the town, and was president of the townspeople. Skialdvor, Nikolas's +daughter, was married to Eirik Arnason, who was also a lenderman. + + + + +39. OF EIRIK AND NIKOLAS. + +As the people of the town were coming from matins the last day of +Marymas (September 8th), Eirik came up to Nikolas, and said, "Here are +some fishermen come from the sea, who report that some long-ships are +sailing into the fjord; and people conjecture that these may be the +Birkebeins. It would be advisable to call the townspeople together with +the war-horns, to meet under arms out on Eyrar." + +Nikolas replies, "I don't go after fishermen's reports; but I shall send +out spies to the fjord, and in the meantime hold a Thing to-day." + +Eirik went home; but when they were ringing to high mass, and Nikolas +was going to church, Eirik came to hint again, and said, "I believe the +news to be true; for here are men who say they saw them under sail; and +I think it would be most advisable to ride out of town, and gather men +with arms; for it appears to me the townspeople will be too few." + +Nikolas replies, "Thou art mixing everything together; let us first hear +mass, and then take our resolution." + +Nikolas then went into the church. When the mass was over Eirik went to +Nikolas, and said, "My horses are saddled; I will ride away." + +Nikolas replies, "Farewell, then: we will hold a Thing to-day on the +Eyrar, and examine what force of men there may be in the town." + +Eirik rode away, and Nikolas went to his house, and then to dinner. + + + + +40. THE FALL OF NIKOLAS. + +The meat was scarcely put on the table, when a man came into the house +to tell Nikolas that the Birkebeins were roving up the river. Then +Nikolas called to his men to take their weapons. When they were armed +Nikolas ordered them to go up into the loft. But that was a most +imprudent step; for if they had remained in the yard, the townspeople +might have come to their assistance; but now the Birkebeins filled the +whole yard, and from thence scrambled from all sides up to the loft. +They called to Nikolas, and offered him quarter, but he refused it. Then +they attacked the loft. Nikolas and his men defended themselves with +bow-shot, hand-shot, and stones of the chimney; but the Birkebeins hewed +down the houses, broke up the loft, and returned shot for shot from bow +or hand. Nikolas had a red shield in which were gilt nails, and about it +was a border of stars. The Birkebeins shot so that the arrows went in +up to the arrow feather. Then said Nikolas, "My shield deceives me." +Nikolas and a number of his people fell, and his death was greatly +lamented. The Birkebeins gave all the towns-people their lives. + + + + +41. EYSTEIN PROCLAIMED KING. + +Eystein was then proclaimed king, and all the people submitted to him. +He stayed a while in the town, and then went into the interior of the +Throndhjem land, where many joined him, and among them Thorfin Svarte +of Snos with a troop of people. When the Birkebeins, in the beginning +of winter (A.D. 1177), came again into the town, the sons of Gudrun from +Saltnes, Jon Ketling, Sigurd, and William, joined them; and when they +proceeded afterwards from Nidaros up Orkadal, they could number nearly +2000 men. They afterwards went to the Uplands, and on to Thoten +and Hadaland, and from thence to Ringerike, and subdued the country +wheresover they came. + + + + +42. THE FALL OF KING EYSTEIN. + +King Magnus went eastward to Viken in autumn with a part of his men and +with him Orm, the king's brother; but Earl Erling remained behind in +Bergen to meet the Berkebeins in case they took the sea route. King +Magnus went to Tunsberg, where he and Orm held their Yule (A.D. 1177). +When King Magnus heard that the Birkebeins were up in Re, the king and +Orm proceeded thither with their men. There was much snow, and it was +dreadfully cold. When they came to the farm they left the beaten track +on the road, and drew up their array outside of the fence, and trod a +path through the snow with their men, who were not quite 1500 in number. +The Birkebeins were dispersed here and there in other farms, a few men +in each house. When they perceived King Magnus's army they assembled, +and drew up in regular order; and as they thought their force was larger +than his, which it actually was, they resolved to fight; but when they +hurried forward to the road only a few could advance at a time, which +broke their array, and the men fell who first advanced upon the beaten +way. Then the Birkebeins' banner was cut down; those who were nearest +gave way and some took to flight. King Magnus's men pursued them, +and killed one after the other as they came up with them. Thus the +Birkebeins could never form themselves in array; and being exposed to +the weapons of the enemy singly, many of them fell, and many fled. It +happened here, as it often does, that although men be brave and gallant, +if they have once been defeated and driven to flight, they will not +easily be brought to turn round. Now the main body of the Birkebeins +began to fly, and many fell; because Magnus's men killed all they could +lay hold of, and not one of them got quarter. The whole body became +scattered far and wide. Eystein in his flight ran into a house, and +begged for his life, and that the bonde would conceal him; but the bonde +killed him, and then went to King Magnus, whom he found at Rafnnes, +where the king was in a room warming himself by the fire along with many +people. Some went for the corpse, and bore it into the room, where the +king told the people to come and inspect the body. A man was sitting on +a bench in the corner, and he was a Birkebein, but nobody had observed +him; and when he saw and recognised his chief's body he sprang up +suddenly and actively, rushed out upon the floor, and with an axe he had +in his hands made a blow at King Magnus's neck between the shoulders. +A man saw the axe swinging, and pulled the king to a side, by which the +axe struck lower in the shoulder, and made a large wound. He then raised +the axe again, and made a blow at Orm, the King-brother, who was lying +on a bench, and the blow was directed at both legs; but Orm seeing the +man about to kill him, drew in his feet instantly, threw them over his +head, and the blow fell on the bench, in which the axe stuck fast; and +then the blows at the Birkebein came so thick that he could scarcely +fall to the ground. It was discovered that he had dragged his entrails +after him over the floor; and this man's bravery was highly praised. +King Magnus's men followed the fugitives, and killed so many that they +were tired of it. Thorfin of Snos, and a very great number of Throndhjem +people, fell there. + + + + +43. OF THE BIRKEBEINS. + +The faction which called itself the Birkebeins had gathered together in +great numbers. They were a hardy people, and the boldest of men under +arms; but wild, and going forward madly when they had a strong force. +They had few men in their faction who were good counsellors, or +accustomed to rule a country by law, or to head an army; and if there +were such men among them who had more knowledge, yet the many would +only allow of those measures which they liked, trusting always to their +numbers and courage. Of the men who escaped many were wounded, and had +lost both their clothes and their arms, and were altogether destitute +of money. Some went east to the borders, some went all the way east to +Svithjod; but the most of them went to Thelemark, where they had their +families. All took flight, as they had no hope of getting their lives +from King Magnus or Earl Erling. + + + + +44. OF KING MAGNUS ERLINGSON. + +King Magnus then returned to Tunsberg, and got great renown by this +victory; for it had been an expression in the mouths of all, that Earl +Erling was the shield and support of his son and himself. But after +gaining a victory over so strong and numerous a force with fewer troops, +King Magnus was considered by all as surpassing other leaders, and that +he would become a warrior as much greater than his father, Earl Erling, +as he was younger. + + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Heimskringla, by Snorri Sturlason + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK HEIMSKRINGLA *** + +***** This file should be named 598.txt or 598.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/5/9/598/ + +Produced by Douglas B. Killings + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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