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NoRRu,_i'Gl,,O_ AxON CI,,AI!_4_

VALDEMAR II. RECEIVING DAGMAR AT RIBE, I_8.
(From a pa_nt_*g by Th. Wege_er_)
- _]ALDEMAR IL, known as the Victorious, was first married

v to Margrete of Bohemia, whom the Danes afterwards, in
their admiration of her gentleness and beauty, called Dagmar,
which signifies "Day's Maiden." So great a favorite was she
with the people that the fame of her virtues was eelebratcd
in their national ballads, "the K*empeviser." It was for many
years believed that from her tomb m Ringstead Abbey issued
at mldmght the softest stratus of heavenly music. The illustra-
tion represents her reception as Valdemar's bride and welcome
to Denmark by the people.
¢
The Heimskringla
A HISTORY OF
THE NORSE KINGS

BY
SNORRE STURLASON
DONE INTO ENGLISH OUT OF THE ICELANDIC
BY
SAMUEL LAING, EsQ.
REVISED VIITHNOTES BY
HON. I_SMUS B. ANDERSON.
VOL. I.
FUB_IM_FJ D BY
NORRCENA SOCIETY.
r.O_DONCO_N_OS_ ST_OLM _N nw yo_x
Ioo7
t
t:T
7_77
/¢I
LIST OF PHOTOGRAVURES.
(HEIMSKRINGLA.)
VOL. I.
Frontispiece---Valdemar II. Receiving Dagmar at

Ribe, 1205.
Pa¢o
Olaf Consults the Seer of Stilly Isles................ 105
Earl Hakon Murdered by Kark .................... 215
Olaf and His Dog Vige ............................ 341
GONTE1W]TS.
Pass
Preface of Snccre Smrlason ................................ 1
Saga of Halfdan the Black .................................. 6
Halfdan's Marriage ................................. 8

Halfdan's Strife with Gandalf's Sons ................. 9
Of Ragnhild's Dream .............................. 11
Of Halfdan's Dream ................................ 1_
Halfdan's Meat Vanishes at a Feast ................... 13
Halfdan's Death .................................... 14
Saga of Harald Hadager ................................... 16
Harald Overcomes Five Kings ....................... 17
Of Gyda, Daughter of Eir_k ......................... 18
Harald's Vow and Battle in Orkadal .................. 19
Harald's Land and Property Laws ................... 20
Battle in Gaulardal ................................. 21
Harald's Home Affairs .............................. 22
Battle at Solskel ..................................... 23
FalI of Kings Arnvid and Audbjorn ................. 24
King Vemund Burnt to Death ....................... 26
Death of Earls Hakon and Mjove ................... 27
Harald and the Swedish King Eirik .................. 28
Harald at a Feast of Peasant Ake .................... 29
A Battle in Gautland ................................ 31
Hrane Gauzke's Death .............................. 32
Battle in Hafersfjord ................................ 33
Harald Supreme Sovereign in Norway .......... _...... 34
Harald's Marriage and his Children .................. 35
Fin Svase and King Harald ........................ 39

Thjodolf, the Skald ................................ 4t
Earl Torfeinar Obtains the Orkneys .................. 42
King Eirik Eymundson's Death ...................... 43
Guthorm's Death, Ragnvald Burnt in his House ....... 44
Halfdan Haleg's Death .............................. 45
Harald and Einar Reconciled ........................ 46
Death of Guthorm and Halfdan the White ............ 47
Death of Ragnvald Rettilbeine ...................... 51
Birth of Hakon the Good ............................ 55

King Athelstan's Message ........................... 56
it!
CONTENTS
Hauk's Jour_ley to England .......................... 57

Hakon is Baptized .................................. s8
King Harald's Death ................................ 59
Death of Olaf and Sigrod ........................... 60
Saga of Hakon the Good ................................... 62
Hakon Chosen King ................................ 63
Eirik's Departure from the Country .................. 65
Eirik's Death ....................................... 60
Gunh_Id and Her Sons ............................... 6S
Battle in Jutland .................................... 69
Hakon's Expedition to Denmark .................... 70
Of King Trygve .................................... 71
Hakon as a Law Giver; Birth of Earl Hakon .......... 73
JamtaIand and Helsfngjaland ....................... 74
Hakon Spreads Christianity ......................... 75
About Sacrifices ..................................... 77
The Frosta-Thing ................................... 7s
YIakon Offers Sacrifices ............................. 80
Feast of the Sacrifice at More ........................ 82
Battle of Ogvaldsnes ................................ 83
King Hakon's Laws ................................. 84
Concerning Eirik's Sons ............................. 85
Egil Ulserk ......................................... 86
Battle at Fredarberg ................................ 87
King Gamle and Ulserk Fall ......................... 89
Ulserk's Burial Ground; News of War ................ 91
Armament of Eirik's Sons .......................... 93
King Hakon's Battle Array .......................... 94
Fall of Skreyja and Askman ......................... 95
Hakon's Death ....................................... 97
Saga of Hated Orifeld and Earl Hakon .................... 100
Government of the Sons of Eirik ..................... 100
Christianity of Gunhild's Sons ....................... 103
Councils by Gunhild and Her Sons ................... 104
Gunhild s Sons and Grjotgard ....................... 105
Sigurd Burnt in a House in Stjoradal ................. 106
History of Hakon, Sigurd's Son ...................... 107
Of Harald Grafeld .................................. 108
Earl Eir_k's Birth ................................... 109
Murder of King Olafson Trygve .................... 110
Kl g Gudron s Fall .................................. 111
Of Harald Grenske .................................. 112
Earl Hakon's Feuds ................................. 113
Earl Hakon and Gunhild's Sons ...................... 114
Sigurd Selfa's Murder ............................... 115
Grjotgard's Fall .................................... 116
King Erling's Fall .................................. 117
The Icelanders and Eyvind the Skald ............... 11S
iv
CONTENTS
Hakon's Embassy to Sweden ........................ 12_3

Of Sigurd Eirikson .................................. 124
O|af Set Free in Eistland ............................ 125
Klerkon Killed by Olaf .............................. 125
Hakon, Earl of Hlader .............................. 127
Of Gold Harald ..................................... 128
Councils Held by Hakon and Harald ................. 129
Harald Gormson's Message to Norway .............. 131
_:e_he_3r_a_ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Gold Harald's Death and Division of the Kingdom .... 134
Gunhild's Sons Leave the Country .................... 135
Hakon's Battle with Ragnfred ....................... 136
Earl Hakon's Marriage .............................. 139
Death o t Skopte .................................... 140
Olaf Trygvason's Journey from Russia ............... 141
O_a_r_o_;_2_s
Olaf
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Trygvason's
_'_,,
War Expedition ................... 145
Otta and Hakon hi Battle ............................ 146
_arald
aOdako
°RenouncesHakon::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
_ge_ragJt_o_:_?"s._°_
:::::::::::::::::::::::l_g
Olaf and Alfvine Fight a Duel ....................... 154
O_a_e_o_so_°_a1_'_i_t
Harald
:::::::::::::::::::::
Sends a Warlock
_'_
to Iceland .................. 166
Harald Gormson's Death ............................ 157
Vow o_ the Jomsborg Vikings ....................... 159
Eirik and Hakon Make a War Levy .................. 160
Earl Sigvald's Flight ............................... 165

Bue Throws Himself Overboard .................... 165
King Harald Grenske's Death ....................... 169

Birth of Olaf, son of Grenske ....................... 171
About Earl Hakon .................................. 1_'_
Y
:::::
:::::::::::
CONTENTS
Death of Erlend and Hakon .......................... 179

Earl Hakon's Head ................................. 181
i ! ili i .iiii iiilili?i!?i!?i?iii?
Building of the Ship Crane ........ A ................ _0_.

Thangbrand, the Priest, goes to Iceland .............. _02
_ha_°,_;_o, gag:£_r!:!iai:::::::::::::::::::::
Olaf's Voyage to Godey ............................. 208
How Raud wa_ Tortured ............................. 209
Of the Icelanders ................................... _11
Thangbrand Returns from Iceland ................... _16

Of King Olaf's Feats ................................ _1'/
g
CONTENTS
Conspiracy _A_a,_ inst King Olaf ....................... _3

Earl Sigvalde s Treacherous Plans .................. 234
Olaf's Voyage from Vindland ....................... 235
Consultation of the Kings ........................... 236
Of King Olaf's People .............................. 238
Olaf's Ships Made Ready for Battle .................. 239
The Battle Begins .................................. 241
Flight of Svein and Olaf, the Swede ................ 241
Of Earl Eirik ........................................ 243
Of Emar Tambaskelfer .............................. 244
Olaf Gives his Men Sharp Swords ................... 244
The Long Serpent Boarded .......................... 245
How Her Decks were Cleared ....................... 246
Strange Reports Among the People .................. 247
Earl Eirik, son of Hakon ........................... 248
Saga of Olaf Haraldson ..................................... 251
Saint Olaf's Bringing Up ............................ 251
Olaf and King Sigurd Syr .......................... 252
King Olaf's Accomplishments ....................... 252
King Olaf's War Expedition ........................ 253
Olaf's First Battle ................................... 254
A Foray in Svithjod ................................ 25_.
Olaf's Second Battle ................................ 256
Olaf's Third, Fourth and Fifth Battle ................. 257
Death of King Svein Forked Beard .................. 258
Olaf's Several Succeeding Battles .................... 260
King Olaf's Dream .................................. 264
Of the Earls of Rouen .............................. 265
Earling Skjalgson ................................... 266
Earl Elrik .......................................... 269
Murder of Edmund ................................. 270
Olaf and Ethelred's Sons ........................... 270
Olaf and Ethelred's Sons Capture a Castle ............ 271
Olaf's Expedition to Norway ....................... 27_
Hakon Taken Prisoner by Olaf ...................... 2;rS
Hakon's Departure for Norway ...................... _TS
Asta Receives her Son Olaf ......................... 275
King Sigurd's Dress ................................ 277
Of the Feast ........................................ 278
Conversation of Olaf and Sigurd ..................... 279
K1ngs in the Upland Districts ....................... 28_
Olaf Gets the Title of King from the Thing .......... 285
King Olaf Travels in the Uplands .................... 286
A Levy Against Olaf in Throndhjem ................. 287
Earl Svein's Proceedings ............................ 289
Consultation between Svein and Einar ............... Bgo
Sigvat the Skald .................................... 291
Of Ea-I Svein ....................................... 1_92
w!
CONTBNTS
Earl Svein's Flight ..................................

:-: 297
Olaf and Sigurd's Consultation ....................... 300
Plans Laid by Olaf and Svein .......................... 301
Death of Svein ...................................... 302
King Olaf's Household and Habits ................... 30_
Murder of Eilif of Gautland ........................... 311
_-_r'Ys °l_ErYd_irn, dHUrroaer'sh°Inali," "an_l""Christ'iam't_r""t'ro :31'

claimed ........................................... 315
Fall of Gudleik and Thorgaut .......................... 316
Olaf Trygvason and Olaf the Swede ................... 318
Journey of Bjorn the Marshal ........................ 321
Conversation of Bjorn and Ingebjorg ................. 324
ii!;iiii:i!i!:
Thorgny the I._gman ...............................
Meeting of Ragnavald and Ingegerd ...................
Ragnvald and Thorgny ..............................
343
31t
346
The UpsMa TMng .................................... 348
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::..:::::::::::::::::::
viii
THE HEIMSK1RINGLA;
OR,
CHRONICLE
0F THE KINGSOF NORWAY.
PREFACE OF SNORRE STURLASON.
IN thisbookI havehad oldstories writtendown,as

I have heard them told by intelligent people, concerning
chiefs who 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 regis-
ters, 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 cer-
tainty that old and wise men held them to be true.
Thjodolf of Hvin was the skald of ttarald Harfager,
and he composed a poem for King Rognvald the Moun-
tain-high, which is called "Ynglingatal." This Rognvald
was a son of Olaf Geirstadaalf, the brother of King Half-
dan the Black. In this poem thirty of his forefathers are
I
.............. . ......._ ' _!

THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Sa_ming,
a son of Yngvefrey, and he likewise tells of the death
and funeral rites of each. The lives and times of the
Yngting race were written from Thjodolf's relation en-
larged 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 mem-
ory 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 cus-
tom of the Swedes and Northmen. Iceland was occu-
pied in the time that Harald Harfager was the King of
Norway. There were skalds in Harald's court whose
poen_ the people know by heart even at the present day,
together with all the songs about the kings who have
2
PREF.4CE OF SNORRE STURLASON
ruled in Norway since his time; and we rest the founda-

tions 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 pres-
ence they are standing, yet no one would dare to relate
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 reck-
oned the years at first, until the time when Christianity
was introduced into Iceland, and afterwards recko4aed
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; besides
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; be-
cause he was a man of good understanding, and so old
that his birth was as far back as the year after Harald
3
THE HEIMSKPJNGLA
Si&-ardson'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 Hankadal 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 Thangbrand, 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 be-
tween 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,
4
0
PREFACE OF SNORRE STURLASON
a daughter of the gode Snorre. She was wise and intel-

ligent, and remembered her father Snorre, who was
near]), thirty-five years of age when Christianity was in-
troduced 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 in-
formation, intelligent and of excellent memory, and hav-
ing besides learned much from old intelligent persons.
But the songs seem to me most reliable if they are sung
correctly, and judiciously interpreted.
3
HALFDAN THE BLACK SAGA.
PRELIMINARY REMARKS.
Of this saga there are other versions found in Fo_rsktn_

and in Flate_g_rbok. The Fl_teyjarbok version is to a great
extent a copy of Snorre. The story about Halfdan's dream is
found both in Fagrsktn_ and in Flat_jarbok. The probability
is that both Snorre and the author of Fagrskinna must have
transcribed the same original text._E&
1._HALFDAN FIGHTS WITH GANDALFAND SIGTRYG.
HALFDAN was a year old when his father was killed,

and his mother Asa set off immediately with him west-
wards 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 di-
vided that kingdom, as before related, with his brother
Olaf. The same autumn he went with an army to Vin-
gulmark against King Gandalf. They had many battles,
and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the vic-
tory; 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 Ranmarike,
and subdued it. King Sigtryg, son of King Eystein, who
then had his residence in Hedemark, and who had sub-
6
HALFDAN THE BLACK SAGA
dued Raumarike before, having heard of this, came out

with his army against King Halfdan, and there was a
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 Rau-
mar_e, and laid the whole country in subjection to him.
_._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 be-
tween them, and Halfdan gained the victory, and Eystein
fled up to Hedemark, pursued by Halfdan. Another
battle tool¢ 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 peo-
ple, 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
2 7
THE HEIMSKRIIqGLA
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 ealled Land. He likewise ap-
propriated to himself Hadeland, and thus became a mighty
king.
8,_ttALFDAN'_ 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 Har-
ald 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
clied; 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 north-
wards 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 ae-
cording to the country's laws, and collect seat upon the
king's account. Thereafter King Halfdan proceeded to
his kingdom in the Uplands.
8
4.--HALFDAN'$ STRIFE WITH GANDALF'S SONS.
In autumn, King Halfdan proceeded to Vingulmark.

One night when he was there in guest quarters, it hap-
pened 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 Vin-
gulmark, and Hake fled to Alfheimar.
5.--HALFDAN'$ I_ARRIAGE WITH H3ORT_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
9
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
combattheber_rkHildebrand, and elevenothersof his

comrades;and many arethedeedsof manhood toldof
him in a long saga about his feats. Sigurd had two chil-
dren, 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
Io
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-ser-
vants slept. Then they broke into the sleeping-room
where Hake slept, took Ragnhild, with her brother Gut-
horm, 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 Ragn-
hild 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 KlakharaId king in Jutland, and
a sister of Thrye Dannebod who was married to the
Danish king, Corm the Old, who then ruled over the
Danish dominions.
6.----OF RAGNHILD'$ DREAM.
Rsgnhfld, who was wise and inteUigent, dreamt great

dreams She dreamt, for one, that she was standing out
II
TH_ I-IEIMSKRINGI._
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 branghes that they seemed to
her to cover atl Norway, and even rmtch more.
_.----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 o4aly as knots springing from his head. These ring-
lets were of various colours; lint one ringlet surpassed all
the others in beauty, lustre, and size. This dream he
I2
HALFDAN THE BLACK ,SAGA
toldto Thorleif, who interpreted itthus:--Thereshould

be a greatposterity from him, and hisdescendants should
ruleover countries with great,but not allwith equally
greathonour;but one of hisraceshouldbe more celebra-
tedthan 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 up-
tightness--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
alsoa good understanding.He was much bdoved by his
mother,but lessso by hisfather.
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 penalty, compensation, or manbod for avery injury, due to the
party injured, or to his family and next of kin if thQ injury was the
death or premeditated murder of the party, appears to have betas fixed
for every rank and condition, from the murder of the king down to the
miming or beating a man's cattle or his slave. A man for whom no
compensation was due was a dishonored person, or an outlLw. It appears
to hava been optional with the injured party, or his kin if he had been
killed, to take the mulct or compensation, or to refuse R, and wait an
opportunity of takiog venKeanco for the injury on the party who inflicted
it. or on his kin. A part of each mulct or compensation was due to the
kinK; and oftheae
proportion the kflnas
InK's orrevenues,
penalties andappeaP
to haveto been
have settled
constituted
in the aThirds
great
held in every district for _5_ministerins the taw with the lillSmmn+--l.,.
x3
THE HEIMSKRINGL4
the great number of guests assembled were gomg to sit

down to table, all the meat and all the ale disappeared
frc_ the tame. The king sat alone very confused in
mind; alI the ochers set off, each to his home, in conster-
nation. 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 tor-
tured 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 accorrv
partied 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
rrmch 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._HALFDAI_'S DEATH.
Halfdan the Black was driving from a feast in Hade-

land, and it so happen# 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
I4
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
Ringer_e to bury it there, the people of most conse-
quence 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.
I5
HARALD HARFAGER'S SAGA.
1.--HARAI.D'S STRIFE WITH HAKE AND HIS FATHER
GANDALF.
Harald _ 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 bird, at the
head of the government, and commander (hertogi) of
the army. After Halidan 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
Eyst_'in, king of Hedemark; and also Hogne Karuscm
came from Ringerike. Hake, the son of Gandalf, be-
gan with an expedition of 300 men against Vestfold,
marched by the main road through some valleys, and ex-
peeted to c(mle 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 Guth-
orm heard of this he gathered an army, and marched
_tp the eountr: with King Harald against Hake.
They met in a valley, in which they fought a great
battle, and King Harald was victorious; and there
• XTho 1_ twenty chapters of this sag& refer to Harald's youth and
his conqutmt of Norway. This portion of the ma_a is of _reat hnporta.n_e
to the |eelanders, as the settlement of their isle was a result ot _xarala's
The _cond part of the asga (ehal_m. 21-46) tt_eats of the disputes
between Harald's _Ons, of the Jarls of Orkney, and of the Jarls of More. .
With th_ _ we ente¢ the domsln of Mstory.wB&
i6
HARALD HARFAGER'S SAGA
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 Gan-
dalf 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.
2.--KING HARALD OVERCOMES FIVE KINGS.
After the battle King Harald and Guthorrn 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 tin.in.g-place, and
came there about the time of midnight, without the watch-
men 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 lobar chiefs, King Harald, by his
relation Guthorm's success and powers, subdued Hede-
mark, Ringerike, Gudbrandsdal, Hadeland, Thoten,
Raumar_e, and the whole northern part of Vingulmark.
King Harald and Guthorm had thereafter war with King
I7
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
Gandatf, 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
Raurm
3.---OF GYDA, DAUGHTER OF EIRIK.
King Harald sent his men to a girl called Gyda, a

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 re-
markably handsome girl, but of high spirit withal. Now
when the messengers came there, and delivered their er-
rand to the girl, she answered, that she would not throw
herself away even to take a king for her husband, who
had no greater kindom 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 an-
swer 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,
x8
subject to himsetf 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 Corm over Den-
mark; for only then, n_thinks, can he be called the king
of a people."
4.--KING HARALD'S VOW.
Now came the messengers back to King Harald, bring-

ing 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 pun-
ished, 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 Gcxt
to witness, who made me and rules over all things, that
never shall I clip or comb my hair until I havo subdued
the whole of Norway, with seat? and duties, and domains;
or if not, have died in the attempt." GuChorm thanked the
king warmly for his vow; adding, that it was royal work
to fulfil royal words.
5.--THE BATTLEIN 0RKADAL.
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
" IScat was a land-tax, Pald to the klng In money, malt, meal, or
_esh-meat, from all lands ; and was adjudged by the Thing to each klz_
upon hls accession, and being proposed and accepted as king.
19
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
over Dovrefjeld; and when the king came down to the in-
habited 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 beg-
ged 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 as-
sembled, 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
hirm Thereafter all the people in Orkadal district went
under King Harald, and became his men.
6.mKING HARALD'S LAWS FOR LAND PROPERTY.
King Harald made this law over all the lands he con-
quered, 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 in-
tx_me bestowed on him and was bound to support twenty
men-at-arms, and the earl sixty men, at their own ex-
2O
penses. 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.
_._BATTL_; I!_" 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 dis-
trict and Strind district. He gave Earl Hakon Strind
district to rule over as earl. King Harald then pro-
ceeded to Stjoradal, and had a third battle, in which he
gained the victory, and took that district also. There-
upon the Throudhjem people assembled, and four kings
met together with their troops. The one ruled over Ver-
adal, the second over Skaun, third over th_ Sparbyggja
district, and the fourth over Eyin Idre (InderSen) ; 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 bat-
ties, 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,mHer-

2I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
hug and Hrorlaug; 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 Hrotlaug, 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 of
Naumudal, and set him as earl over it. (866). 1
9.--KING HARALD'S HOME AFFAIRS.
King Harald then returned to Throndhjem, where he

dwelt during the winte_r, and always afterwards called
it his home. He fixed here his head residence, which is
IBefore writing was in gEmera! use, this symbolical way of perform-
tnE all important legal acts appears to have entered into the jurispru-
d_mce of all sava_ nations; and according to Gibbon, chap. 44. "'the
JttrL.-prudonce 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 _ms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the au_tGz_e of the
fairest clatms."_Bd.
22
HARALD HARFAGBR'S SAGA
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
ttis 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 bad 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 Har-
aid had a battle with the people of Orkadal, at Opdal for-
est, before he went upon this expedition.
"O'er the broad heath the bowstrings First in the track of wolf or boar.
twang, His master voice drives them along
While high in air the arrows sang ; To Hel--a destined, t rem h I i n g
The iron shower drives to flight throng ;
The foeman from the bloody fight. And Nokve'o ship, with KlaneinK
The warder of great Odin's shrine, sides,
The fair-haired son of Odin's line, Must fly to the wild ocean's ttdes,m
Raises the voice which Lives the Must fly before the king who leads
cheer, Norse axe*men on their ocean steeds."
IO._BATTLE AT SOLSKEL.
King Harald moved out with his army from Thrond-

hjem, and went southwards to More. Hunthiof was the
name of the king who ruled over the district of More.
23
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
SolveKlofewas thename ofhisson,andbothweregreat

warriors.King Nokve,who ruledoverRaumsdal,was
thebrotherof Solve's mother. Thosechiefs gathereda .
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 :-
"Thusdid the hero known to fame, Two kings he fought ; but little strife
The leader of the shields, whose name Was needed to cut short their life.
Strikes every heart wtth dire dismay, A clang of arms by the sea-shore,-
Launch forth hie war-ships to the And the shields' sound was heard no
fray. more."
The two kings were slain, but Solve escaped by flight;

and Kinff 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 T.hrondhjem. 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 well. King
Harald came back to Throndhjem about winter.
11.--FAI,_ OF KINGS ARNVID AND AUDBJORN'.
The following spring (_ 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
24
winter in his ships of war, plundering in North More, and

had killed man)" 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. New 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 be-
coming his servants, that is no condition for us, who are
not less noble than Harald. My father thought it better
to fall in battle far his kingdom, than to go willingly
into King Harald's service, or not to abide the chance of
weapons like the Naurrmdal 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 dread-
25
,It, P
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
fully 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 felt; but Solve fled. So says Horn-
klofe :_
"Agai_ut the hero's uhield In vatn And high above the dinning stound
The arrow-storm fierce pours its rain. Of helm and axe, and ringing sound
The king stands on the blood-stained Of blade and shield, and raven's crY,
deck, Is heard his shout of 'Victory 1'"
q_'-mplint on many a stout foe's
neck;
Of King Harald's men, fell his earls Asgaut and As-

bjorn, 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 VEMUNDBURN'TTODEATH.
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 Ragn-
vald over South and North More and also R_aumsdal,
and he had many people about him. King Harald re-
turned 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
26
H.4RALD HARFAGE.R'S SAGA
burnt the king in it, together with ninety men. Then

came Berdlukare to Earl Ragnvald with a completely
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 a
dreadful berserk he was.
13._DEATH OF EARLS HAKOhT, AND ATLE M JOVE.
The following spring (869) King Harald went south-

wards with his fleet along the coast, and subdued Firda-
fylke. Then he sailed eastward along the land until he
came to Vik; but he left Earl Hakon Grjotgardson be-
hind, and set him over the Fjord district. Earl Hakon
sent word to Earl Atle M jove 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 :m
"He who stood a rooted oak, The waves are stained with the red
Unshaken by the ewordsman's stroke_ gore
Amidst the whiz of arrows slain, Of stout Earl Hakon OrJotgard's son,
Has fallen upon FJalar's plain. And of brave warriors many a on_."
There, by the ocean's rocky shore.
27
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Throndhjerr_ 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 coun-
try north to Svinasund, and west along the sea, X_rest
Gautland; and which altogether he reckoned to his king-
dora, 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 Vin-
gulmark, 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 treasorr towards
him. Some bondes defended themselves from the accu-
sation, some paid fines, some were punished. He went
thus through the whole district during {he summer, and
in harvest he did the same in Raumarike, and laid the two
districts under his power. Towards winter he heard that
E.irik king of Sweden was, with his court, going about in
Vermaland in guest-quarters.
28
HAR,4LD H.4R__'AGER'S
SAGA
15._HARALD AT A FEAST OF THE PEASANT AKE.
King Harald takes his way across the Eid forest east-
ward, 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 Verma-
land, 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 in-
vited 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 hail, 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 Har-
ald with his followers into the new. The same difference
was in all the table furniture, and King Eidk and his
men had the old-fashioned vessels and horns, but all
gilded and splendid; while King Harald anti his men had
entirely new vessels and horns adorned with gold, all
with carved figures, and shining like glass; and both com-
panies had the best of liquor. Ake the bonde had for-
merly 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, lead-
ing 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
29
2fl157
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 friend-
ship in re,am. Then Ake brought out great presents,
which he gave to the king, and they gave each other there-
after the parting kiss. Akc 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 valua-
ble 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 manY' "I think," answered Ake, "that there
failed in it nothing, king, either to you or to your attend=
ants, 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 death-
wound. 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
FArik 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
_o
/
HdRALD HARFAGER'S SAGA
they came in' sight of each other. Each for himself rode
as hard as he could, until Eirik came into the wood which
itivides Gauttand and Vermaland. There King Harald
wheels about, and returns to Vermaland, and lays the
country under him, and kills King Eir_'k's men whereso-
ever he can find them. In winter King Harald returned
to Raumarike, and dwelt there a while.
16.--HARALD'S ..TOURNEY TO TUNSBERG.
King Harald went oat in winter to his ships at Tuns-

berg, 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 Ran-
rike; so says Thorbjorn Hornklofe:--
"The Norseman's king is on the sea, The game of the bright sun-god Frey,
The' bitter wintry cold It be,-- But the sett Swede loves well the fire,
On the wild waves his Yule keeps he. The well-stuffed couch, the downy
_hen our brisk king can get his way, glove,
He'll no more b7 the fireside stay And from the he.rib-seat will net
Than the young sun ; he makes us move."
play
The Gauflanders gathered people together all over the

country.
1T.--THE BATTLE IN GAUTLAND.
In spring, when the ice was breaking up, the Gaut-

landers 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 plun-
dered the country, and burnt all around; so says Hom-
klofe :--
31
THE HEIM,.,eKRINGLA
*'The king, who finds s dainty feast, Herald, whose high-rigged masts
For battle-bird and prowling beast, appear
H&m won in war the southern land Like antlered fronts of the wild deer.
That lies along the ocean's strand. Has laid his ships close alongside
The leader of the helmets, he Of the foe's piles with daring pride."
Who leads his ships o'er tha dark sea,
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, Through helm and mail the foemen
O'er head the whizzing Javelins sing. feel
Helmet and shield and hauberk ring ; The blue edge of our king's good steel.
The air-song of the lance is loud. Who can withstand our gallant king ?
The arrows pipe in darkening cloud. The Gautland men their flight must
wing."
18.--I-IRANE GAUZKE'S DEATH.
King Harald went farand wide through Gautland,and

many were the battles he fought thereon both sidesof
the river,and in generalhe 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 cotln-
try, and left a great force with him. King Harald him-
self 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.
32
HARALD HARFAGF.R'S SAGA
19._BATTLE IN HAFERSFJOP,D.
News came in from the south land that the people of

Hordaland and Rogaland, Agder and Thelernark, 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 Thelernark two broth-
ers, Hroald Hryg and Had the Hard. Now when Har-
aid 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
Sore. 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/atter ran south-
wards over the country of Jadar. So says Hornldofe,
viz. :--
33
THE HEtMSKI_INGLA
"Has the llsws Pe_ohed you ?_have Taught them to fly as fast again.
YOU heard For when he saw their force come
Of the great _ht at HaforsfJord, o'er.
Between our noble king brave Haral_ He launched his war-ships from the
And King KJotve r_ch in gold ? shore,
The foeman came from out the East, On the deep sea he launched his fleet,
Keen for the fray as for a feast. And boldly rowed the foe to meet.
A gallant sight tt was to see Fierce was the shock s and loud the
Their fleet sweep o'er the dark-blue clang
sea ; Of shields, until the fierce Haklang,
Each war-ship, with its threatening The foeman's famous berserk, fell.
throat Then from our men burst forth the
Of dra_n fierce or ravenous brute 1 yell
Grim gaping from the prow ; its wales Of victory ; and the King of Gold
Glittering wRh burnished shields, 2 Gould not withstand our Harald bold,
like scales ; But fled before his flaky locks
Its crew of ndal men of war, For shelter to the island rocks.
V_rhose snow-white targets shone All in the bottom of the ships
from far ; The wounded lay, in ghastly heaps ;
And many a mailed spearman stout Backs up and faces down they lay,
From the West countries round about, Under the row-seats stowed away ;
Euglish and Scotch, a foreign host, And many a warrier's shield, I ween,
And swordsmen from the far French Might on the warrlor's back be seen,
coast. To shield him as he fled amain
And as the foemen's ships drew n_ar, From the fierce stone-storm's pelt-
The dreadful din you well might lng rain.
hear ; The mountain-Yolk, as I've heard say,
Savage berserks rearing mad, Ne'er stopped as they ran from the
And champions fierce in wolf-skins fray,
clad, s Till they had crossed the Jadar sea,
Howling like wolves; and clanking And reached their homes--so keen
Jar each soul
Of many a mail-clad man of war. To drown his fright in the mead
Thus the foe came ; but our brave bowl."
king
20.--HARALD SUPREMESOV_RFJG_IN _ORWAY.
After this battle King Harald met no opposition in

i_orway, 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 peo-
pled. Jemtaland and Helsitigjaland were peopled then, al-
though some Norwegians had already set up their habita-
tion there. In the discontent that King Harald seized
1The 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
the larger class. The snekke was the cutter or smaller war-shlp.--L
_The shields were hung over the side-rails of the sbtps._I_
_Fhe wolf-skin pelts were nearly as good as armour against the
eword._l_
34
on the lands of Norway, the out-countrles of Iceland and

the Farey Isles were discovered and peopled. The North-
men had also a great resort to I-Ijaltland (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 beearne his men,
and dwelt in the land with him.
21.--HARAI_'S _AR_IAeE AND aIs CaILDREN.
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 chil-
dren: Alof--she was the eldest; then was their son
Hrorek; then Sigtryg, Frode, and Thorgils. King Harald
had many wives and many children. Among th_n 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. t-Ie was also married to
Svanhild, a daughter of Earl Eystein; and their sons were
Olaf Geirstadaalf, Bjorn and Ragnar Rylddl. Lastly,
King t/amid married Ashild, a daughter of Hring Dag-
son, up in Ringerike; and their children were, Dag,
I-Iring, Gudrod Skirla, and Ingigerd. It is told that King
I-tarald put away nine wives when he married Ragnhild
the Mighty. So says Hornklofe:--
35
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
'_Harald, of noblest race the head, Who 'mong Holmryglans hold com-
A Danish wife took to his bed ; mand,
And out of doors nine wives he And those who rule in Hordaland.
thrust,m And then he packed from out the
The mothers of the princes first, 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.
_._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 I 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 Ork-
ney 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
18kerriee are the _n_nhablted dry or half-tide rocks of a coa_._L.
36
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 re-
port of his exploits on the land had gone before him; for
all the inhabitants had fled over to Scotland, and the is-
land 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 The wolves soon gathered on the sand
Herald, Of that s_va-shore ; for Harald's hand
Whose hand so freely scatters gold, The Scottish army drove away,
Led many a northern shield to war And on the coast left wolves a prey."
Against the town upon the shore.
In this war fell [var, 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 be"
hind 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 Scot-
land, they subdued Caithness and Sutherland, as far as
Ekkjals/mkke. 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 inflam-
mation in his leg, of which the earl died, and he was laid
in a nx_und at Ekkjalsbak&e. His son Guth_rm ruled
over these countries for about a year thereafter, and died
without children. Many vikings, both Danes and North-
men, set themselves down then in those countries.
37
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
_3.--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 uncom_d 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
narrm--Harald Harfager (i. e., fair hair); and all who
saw him agreed that there was the greatest truth in that
surname, for he had the most beautiful and abundant
head of hair.
_4._ROLF GANGER DRIVEN INTO BANISHMENT.
Earl Ragnvald was King Harald's dearest friend, and

the king had the greatest regard for him. He was mar-
ried to Hild, a daughter of Roll Nefia, and their sons
were Roll and Thorer. Earl Ragnvald had also three
sons by eoncubines,_the one called I-Iallad, the second
Einar, the third Hrollaug; and all three were grown men
when their brothers born in marriage were still children.
Roll 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 Roll
Ganger. He plundered much in the East sea. One sum-
met, 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
38
HAR.4LD HARFAGER'S SAGA
great rage; for he had forbid, by the greatest punish-

ment, the plundering within the bounds of the country.
The king assembled a Thing, and had Roll declared an
outlaw over all Norway. When RoWs mother, Hild,
heard of it she hastened to the king, and entreated peace
for Roll; but the king was so enraged that here en-
treaty was of no avail. Then Hild spake these lines :_
"Think'st thou, King Harald, in thy The brother of brave udal-men?
anger, Why is thy cruelty so fell ?
To drive away my bravo Roll Oan- Bethink thee, monarch, it Is ill
ger, With such a wolf at wolf to play,
Like a mad wolf, from out the land ? Who, driven to the wild woods away,
Why, Harald, raiSe thy mighty band ? May make the king's best deer his
Why banish Nefia's gallant name-son, prey."
Roll Ganger went afterwards over sea to the West to

the Hebrides, or Sudreys ; and at last farther west to Val-
land, 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
graudfather of William the Bastard, from whom all the
following English kings are descended. From Roll
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.
_5.----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
4 39
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
pried for him at the farm Thoptar. On Christrrms eve

came Svase to the door, just as the king went to table,
and sent a nms_ge to the king to ask if he would go _at
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 Sn_efrid, 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 Sn_frid his law-
ful 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 oth-
ers Halfdan Haleg, Gudrod Ljome and Ragnvald Retti!-
beine. Thereafter Sn_efrid died; but her corpse never
cb.anged, but was as fresh and red as when she lived.
The king sat always beside her, and thought she would
crone 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
4o
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 rtfled his kingdom as before. He was strengthened
and made joTful by his subjects, and his subjects by him,
and the country by both.
26.---OF THJODOLFOF HVI_r, 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 Ljocne, 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 to-
gether unnoticed near the door. The king walked up and
down the floor casting his eye along the benches; for h_
had a feast in the house, and the mead was just mixed.
The king then murmured out these lines :--
! 41
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
"I'ell too. ye _[ed grw]-ludr_ horoes, Right dearly love thelr souls to steep,
Who have come here to seek repose, From morn till night, in the mead-
W'herofore must I so many keep bowl?"
Of such a rest, who, one and all,
Then Thjodolf replies :--

"A certain wealthy chief, I think, When crowns were cracked in our
Would gladly have had more to drink sword-play."
With him, upon one bloody day,
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 s_ns ; "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 Ringe-
rike, and Ragnvald to Hadaland, and all was done as the
king ordered. They grew up to be ve D" 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.
_.---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 pos-
session of the country, he sent his son Hallad westward,
who took the title of earl to begin with, and had many
mexi-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 depre-
dations on the coast. Then Earl Hallad grew tired of
the business, resigned his earldom, took up again-his
42
HARALD HARFAGF.R'S SAGA
rights as an aUodial owner, and afterwards returned

eastward into Norway. When Earl Ragnvald heard of
this he was ill pleased with Hallad, and said his sons
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 prom-
ise 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 har-
vest. 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 bat-
tie, and slew the two vikings. Then this was sung:--
"Then gave he Treskeg to the trolls,
Torfeinar slow 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.
_8.--KING EIRIK EYMUIqDSON'S DEATH.
Duke Guthorm dwelt principally at Tunsberg, and gov-

erned the whole of Viken when the king was not there.
He defended the land, which, at that time, was mu&h
43
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
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.
_9.---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._F_,ARL 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
44
........ HARALD HARPAGER'S SAGA
sent m Agder. King Harald then set Earl Ragnvald's

son Thorer over More, and gave him his daughter Alof,
called Arbor, in marriage. Earl Thorer, called the Si-
lent, got the same territory his father Earl Ragnvald had
possessed.
81._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." The), 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 :m
"Where is the spear of Hrollaug? Hrollaug and Roll are somewhat
where clew,
Is stout Roll Ganger's bloody spear : And silent Thorer sits and dreams
I see them not ; yet never fear, At home_ beside the mead-bowl's
For Etnar will not vengeance spare streams."
Against hts father's murderers,
though
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 back-
bone down to his loins, and tearing out his lungs; and so
Halfdan was killed. Einar then sang:N
45
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"Pot Raw,raid's death my sword is Heapstones and gravel on the

red : ground
Of vengeance it csnl_t be said O'er
Ital_dan'e corpse : this is the
That _inar's share is left umsped, way
flo now, brave boys, let's raise & We Norsemen our scat duties pay."
motUMl,_
Then Earl Einar took possession of the Orkney Isles as

before. Now when these tidings came to Norway, Half-
dan's brothers took it much to heart, and thought that his
death demanded vengeance; and many were of the same
opinion. When Einal* heard this, he sang :-
"Manya stout udal-man, I know, Ere this stout heart betrays its cause,
Has cause to wish my head laid low ; L_ull many a heart will writhe, we
And many an angry udal knife know,
Would gladly drink of ]_inar's life. In the wolf's fangs, or eagle's
But ere they lay _arl Elnar low,_ claws."
3_.--HAR_D AND EINAR RECONCILED.
King Harald now ordered a levy, and gathered a great

force, wit/_ which he proceeded westward to Orkney, and
when Earl Einar heard that King Harald was come, he
fled over to Calthness. He made the following verses on
this occasion:--
"Many a bearded man must roam, Has left a sear. Let peasants dread
An exile from his house and home, The vengeance of the Norsemen's
For cow or horse ; but Halfdan's gore head ;
Is red on Rlnansey'e wild shore. I reek not of his wrath, but stnf.
A nobler deed--on Hare, td's shield 'Do thy worst !---I defythee, klng!' "
The arm of one who ne'er will yield
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
46
H4R_LD HARPAGER'S S_GZI
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 Nor-
way. 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.
F_,irik, Harald's son, was fostered in the house of the

herse Thorer, son of Hroald, in the Fjord district. He
was the mo6t 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 Den-
mark, 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 Val-
47
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
land, 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 hunt-
ing. They both want me in marriage. They are so
skilful that they can Imnt 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 what-
ever 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 Gun-
hild had slept the three nights before, but the Fins had
watched the one upon the other, being jealous of eacl_
48
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 that
she scarcely could waken them. She even raised them
up in the bed, and still they slept. Thereupon she took
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 they
could not stir. Next morning they came to the ship, tak-
ing 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 numer-
ous 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
49
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
descendants in the male line sho4ald 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, I-Iring, and Ragnar. To Smefrid's sons he
gave Ringerike, Hadeland, Thoten, and the lands thereto
belonging. His soft Guthorm, as before mentioned, he
had set over the country from Glommen to Svinasund and
Ranrike. I-Ie had set him to defend the country to the
East, as before has been written. King I-tarald 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 re-
garded him the most of all his sons, and gave him I-Ialoga=
land and North More, and Raumsdal. North in Thrond-
hjem he gave I-Ialfdan 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 hir-melf 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 the_. thought their dominions too
little, they drove about in piratical expeditions. In this
50
HAR:ILD I-IARFAGER'SSAGA
way, as before related, Guthorm fell at the mouth of the

Gaut fiver, 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 North-
men who took Dublin. It is said that Frode got poi-
soned drink there : but Thorgils was a long time king over
Dublin, until he fell into a snare of the Irish, and was
killed.
36.mDEATH 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 lc>ng together. Ragnvald Rettil-
beine governed Hadaland, and allowed himself to be in-
structed in the arts of witchcraft, and became a great
warlock. Now King Harald was a hater of all witch-
craft. 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 eurely is not great When Harald's aon in Hadeland,
From wizards born of mean estate, 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 Ragnvatd in a house, along with
eighty other warlocks; which work was much praised.
51
7"HE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 :m
"Wait, Gudrod, ttll the storm Is Hark to the ocean's angry roar:
past,-- See how the very stones are tost,
Loose not thy long-ship while the By" ragtag waves high on the coast !
blast Stay, Gudrod, till the tempest's o'er--
Howls over-head so furiously,-- Deep runs the sea off the Jadar's
Trust not thy long-ship to the sea,-- shore,"
Loose not thy long-ship from the
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.raKING 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 bea>me a good ruler.
He made a good and suitable marriage, and had a son by
52
his wife, who was named Gudrod. Eirik Bl0od-axe came

from his Baltic cruise with ships of war, and a great
force, and required his brother Bjorn to deliver to him
King H_ald's share of the scat and incomes of Vestfold.
But it had always been the custom before, that Bjorn him-
self either delivered the money into the king's hands, or
sent men of his own with it; and therefore he would c_a-
finue 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 to-
wards evening up to S_eheirm In the night Eirik came
back after Bjorn, and came to S_eheim just as Bjorn and
his men were seated at table drinking. Eirik surrounded
the house in which they were; hut 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 S_eheim.
39.--RECONCILIATIONOF 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
53
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Hat-
aid, 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 Rein-
sletta. Now people went between them, and among oth-
ers 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 com-
posed a song both about the father and the son, for which
they had offered him a reward. But he would take noth-
ing; but only asked that, some day or other, they should
grant him any request he should make, which they prom-
ised to do. Now he presented himself to King Harald,--
brought words of peace between them, and made the re-
quest 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 Seudibit (The Biting Message) :--
_I know that Hat'ald I_airhair To Harald Haltdan rammed
Know the dark deed of Halfdan. Angry and crttel."
54
HAR_ILD H,_t_AG2_R'S SAGA
-40.--_m_H OF _AHON THE COOD.
Earl Hakon Grjotgardson of Htader 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 Hao
kon'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 &lof Arbor, a daughter of Harald
Harfager. When King Harald began to grow old he
generally dwelt on some of his great farms in Hordaland;
namely, _&lreksstader or S_eheim, Fit_ar, Utstein, or Og'-
valdsnes in the island Kormt. When Harald was sev-
enty 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
Kate (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 peo-
ple 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
s 55
, _'HE HEIMSKR1NGLA
then at Moster, expected her confinement, she would go

to King Harald, who was then living at Smheim; 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 mart 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 Athelstan had taken the

kingdorc_ of E_ngland. Fie 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 am-
bassador 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 renmnbered it was his rule, whenever any-
56
HARALD HARFAGE, R'S SAGA
thing raised his anger, to collect himself, and let his pas-
sion 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.
4_._IIAUK'S _OURNEY TO ENGLAND.
The following summer King Harald sent a ship west-

ward 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. Hauk
proceeded westward to England, and found King Ath-
elstan 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 Hank 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, "Harald 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
57
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
sons by so doing." On that Hauk went out with a11 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 com-
mon 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 ldngs, 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.
48._HAKON_ THE FOSTER-SON OF ATHELSTAN, IS BAP-

TIZED.
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 elo-
quence, 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 _aernbite. 1 Better sword never came into
Norway, and Hakon carried it to his dying day.
Xquern l_ the name of the small hand mill-stones still found in use
among the _ in Orkney_ Shetland, trod the HebrldeL_L.
This t_rord is mentioneQ m tae xounger Edda, There were many
excellent trteords in the alden tlme_ and ninny of them had proper nm_ee_
58
44.--EIRIKBROUGHT TO THE S0VEREXGNTY.
When King Harald was eighty years of age (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 Har-
a!d'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 FArik 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, Half-
dan 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 Thrond-
hjem 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 Hcrcdaland. Eirik and Gunhild had a son,
on whom King Harald poured water, and gave him his
59
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
o_aa 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. King Harald died
on a bed of sickness in Rogaland (933), and was buried
under a mound at Haugar in Karmtsund. In Hauge-
sund is a church, now standing; and not far from the
churchyard, at the north-west side, is King Harald Har-
fager'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 the 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, of remarkably handsome
appearance, great and strong, and very generous and affa-
ble 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 (984), which the king
had in the middle of the country, the next winter after
King Harald's decease. But Olaf took all the revenues
60
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 east-
ward in spring to Viken, and he and his brother Olaf met
at Tunsberg, and remained there a while. The same
spring (034), 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 bat-
tle 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 F_irik 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. Gun-
hild, his wife, was the most beautiful of women,--clever,
with much knowledge, and lively; but a very fa/se person,
and very cruel in disposition. The children of King
FArik *and Gunhild were, Gamle, the oldest; then Guth-
orm, Haratd, Ragnfrod, Ragnhild, Erling, Gudrod, and
S igurd Sleva. All were handsome, and of manly ap-
pearance. 1
zOf Elf/k, his wife, and children, see the fonowtng sagas.
6i
HAKON THE GOOD'S SAGA.
pR_rrxp_Nr
R'/LRy I_MARKS.
OF Elrtk Blood-a_e's five years' reign Snorts has no separate

• ag_. He appears not to have been beloved by the people and his
queen Ounhild seems to have had a bad influence on him.
Other accounts of Hakon may be found in Fagrskinna (chaps.
25-34), Agr/p, H/sto_ta, Norvegi_e, and In Thjo_rek (chap. 4).
The reader is also referred to 8a_o, Eola, Laxdaela, Kormalgs
Saga, G_sle Sursso_s Sag_ Halfred's Saga, Fhramanna Sag_,
Yig_ Glums _aga, and to Land_amabol_.
Skalds mentioned in this Saga axe:--Glum Geirason, Thord
SJarekson, Guthorm Sindre, Kormak Ogmundson, a_d Eyvind
Skaldasplller. In the Eg_a are found many poems belonging to
this epoch by Egil Skallagrimson.
In Fagrsl_tnn_ is found a poem (not given by Snorts) _vhich
Gunhild (his wlfe) had ma_e on King Eirik after his death,
telling hew 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 Poetic_m, vol. i. pp. 260, 261. Gudbrand
Vlgfusson has flUed up a few gaps from Hal_onarmal, the poem
at the end of this Saga. We have changed Vigfusson's ortho-
graphy of names, _ud brought them into ha_nony with the
spelling used in this work:_Ed.
0_ wakes _ the _r_g and _'tes, as he ope_ _ eyes, _i_h l_is

drea_ still fres/t in k/S _/nd:_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 rise up to strew the benches, and
to fill up the beer-vats, and I bade valkyrles to bear the wine, as if a
king were coming. I look for the coming of _w_no noble chiefs from the
eaxth, wherefore my heart is glad.
B_e, Odtn'a co_eU, o_, ,1tow_es, as a _rea_ _at ts he_l vAfkout,
c_lgs ou_._What is that thundering? as if a thousand men or some
great ho_t were tramping on---the walls and the benches are creaking
withal--as if Saltier w_S coming back to the hall of Odin ?
O4_ _ :_Eurely thou speakest foolishly, good Brags, although
thou art very wise. It thuudere _or _irik the _, that is coming to
the hall of Odin.
6_
HAKON THE GOOD'S SAGA
_'l_en t_Ivning to kis k,_roe_, he cries :_Slgmunfl and _InfJotle, rise up

in haste and So forth to meet the prince ! Bid him In if it be ]_irlk, for
it is he whom I look for.
Sigmmu$ answers :_Why lookost thou more for Elrik, the king, to
Odin's hall, than for other kings?
OtUn _r_ers :_Because he has reddened his brand, and borne his
bloody sword in really a land.
Quot/t _igmm_d :_Vghy didst thou rob him, the chosen king of victory,
then, seeing thou thoughtset him so brave? . . .
OdOr ans_ere :_Because it is not surely to be known, when the grey
wolf shall come upon the beat of the god.
SECOND ScE_.--Witltout Vo_haZ,
_tgmt_ a_/ _inf_otl¢ go ot_t,_d¢ the haJl and meet Eir_.
Q_oth Beg_a_nd'_Hatl to thee, Etrik, be welcome here, an_ 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?
]_tr/_ answers :--They are five kings ; I will tell thee all their names ;
I myself am the sixth. (Tlte _o_mse toll, owed t_ the so_g, _hereof the
rest ss _o_t.)
Fagrskinna says Hakonarmal was the model of this

poem.
1._hKO_ CH0S_¢ _.
Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, was in England at the
time (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 {or his journey most excellently. In har-
vest 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 Itakon
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 pro-
posed him to the bondes as king. Then Hakon himseff
63
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
stood up and spoke; and the people said to each other,

two and two, as they heard him, "Harald Harfager is
come again, and grown 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.
_._KING HAKON'S PROGRESS THROUGH THE COUNTRY.
Early in winter (935), the king went to the Uplands,

64
HMKON THE GOOD'S SAGA
and summoned thepeopleto a Thing; and therestreamed

allto him who could come. He was proclaimedking at
every Thing; and then he proceededeastwardto 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 l_ing all men took
to King Hakon; and they got more boldness to say what
they thought. KAng 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 (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
65
THE HF.IMSKRINGLA
_hen went south towards England, plundering in Scot-

land, and in the north parts of England, wherever he
o-ould land. Athelstan, the king of England, sent a mes-
sage 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 Athel-
stan, 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 coun-
try, 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 Grims-
by, Haukfliot, and many others.
4.--_x_K'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 Nor-
way. But as he had little land, he went on a cruise ever 3-
summer, and plundered in Scotland, the Hebrides, Ireland,
66
and ]3retland, by which he gathered property. King

Athelstan died on a sick bed, after a reign of fourteen
years, eight weeks, 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 Northum-
berland. 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 Ire-
land first, where he took with him all the men he could,
and then to Bretland, and plundered; and sailed there-
after 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 peo-
ple fell. Towards the end of the day, King Eir/k and
five kings with him fell. Three of them were Guthorm
and his two sons, Ivar and Harek : there fell, also, Sigurd
67
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Gtmhild and
her sons (941).
5.--"GUNIIILD AND :HER SONS.
When Gunhild and her sonsknew forcertain

thatKing
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 Hausaklju-
fer 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 kno_ well to ride Of flaming war ; with conquering
The nea-horso o'er the foaming hand
tide,-- Drives many a Scottish warrior tall
He who in boyhood wild rode o'er To the bright seats in Odin's hall.
The seaman's horse to Skanea's The fire-spark, by the fiend of war
uhore, Fanned to a flame, soon spreads afar.
And showed the Danes his galley's Crowds trembling fiy,---4he southern
bow, foes
_ tnobly Bcours the ocean now. Fall thick beneath the hero's blows :
land's coast he lights the The hero's blade drips red with gore,
br_11d Staining the green sward on the
shore. _
68
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 (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 Throndhjem district, as he and
his father had before had it under Harald Harfager.
Wh_ 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 ttalland; 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 :u
._ 69
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
•"I_ur_n_dng the deep-blue sea with Glutted the ravens, who from far,
oars, Scenting the banquet-feast of war,
The king pursues to Jutland's shores. Came in black flocks to Jutland's
"_hey met ; and in the battle storm plalnB
Of clashln8 shields, full many a form To drink the blood-wine from the
Of goedly warrior on the plain, vell_'"
Full lsg_ny a corpse by I-Iakon slain,
7.--SATTIa_ IN EYRARSUND (THZ_ 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 gain-
ing the victory, and clearing the viking ships of all their
men. So says Guthorm Sindre :--
"Hakon the Brave, whose skill all And cleared the decks with his blue
know sword
To bend in battle mtorm the bow, That rules the fate of war, on boa_d
Rtuahed o'er the waves to Sealand's Eleven shiDs of the Vindland men,--
tongue, Famous is Hakon's name since then."
His two war-ships with gilt shields
hung,
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 Itakon proceeded along the
coast of Skane, pillaging everywhere, levying taxes and
ransoms 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 :--
_[_.kon, who midst the battle shock Of Odin clad. made GauUand _vield
l_ands like a firmly-routed oak, A ransom of the ruddy gold,
Subdued atll Sealand with the sword ; Which Hakon to his war-men bold
Vindland vikings the sea-herd Gave with free hand, who in his feud
Of Seanla swept ; and, with the shield Against the arrow-storm had atood."
70
King Hakon returned back in autumn with his army

and an immense booty; and remained all the winter
(946) in Viken to defend it against the Danes and Gaut-
landers, if they should attack it.
9.---OF KING TRYGVE.
In the same winter King Trygve Olafson returned

from a vikingcruisein theWest sea,having beforerav-
aged in Irelandand Scotland. In spring (946) King
Hakon went north, and set his brother'sson, King
Trygve, over Viken to defend thatcountryagainstene-
mies. lle gave him alsoin propertyallthathe could
reconquerof thecountryin Denmark, which thesummer
beforeKing l-lakonhad subjectedto payment of scatto
him. So says Guthorm :-
"King Hakon, whose sharp sword For many a earle whoso trade's to
dyes red wmld
The bright steel cap on many a head, The battle-axe, and swing the shield.
Has set a warrior bravo and stout On the swan's ocean-skatee has come,
The foreign foeman to keep out,-- In white-winged ships; across the
To keep that green land safe from foam.-
war Aorou the sea, from far Ireland,
Which black Night bore to dwarf To war against the Norseman's land."
Annar._
10.---OF GUNHILDJ$ SONS.
King liarald C_rmson 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
IThe dwarf Annar was the husband of Night, and Earth was their
daughtor._L.
6 71
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
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 earl-
dom 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 re-
ceived 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 ]_astland Of swords, sung sharp his good
coast, sword's sway,
Great victories were won and lost. As strong in arm as free of gold,
The king, whose hand is ever graced He thinn'_[ the ranks of warriors
With gift to skald, his banner placed bold."
On. and still on ; while, midst the
p_y
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 soinetimes on one side,
and sometimes on the other. Sometimes Eirik's sons
plundered in Viken, and sometimes Trygve in Sealand
and Halland.
72
11.--KING HAKON AS .%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 ad-
vice 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 ttlader. The night
of the first day of Yule the carl'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.
]_.---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 suMued Eyna district and Spar-
73
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
byggia district, and set his own son Onund over them,;
lint the Throndhjem people killed him. Then King
Eystein made another inroad into Throndhjem, and rav-
aged 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 car-
ried 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 cat-
fie; but when he ran down from his mound, and attacked
the wolves, they tore him into pieces. Many other ex-
traordinary 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._'AMTALAND 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
74
farms, and settled the country afterwards called Jamta-

land. 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 fol-
lowed; and that co4antry, which extends eastward down
to the sea-coast, was called Helsingjaland ; and its eastern
parts are inhabited by Swedes. Now when Harald Har-
lager 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 Jam-
taland, and some all the way to Helsingjaland. The
Helsingjaland people travelled into Svithiod for their mer-
chandise, and thus became altogether subjects of that
country. The Jamtaland people, again, were in a man-
ner between the two countries; and nobody cared about
them, until Hakon entered into friendly intercourse with
Jamtaland, and made friends of the more powerful peo-
ple. Then they resorted to him, and promised him obedi-
ence 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 moun-
tain ridge.
15._HAKON SPREADS CHRISTIANITY.
King Hakon was a good Christian when he came to

Norway; but as the whole country was heathen, with
75
THE HEIMSKRINGL.4
much heathenish sacrifice, and as many great people, as

well as the favour of the common people, were to be con-
ciliated, he resolved to practise 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 fes-
tival 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. 1_), and Yule was kept for three days
thereafter. It was his intent, as soon as he had set him-
self 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 the, n-
selves 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 Christian-
ity over aU the land. The people of More and Raumsdal
referred the matter to the people of Throndhjem. King
Hakon then had several churctms 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,
76
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 festi-
val of the sacrifice lasted. T_ 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 sea-
son. Then it was the custom of many to empty the
77
THE HEIMSK.FJNGLM
brage-goblet;' and then the guests emptied a goblet to

the tory of departed friends, called the remembrance-
goblet. Sigurd the earl was an open-handed man, who
did what was very rrmch 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 For Sigurfl's hand is bounteous,
The guest who eeeke the generous free,_
one, u The guardian of the temples he.
Signrd the Generous, who can trace He loves the gods.--his liberal hand
Him llneage _oza the giant race ; Scatters his sword'a gains o'er the
land,"
17.----THE FROSTA-THING.
King Hakon came to the Frosta-thing, at which a vast

multitudeof people were assembled. And when the
Thing was seated, theking spoke to thepeople,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 pro-
posed 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
_' _*Tke brat_e_goblet, over which vows were t_ade.--L.
78
H.4KON THE GOOD'S SAGH
labouringmen and slavesthought that they could not

work ifthey did not get meat; and they saiditwas the
characterof King Hakon, and hisfather,and allthe fam-
ily,to be generousenough with theirmoney, but spar-
ing with theirdiet. Asbjorn of Medalhus in theGaular-
dalstoodup,and answered thusto the king'sproposal:w
"We bondes,King Hakon, when we elected theeto be
our king,and got back our udal rightsat theThing held
in Throndhjem, thoughtwe had gotintoheaven;butnow
we don'tknow whether we have reallygot back our free-
dom, or whether thou wishest to make vassalsof us
again by this extraordinaryproposal--thatwe should
abandon the ancientfaithwhich our fathersand fore-
fathershave held from theoldesttimes,in thetimeswhen
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 unani-
mously hold by the law which thou givest us here in the
Frosta-thing, and to which we have also given our as-
sent; and we will follow thee, and have thee for 6ur
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
79
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 condi-
tions before the Thing is ended."
The bondes gave loud applause to this speech, and said
it expressed their will, and they wo_ld stand or fall by
what had been spoken. When silence was again re-
stored, 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 wont to do ; and
thereupon the noise and tumult ceased, and the Thing
was concluded. Earl Sigurd spoke to the king after-
wards, and advised him not to refuse altogether to do as
the people desired, saying there was nothing else for it
but to give way _ 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 resolu-
tion the king and earl agreed (950).
18._KING HAKON OFFERSSACRIFICF_.
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
8o
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 fiUed,
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 gob-
let in the name of Thor, by making the sign of his ham,
met over it before he drinks it." OI1this there was quiet-
ness 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 ask-
ing 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.
XThis eating of horse-flesh at these religious fe6ttvals wu considered

the most direct proof of paganism in the following times, and warn
punished by death or mutilation by Saint Olaf. It was a ceremony appar-
ently commemorative of their Asiatic origin and ancestors.
8i
THE HEIMSKRINGLd
19.--FEAST OI_'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 star 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 Chris-
tianity 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 in-
sisted 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 fdled 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 Thrond-
hjem 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
82
king not to take it arr_ss 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 Thrond-
hjem district, where the strength of the land lay; hut 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 (950) ; and when
summer came he assembled men, and the report was that
he intended with this army to attack the Throndhjem
people.
_O._BATTL]_ AT OGVALDSNES.
But justas the king had embarked with a great force

of troops,the news was brought him from the south of
the couutry,thatKing Eirik'ssons had come from Den-
mark toViken and had drivenKing Trygve Olafsonfrom
hisshipsat Sotanes,and then had plunderedfarand wide
around in Viken, and thatmany had submirtedto them.
Now when King Hakon heard thisnews, he thoughtthat
help was needed; and he sentword to Earl Sigurd,and
to the otherchiefsfrom whom he could expecthelp,to
hasten to his assistance.Sigurd the earlcame accord-
ingly with a great body of men, among whom were all
theThrondhjem peoplewho had setupon him thehardest
to offersacrifice;
and allmade theirpeace with the king,
by the earl's
persuasion.Now King Hakon sailedsouth
along thecoast;and when he came south as faras Stad,
he heard that Eirik'ssons were come to North Agder.
8a
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Where loudest was the sword-blade's
host clang,
Who slept beside the wild sea-coast, By the sea-shore at Kormt Sound,
And bade the song o2 spear and sword Hakon felled Guthorm to the
Over the battle plain be heard, ground."
Where heroes' shields the loudest
ral_,
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 (950).
Guthorm Sindre speaks of it in his song :-
"And Guthorm's brothers too, who Well I remember how the King
know Hakon, the battle's life and spring,
So skilfully to bend the bow, O'er the wide ocean cleared away
The conquering hand must also feel Elrik's brave sons. They durst not
Of Hakon, god of the bright steel,-- stay,
The sun-god, whose bright rays, that But round their ships' sides hung
dart their shields,
Flame-like, are swords that pierce And fled across the blue sea*fields."
the heart.
King Hakon returned then northwards to Norvcay,

but Eirik's sons remained a long time in Denmark.
_I.--KING HAKON'S LAWS.
King I-Iakon after this battle made a law, that all in-
habited land over the whGle country along the so-coast,
84
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 day-s, from the most southerly beacon
to the most northerly Thing-seat in Halogaland.
2°_.--CONCERNING EIRIK'S _ONS.
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 twerrty years in
Norway (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 fllem from the east coast; and besides King
85
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
Hakon had set hea W 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 coun-
try people took them for FArik'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 some-
times 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 ha W
pened 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 dwell-
ing-house, and had no troops with him, only his body-
guard or court, and the neighbouring bondes he had in-
vited to his house.
23.--OF F_IL UI__.
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
86
HAKON THE GOOD'S SAG.4
a great multitude with them, or should set off northwards

to gather together mo.re 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 ear-
ried 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 deter-
mined. 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 fol-
lowing my chief. And now it may so turn out in the end
as I wished it to be."
_4.--BATTLE AT FREDARBERG.
Eirik's sons sailed northwards around Stad, as soon

as the wind suited ; and when they had passed it, and heard
qn all the sagae of thlB pagan time, the dying on a bed of mickneM
lm mentioned as a kind of derogatory end of a man of any celebrlty._L.
7 87
_'HE HEIMSKRINGLA
where King Hakon was, they sailed to meet him, King

Hakon had nine ships, with which he lay under Fredar-
berg 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 mes-
sage, asking them to go upon the Iand; and telling them
that he had hedged in with hazel boughs a place of com-
bat 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 ban-
herS 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 com-
ing 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 foUowing, who would come behind their army,
and between them and their ships. They made each other
88
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 al-
ready, 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 a sharp conflict; but now
Hakon had most people. At last the Eirik's sons' force
fled, and took the road south about the hill; hut 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.
_6._KING GAMLE AND ULSERK FALL.
Oamle Eirikson fled from the ridge down upon the

plain to the south of the hill. There he turned himself
89
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 sing- And the king's banner ever flies
ing sound, Where the spear-forests thickest rise.
Brandished in air, the foe gave Altho' the king had gained of old
ground. Enough of Freyja's tears of gold, 1
The boldest warrior cannot stand He spared himself no more than tho"
Before King Hakon's conquering He'd had no well-filled purse to
hand ; 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 FArik
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.
qrreySa'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
ukaId'e exptetmlon here tot gold--understood, no doubt, as readily as any
allusion to Ptutus woul_ convey the equivalent meaning in mo4ern
poetry._L.
9o
_7._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 Proud swelled our warriors' hearts
gore when he
Sprinkled his bright sword o'er and Drove Eirik's sons out to the sea,
o'er; With all their Gautland host : but
Sprinkled the gag that holds the now
mouth Our warriors weep---Halmn lies
Of the fell demon Fenriswolf. _ low :"
High standing stones mark Egil Uslerk's grave.
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 (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 obsetwed
ZThe Fenriswolf, one of the children of Loke, begotten with a gaintess,
was chained to a rock, and gagged by a sword placed in his mouth, to
prevent him devouring mankind. Fenriswolf's gag is a ak_ldic _cprelmion
tor a sword.--L.
91
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
many ships coming sailing along from the soutti, 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 king, 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 ! To bring war-tidings to the king,
EirIk'e bold sons approach the land ! And tell him 'tis no time to rest.
The Judgment of the sword they crave Up ! gird your armottr to your breast :
Against their foe. Thy wrath I brave ; Thy honour's dearer than my life ;
The' well I know 'tie no light thing 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 hattie 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
92
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 :-
"Thouwho in the battle-plain With many a ship riding in pride
Hast often poured the sharp spear- Upon the foaming ocean-tide ;
rain! With many a ship and southern
I11 it beseems our warriors brave viking,_
To fly upon the ocean wave : Let us take shield in hand, brave
To fly upon the blue wave north, king !"
When Harald from the south comes
fo_h,
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 num-
bers. 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 Kvern-
bit, 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.
_9._THE ARMAMENT O_ EIRIK'S SONS.
After Oamle'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 moth-
93
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
er's brothers,mEyvind Skreyja, and All 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 I-IAKON'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 be-
gan. So sings Eyvind Skaldaspiller, in Hakmarmal. :-
"They found Blorn's brother bold Amidst his guards ; but the brave
Under his banner as of old, king
Ready for battle. Foes advance,-- Scorned to wear armour, while his
The front rank raise the shining men
lance ; Bared naked breasts against the rain
And now begins the bloody fray ! Of spear and arrow. Of[ he flung
Now! now begins Hlld's wild play! His coat of mail. his breast-plate
Our noble king, whose name strikes rung
fear Against the stones; and, blithe and
Into each Danish heart,_whose gay,
spear He rushed into the thickest fray.
Has single-handed spilt the blood _With golden helm, and naked breast,
Of many a Danish noble,--stood Brave Hakon played at slaughter's
Beneath his helmet's eagle wing 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 the_e wag 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 :_
•"l_m king's men went with merry Next to the l_orthmen's hero came,
words Scattering wide round the battle
To the sharp clash of shields and flame
swords, For An the storm of shields not one
these wild rovers of the sea Ventured like him with brave
At Fltjar fought. Stout Thoralf he Hakom"
94
When both linesmet therewas a hard combat,and much

bloodshed. The combatants threw theirspearsand then
drew theirswords. Then King Hakon, and Thoralf
with him, went in advance of the banner,cuttingdown
on both sidesof them. So saysEyvind Skaldaspiller:-
"Thebody-coats of linke_ steel, Cloven by the axe or sharp sword-
The woven iron coats of mail, blade.
Like water fly before the swing The brave king, foremost in the fight,
Of Hakon's eword_the champion- Dyes crimson-red the spotless white
king. Of his bright shield with foemen's
About each Gotland war-man's head gore,--
Helm splits, like ice beneath the Amidst the battle's wild uproar.
tread, Wild pealing round from shore to
shore."
31.--FALL OF SKREYffA AND ASKMAN.
King Hakon was very conspicuousamong 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 hel-
met. 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 All with him, pushed on like fools or madmen.
King I-Iakon shouted to Eyvind, "Come on as thou art
coming, and thou shalt find the king of the Norsemen."
So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller :-
"'Theraiser of the storm of shields, And loudly shouted in reply--
The conqueror in battle fields,-- "If thou wilt for the victory try,
Hakon the brave, the warrior's friend, The Norseman's king thou soon shalt
Who scatters gold with liberal hand, find !
Heard Skreyja's taunt, and saw him Hold onwards, friend ! Hast thou a
rush mind !' '"
Amidst the sharp spears' thickest
push,
It was also but a short space of time before Eyvind

did come up swinging his sword, and made a cut at the
95
-<
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 shoul-
ders. Thoralf also slew All Askman. So says Eyvind
Skaldaspiller :-
"With both his hands the gallant When the shlp'e side beats on tho
king rock.
Swung round his sword, and to the By hm bright sword with golden haft
chin Thrc' helm, and head, and hair, waa
Clove l_yvhtd down: his faithle_ cleft
mail The Danish champion; and amain,
Ag_lnmt it could no more avail, With terror smitten, fled his men."
Than tho thin plank against the shock
After this fall of the two brothers, King Hakor_

pressed on so hard that all men gave way before his as-
sault. 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 be-
low the shoulder; and it is said by many people that Gun-
hild'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 I-Iakon with the
flein. Others again say that nobody could tell who shot
the king, which is indeed the most likely; for spears, ar-
rows, 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 hattie and on the way to the ships,
and aIso on the strand, and many threw themselves into
the w_ter. Many also, among whom were Eirik's sons,
got on board their ships, and rowed away as fast as they
96
could, and Hakon's men after them. So says Thord

Sj arekson :-
"The wolf, the murderer, and the And many a bonde leave to die,
thief, Leaning his heavy wounded head
Fled from before the people's chief : On the oar-bench for feather-bed.
Few breakers of the peace grew old _rhoralf wae nearest to the side
Under the Northmen's king so bold. Of gallant Hakon in the tide
When gallant Hakon lost his life Of battle ; his the sword that best
Black wa_ the day, and dire the strife. Carved out the raven's bloody feast :
It was bad work for Gunhlld's sons, Amidst the heaps of foemen slain
Leading their pack of hungry Danes He waB named bravest on the plailL"
From out the south, to have to fly,
_._HAKON3S DF_'I_.
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 north-
wards 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
97
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 re-
moved his body to S_eheim, 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. M
"In Odin's hall an empty place And round about in sorrow stand
Stands for a king of Yngve's race ; The warriors of his gallant band :
'Go, my vaikyries,' Odin said, Because the king of Dags' old race
'Go forth, my angels of the dead, In Odin's hall must fill a place.
Gondul and Skogul, to the plain
Drenched with the battle's bloody "Then up spake Gondul, standing
rain, near,
And to the dying Hakon tel1, Resting upon her long ash spear,-
Here in Valhal shall he dwell.' "Hakon ! the gods' cause prospers
well,
And thou in Odin's halls shalt dwell !'
"At Sterd, so late a lonely shore, The king beside the shore of Stord
Was heard the battle's wild uproar ; The speech of the valkyrie heard,
The lightning of the flashing sword Who sat there on his coal-black
Burned fiercely at the shore of Stord. steed,
From levelled halberd and spear- With shield on arm and helm on
head head.
Life-blood was dropping fast and
red; "Thoughtful, said Hakon, 'Tell me
And the keen arrows' biting sleet why,
Upon the shore at Stord fast beat. Ruler of battles, victory
Is so dealt out on Sterd's red plain?
"Upon the thundering cloud of shield Have we not well deserved to gain ?'
Flashed bright the sword-storm e'er 'And is it not as well dealt out?'
the field ; Said Gondul. 'Heareet thou not the
And on the plate-mail rattled loud shout?
The arrow-shower's rushing cloud, The field is cieared_the foemen
In Odin's tempest-weather, there run--
Swift whistling through the angry The day is ours_the battle won !'
And air
the ; spear-torrents "Then Skogul said, 'My coal-black
swept away steed,
Ranks of brave men from light of day. Home to the gods I now must speed,
To their greew home, to tell _be tiding
"With batter'd shield, and blood- That Hakon's self is thither riding."
smear'd sword, To Hermod and to Brags then
Slt_ one beside the shore of Stord, Said Odin, 'Here, the first of men,
With armour crushed and gashed Brave Hakon comes, the Ncrsemen's
sits he, king,--
A grim and ghastly sight to see ; Go forth, my welcome to him brinE.'
"Fresh from the battle-field came in, '_Vell was it seen that Hakon still
Dripping with blood, the Norsemen's Had saved the temples from all ill ;l
king. For the whole council of the gods
'Methmks,' said he, 'great Odin's will Welcomed the king to their abodes.
Is harsh, end bodes me further ill : Happy the day when men are born
Thy son from off the field to-day Like Hakon, who all base things
From victory to snatch away !' _corn,--
But Odin said, 'Be thine the Joy Win from the brave an honoured
Valhal gives, my own brave boy :' name,
And die amidst an endless fame.
"And Brags said, "Eight brothers
here
Welcome thee to Valhal's cheer, "Sooner shall Fenrlswolf devour
To drain the cup, or fights repeat The race of man from shoreto shore,
Where Hakon Elrik's earls beat.' Than such a grace to kingly crown
Quoth the stout king, 'And shall my As gallant Hakon want renown.
gear, Life, land, friends, riches, all will fly,
Helm, sword, and mail-coat, axe and And we in slavery shall sigh.
spear, But l-Iakon in the blessed abodes
Be still at hand ! 'Tie good to hold For ever lives with the bright gods,"
Fast by our trusty friends of old.'
1Hakon, 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.
99
SAGA OF KING HARALD GRAFELD AND
OF EARL HAKON SON OF SIGURD.
TH_s saga might be called Gunhtld'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, 01af Trygvason's. Other
literature on this epoch:
Agrtp (chap. 8). Htstorla Norvegi_e (p. 12). ThJod_ek (chap. 5).
Saxo (pp. 479-482). Egla (chaps. 81, 82). Floamanna (chap. 12).
Fareytnga (chaps. 2, 4, 10). Halfred's Saga chap. 2). Hold Grimkelsons
Saga (chapa 13, 18). Kormak (chaps. 19-27). Laxd_ela (chaps. 19-21).
NJala (chaps, S-6).
The skalds of this saga are:--Glum Geirason, Kormak
Agmundson, Eyvind Skaldaspiller, and Einar Helgason Skalaglam.
I,---GOVERNMENT OF THE SONS OF EIRIK,
When King Hakou 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 yeas Trygve
Olafson in the Eastland, Gudrod Bjornson in Vestfold,
• Sigurd earl of Hlader in the Throudhjem land ; but Gun-
hild's sons held the middle of the country the first winter.
There went messages and ambassadors between Gun-
hild'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 GIum Geiraso_,
IOO
SAGA OF KING HARALD GRAFELD
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 ! In distant lands beyond the sea,
Great is thy deed, thou champion How Harold gave King I-Iakon'o
bold ! blood
The rumour of it came to me 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 be-
fore, viz. :-
"Ourdauntless king with Gamle's Sprinkled his bright Iword o'er and
gore o'er," &e.
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 daugh-
ter 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 Of sword resounded in the pros
Thy heart failed not when from the Of battle, like the splitting ice ;
bow For Harald, wild wolf of the wood,
The piercing arrow-hail sharp rang Must drink his flll o_ foema_'ablood."
On shield and breast-plate, and the
clang
Gunhild's sons resided mostly in the middle of the coun-

try, 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, for they
got no scat from the Throndhjem country; and, at last
IOI
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 pos-
sessed 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 ! The wealth which Hakon far and
In Hakon's days the skald wore gold wide
UPon his falcon's seat ; he wore Scattered with generous hand : the
Rolf K.rake's seed, the yellow ore, sun
Sown by him as he fled away, Shone in the days of that great one,
The avenger Adlls' speed to stay. On the gold band of Fulla's brow, s
The gold crop grows uPon the plain ; On gold-ringed hands that bend the
But Frode's girls so gay I in vain bow,
Grind out the golden meal, while On the skald's hand ; but of the ray
those Of bright gold, glancing like the spray
Who rule o'er Norway's realm like 0f sun-lit waves, no skald now
foes. slngs---
In mother earth's old bosom hide 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 :_
"O_o lord I had before thee, Harald ! To my good king, and him alone.
One dear-loved lord ! Now am I old, But now I'm old and useless grown,
And do not wish to change again,-- My hands _re empty, wealth is flown ;
To that loved lord, through strife I am but fit for a short space
and pain, In thy court*hall to fill a Place."
Faithful I stood; still true to
Hakon,--
But King Harald forced Eyvind tO submit himself to

his clemency. Eyvind had a great gold ring, which
aMen_a and Fen)a were strong girls of the giant race, whom Frodo
bougttt in Sweden to grind gold and good luck to him ; and their meal
meanm gold.--L_
•rulla was one of Frtg's attendants, who wore a gold band on the
tot, ehea4; and the ngure means gold,---that the sun shone on gold rtngm
on thin hands of the Ikalds in Hakon's _LyS.---L.
102
was called Molde, that had been dug up out of the earth
long since. This ring the king said he must have as the
mulct for the offence ; and there was no help for it. Then
Eyvind sang :--
"I go across the ocean-foam, For from the falcon-bearing hand
Swift slmting to my Iceland home Harald has plucked the gold snsXe
Tdpon the ocean-skates, fast driven band
By galefl by Thurse's witch-wife My father wore---by lawless might
given. Has taken what is mine by right."
Eyvind went home; but it is not told that he ever came

near the king again.
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 coun-
try 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 menmstout, 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 Helmdal's teeth 1 enough in
Had gained enough of yellow gold ; store,
And understood twelve as't8 or more."
The brothers sometimes went out on expeditions

together, and sometimes each on his own account. They
_Heimdal was one of the gods, whose horse was called Gold-top : and
tho horse's teeth w_re of gold.
s xo3
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
were fierce, but brave and active; and great warriors,

and very successful.
8.-'-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
tittle 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 govern-
ments. 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
carl'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."
lO4
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.
_.----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 Throndhjena 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
xo 5
THE IIEIMSKRINGLA
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.mSIGURD 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 follow-
ing 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 _everal 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 day-
Io6
light, they set out through the fjord, and south to More,
where they remained a long time.
6.--HISTORY OF HAKON_ SIGURDJS 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 (962). So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller in the
"ttaleygjatal :"-
"At Ogle, as I've heard, Earl Sigurfl In Oglo's hall, amidst the feast,
Was burnt to death by Norway's When bowls went round and ale
lord,-- flowed fast,
Stgurd, who once on Haddtng's grave He perished : Harald lit the fire
A feast to Odin's ravens gave. Which burnt to death the son of Tyr.'"
Earl Hakon, with the help of his friends, maintained

himself in the Throndhjem country for three years; and
during that time (963-965) Gunhild's sons got no
revenues from it. Hakon had many a battle with Gun-
hild's sons, and many a man lost his life on bo_h sides.
Of this Einar Skataglam speaks in his lay, called "Vell-
ekla," which he composed about Earl Hakon :-
"Thesharp bow-shooter on the sea O'er the well-trampled battle-field
Spread wide his fleet_ for well loved He raised the red-moon ef his ehield ;
he And often dared King Elrik's son
The battle storm ; well loved _he earl To try the fray with the Bali
His battle-banner to unfurl Hakon."
Io7
THE HEIMSKRINGL_I
And he also says :-

"Who is the man who'll dare to say He makes the arrow-shower fly
That Sigurd's son avoids the fray? To swell the sail of vlcinry.
He gluts the raven--ha ne'er fears The victory was dearly bought,
The arrow's Song or flight of spearS. And many a viking-fight was fought
With thundering sword he storms in Before the swinger of the sword
war, Was of the eastern country lord."
As Odin dreadful ; or from far
And Einar tells also how Earl Hakon avenged his

father's murderer :--
"I praise the man, my here he, On him and his men in the strife.
Who in his good ship roves the sea, To Odin many a soul was driven,-
Like bird of prey, intent to win To Odin many a rich gift give_
Red vengeance for his slaughtered Loud raged the storm on battle-
kin. field--
From his blue sword the iron rain Axe rang on helm, and sword on
That freezes life poured down amain shield."
On him who took his father's life,
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 Thrond-
h jam 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. After-
wards a great friendship arose between Earl Hakim and
Gunhild, although they sometimes attempted to deceive
each other. And thus matters stood for three years
longer (966-968), in which time Earl Hakon sat quietly
in his dominions.
_.----OF HARALD GR_AFELD.
King Hakon had generallyhisseatin Hordaland and

Rogaland,and alsohisbrothers;but veryoften,also,they
Io8
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 were
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 conde-
scending, and full of fun. Fie 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' Grafdd (Grffyskin).
8.--EARL EIRIK'S BIRTH.
Earl Fiakon 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,
Io9
THE HEI'MSKRINGL.4
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 TRYGV]_ 0LAFSON'S MURDER.
It happened one harvest (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; hut so much only was known of their busi-
nests, that they were to be friends of each other. They
parted, and each went home to his own kingdom. Gun-
hild 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 (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 assem-
bled, launched the ships into the sea, and made them-
selves ready to sail. When they were drinking the fare-
well ale,--and they drank bravely,--much and many
things were talked over at the drink-table, and, among
IIO
SAGM OF KING HHRALD GRAFELD
otherthings, were comparisonsbetween 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 eastward
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 he heard King Gudr_l 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 (968).
10._KING GUDROD'S FAI._.
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
III
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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.
ll.--oF _a_nD GRENSKE.

King Gudrod Bjornsou 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 ship-
mates, 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 power-
ful 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
II2
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 hand-
some, 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.
I_.--EARL HAKON'S FEUDS.
Gunhild's sons levied a great army in Viken (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 jeople. 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 Raums-
dal, 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
II3
THE HEIMSKRINGL.4
with the coast, and came to Denmark, from whence he

sailed into the Baltic, and pillaged there during the sum-
mer. Gunhild's sons conducted their army north to
Throndhjem, and remained there the whole summer col-
lecting 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.
]3.---OF EARL I-IAKON AND GUNHILD'S SONS.
Earl Hakon, towards harvest(963), sailedintothe

BothnianGulf to llelsmgjaland, drew hisshipsup there
on theheach,and tcc_k theland-waysthrough Helsingja-
landand Jamtaland,and so eastwardsround thedividing
ridge (theKjol,or kcclof thecountry), and down into
theThrondhjem district. Many peoplestreamedtowards
him, and he fitted out ships.When thesonsof Gunhild
heard of thistheygoton b_aard theirsh_ps,and sailed out
of theFjord:and EarlIIakoncame tohisseatatHlader,
and remainedthereall_inter. The sons of Gunhild,on
the other hand, occupic_l More; and they and the earl
attackedeach otherin turns,killin Z each other'speople.
Earl Hakon kept his dominions of Throndhjem, and was
there generally in the winter : but in summer he sometimes
went to Itel_ingjaland, where he went on board of his
ships and sailed with them down into the Baltic. and
phmdered there: and sometimes he remained in Thrond-
hjem, and kept an army on foot, so that Gunhild's sons
could get no hold northwards of Stad.
II4
SAGA OF KING HAR.4LD GRAFELD
14.--SIGURD SLEFA'S MURDER.
One summer Harald Grayskin with his troops went

north to Bjarmaland, where he forayed, and fought a
great battle with the inhabitants on the banks of the Vine
(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 :m
"I saw the hero Harald chase On nwlna's bank, at Harald's word,
With bloody sword Djarme's race: Arose the storm of spear and sword.
They fly before him through the In such a wild war-erulse as this,
night, Great would he be who could bring
All by their burning city's light, 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 gave 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 $tyrkar, 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 Vote,
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 ttarald 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' was
tVolubrJ6tr,--llterntly the one who breaks the vale, that If, brlmk_ the
akulls of witches
I]5
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 (065)°
15.---_RJOTGARD'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 (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 Has to be sung. Earl Hakon's sword,
stout, In single combat, as I've heard,
Again has put his foes to rout. Three sons of earls from thin one fray
The bowl runs o'erwith Odin'smead,t To dwell with Odin drove away. ''_
That fires the skald when mighty deed
Thereafter Earl Hakon went out to sea, and sailed out-

side 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 (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 there-
1Odin's mead, called Bodn, was the blood or mead the sons of Brage,
the cod of poets, drank to inspire them--L.
ITo dwell with Odin.Mviz. slew them._L.
if6
SAGA OF KING HARALD GR.4FELD
fore he was called Gold Harald. He thought he had a

good chance of coming to the Danish kingdom.
10.--KING ERLING'S FALL.
King Harald Grafeld and his brothers proceeded

northwards to Throndhjem, where they met no opposi-
tion. 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 autunm
(968) King Harald went south with the greater part of
the men-at-arms, but King Erling remained behind with
his men. He raised great contributions from the bondes,
and pressed severely o11them; at which the bondes mur-
mured greatly, and submitted to their losses with impa-
tience. 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 (969).
17.--TI-IE 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 len_h 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 x all over
_Byres= gards or farms.
II7
THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
the country until midsummer. Eyvind SkaldaspiUer

describes it in his poem, as he came outside of his house
and found a thick snow-drift at that season :-
'"Tie midsummer, yet deep snows Like Laplanflers, our cattle-kind
rest In stall or stable we must bind."
On Odin's mother's frozen breast :
18.--TtIE 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 frac-
ture. 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. Put 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 :-
"Nowlet the steed of ocean bound Fain would I know ff Fortune sends
O'er the North Sea with dashing A like provision to my friends.
sound ; Welcome provision 'tls, I wet,
Let nimble tern and screaming gull That the whale drives to our cook's
Fly round and round---our net is full. 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 :w
"Our arms and ornaments of gold The arrows of the bow gave we
To buy us food we gladly sold: For the bright arrows of the sea. ''z
ZHerringe, from their gwlft darting along, are called the arrows of
the sea.
xx8
KING OLAF TRYGVASON'S SAGA.
PRELIMINARYREMARKS.
HITH_TO the narrative has been more or less fragmentary.

With Olaf Trygvason's Saga reliable history begins, and tho
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 Agr_p, Hlst_ria Norvegt_, and in
ThJodrek. Icelandic works on this epoch are:
Egla, EyrbyggJa, Finboga, Floamanna, F_reyinga, Hallfredar
Saga, Havardar Saga, Are's Islendlnga-bok, Kristnt Saga, Lax-
d_la, LJosvetntnga, Njala, Orkneyinga" Viga Glums Saga, and
riga Styrs Saga.
The skalds quoted are:--Glum Geirason, Eyvind Flnson,
Skaldasptller, Einar Skalaglam, Tind Halkelson, EyJelf Dada-
8kald, Hallarsteln, Halfred ¥andr_daskald, Haldor Ukrlstne,
Skule Thorstelnson, and Thord Kolbetnson.
].'--'OLAF TRYGVASON'S BIRTII.
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 (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 con-
cealed herself in a holm or small island in it with a few
men. Here her child was born, and it was a boy; and
9 Iz9
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
water was poured over it, and it was called Olaf after the
grandfather. Astnd remained all summer here in con-
cealment; 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 (964).
°.----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 preg-
nant to King Trygve; but they soon went away north-
wards, as before related. As soon as they met their mother
Gunhild, they told her all that had taken place. She in-
quired particularly about Astrid, and they told her the re-
port they had heard; but as Gunhild's sons the same har-
vest and winter after had bickerings with Earl Hakon, as
before related, they did not seek after Astrid and her son
that winter.
I20
KING OLAF TRYGVASON'S SAGA
•_._ASTRID'S JOURNEY.
The spring after (96a_) Gunhild sent spies to the

Uplands, and all the way down to Viken, to spy what they
could about Astnd; 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 Trygwe. 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
Trygwe'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 ndghbourhood 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 sent 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
I2I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
took good care of them, so that they slept well, and were
well entertained. Early that morning Gunhitd'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 !ate at night they came to Bjorn Eiter-
kveisa 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." Thor-
stein'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
toThorstein 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 them-
selves 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
I22
KING OLAF TRYGI;ASON'S SAGA
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 aU 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, x_ith 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 Gun-
hild 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,
Ia3
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 at-
tendants; 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.------OFSIGURDEIRIKSON.
Astrid had a brother called Signrd, 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 inchnatlon 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 (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 di-
viding others as slaves. Olaf was separated from his
mother, and an Eistland man called Klerkon got him as his
share along with Thorelf 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
I24
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 (967-972).
(_,----OLAFIS SET FREE IN EISTLAND.
Sigurd, the son of Eirik (Astrid's brother), came into

Eistland from No_,gorod, ola King Valdernar's business to
collect the king's taxes and rents. Sigurd came as a man
of consequence, with many followers and great magnifi-
cence. 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 Signrd knew
that the boy was his sister's solx 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.
\Vhen he came there he l_ught 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.
_'.--KLERKON KILLED BYOLAF.
Olaf Trygvason was one day in the market-place, where

there was a great number of people. He recognised
I25
THE HEIMSKRINGL,d
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 Holmffard, 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
x26
remained nine years more (973-981) with King Valde-

mar. 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 _AKON EArL O_ _za_D_m.
Earl Hakon, Sigurd's son, was with the Danish king,

Harald Gormson, the winter after he had fled from Nor-
way before Gunhild's sons. During the winter (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
x27
THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
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 exasper-
ated and angry, that nobody ventured to speak of it to
him.
0:--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 Hara!d comes also to Earl Hakon, and tells
i28
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 dMde 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 IIELD BY IIAKON AND IIARALD.
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 con-
sidered fully the matter they had been talking of.
129
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"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 Iqakon defended
that countc-; for _e lost many people, and gained no
victory. Besides, Itarald 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 1>3"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 Demnark. 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
I3o
KING OLAF TRYGVASO.\"S S.4G.4
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'SI_IESSAGETO 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 con-
cubine."
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 invitation1 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
I3I
_AI_ L_ _et
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 (Hard-
acre). 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 Haratd should travel
to Denmark to the Danish king in summer, and accept the
conditions King Harald offered.
I_.--TREACIIERY OF HARALD AND HAKON.
Harald Grafeld went to Denmark in tile summer

(969) with three long-ships; and Herse Arinbjorn, from
the Fjord district, commanded one of them. King Harahl
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 Nor-
way; but you must not think he will be true to you,
I32
KING OLAF TRYGVASO),'S SAGA
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. New r will win Norway for you,
and kill Gold Harald, if you will promise me a good con-
dition under you. I will be your earl; swear an oath
of fidelity to you, and, with )'our help, conquer all Norway
for you; hold the country under your rule; pay you the
seat 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 Hara!d.
13.--DEATH OF HARALD GRAFELD.
Gold t-Iarald 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 battle- Thou couldst the dying man rejoice:
field, The cheer of ltarald could impart
Thou stainer of the snow-white Courage and life to every heart.
shield _-- While swinging high the blood-
Thou gallant war-god _ With thy smeared sword,
voice By arm and voice we knew our lord."
There fell Harald Grafeld. So says Glum Geirason :-

"'OnLtmfJord's strand, by the tide's The generous ruler of the land
flow, Fell at the narrow LlmfJord strand,
Stern Fate has laid King Harald Enticed by Hakon's cunning speech
low; To his death-bed on LimfJord's
The gallant viking-cruiser--he beach."
Who loved the isle-encircling sea.
The most of King Harald's men fell with him. There

also fell Herse Arinbjorn.
x33
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Gun-
hild's sons fought against each other, and drove each other
out of the land by turns.
14.----GOLD HARALD_SDEATH.
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.
]5._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 Gun-
hild's sons. The Danish king sailed with his fleet from
the south to Viken, where all the people of the country sur-
rendered to him. When he came to Tunsberg swarms of
people joined him; and King Harald gave to Earl Hakon
al.¢.,
720ships,
astheywerecounted
by long
hundreds,
I00-----120.
X34
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 Har-
lager 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 t-Iarfager 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.
16.-----GUNHILD'SSONS 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 (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
xo x35
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
remained all winter (670) in Throndhjem. Einar Skala-

glare speaks of his conquests in Vellekla :-
"Norway'sgreat watchman, Harald, Seven provinces he seized. The realm
now Prospers with Hakon at the helm.'"
May bind the silk snood on his brow--
As Hakon the earl proceeded this summer along the

coast subjecting all the people to him, he ordered that over
all his dominions tile temples and sacrifices should be
restored, and continued as of old. So it is said in the
Vellekla :--
"Hako_ the earl, so good and wise. The shield-bearer In Loke's game
Let all the ancient temples rme ,--- Invokes once more great Odm's name.
Thor's temples raised with fostering The green earth gladly yields her
hand, store,
That had been ruined through the As she was wont in days of yore,
land. Since the brave breaker of the spears
1-tis valiant champions, who were The holy shrines again uprears.
slain The earl has conquered with strong
On battle-fields across the main, hand
To Thor, the thunder_god, may tell All that lie_ north of Vlken land
How for the gods all turns nut well. In battle storm, and iron rain.
The hardy warrior now once more ftakon spreads wide his sword's do-
Offers the sacrifice of gore; main "
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 XVITtt I_GNFRED.
King Ragnfred and King Gudrod, both sons of Gun-

hild and Eirik, were now the only sons of Gunhild remain-
ing in life. So says Glum Geimson in Grafeld's lay :-
"When tn the battle's bloody strife My loss would soon repair, should
The sword took noble Harald's life, they
Half of my fortunes with him fell : Again in Norway bear the sway,
But his two brothers, I know well, And to their promises should stand,
If they return to rule the land."
Ragnfred began his course in the spring after he had

_36
KING OL,'_F TRYGI.'ASON'S S3GA
been a year in the Orkney Islands. tie sailed from thence

to Norwav, and had with him fine troops, and large ships.
When he came to Norway he learnt that Earl I-Iakon was
in Throndhjem; therefore he steered northwards around
Stad, and plundered in South More. Some people sub-
mitted to him; for it often happens, when parties of
armed men scour over a country, that those who are
nearest the danger seek help _here they think it may be
expected. As soon as Earl }takon 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 1-takoll met at the north corner of
More: and Hakon. _ho 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 sotmd which
drove all the ships in upon the laud. The earl ordered to
row with the oars to the land where landing seemed
easiest. \Vhen 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 Raffnfred 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
_37
THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
thought the difference between their ships in size was too

great; so in harvest he went north to Throndhjem, and
staid there all _xinter (971). King Ragnfred conse-
quently 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 _mt the people and collected a
large force. 13), going about the districts he got many
men, ships, and warlike stores sent as he required.
I_.--BATTI.E BETWEEN tIAKON AND RAGNFRED.
Towards spring Earl Hakon ordered out all the men

north in tile country: and got many people from Haloga-
land 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, With shining keels seven kings sailed
Armed in the North his warrior- on
band, To meet th:s raven-feeding one
To Sogn's old shore his force he led, When the clash came, the stunning
And from all quarters thither sped sound
War-ships and men, and haste was \Vaq heard in Norway's farthest
made bound,
By the young god of the sword-blade, And sea*borne corpses, floating far.
The hero-viking of the wave, Brought round the Naze news from
His wide domain from foes to save. the war."
Earl Hakon sailed then with his fleet southwards

around Stad : and when he heard that King Rag'nfred with
his army had gone towards Sogn, he turned there also
with his men to meet him: and there Ragnfred and
Hakon met. ttakon came to the land with his ships,
marked out a battle-field with hazel branches for King
_38
KING OLAF TRYGVdSON'S SAGA
Ragnfred, and took ground for his own men in it. So

it is told in the Vellekla :-
"In the fierce batle Ragnfred then The wielder of fell Narve's w_&pon,
Met the grim foe of Vlndland men , The conquering hero, valiant Hakon,
And many a hero of great name Had laid hm war-ships on the strand,
Fell in the sharp sword's bloody And ranged his warriors on the land."
game.
There was a great battle: but Earl }Iakon, 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 : m
"Sharp was the battle-strife, I Were stretched for the black raveu's
ween,-- prey,
Deadly and close it must have been, And when the conquerors took their
Before, upon the bloody plain, way
Three hundred corpses of the slain To the sea-shore, they had to tread
O'er piled-up heaps of foemsn 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 (972).
1,q.--EARL ItAKON'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 _xho was afterwards married to
Einar Tambaskielfer. Earl ttakon was much addicted to
womeri, and had many children ; amon.¢ 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,
x39
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 roadsted. 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 imme-
diately that they should haul out from their berth, threat-
ening them with chastisement if they did not. Whma
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 (973) Eirik
was with his foster-father Thorleif, and early in spring he
I4o
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 hap-
pened 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 And he was a gallant one,
To meet the warrtor stout-- Dear to the Earl Hakon.
To meet stout Skopte---he Up, youth of steel-hard breast m
Whose war-ship roves the sea. No time hast thou to rest'
Like force was on each side, Thy ocean wings spread wide--
But in the whirling tide Speed o'er the foaming tide!
The young wolf Eirtk slew Speed on--speed on thy way _
Skopte, and all his crew 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 (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 And the Danish king dlfl place
His dragon flew away This youth of noble race
TO Gormson's ball renowned, Where, shieldand sword tn hand,
Where the bowl goes bravely round. He would aye defend his land.'"
Eirik became afterwards a great chief.
21.----OLAF TRYGVASON'S JOURNEY FROM RUSSIA.
All this time Olaf Tryga,ason was in Gardarike

(Russia), and highly esteemed by King Valdemar, and
beloved by the queen. King Valdemar made him chief
141
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
over the men-at-arms whom he sent out to defend the

land. So says Hallarstein :-
"The hater of the niggard hand, The warn that ploughs the sea was
The chief who loves the Northman's then
land, Loaded with war-gear by hm men--
Was only twelve years old when he With swords, and spears,and helms ;
His Russian war-sh_psput to sea. and deep
Out to the sea hm goodshipssweep."
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 dan-
gerous 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
142
KLVG OLAF TRYGVASON'S SAGA
observed this, he told it to the queen; and also that he had

a great desire to travel to the Northern land, where bis
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 plun-
dered. The country people hastened down to the strand,
and gave him battle; but Olaf gained the victory, and a
large booty.
°_.----OLAF TRYGVASON'S51ARRIAGE.
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 them-
selves very peacefully, and remained some time. In Vind-
land 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 the 3, heard that unknown people were come to the
country, who were of distinguished appearance, and con-
ducted 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
I43
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 invita-
tion with the most kindly message. Olaf willingly
accepted the invitation, and went in harvest (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. I-Ialfred Vandreda-
skald tells of these matters in the lay he composed about
King Olaf :m
"Why should the deeds the hero did His deadly weapon Olaf bold
In Bornholm and the East he hid _ Dyed red: why should not this be
told ?"
_93._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 Gun-
hild's sons.
_4._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 a!l his people whom he ruled: "other-
wise," says the emperor, "we will march against him with
an army." The Danish king ordered the land defence to
I44
be fitted out, DanavirkO (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 lie could possibly
raise. In spring (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.
25.---OLAF TRYGVASON'S WAR EXPEDITION.
Olaf Trygvason had been all winter (982) in Vind-

land, 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
aDanavtrke The Danish work was a wall of earth, sto10es, and wood,
with a deep ditch in front, and s castle at every hundred fatbomu, between
the rivers Elder and Sllen, constructed by narsld Blatand (Bluetooth) to
oppose the progress of Charlemagne Some tra_es of it still exlst._L.
145
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
battle in Gotland, in which he also gained the victory, and

made a great booty. So says Halfred Vandredaskald :-
"The king, so fiercein battle-fray, By the sharp pelting arrow shower
First made the Vlndland men give The hero and his warriors pour,
way: And then the Jamtaland men must
The Ootlanders must tremble next. fly,
And Scanla's shores are sorelyvexed Scared by hls well-known battle-cry."
26.--OTTA AND HAKON IN BATTLE.
The Emperor Otta assembled a great army from Sax-

land, Frakland, Frisland, and Vindland. King Buriz-
leif 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 Was hastening from the Jutes' wild
The Norse sea-horses took their way, land,
Racing across the ocean-plain Across the forest frontier rude,
Southwards to Denmark's green do- With toil and pain through the thick
main. wood
The gallant chief of Hordaland Glad was the Danmh king, I trow,
Sat at the helm with steady hand, When he saw Hakon's galley's prow
In casque and shield, his men to bring The monarch straightway gave corn-
From Dovre to his friend the king mand
lie steered his war-ships o'er the To Hakon, with a steel-clad band,
wave To man the Dane-work's rampart
To help the Danish king to save stout,
Mordalf, who, wlth a gallant band 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, ttlrf, and timber, and dug
a deep and broad ditch in front of it, and had also built a
146
KING OLAF TRYGI'ASON'S SAGA
castle over each gate of it. There was a hard battle there,
of which the "'Vellekla" speaks :-
"Thickthe storm of arrows flew, But llttle reeked our gallant men ;
Loud was the din, black was the view And loud the cry might be heard then
Of close array of shmld and spear Of Norway's brave _ea-roving son--
Of Ymd, and Frank, and Saxon there. 'On 'gamst the foe ! on ! lead us on 1' "
Earl Hakon drew up his people in rauk_ upon all the

gate-towers of the wall, but the greater part of them he
kept marching along the wall to make a defence whereso-
ever an attack was threatened. Many of the emperor's
people fell without making any impression on the fortifi-
cation, 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 Earl Hakon drives by daring deeds
In ranked line fought side by side, These Saxons to their ocean-steeds,
'Gainst lines of war-men under And the young hero saves from fall
shields The Danavizke---the people's wall."
Close packed together on the fields.
Aker 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 Lima-
fjord.
_7.--HARALD AND I-IAKON 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
I47
THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
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 t-Iaratd allowed
himself to be baptized, and also the whnle 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 Nor-
way be baptized. On that they separated: and the earl
went out to sea, there to wait for a wind.
°8.--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
I48
KING OLAF TRYGVASO.V'S SAGA
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 hina, 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 Gantlands, until he came into Norway; and then
he proceeded by land all the wav north to. Throndhjem.
The "Vellekla" tells about this :-
"on the qllent battle-field, He raged through Gautland far and
In viking garb, with axe and shield, wide,-
The warrior, strldlngo'er the slam, Led many a gold-decked viking
Asks of the gods 'What days will shleld
gain _' O'er many a peaceful inland field
Two ravens, flying from the east. Bodies on bodie_ Odin found
Come croaking to the bloody feast : Heaped high upon each battle
The warrior knows what they fore- ground
show-- The moor. as If by wlteheraft's power.
The days when Gautland blood will Grows green, enrlched by bloody
fio_ shower
A viking-feast Earl Hakon kept. No wonder that the gods delight
The land with viking fury swept. To give such luck in every fight
Harrying the land far from the shore To Hakon's men--for he restores
Where foray ne'er was known before Their temples on our Norway
Leaving the barren cold coast side, shores."
O
~9._TIIE EMPEROR OTTA RETURNS IIOME.
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 Hewed from the Danes, in armour
His white-winged ocean-coursers dressed,
urges, The iron bark off mail-clad breast."
149
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
30.----OLAF'S JOURNEY FROM VINDLAND.
Olaf Trygvason was three years in Vindland (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 Vind-
land after it. He provided himself, therefore, with war-
ships, and went out again a plundering, and plundered
first in Frisland. next in Saxland, and then all the way to
Flmmingjaland (Flanders). So says Halfred Vandre-
daskald :-
"olaf'sbroad axe of shining steel Her horses slake their thirst, and fly
For the shy wolf left many a meal. Oil to the field where Flemings lw
The ill-shaped Saxon corpses lay The raven-friend In Odin's dress--
Heaped up, the witch*wife's horses '1 Olaf, who foes can well repress,
prey Left Flemish flesh for many a meal
She rides by night, at pools of blood, With his bread axe of shining steel."
Where Frisland men in daylight
stOOd,
31.--KING OLAF'S FORAYS.
Thereafter Olaf Trygvason sailed to England, and

ravaged wide around ill 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 alsx)
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 Ieft 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 Van-
dredaskald of these events :m
1Ravens were the witches' horses._L.
15o
"The brave young king, who ne'er Feeding the w_|v_s where'er he_,
retreats, The young klng drove a bloody game.
The Englishman in England beats. The gallant bowmen in the isles
Death through Northumbelland is Slew foemen, _ho lay heaped in pll_m.
spread The Irish lied at Olaf's name----
From battleaxe and broad spear- Fled from a young king seeking fame.
head. In Bretland, and in Cumberland,
Through Scotland with his spears he People against him could not stand :
rides. "ihlck on the fields their corpses lay,
To Man his glancing ships he guides To ravens and howlng wolves a
prey."
Olaf Tryg'vason had been four )'ears on this cruise

(985-988), from the time he left Vindland till he came
to the Scilly Islands.
32.--KING OLAF IS BAPTIZED.
"_Vhile 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 him-
self 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 re-
turned, 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
11 I5x
THE HEIMSKRTNGLA
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 tok-
ens: When thou comest to thy ships many of thy peo-
ple will conspire against thee, and then a battle will fol-
low in which many of thy men wilI fall, and thou writ 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 bap-
tized." 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 sh/eht t,_ his ship, and that his wound
was healed in seveu days. Then Olaf perceived that the
man had spoken truth,_that he wa_ 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 tlhags to be. The hermit re-
plied, 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 bap-
tized, and he and all his followers were baptized forth-
with. He remained here a long time, took the true faith,
and got with him priests and other learned men.
I52
KINC OlAF TRYGVASON'S SAGA
•°,,'}.--OLAF MARRIES CYDA.
tn autumn (9S8) Olaf sailed from Scilly to England.

where he put into a harbour, but proceeded in a friendly
way: for England was Christian, and he himseli had be-
come 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 assemt)led a
queen called Gyda came to it, a sister of Olaf Kvaran,
who was king of Dublin in Ireland. She had been mar-
ried 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 AIfvine, 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 chc,,se a husband. Alfvine came there
dressed out in hi_ best clothes, and there were many
well-dressed men at the meeting. Olaf had come there
also; but had on his lind-weather clothes, and a coarse
over-garment, and stond with his people apart from the
rest of the crowd. Gyda wenlt 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
_53
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 after-
wards talked over the matter together, and agreed, and
Olaf and Gyda were betrothed.
,')4.--KING OLAF AND ALFVINE'S DUEL.
Alfvine was very ill pleased with this. It was the cus-
tom then in England, if two strove for anything, to set-
tle the matter by single combat ;1 and now Alfvine chal-
lenges Olaf Trygvason to fight about this business. The
time and place for the combat were settled, and that each
should have twelve meal with him. When they met, Olaf
told his meal to do exactly as the 3" 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 All-
vine 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 some-
times in Ireland.
35._KING OLAF GETS HIS DOG VIGE.
While Olaf was in Ireland he was once on an expedi-

:Holm-gang, so called because the combatants went to a holm or
uninhabited isle to fight in Norway._L
_54
tion which went by sea. As the)- 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 distin_lish them: "but don't
delay our march." The peasant had with him a large
house-dog, which he put in anaong 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 doff.
"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 ill future. This dog
was called Vige, and was ttle very best of dogs, and Olaf
owned him long afterwards.
3¢J.--HARALD GORMSON SAILS AGAINST ICELAND.
The Danish king, Harald Gormson, heard that Earl

Hakou lind 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 whcu
he came to the country which Earl tIakon 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 Lzeradal; but all the people fled up to
the mountains, and into the forest, taking with them all
_55
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
the moveable goods the 3- could carry with them. Then

the Danish king proposed to sail x_ith 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 cer-
tain Icelanders xxas 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 IIarald tn the field And Birger, he who dwells m halls
Between hl_ legs lets drop his shield , For safety huflt with four stone wall_,
Into a pony ho wa_ changod, That the_e might be a worthy pair,
And kicked his shield, and safely Was changed into a pony mare,"
ranged.
:_}'.--I1ARALD SENDS ._. _VARI,OCK TO ICELAND.
King ltarahl 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 _nlt in the shape of a whale. :knd xxhen
he came near to the land he xxent to the west side of Ice-
land, north around the land, where he saw all the moun-
tains 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 ser-
pents, 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
_56
KING OLAF TRYGI'.4SON'S SAGA
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 Vikars-
skeid, 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 gi_ants followed him. He
then swam eastward along the land, and there was notfa-
ing to see, he said, but sand and vast deserts, and, with-
out the skerries, high-breaking surf; and the ocean be-
t_ een the countries was _ 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'SDEATtl.
Svcin, King Harald's son, who afterwards was called

Tjuguskeg (forked beard), asked his father King Har-
ald for a part of his kingdom; but now, as before, Har-
ald 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
_57
_._ _ L,',__v
THE HEIMSKRINGL.,¢
when all his men were assembled, and the Jomsborg vik-
ing 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 Hat-
aid received a wound which ended in his death: and
Svein was chosen King of Denmark. At this time Sig-
valde was earl over Jomsborg in Vindland. He was a
son of King Strutharald, who had ruled over Skane.
Heming, and Thcrrkel the Tall, were Sigvalde's brothers.
Bue the Thick from Bornholm, and Slgurd 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 pris-
oner, 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 tberefore 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
_58
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 a'H_ JO_SBORC WKINGS.

King Svein made a magnificent feast, to which he in-
vited 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 vik-
_59
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
ings. The third bowl was" to the memory of Saint

Michael, which was drunk by all. Thereafter Earl Sig-
valde emptied a remembrance bowl to his father's hon-
our, 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 count_. There-
upon 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 Sig_,alde 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 heir-
ship-ale drunk that day, but the next monfing, when the
Jomsborg vikings had selpt off their drink, they thought
they had spoken more than enough. They held a meet-
ing to consult how they should proceed with their under-
taking, and they determined to fit out as speedily as pos-
sible 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 I Iakon. Thord Kolbeinson speaks of this in the la b-
of Eirik :_ I6o
"News from the south are flying I hear that in the Danish land
round, Long-sided ships slide down the
The bonde comes with look !_roTound, strand,
Bad news of bloody battles bringing, And, floating with the rising tide,
Of steel-clad men, of weapons ringing. 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 Halo-
galand. 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 Ships, cutters, boats, from the far
raise,-- north
The gallant actxve youth must praise. His mighty fleet comes sailing by,-
Who o'er the ocean's field spreads From headlands many a mast we spy.
forth 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 TIlE JOMSBORG VIKINGS.
The Jomsborg vikings a_sembled their fleet in Lima-

fjord, from whence they went to sea with sixty sail of
vessels. \Vhen they came under the coast of Agder, they
steered northwards to Rogaland with their fleet, and be-
gan to plunder when they came into the carl'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 sonth 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
i6i
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 vik-
ings, 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, col-
lecting 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 Rollers beneath the ships' keels
speed crash.
O'er the wild wave the viking-steed. Oar-blades loud m the grey sea
NOw launched the high stems from splash,
the shore, And they who give the ravens food
Which death to Sigvalde'a vikings Row fearless through the curling
bore. flood."
EMk hastcnled southwards with his forces the shortest

way he could.
42.--0F THE JOMSBORG VIKINGS.
Earl Sig'valde steered with his fleet northwards around

Stad, and came to the land at the Herev 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
162
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 victor)'." When they came to
their ships they rode off from the land. Earl Sigvalde
called to them, and asked what the), were about. They
replied, "The earl is in the fjord;" on which Earl Sig-
valde with the whole fleet set off, and rowed north about
the island Hod.
4;_._BATTLE wITH TtIE 3OMSBORG 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 con-
sequence, 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
I63
TIlE HEIMSKRINGLA
Hakon had 60. In Earl Hakon's army were these chiefs,

--Thorer Hjort from Halogaland, and Styrkar from
Gimsar. In the wing of the opposite array of the Joms-
borg 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 2Ervik at Stad, with
60 ships. It is told in the Eirik's lay thus :-
"The bonde's ships along the coast The Dantqh ships, of court-men full,
Sailed on to meet the foemen's host ; Were cleared of men,--and many a
The stout carl's ships, with eagle hull
flight, Was driving empty on the main,
Rushed on the Danes in bloody flghL With the warm corpses of the slain."
Eyvind Skaldaspiller says also in the "Haleygja-tat"

'"Twas at the peep of day,-- No Joyful morn arose
Our brave earl led the way ; For Yngve Frey's base foes
His ocean horses bounding-- These Christian Island-men
His war-horns loudly sounding! 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 Halkel-
son :--
'"l'ne ring-linked coat of strongest Though sewed with care and elbow
mail bent,
Could not withstand the iron hail, By Norn, 1 on its strength intent.
INorn, 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.
I64
KING OL.4F TRYGVASON'S S.4G.4
The fire of battle raged around,-- Part of it fell Into the sea._
Odin's steel shirt fiew all unbound ! A part _vas kept, a proot to be
The earl hm ring-mall from him How sharp and thlekthe&rrow-filght
flung, Among the sea-_teeds In this fight."
Its steel rings on the wet deck rung,
_4._EARL SIGVALDE'S FLIGHT,
The Jomsborg vikings had larger and higher-sided

ships: and both parties fought desperately. Vagn Aka-
son 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 Erirk 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 BuGs single vessel. A thunder-storm
came on at this moment, and such a heavy hail-storm that
every hailstone weighed a pennyweight. The Earl Sig-
valde cut his cable, turned his ship round, and took flight.
Vagn Akason called to him not to fly; but as Earl Sig-
valde paid no attention to what he said, Vagn threw his
spear at him, and hit the man at the helm. Earl Sig-
valde rowed away with :]5 ships, leaving 25 of his fleet
behind.
45.--BuE TIZROWS HIMSELF OVERBOARD.
Then Earl Hakon laid his ship on the other side of

BuGs ship, and now came heavy blows on Bue's men.
Vigfus, a son of Vigaglum, took up an anvil with a
I65
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
_harp end, which lay upon the deck, and on which a man
had welded the hdt to his sword just before, and being
a very strong man cast the anvil with both hands at tim
head of Aslak Holmskalle, and the end of it went into his
brains. ]sefore this no weapon could wound this Aslak,
who was ]sue'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 Bugs ship, and went
aft to the quarter-deck where ]Sue stood. There Thors-
rein Midlang cut at ]sue across his nose, so that the nose-
piece of his helmet was cut in two, and he got a great
wound; but ]sue, in turn, cut at Thorstein's side, so that
the sword cut the man through. Then ]sue lifted up two
chests full of gold, and called aloud, "Overboard all
]sue'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. ]sue's ship was cleared of people from stem to
stern, and afterwards all the others, the one after ti_e
other.
46._VIKINGS BOUND TOGETtlER 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 pris-
oners, 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
i66
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 tlus 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 (lead ?"
Eirik says, "Thou art certainly Bue'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 fell over him, and Vagn caught the axe
12 167
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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.
4]'._DEATtt OF GISSUR OF VALDER%.
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 (]is_ur from Valders, who was
sitting next the earl. and was clothed splendidly. There-
upon the people x_ent oll board, and found Havard Hog-
gande standing on his knees at the ship's railing, for his
feet had heen cut off? and lie had a bo_ 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 m_sfortune," 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 l_oty. So says Tind:
"Msny a vlktng's body lay He whom the ravens know afar
Deafl on the deck this bloody day. Cleared five-and-twenty ships of war
Before they out their sun-dried ropes, A proof that in the furious fight
And in quick flight put all their None can withstand the Norsemen's
hopes, might "
Then the army dispersed. Earl Hakon went to

1This 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 of Chevy Chase.--L.
I58
KING OLAF TRYGI'ASO.V'5 S.46.4
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: ard instantly came the hail-
storm, and the defeat and slaughter of the Jomsborg
vikings.
Earl Eirik went to the Uplands, and eaqtward by that
route to his own kingdom, taking Vagn .\ka_m with him.
Earl Elrik married Vagu to lngebiorg, a daughter of
Thorkel Leira, and gave him a good ship of war and all
belonging to it. and a crew: and they partext the hest of
friends. Then Vagn went home s_mth to Denmark, and
became afterwards a man of great consideration, and
many great pe_@e are descended from him.
4,q._KING ttARAI.D GRENSKI._'SDEATII.
Harald Grenske, as before related, was king in Veqt-

fold, and was married to Asta, a daughter of gudhrand
Kula. One summer (994) Harald Grenske made an ex-
pedition 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 Skoglar-
toste. Sigrid xxas then a widow, and had many and
great estates in Svithjod. When she heard that her fos-
ter-brother was come to the country a short distance from
her, she sent men to him to invite hhn to a feast, t-Ie 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
i®
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
entertained in the most hospitable manner. At night,

when the king went to rest, a bed was put up $or him with
a hanging of fine linen around it, and with costly bed-
clothes; 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 him 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 under-
standing, and clever in many things. In the morn-
ing 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 hi_ kingdom and 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
I7o
KING OLAF TRYGVASON'S S._GA
marry him. She replied, that this was foolish talk for
him, who was so well married already that be 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 pregaaant with both your for-
tunes." They exchanged but few words more before the
qucen 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-
bmlding, 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 or-
dered 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 com-
ing to court her. She was afterwards called Sigrid the
tiaughty (Storrada).
49.--BIRTiI OF OLAF, SON OF ItARALD GRENSKE.

This happened the winter after the battle of the .fores-
borg vikings at Hjorungavag. When Harald went up
771
_tra L_t_q
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 to 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 (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 EAR:L tlAKON.
Earl Hakon ruled over the whole outer part of Nor-

way that lies on the sea, and had thus sixteen districts
under his sway. The arrangement introduced by Har-
ald ttarfager, 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 "Vet-
lekla :"-
"Whobefore has ever known How Hakon ruled by sword and
Sixteen earl_ subdued by one? shield
Who has seen all Norway's land _'hen tale_ at the vlkmg's mast go
Conquered by one brave hero's hand ? round,
It will be long m memory held, His pralse will every mouth re-
sound "
While Earl Hakon ruled over Norway there were

good cropsin the land,and peacc was wellpreservedin
172
the country among the bondes. The ear!, 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 the relations of these girls;
and the bondes began to murmur loudly, as the Thrond-
hjem 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 North sea. was a man called
Ole, who was looked upon as a king. From the conver-
sation 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 VaIdemar. 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 upou viking
expeditions,_sometin_es also upon merclmnt voyages;
so that he _as well acquainted all around. This Thorer
Earl Hakon sends over the North sea, and told him to
_73
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
make a merchant voyage to Dublin, as 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 TRYGVASONCOMES 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,uwhich 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 Har-
fager'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 an-
174
KING OL.qF TRYGVASON'S SAGA
couraged 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 Ork-
neys. 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 wonld
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 Nor-
way 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. IIe 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
175
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 nerth 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 themseh'es to supper; but be-
fore they had done eating, many people from the neigh-
bourhood, to whom Orm had sent notice, had gathered
together: and now Orm declared he would not send Gud-
I76
run 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 de-
parted with many threats. Orm, on the other hand, seaat
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 follow-
ers, 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 handse/me 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 wilt 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
_77
THE HEIMSKRINGL.4
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 man 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 sam _. man had again ap-
peared 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 he,use 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 man)" 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
wetat into the hole. Thora covered it with wood, and
_78
KING OLAF TRYGI_4SON'S S:IG.4
threw earth and dung over it, and drove lhe swine upon
the top of it. The swine-_tve was under a great stone.
_4.--ERI, END'S DEATH.
Olaf Trygvasou came from sea into the fjord with
five long-strips, and Erlend. Earl Itakon's son, rowed to-
wards him with three ships. When the vessels came
near to each other. Erlend suspected they might be ene-
mies, 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 laud 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 HAKONJS DEATII.
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
_79
THE HEI._,fSKR1NGLA
likely that if the earl was concealed in any he}use it must

be at Rimul, for Thora was his dearest friend in that
valley. They come up, therefore, v_nd search everywhere,
outside and inside the house, but could not find him.
Then Olaf held a House Thing (busting), or co,moil out
in the yard, and stood upon a great stone which la b"be-
side the swine-stye, and made a speech to the people, in
which he promised to enoch the man with rewards and
honours who should kdl the earl. This qpeech 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 mean_." repliea Kark.
"\Ve were bourn (_n the same night," sayq the earl,
"and the time will be short between our deaths."
King Olaf went away in the evening. \Vhen 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."
The 5, 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
x8o
KING OLAF TRYGYASON'S SAGA
he drew his heels under him, and raised his neck, as if go.
ing to rise, and screamed dreadfully high. On this
Kark, dreadfully alarmed, drew a large knife out of his
belt, stuck it in the carl's throat, and cut it across, and
killed Earl tfakon. 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 mvn and Earl Hakon's doings.
Olaf had him taken om and beheaded.
,S(_.--EARI, ItAKON'S IIEAD.
King Olaf, and a vast number of bonde_ with him, then

wen( out to Nidarhalm, 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-d(_era, rind there
stood a gallows on it. He had the heads of the earl anti
of Kark hung upon it, and the whole army of the bonde_
cast stones at them, screaming and shouting that the one
worthless fellow had followed the other. They then _ent
up to Gaulardal for the carl's (lead 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 Raudfeld-
SOIl :_
i8i
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"In Norway's land was never known Were sent, by nakon's right hand
A braver earl than the brave Hakon. slain
At sea, beneath the clear moon's light, So well the raven-flocks were fed--
No braver man e'er sought to fight So well the _olves were filled with
Nine kings to Odin's wlde domain dead _"
Earl Hakon was very generous; but the greatest mis-

fortunes attended even such a chlef 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.
5_'.-----OI,AF TRYGVASON ELECTED KING.
Olaf Trygvason 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 Noravay gave in their sub-
mission; 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 heId their land_
from him. He went thus through the whole country
during the first winter (99_;) 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 Kolbein-
son :_
"0 thou whom bad men drove away, When the host came from out the
After the bondes, by foul play, West,
Took Hakon's life' Fate will pursue Like some tall stately war-ship's
These bloody wolves, and make them mast,
rue. I saw the son of Trygve Stand,
Surveying proud hm native land "
182
And again,--
"Elrlk has more upon hls mind, Stubborn and stiff are Throndhlem
Against the new Norse king de- men,
signed, But ThrondhJem'searl may come
Than by his words he seems to again ',
show I In Swedish land he knows no rest--
And truly it may well be so Fierce wrath is gathering In h|_
breast '"
5S._LODIN'S MARRIAGE.
Lodin was the name of a man from Viken who was rich
and of good family. He went often on merchant voy-
ages, 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 mer-
chant 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 As-
trid, Eirik's daughter, who had been married to King
Tryg_.e. 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 to Nor-
way,_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
13 i8 3
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
her ransom. Lodln 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 Bjodas-
kalle's sons were Sigurd, Karlshofud, Jostein, and Thor-
kel 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 Thor-
geir, and the other Hyrning: and they married I_,odin and
Astrid's daughters, lngerid and Ingegerd.
59.--OI,AF BAPTIZES TttE COUNTRY OF VIKEN.

i
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 (996)
in Viken, where many of his relatives and some of his
I84
KING OL.4F TRYGI'ASON'S S.4G.4
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 broth-
ers-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 sup-
port with all their power ; namely, the proclaiming Chris-
tianity over all his kingdom. He would, he declared,
either bring it to this, that all Norway should be Chris-
tian, 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 de-
sired. King Olaf immediately made it known to the
pnblic that he recommended Christianity to all the people
in his kingdom, which message was well received and ap-
proved 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 them-
selves to be baptized. The king then went to the north
part of Viken and invited every man to accept Christi-
anity; 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 Trygve had ruled over,
and also that of his relation Harald Grenske, accepted of
Christianity; and during that summer (996) and the fol-
lowing winter (997) all Viken was made Christian.
t85
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
60.----oF THE IIORDAL.AND PEOPLE.
Early in spring (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 great-
est 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 im-
posing punishment and hard conditions on all who op-
posed him, the relatives appointed a meeting to take coun-
sel 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 to-
gether, they resolved to choose three men, the best speak-
186
ers 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 re-
quire 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 punish-
ment, 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 chosena 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 stan_nered 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 be-
came so hoarse and husky in his throat, that nobdy 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.
I87
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
62.--ERLING SKJALGSON'SWOOING.
King Olaf went with his men-at-rams 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 meet-
ing was numerous the king set forth his errand,Ithat
he desired them, according to his proposal, to allow them-
selves 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' for-
tunes, 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
i88
KING OLAF TRYGFASON'S SAGA
king's daughter, if I must marry a man who has no higli

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 theaa 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 mar-
riage. "I think," said the king, "that I must have power
enough in this land to raise any man I please to high dig-
nity." 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 rec-
ommended Christianity to the bondes; and as Olmod,
and Erling, and all their relations, took upon them-
selves the mo_t active part in forwarding the king's de-
sire, nobody dared to speak against it; and all the people
were baptized, and adopted Christianity.
64.--ERLING SKJALGSON'S WEDDING.
Erling Skjalgson held his wedding in summer, and a

great many people were assembled at it. King Olaf was
also there, and offered Erling an earldom. Erling re-
plied 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 Er-
,s9
THE HEIMSKRINGL.d
ling with all the land north of the Sognefiord, and east
to the Lidandisnes, on the same terms as Harald Harfa-
gel- 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 fol-
lowed 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 Chris-
tianity, 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 pro-
ceeded 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 orna-
ments 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 Ix>ndes heard of this, they sent out
a war-arrow as a token through the whole district, order-
ing out a warlike force, and intended to meet the king
with it. In the meantime King Olaf sailed with a war-
I9o
KING OLAF TRYGV,4SON'S SAGA
force out of the fjord along the coast northward, intend-

ing to proceed to Halogaland, and baptize there. When
he came north to Bjarnaurar, he heard from Halogaland
that a force was asseanbled 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 (998) all the way east to Viken.
66.---OLAF PROPOSES :MARRIAGE TO QUEEN SIGRID.
Queen Sigridin Svithjod,who had for surname the

Haughty, sat in her mansion, and during the same winter
messengers went between King Olaf and Sigrid to pro-
pose 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
I9I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
broken into pieces, and it was found to be copper in-

side. Then the queen was enraged, and said that Olaf
would deceive her in more ways than this one. In the
same year (998) King Olaf went into Ringerike, and
there the people also were baptized.
67.----OLAF HARALDSON ]3APTIZED.
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 soal of Harald Harfager. Olaf, the son of Asta
and Harald Grealske. lived with Asta, and was bronght
up from childhood in the house of his stepfather, Si_wd
Syr. Now when King Olaf Trygvason came to Ringe-
rike to spread Christianity, Sigurd Syr and his wife al-
lowed themselves to be baptized, along with Olaf her sou ;
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 Nor-
way (998).
68._MEETING OF OLAF AND SIGRID.
Early in spring (998) King Olaf went eastwards to

Kouungahella 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 con-
cluded. But when Olaf insisted that SigHd should let
192
herself be baptized, she answered thus :--"I must not part

from the faith which I have held, and my forefathers be-
fore me; and, on the other hand, I shall make no objec-
tion 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.
60._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 peo-
ple, 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, Har-
ald Harfager's son. Eyvind was a sorcerer, and partic-
ularly 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
I93
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 (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 approach-
ing 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 Ogvalds-
nes, 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
I94
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 jour-
ney. Then the king ordered thena 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 con-
versation 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 hess 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 con-
I95
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
sidered 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 _lest, and
ordered him to be called; bnt 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 THRONDHJ_M.
King Olaf collected a great army in the east of the

I96
K1NG OLAF TRYGVASON'S S.4GA
country towards summer, and sailed with it north to

Nidaros in the Throndhjem country. Frc_m thence he
sent a message-token over all the fjord, calling the people
of eight different districts t(_ a Thing; but the bondes
changed the Thing-token into a war-token; and called
together all men. free and unfree, in all the Throlldhjem
land. Now wheaa 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
anger 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 Mzeren, 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

I97
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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.
_4._TttE 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 rrmde at M_eren, 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 fol-
lowing 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 :--"\Ve 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 M_erin, and there make a great sacrifice.
_98
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, Ashjorn 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.
]-'5.---OF THE THING IN TI_tRONDHJEM.
King Olaf went in with all his forces into the Thrond-
hjem country ; and when he came to M_eren 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
14 I99
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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
kin_ 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 THRONDH_EM 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,mthat 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
500
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
opl_sed Christianity, but all people took baptism.
_"_._A TOWN IN TItE TIIRONDHJEM 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 hap-
pened. Gudrun also took her clothes, and went away
201
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 (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 car-
ried 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 (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 Austfiord in the southern Alptfiord,
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
2O2
and Veterlide the skald composed a satire about Thang-

brand; 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

I-Iauk, both of Halogaland, who often made merchant
voyages. One summer (998) they had made a voyage
westward to England ; and when they came back to Nor-
way 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
threateaaed 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
_ inter (999), and were hospitably entertained.
S:2.---OF IIAREK oF TIIJOTTA.
It happened one good-weather day in spring (999)

that Harek was at home in his house with only few
2o3
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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,mfirst, 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 himslf 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
204
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 ever'thing needful; and
besides he gave Harek thirty men, all lads of mettle, and
well appointed.
83.--EY_rIND 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 Eyvlnd
to come and visit him, the sooner the better. When this
message was delivered to Eyvind, he saw how very
205
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 conversa-
tion 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 the), came
to Throndhjem, and presented themselves to King Olaf
at Nidaros. Then Eyvind was brought up to a confer-
ence 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 tx_ 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 Eyvlnd, "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.
206
S4._HALOGALAND MADE CHRISTIAN.
The spring after (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 Halog_aland. 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 Rand 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 f_rce on foot. Rand 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.
2o7
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 lauded people, followed
those who fled, and killed them. Usually the king was
the fore_uost 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 wounded to the ships.
86._KING OLAF'S VOYAGE TO C-ODEY.
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 sall into it
2o8
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 con-
tinued 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 tenapest 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.
8_.----OF RAUD'S BEING TORTURED.
Bishop Sigurd took all his mass robes and went for-
ward 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 lash-
ing up so high that they hid the sight of the mountains.
And so the one ship followed the other in the smooth sea
2o9
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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, "_-as afloat
close to the land. King Olaf went up to the house imme-
diately 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 wenat 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 upper-
most, and a round pin of wood to be 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
2IO
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 dragon-
ship 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 H_ering; 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,i
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 Chris-
tianity. 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 daugh-

2II
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
ter's son of Egil Skallagrimson, came the same autumn

(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 Svert-
ing, a son of the gode Runolf. All these were heathens;
and besides them there were many more,Msome men of
power, others common men of no property. There came
also from Iceland considerable people, who, by Thang-
brand'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 lived 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 Nefjulfson, 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
212
KING OLAF TRYGI"ASON'S SAGA
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 Van-
dredaskald 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 swinging into the
water. Then he set after the man, seizes hold of his
foot, and dives with hint 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 F'
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 ?"
2I 3
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
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 Trygva-
SOn. ')
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
80.--BAPTISM OF THE ICELANDERS.
When Michaelmas came, the king had high mass sung

with great splendour. The Icelanders went there, listen-
ing 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 to the king 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
1The part Included tn parenthesis m not found In the original text of
Helmskrmgla, but taken /rom Codex Frl_anus.
214
,,-
EARL HAKON MURDERED BY KARK.
'INE the dispute

throne be:ween
of .N,_ruavCfiMb.dT_ygva...,m
to, many ar_,_. F_ar!m Ttakcm
t,at_c- wL'.ch fc_r
the
former was u.uMly succ_.-f_,: th< latter xx t- I ,_ d:y !,',t t,, _,,,at
and c,,mptlied t,_ flee t,_ :, ,%,-,mt-.ea,! _r R,i,:v/', x_h, r, F!_,,ra c_>
cealed him. _x,th a Thr,d] l_ana_,i Kark. *u ._ hc'_ dug uud,.r a
h,_-_i3't cb'af p_t.t_e,] the _"e:,,',e an,l _r._e, 'l h,n- t,, I}I,- p,ace
c,f refuge 1)ut _- unat,Ie to find ]},m Stu__,!lug ub -," _p,,' p',tcv
of c,_nccMment Olaf offer(,{ .: _"eat _e'..ard 1, "..:)<.n. _xh,
would k_lI the earl. winch pr_,m,-e bcm- <,v<rh*.ard ]-y Kari:. _he
trcacherc, u.- thrall wa'tt.i tlllt], ]'lfi _>a-tev -2c: "q:,, a Ktcp and
. _e_zmg the opportun:ty struck a dagger m',_ Hak,_p'- t!,r,',r,t and
then cut off hi- head, wh.ch he a/tc,-war, l. earv, cd to-, ¢)laf In-
stead o17 rewardi_g the thrall f_r the dc,'d O:a- g p_a:n-hed the
treacherous act by ordering that tke thr.qli be beheaded
S_e puge Ibl,
BolleThorlakson,and alltheirfellow-travelers. Kjartan

and Bollewere theking'sguestsas longas theywere 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 con-
dition,nthat 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 wilI 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."
xs 2t5
THE, HEIM._KRINGLA
"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 dost thou give me, king, on my name-
day ?"
The king gave him a sword without a seabbord, 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 :m
"This aword of swords ls myrewar_ For this good sword a sheath to
For him who knows to wield _ choose;
sword, I'm worth three swords when men
And with his sword to serve his lord, swords use,
Yet wants a sword, his lot is hard. But for the sword-sheath now I
I would I had my good lord's leave 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 Trygva-
son.
91._THANGBRAND RETURNS FROM ICELAND.
The same harvest (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
216
KING OLAF TRYGV,4SON'S SAGA
Kjartan, Gissur, and Hjalte, with the other Icelanders

who had become Christians, went to him, and said, "King,
thou must not fall 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 Ice-
landers 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 hark-
ened 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 writte_ 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 m_n
were rowing the Serpent. He could play with three
daggers, so that one was always in the air, and he toc,k
the one falling by the handle. He could walk all round
zx7
THE HEIMSKRtNGLA
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.
9_.--BAPTISM OF LEIF EIRIKSON.
Leif, a son of Eirik the Red, who first settled in Green-

land, came this summer (999) from Greenland to Nor-.
way; and as he met King Olaf he adopted Christianity,
and passed the winter (1000) with the king.
94._FALL OF KING GUDROD.
Gudrod, a son of Eirik Bloodaxe and Gunhild, had

been ravaging in the western countries ever since he fled
from Norway before the Earl Hakon. But the summer
before mentioned (999), when King Olaf Trygvas0n had
ruled four years over Norway, Gudrod came to the coun-
try, 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.
218
Gudrod sailed in this way south to Viken; and as soon as

he came to the land he began to plunder, to subject the peo-
ple 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 assem-
bling 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 rela-
tions, 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

(ltY00), 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
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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. Ther_ 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
l_ely to find it out as thou art."
Thorberg says, "I will tell you, king, who did it. I
did it myself." 2_o
The king says, "Thou must restore it all to the same

condition as before, or thy life shall pay for it."
Then Thorberff 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 Thor-
berg had chipped, and bade him shape the other side in
the same way, and gave him great thanks for the improve-
merit. 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 Halo-
galand; 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 I-IAKOI_.
Earl Eirik, the son of Earl tlIakon, and his brothers,

with many other valiant men their relations, had left the
country after Earl Hakon's fall. Earl Eirik went east-
wards 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 Kolbein-
son 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
22I
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
get property for himself and his people. First he steered

to C-otland, 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"'
"_.lrik, as we have lately heard, From GoUand's lonely shore has
Has waked the song of shield and gone
sword,_ Far up the land, and battles won ;
Has waked the slumbering storm of And o'er the sea his name is spread.
shields To friends a shield, to foes a dread."
Upon the vikings' water.fields :
Afterwards Earl Eirik sailed south to Vindland, and

at Stanren 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 Elrtk, he who stoutly wields The strand with dead is studded o'er ;
The battie-axe in storm of shields, The raven tears their sea-bleached
With his long ships surprised the foe skins--
At Stauren, and their strength laid The land thrives well when Etrik
low. wills."
Many a corpse floats round the shore ;
97.--EIRIK'S FORAY ON THE BALTIC COASTS.
Earl Eirik sailed back to Sweden in autumn, and staid

there all winter (997) ; but in spring he 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, With arrow-shower, and storm of
Who scatters his bright shining gold, war,
lCirik with flr_-_tttertng hand, Wasted the land of Valdemar
_Wa_d the RnBIgn naongrch's Aldetga burns, and I_lrik'e might
|and,_ Scours through all Rmmla by |ts
llght.'"
22_
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 front the Danes,
and killed every man on board. So it is told in the
"Banda-drapa :"-
"Among the isles files round the In Gautland he has seized the town,
word, In Syssels harried up and down ;
That Eirik's blood-devouring sword And all the people in dismay
Has flashed like fire in the Sound, Fled to the forests far away.
And wasted all the land around. By land or sea, in field or wave,
And Eirik too, the bold in fight, What can withstand this earl brave?
Has broken down the robber-mJght All fly before his fiery hand_
Of four great vikings, and has slain God save the earl, and keep the land."
All of the erew_nor spared one
Dane.
When Eirik had been a year in Sweden he went over

to Denmark (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
(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 Skog-
lartoste, 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

223
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
relation Earl Sigaralde, 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 a
positive no to the proposal to marry her to an old and
heathen king. "Now," said King Burizleif to Earl Sig-
valde, "I must hav_ the promise fulfilled." And he told
Earl SigvaIde to go to Denmark, and bring him Thyre as
his queen. Earl Sigvalde roses no time, but goes to King
Svein of Denmark ; explains to hi_ 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, an$ some other people. In the
agreement betweerr 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 pro?erties 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; but 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
224
KING OLAF TRYGFASON'S SAGA
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 conver-
sation. 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 hi_
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 (999), and King Olaf and Queen Thyre
remained all winter (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
that the king one day early in spring was walking in the
street, and met a man in the market with many, and, for
225
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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, "See
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 a 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 he 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 he 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 taker_ out for the ships, they were so carefully
selected that no man on board the Long Serpent was
226
older than sixty or younger than twenty years, and all

were men distinguished for strength and courage. Those
who were Olaf's body-guard 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, Thor-
stein Uxafot, and Vikar of Tiundaland, a brother of
Arnliot Gelline. By the bulkhead next the forecastle
were Vale Raumason from Gaut River, Berse the Strong,
An Skyte from Jamtaland, Thrand the Strong from Thel-
amork, 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-hol_i: Bjorn from Studla,
Bork from the fjords, Thorgrim Thjodolfson from. Hvin,
Asbjorn and Orm, Thord from Njardarlog, Thorsteln
the White from Oprustadar, Arnor from. More, Halstein
and Hauk from the Fjord-district, Eyvind Snak, Berg-
thor Bestil, Halkel from Fialer, Olaf Dreng, Arnfin from
Sogn, Sigurd Bitd, Einar from Hordaland, and Fin, and
Ketil from Rogaland, and Grjotgard the Brisk. The fol-
lowing were in the hold next the mast: Einar Tamba-
skelfer, who was not reckoned as fully experienced, being
only eighteen years old; Thorstein Hlifarson, Thorolf,
227
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 vesels, 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; an'd in that Thing Christianity was intro-
duced by law into Iceland, and in the course of the sum-
mer all the people were baptized (1000).
228
e
KING OLAF TRYGVASON'S SMGM
104.---GREENLANDBAPTIZED.
The same springKing Olaf alsosent Leif Eirikson

(I000) to Greenlandto proclaimChristianity there,and
Leif went therethatsummer. In the ocean he took up
the crew of a ship which had been lost,and who were
clingingto thewreck. He alsofound Vinlandthe C_Tood;
arrivedabout harvestinGreenland;and had with him for
it a priest and other teachers, with whom he went to Brat-
tahitd 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 _ESSENGERS 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
_29
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
Kjartan 01arson, 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 the 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, Ul/'s son, who had lately come
to the government of West Gautland. Ulf, Ragnvald's
father, was a brother of Sigrid 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 that the earl
desired much the friendship of King Olaf, and had spoken
of making court to 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 Inge-
bjorg 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
23o
about it. She answered to this effect,--"I have been witl_

you for some time, and you have shown brotherly care
and tender respect for me ever since you came to the coun-
try. 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 Ragnva.ld
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, Trygve's daughter,
the king's sister). Many of his friends also joined him,
and other persons of consequence who had prepared them-
selves 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
16 231
THE HEIMSKRINGLd
Erling Skjalgson had prepared for him a splendid feast

at Sole. There Earl Ragnvald, Ulf's son, from (_aut-
land, 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 wa_
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 Gaut-
land, and to teach them the right faith and morals. The
king and the earl parted in the greatest friendship.)
107.--OLAF'S EXPEDITION TO 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.) V_rhen
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
23_
KING OLAF TRYGVASON_S SAGA
himself entitled to there. He passed here much of the

summer, and found many of his old friends.
108._CONSPIRACY AGAINST KING OLAF.
The Danishking,SveinTjuguskeg,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 levy-
ing 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 Den-
mark, and arrived there after King Olaf Trgyvason had
sailed to the eastward. Haldor the Unchristian tells of
this in his lay on Earl Eirik :--
233
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"The klnl-subduer raised a host The brave, who fill the wild wolf's
Of warriors on the Bwedish coast, mouth,
The brave went southwards to the l_l|owed bold ]_trJk to the south ;
fight, The brave, who sport in blood_-each
Who love the sword*storm's gleam- one
lng light ; 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 $IGVALDE'S TREACHEROUS YLANS.
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 otlt 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 acount 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 degvee 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
234
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 tlmt they should
meet King Olaf there.
II0.--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 is 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 fol-
lowed with his large ships, also elevett in number; but
the whole of the rest of the fleet sailed out to sea. Now
when Earl Sigvalde came sailng dose under the island
Svold, a skiff rowed out to inform the earl that the Danish
235
THE HEIMSK.RINGLA
king's army was lying in the harbour before them. Th_

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 But the false earl the ktng betrnyed ;
son And treacherous Slgvalde, it is said,
With one-and-seventy shiI_s came on, Deserted from King Olaf's fleet,
To dye his sword in bloody fight, And basely fled, the Danes to meet."
Against the Danish foeman's might.
It is said here that King Olaf and Earl Sigvalde had

seventy sail of vessels and one more, when they sailed
from the south.
lll.--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 Ein-
dride 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
235
KING OLAF TRYGYASON'SSAGA
thebetter forus thatthisshipisaway fromOlaf's fl_t,

sowellequipt assheis."
Soon aftertheysaw and knew EarlSigvalde's ships,
which turnedin and laidthemselves undertheisland.
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, "/or 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 won-
derfully 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 other vessels but only that one,
King Svein would never take it from him with the Danish
force alone."
Thereafter all the people rushed or_ 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
237
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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.
l12.-----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 waitng for
King Olaf, as he feared there were enemies in the way.
They lay upon their oars until Thorkel Nefia came up
238
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 :-
"Andfar and wide the saying bold 'My men shall never learn from me
Of the bravo warrior shall be told From the dark weapon-cloud to floe.'
The king, In many a fray well tried, Nor were the brave words spoken then
To his brave champions round him Forgotten by his faithful men."
cried,
ll3.---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, 1the Long Serpent's stem and the short
Serpent's were made fast together ; but when the king saw
it he called out t_ 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
tThe 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 dtstance.--L.
_39
THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
as much more ahead of the other ships as she is longer

than them, we shall have hard work of it here on the fore-
castle."
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."
II4.---OFKING OLAF.
King 01af 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 yen-
24 °
turing 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."
ll5.--THE BATTLE BEGINS.
The kings now laid out their oars, and prepared to

attack (1000). King Svein laid his ship against the
Long Serpent. Outside of him Olaf the Swede laid
himself, and set his ship's stem 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 Slgvalde in my youth, Where arrows whistled on the shoro
And gallant Elrlk, and xn truth, Of Svold fiord my shield I bore.
Tho' now I am grown stiff ancl old, And stood amidst the loudest clash
In the spear-song I once was bold. When swords on shields made fear-
ful crash."
And Halfred also sings thus:--

"In truth I think the gallant ktng. And left our bravo king In the fray,
"Midst such a foemen'a gathering, Two great kings' power to w,ithstanfl,
Would be the better of some ecore And one great earl's,with his small
Of his tight Throndhjem lads, or band.
more ; The king who dareB such mighty deed
For many a chief has run away, A hero for his skald would need."
ll6.--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 gral>-
24I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
lings 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 outer-
most 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 them-
selves now out of shooting distance all around Olaf's
ship; but Earl Eirik lay always close alongside of the
ships, and used his 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 :-
"Sharpwas the clang of shield and And still fresh foemen, it is said,
sword, Earl Etrik to her long side led ;
And shrill the song of spears on Whole armies of his Danes and
board, Swedes,
And whistling arrows thickly flew Wielding on high their blue sword-
Against the Serpent's gallant crew. blades."
Then the fight became most severe, and many people

fell. But at last it came to this, that all King Olaf Trygva-
son's ships were cleared of men except the Long Serpent,
on board of which all who could still carry their arms
242
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 :-
"Hardpressed on every side by foes, In the sword-storm the Holm beside,
The Serpent reels beneath the blows ; The carl's ship lay alongside
Crash go the shletds around the bow _ The king's Long Serpent of the sea_
Breast-plates and breasts pierced Fate gave the earl the victory."
thro' and thro'!
liT.---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 :-
"'Thedaring lade ehrink not from The foe was daunted at their cheers:
death,_ The king, who still the Serpent
O erboard they leap, and sink be- steers,
neath In such a strait--beset with foe_--
The Serpent's keel : all armed they Wanted but some more lads like
leap, those."
And down they sink five fathoms
deep.
1Both In land and sea fights the commanders appear to have been
protected from missile weapons,---stones, arrows, spears,_by a shleldburg ;
that is, by a party of men bearmg shields surrounding them In such a
way that the shields were a parapet, covering those within the circle, q_ba
Romans had a similar military arrangement of shields in siege_--the
teit udo._L.
243
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
118.--OF EINAR TAMBARSKELVER.
Einar Tambarskelver, one of the sharpest of bow-

shooters, stood by the mast, and shot with his bow. Einar
shot an arrow at Earl Eirik, which hit the tiller-end just
above the carl'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,m"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.
ll9.----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,
244
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 fore-
hold, 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 Hyrn-
ing, 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, Clearing all round with sword deep
The helm-adorned hero stood ; stained.
And gallant Hyrnlng honour gained, The high mountain l_eaks 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
245
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 :--
"Elrlk eheers on his men,-- They stand in ring,
'On to the charge again !' Their shlelfls enclose
The gallant few The king from foes,
Of Olaf's crew And the few who still remain
Must refuge take Fight madly, but in vain.
On the quarter-deck. Elrtk cheers on his men--
Around the king 'On to the charge again !' "
I_I._THE SERPENT'S DECKS CLEARED.
Kolbjorn the marshal, who had on clothes and arms

like the king's, and was a remarkably stout and hand-
some man, went up to the king on the quarter-deck. The
battle was still going on fiercely even in the forehold. I
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
1From 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 decked fore and aft, the thirty-four
benches for rowers occupying the open area in the middle, and probably
gangways running along the sides for commumcating from the quarter-
deck to the forcastle--L
246
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 concern-
ing the king by Halfred :-
"TheSerpent and the Crane Many a war-chance had come o'er,
Lay wrecks upon the main. He spoke a word--then drew in
On his sword he cast a glance,_ breath,
With it he saw no chance. And sprang to his deep-sea death.'"
To his marmhal, who of yore
12_.--REPORT AMONG THE PEOPLE.
Earl Sigvalde, as before related, came from Vindland,

in cc_mpany with King Olaf, with ten ships; but the elev-
enth 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 :--
17 247
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"Then first the Vindland vessels Still oped her grim Jaws for the
came feast.
Into the fight with little fame ; The few who stood now quickly fled,
The fight still hngered on the wave, When the shout told--'01af is
The' hope was gone with Olaf brave, dead !' "
War, like a full-fed ravenous beast,
But the Vindland cutter, in which Astrid's men were,

rowed back to Vindland; and the report went immedi-
ately abroad and was told by many, that King Olaf had
cast off his coat-of-mail under water, and had swum,
diving under the long-ships, until he came to the Vind-
land cutter, and that Astrid's men had conveyed him to
Vindtand: 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? This I can say, nor fear to lie,
Has he the hungry ravens fed ? That he was wounded grmvously--
I scarcely know what I should say, So wounded m thin bloody strife,
For many tell the tale each way. He scarce could come away wlth life."
But however thismay have been, King Olaf Tryg-

vason never came back again to his kingdom of Norway.
Halfred Vandredaskald speaks also thus about it :-
"Thewitness who reports this thing From the far east some news Is rife
Of Trygvason, our gallant king, Of king sore wounded Savlng life;
Once served the klng, and truth His death,too sure,leavesme no care
should tell, For cobweb rumours in the air.
For 01of hated lies like hell. It never was the will of fate
If Olaf 'ecaped from this sword- That Olaf from such perilous strait
thing, Should 'scape with life! this truth
Worse fate, I fear, befel our king may grieve--
Than people guess, or e'er can know, 'What people wish they soon be-
For he was hemm'd in by the foe. lieve.' "
123.----OF EARL EIRIK THE SON OF HAK(YN.
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 :--
248
"Olaf, with glittering helmet But the descendant of great Hemlng,

crowned, Whose race tells many a gallant sea-
Had steered the Serpent through the king,
Sound; His blue _word in red life-blood
And people dressed their boats, and stained,
cheered, And bravely 01af's long ship gained."
As 01af's fleet in splendour steered.
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 coun-
try. Earl Eirik got four districts in the Throndhjem
country, and Halogaland, Naumudal, the Fiord districts,
Sogn, Hordaland. Rogaland, and North Agder, all the
way to the Naze. So says Thord Kolbeinson :M
"All chiefs within our land From Veiga to Agder they,
On Elrik's rode now stand. Well pleased, the earl obey ;
Erling alone, I know, Arad all will by him stand,
Remains Earl Eirik's foe. To guard the Norsemen's land.
All praise our generous earl,_ _nd now the news is spread
Ite gives, and is no churl: That mighty Svein is dead,
All men are well content And luck is gone from those
Fate such a chief has sent. 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 them-
selves to be baptized, and took up the true faith; but as
long as they ruled in Norway they allowed every one to
249
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
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.
2o
SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSON.'
OLAF I_ARALDSON the Saint's Saga is the longest, the most

important, and the most finished of all the _agas in HetmskringZa.
The life of Olaf will be found treated more or less freely in
Agrip, in Historia _orvegiae, in Thjodrel_ thv Menlo, in the
legendary saga, and in Fagrslrinna. Other old Norse literature
relating to this epoch:
Are's Islendingabok. Landnama. Kristni Saga. Biskul_a-s_gur. NJala.
Gunlaugs Saga Ormstungu. Bjarnar Saga Hitd_lakal_pa. Hallfredar Thattr
Vandr_daskalds. Eyrbyggia. Vlga Styrs Saga. Laxd_vla. Fostbr_dra. Gretla.
Liosvetninga. F_reylnga. Orkneyinga.
Olaf Haraldson was born 995, went as a viking at the age
of twelve, 1007; visited Englanda 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 recognised 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:nOttar Svarte, Sigvat Skald,
Thord Kolbeinson, Berse Torfason, BrynJolf, Arnor Jarlaskald,
Thord Siarekson, Harek, Thorarin Loftunga, Halyard Hareksblese,
Bjarne Gulbraskald, Jokul Bardson, Thormod Kolbrunarskald,
Gissur, Thorfin Mun, Hofgardaref.
][.---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 house-
1King Ola_ the Saint reigned from about the year 1015 to 1080. The
death of King 01af Trygvason was in the year 1000; and Earl Eirlk
held the government for the Danish and Swedish kings about fifteen
years.--L
25I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
holder, who kept his people closely to their work, and often
went about himself to inspect his corn-rigs and meadow-
land, 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 thatKing Sigurd wanted to ride

from home, but therewas nobody about the house; so he
told his step-son 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 KING OLAF'S ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
When Olaf Haraldsocl 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,
wbAch 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
252
SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSON
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 dig-
nity. He was called Olaf the Great.
4.--KING OLAF'SWAR_XP_DITIO_.
Olaf Haraldson was twelve years old when he, for the
first time, went on board a ship of war (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 :-
"Youngwas the king when from his Well exercised art thou in truth--
home In munhood's earnest work, brave
He first began in ships to roam, youth I
His ocean-steed to ride Out from the distant north
To Denmark o'er the tide. 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
253
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
against the Swedes, as they killed his father Harald.

Ottar Svarte says distinctly that he came from the east,
out by way of Deaamark :--
"Thy ship from chore to shore, There's food for the raven-flight
With many a well-plied oar, Where thy sail-winged ship shall
Across the Baltic foam is dancing.-- light :
Shields, and spears, and helms Thy landing-tread
glancing ! The people dread ;
Hoist high the swelling sail And the wolf howls for a feast
To catch the freshenfng gale ! 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 Sore. Olaf had
much fewer men, but his ships were larger, and he had
his ships between some blind rocks, which made it diffi-
cult 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 Where did the sea-king first draw
are foaming-- blood?
To the sea shore In the battle shock
Bore mast and oar, At Sore's rock:
And sent his o'er theseas a-roaming. The wolves howl over their fresh
food."
6._FORAY IN SVITHJOD.
King Olaf steered thereafter eastwards to Svithjod, and

into the Lag (the M_elar 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
554
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 Mmlar lake and the sea), and had laid troops
there; for the Swedish king thought that Olaf Harald-
son 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 Mmlar 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 blow-
ing 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 Gre_t 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
255
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
through it, unless the waters are very high. Some re-
late 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 hin-
der Olaf from getting away, but the water undermined
the banks on each side so that they fell in with the peo-
ple, 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 plun-
der; 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 The Yngling princes fled,
paid : Eysyssel People bled :
The scat on Gotlander_ is laid, Who can't defend the wealth they
Young man or old have
To our seamen bold Must die, or share with the rover
Must pay, to save his head : 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 gave 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 Eysyssel they of-
fered 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 be-
fore related. So says Sigvat the skald :--
256
"With much deceit and bustle But Olaf was too wise
To the heath of Eysyssel To be taken by surl)rise :
The bondes brought the king, Their legs scarce bore them of_
TO get scat at their weapon-thing. O'er the common fast 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 for-
est, 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 _rom
all quarters, and made a severe attack. The king told
his men to cover themselves with their shields, but be-
fore 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 Fintanders 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 :-
'*Thethird fight was at Herdaler, Off Balagard's shore the waves
where Ran hollow ; but the sea-king saves
The men of Finland met in war His hard-pressed ship, and galns the
The hero of the royal race, lee
With ringing sword-blades face to Of the east coast through the wild
faes. sea."
257
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
9.--THE FOURTH RATTLE 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 Great honour, I'm told,
Through Sudervik ringS, Won these vikings so bold :
And the vikings bring out But their bold fight was vain,
To fight the two kings. 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 :-
"UnderKinlima's cliff, To the edge o£ the rippling tide :
This battle is the fifth. But Olaf taught the peasant band
The brave sea-rovers stand To know the weight of a viklng's
All on the glittering sand ; hand."
And down the horsemen ride
ll.--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
258
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 apos-
tate 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 invi-
tation 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 waggons 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
259
THE HEIMSKRINGLd
the troops stood on the bridge everywhere, and defended

themselves. King Ethelred was very anxious to get pos-
session 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 North-
men'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 bot-
tom, and were loosened under the bridge. Now as the
26o
armed troops stood thick of men upon the bridge, and

there were likewise many heaps of stones and other weap-
ons 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 others fled, some
into the castle, some into Southwark. Thereafter South-
wark 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 Ottaz
Svarte :-
"LondonBridge is broken down,-- Hild is shouting in the din !
Gold is won, and bright renown. Arrows singing,
Shields resounding, Mail-coats ringing--
War-horns sounding, Odin makes our Olaf win"
And he also composed these :-

*'KingEthelred has found a friend: With blood-red hand,
Brave 01af will his throne defend-- And Edmund's son upon his throne
In bloody tight replace---
Maintain his right, Edmund, the star of every royal
Win back hie land race "'
Sigvat also relates as follows :---"

"At London Bridge stout 01af gave Some in their tents on Southwark
Odin's law to his war-men brave--- plain l
'To win or die !' This sixth attack
And their foemen fly. Brought victory backW
Some by the dyke-side refuge gain--
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 Sigwat
the skald :--
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"To Ulfkel's laud came Olaf bold, Hrtngmara heath

A seventh sword.thing he would hold. Was a bed Of death."
The race of Ella filled the plain-- Harfager's heir
Few of them slept at home again ! Dealt slaughter there."
And Ottar sings of this battle thus :-

"FromHrtngmara field The living fiy ;
The chime of war, The dead pried high
Sword striking shield, The moor enrich:
Rings from afar, Red runs the ditch."
The country far around was then brought in subjec-

tion to King Ethelred; but the Thingmen 1 and the
Danes held many castles, besides a great part of the
country.
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 :m
"'All in the grey of morn And many a man laid low
Broad CanterbUry's forced. By the battle-_xe's blow,
Black smoke from house-roofs borne Waked by the Norsemen's cries,
Hides fire that does its worst ; Scarce had time to rub his eyes."
Sigvat reckons this King Olaf's eighth battle :-

',of this eighth battle I can tell The Perthmen fought,
How it was fought, and what befell. Nor quarter sought :
The castle tower By death or flight
With aLl his power They left the fight.
He could not take, Olaf could not this earl stout
Nor would forsake. 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
aThtng-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.
262
gave them battle and gained the victory. So says Sigvat

the skald :-
"The youthful king stained red the Where the shrill storm round Olaf's
hair head
Of Angcln men, and dyed his spear Of spear and arrow thickest fled,
At Newport in their hearts' dark There thickest lay the Thingraen
blood ; dead !
And where the Danes the thickest Nine battles now of Olaf bold,
stood_ 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 Money, tf money could be got--
thee, Goods, cattle, household gear, if not.
With money thou madest them as- Thy gathered spoil, borne to the
stst thee ; strand,
Unsparingly thou madest them pay Was the best wealth of English
A scat to thee in every way, land,"
Olaf remained here for three years (1010-1012).
15.--THE TENTH BATTLE.
The third year King Ethelred died, and his sons Ed-
mund and Edward took the government (1012). Then
Olaf sailed so_uthwards out to sea r 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 :-
,,ofthe tenth battle now I tell, And razed the tower of the viking
Where it was fought, and what be- thief.
fell Such rock and tower, such roosting-
Up on the hill in HringsfJord fair place,
A robber nest hung in the air : _'as ne_er since held by the roving
The people followed our brave chief, 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 :--
18 263
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"The eleventh battle now I tell, But Olaf's name, and arm, and
Where it was fought, and what be- sword.
fell. Of three great earls, I have heard
At Grislupol our young fir's name say,
O'ertopped the forest trees in fame : His sword crushed helm and head
Brave Olaf's name---nought else was that day."
heard
Next he fought westward on Fetlafjord, as Sigvat

tells :-
"The twelfth fight was at FetlafJorfl, Gave the wild wolf's devouring teeth
Where Olaf's honour-seeking sword A feast of warriors doomed to death."
From thence King Olaf sailed southwards to Selju-

pollar, 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 witfi
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 :-
"Thethirteenth battle now I telI, The king went early to the shore,
Where tt was fought, and what be- To Gunvaldsborg's old castle-tower ;
fell. And a rich earl was taken there,
In Seljupol was fought the fray, Whose name was Gelrfin, I am sure."
And many did not survive the day.
17.--I_OURTEENTH BATTLE AND OLAF'S DREAM.
Thereafter King Olaf steered with his fleet westward

to KarIsar, 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 shatt be king over
264
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.
] 8._FIFTEENTH BATTLE,
After this appearance to him he turned about, and

came to Poitou, where he plundered and burnt a mer-
chant town called Varrande. Of this Ottar speaks :-
"'our yoUng king, blythe and gay, He fights and wins where'er he
Is foremost in the fray: turns."
Pottou he plunders, Tusklaud
burns,-
And also Sigvat says :-

"The Norsemen's king Is on his The Norsemen's king Is up the Loire :
cruise, Rich Parthenay
His blue steel staining, In ashes lay;
Rich booty gaimng, Far inland reached the Norselaen's
And all men trembling at the news. spear.'"
19.----oF THE EARLS OF ROUEN.
King Olaf had been two summers and one winter in the
west in Valland o_ this cruise; and thirteen years had
now passed since the fall of King Olaf Trygvason. Dur-
ing 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 Nor-
mandy. Their sister was Queen Emma, whom the
English king Ethelred had married; and their sons were
Edmund, Edward the Good, Edwy, and Edgar. Rich-
ard the earl of Rouen was a son of Richard the son of
William Long Spear, who was the son of Roll Ganger,
265
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
the earl who first conquered Normandy; and he again

was a son of Ragnvald the Mighty, earl of More, as be-
fore 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 Nor-
mandy, if he required it. To Normandy King Olaf, came
in autumn (1018), and remained all winter (1014) in
the river Seine in good peace and quiet.
_O.--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 evel was in Norway. His shooting was sharp be-
yond all others; for with a blunt arrow he shot through a
raw, soft ox-hide, hanging over a beam. He was bet-
ter 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
E inar. 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 sup-
port and aid to them.
21.---OF ERLING SKIALGSON.
When Olaf Trygvason ruled over Norway, he gave

266
his bra.t&er-in-law Erling half of the land seat, 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 him-
self 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 theking One sister the king
Thought the bonde Erling Gave the bonde Erling ;
A man who would grace And one to an earl,
Hm own royal race. And she saved him in peril."
Earl Eirik did not venture to fight with Erling, be-

cause 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 un-
267
_'W L_
THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
derstanding, jealous in everything he undertook, and

a deadly man at arms. Sigvat talks thus of him:--
"No earl or baron, young or olfl, His courage he kept hid until
Match with this bonde brave can The fight began, then foremost Itill
hold. Erling was seen in war's wild game,
Mild was brave Erling, all men say, And famous still is Erling's name."
When not engaged in bloody fray ;
It was a common saying among the people, that Erling

had been the most valiant who ever held lands under a
king in Norway. Erling's and Astrid's children were
these---Aslak, Skialg, Sigurd, Lodin, Thorer, and Ragn-
hild, 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, _ but
at the night meal there was no measure in drinking.
When the earl was in the neighbourhood he had 2002 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.
_.---OF THE HERSE ERLING $KIALGSON.
Erling had always at home on his farm thirty slaves,

besides other serving-people. He gave his slaves a cer-
tain 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
aThere were sliver-studs in a row from the rim to the bottom of the
drinking horn or cup; and as it went round each drank till the stud
appeared above the liquor. This was drinking by measure.--L.
z240.
268
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 scrme 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.--o_" 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 Trygvasou. Thord Kolbeinson
speaks of this :--
"A song of praise That Knut the Brave
Again I raise, Hm aid would crave :
To the earl bold The earl, I knew,
The word is told, 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
269
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 :-
"Westof London town we passed, Laid Ulfkel's dead corpse there.
And our ocean-steeds made fast, Our Thingmen hear the war-shower
And a bloody fightbegin, sounding
England's lands to lose or win. Our grey strews from thelr shields
Blue sword and shining spear 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, some-
times 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 Sig'vat :n
"Now allthe sons of Ethelred Some slaln by Canute,---some, they
Were either fallen, or had fled : say,
To save their hves had run away."
25.----OLAF AND ETHF-,LRED'S SONS.
King Ethelred's sons came to Rouen in Valland from

England, to their mother's brother, the same summer that
eTO
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.
_6.--BATTnE OF ZING OLa_F.
In spring (1014) King Olaf and King Ethelred's sons

set out together to the west, and came to a place in F__g-
land called lungufurda, 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, l_ow when King Ca-
nute'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
27I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
battle there with the townspeople and merchants he gained

the victory, and a great booty.
27.----OLAF'S EXP__,DITION 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, hut 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 :u
"Olaf, great stem of kings, ts brave- Undaunted. 'midst the roaring flood,
Bold in the fight, bold on the wave. I_ lrm at his post each shipman s_ood ;
No thought of fear And thy two ships stout
Thy heart comes near. _ The gale stood out."
And further he says :-

"Thouabl_ chief ! with they fearless Though waves mast-high were
crew breaking round,
Thou meetest, with skill and courage Thou findest the middle of Norway's
true, ground,
The wild sea's wrath With helm in hand
On thy ocean path. On S_la's strand."
It is related here that King Olaf came from the sea to

the very middle of Norway; and the isle is called S_ela
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 S_ela 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
272
wilI." 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.
_8.wI_IAI_ONXAKEZ_I'I_ISON_RB'¢ 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 row-
ing 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 :-
"Theblack ravens wade His ship, with its gear,
In the blood from thy blade. Thou hast ta'en ; and art here,
Young Hakon so gay, Thy forefathers' land
With his ship, is thy prey : From the earl to dem_L"
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.
273
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
Wher_ 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 our-
selves, 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 deter-
mine, 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 :--
274
"In old Sauflungs sound The best and fatre_t youth

The king Earl Hakon found, Earl Hakon was in truth,
Who little thought that there That speaks the Danish tonlue,
A foeman was so near. And of the race of great Hakon."
29.--HAKON'S DEPARTURE FROi_I NORWAY.
After this (1014) the earl made ready as fast as pos-

sible 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 RECE.IVES _FIER 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
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THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 (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. Whtm 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 fonr girls to bring ont 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 brotlght 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. Faur
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 beffore
in the house she made to dress themselves with the best
they had, and lent clothes to those who had none suit-
able.
376
31._KING SIGURD'S DRESS.
King Sigurd Syr was standingin hiscorn-field when

the messengers came to him and brought him the news,
and alsotoldhim allthatAsta was doing at home in the
house.He had many peopleon hisfarm. Some were then
shearingcorn,some bound ittogether, some drove itto
the building, some unloadeditand pntitin stackor barn;
but theking,and two men with him, went sometimesinto
the field,sometimes to the placewhere 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 gen-
erous 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 hring 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 OId, although they too
277
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 busi-
ness 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."
3~9.------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 gath-
ered 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 wall 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,
278
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 beforehe one day
calledhisstepfatherKing Sigurd, hismother Asta, and
hisfoster-father
Hrane to a conferenceand 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 sup-
port 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 fore-
fathers; but I will not wait upon the Danish or Swedish
19 279
_HE HEIMSKRIHGL,4
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 succes-
sion to the kingdom, according to the law made by King
Harald Yiarfager, that nothing shall be of such impor-
tance to you as to prevent you from throwing off the dis-
grace 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 k_ngdom which he had before ; and I
280
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 com-
28x
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
monalty 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 king-
dom."
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.
$4.--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 lmrpose, and
282
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 them-
selves 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 Hakou, 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 wo.uld no longer suffer him.
The Throudhjem people killed him, and raised to the
kingly power Olaf Trygvason, .who was of the udal suc-
cession to the kingdom, and in all respects well fitted to
283
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
be a chief. The whole country's desire was to mal_e 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 concenls 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 Iast
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. _ 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 ruIing
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 friend-
ship. At present he has in no respect greater power than
any of us; nay, indeed, he has less; as we have lands and
384
SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSOH
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 advan-
tage, 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 con-
firmed by oath.
35.---OLAF GETS THE TITLE OF KING FROM THE THING.
Thereafterthe kings summocmd a Thing, and there

King Olaf setforththisdetermination to allthe people,
and his demand on the kinglypower. He desiresthat
the bondes shouldreceivehim 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
285
THE HEIMSKR1NGL,4
kingdom adjudged to him according to law in the Uplands

(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 entertainrrmnts 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 pro-
ceeded through Opdal forest, and came out at Medaldat,
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 prom-
ised, 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.
586
37.pLEVY AGAINST OLAI_ IN THRONDHJEM.
Einar Tambaskelfer had a farm and house at Husaby

in Skaun; and now when he got news of Olaf's proceed-
ings, 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 equip-
ment 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, amount-
ing 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 com-
mander. Now when King Olaf saw there was con-
fusion among the bondes, he sent to them Thorer Gud-
brandson; 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
587
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 pos-
sessed 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 pro-
ceeded 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 _he 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 l_aste into
the fjord of Throndhjem.
_9.---OFEARL SVEIN'$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
(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 pro-
ceedings. 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 Skarn-
sund. 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 day-
light 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
289
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 nat
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
Tryg'vason 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 resi-
dence, and he neglected the houses which Olaf had erected
_)o
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 Enar had to fall upon some
other plan.
41.---OF SIGVAT THE SIKALD.
There was an Icelandman calledThord 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 mer-
chants; 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 com-
posed about him, and said he did not understand the
skald's craft. Then Sigvat sang:-
291
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"Rider of dark-blue ocean's steeds ! And' show no favour to my brothers,

Allow one skald to sing thy deeds, Yet I may all men's favour claxm,
And listen to the song of one Who sing still of our great king's
Who can sing well, if any can. fame."
For should the king despise all
others,
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-- A faithful follower thou hast bound--
By land or sea, on shore, on board, A generous master I have found,
I trust that I shall ever be Master and servant both have made
Worthy the sword received from Just what best suits them by thin
thee. trade."
Earl Svein had, according to custom, taken one half of

the harbour-dues from the Iceland ship-traders about
autumn (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 It ts not right that these poor men
vain-- Their harbour-dues should pay again.
No gold by it have I to gain ; That they paid once I know is true ;
All that the king himself here wins Remit, great king, what scarce is
Is not red gold, hut a few skins, due.'"
4_.--OF EARL SVEI_¢.
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
_92
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 Gud-
brandsdal. In the lines composed about Kleng Bru-
sason, it is said that Earl Eirik burned the town of
Nidaros :-
"The king's half-finished hall, Is burned down by the river's stdo ;
Rafters, roof, and all, The flame spreads o'er the city wide,"
43.---oF KING OLAF.
King Olaf went southwards through Gudbrandsdal,

and thenceout to Hedemark. In the depth of winter
(1015) he went about in guest-quarters
;butwhen spring
returnedhe 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, Signard 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.
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THE HEIMSKR1NGLA
44.---OF EARL SVEIN'S FORCES.
After Yule (1015) Earl Svein gathers all the men of

the Throndhjem country, proclaims a levy for an expedi-
tion, 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 Hat-
lager, 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 Orenmar, and ran into Nesjar (1015).
45.--KING OLAF'S FORCES.
King Olaf steered his fleet out from Viken, until the
two fleets were not far irom each other, and they got news
294
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 him-
self had carved it. This head was used long after in
Norway cm ships which kings steered themselves.
46.--KING OLAF'S SPEECH.
.Assoon as day dawned on Sunday morning,King Olaf

got up, put on hisclothes,went to the land,and ordered
to sound thesignalforthewhole army to come on shore.
Then he made a speechto the troops,and toldthewhole
assemblythathe had heard therewas buta shortdistance
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 m him of manly
spirit."
20 egs
THE HE!MSKRINGLA
3z_.----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 oft 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 carl'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 :-
"Boldlythe king did then pursue In battle-brunt the sword and spear.
Earl Sveln, nor let him out of view. Earl Svein hm shlpa of war pushed
The blood ran down the reindeer's on,
flank And lashed their stout stems one to
Of each sea-klng---hlsvessel'splank, one."
Nor did the earrs stout warriors
spare
It is said that King Olaf brought his ships into battle

while Sveln 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 'tie known how Laid the Charles' head the earl on
near board,
The scorner of the ice-cold spear All eastward of the Agder fjord."
296
Then was the eonfliet exeeedingly 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 :m
"No urging did the earl require, Of limb-lopplng enough was there,
'Midst spear and sword--the battle's And ghastly wounds of sword and
fire, spear
No urgmg dld the brave kmg need Never, I think,was rougher play
The ravens in this shleld-storm to Than both the armies had that day."
feed.
The earl had most men, but the king had a chosencrew
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 tn the air the spears were sing-
and hale, ing.
Drew on their cold shirts of ring- Under our helms we hid our hair,
mail For thick flew arrows through the air.
Soon sword on sword was shmlly Right glad was I our gallant crew,
ringing, 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, sq 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 :m
"'On with the king _' his banners Slippery wlth blood and strewed
waving- with wreck
'On with the king !' the spears he's A dafferent work ye have to share,
braving v Has banner in war-storm to bear,
'On, steel-clad men ! and storm the Flom your fair girl's, who round the
deck, 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 :w
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THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"Into the ship our brave lads The wounded bonde o'er the side
spring,-- Falls shrieking in the blood-stained
On shield and helm their red blades tide---
ring; The deck is cleared with wild up-
The a_r resounds with stroke on roar--
stroke,-- The dead crew fleat abettt the shore."
The shields are cleft, the helms are
broke.
And also these lines :-

"The shields we brought from home Where the foe blunted the best sword
were white, I saw our young king climb on board.
Now they are red-stained in the fight : He stormed the first, we followed
This work was fit for those who wore him--
Ringed coats-of-mail their breasts The ward-birds now in blood may
before, swim."
Now defeat began to come down upon the earl's men.

The king's men pressed upon the carl's ship and entered
it, but wher_ 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 grap-
plings 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, hts noble shto to save, We feasted Odin's fowls with dead ;-
To cut the posts loud order gave. V¢ith many a goodly corpse that
The ship escaped: our greedy eyes floated
Had looked on her as a clear prize. Round our ship's stern his birds
The earl escaped, but ere he fled 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 carl's ship;
and as it was gliding past the king's fleet, King Olaf called
out to hinv--for he knew Berse, who was distinguished as
a remarkably handsome man, always well equipped in
clothes and arms---"Farewell, Berse !" He replied, "Fare-

well, king !" So says Berse himself, in a poem he com-
posed when he fell into King Olaf's power, and was laid
in prison and in fetters on board a ship :-
"olaf the Brave His fortunes I will ne'er forsake.
A 'farewell' gave, Though I lie here
(No time was there to parley long,) In chains a year,
To me who knows the art of song. In thy great vessel all forlorn,
The skald was fain To crouch to thee I still will scorn :
'Farewell' again I still wlll say,
In the same terms back to send-- No milder sway
The rule in arms to foe or frmnd. Than from thy foe thin land e'er
Earl Sveln's distress knew.
I well can guess, To hma, my early friend, I'm true,"
When flight he was compelled to
take ;
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 Tamba-
skelfer. Erling Skialgson again, and !ikewise many other
lendermen who would not abandon their udal possessions,
went norch to their homes; and Erling had many people
that summer about him.
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THE HEIMSKRINGLA
50.----OLAF'S AND SIGURDJS 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 doingmwhether 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 dis-
position 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
carl'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 :u
"The tale I tell is true : Their jeers, I think, will spare,
To their homes returned but few For the king's force was but small
Of Svein's men, who came to meet That emptied Throndhjem's hall.
King Olaf's gallant fleet. But if they will have their Jeer,
From the North these warmen came They may ask their sweethearts dear,
To try the bloody game,-- Why they have returned shorn
On the waves their corpses borne Who went to shear that Sunday
Show the game that Sunday morn. morn."
The Throndh_em girls so fair
And also these :-

"Now will the king's power rise, Earl Sveln ' thou now wilt know
For the Upland men still prize That our lads can make blood flow--
The king who o'er the sea That the Hedemarkers hale
Steers to bloody victory. 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.
3oo
.... SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSON
51.--=OF KING OLAF.
King Olaf sent spies out to trace the earl's doings

(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 (1015)
he took his seat in the town of Nidaros, and collected the
needful winter provision (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.
5_._PLAN OF SVEIN AND TH]_ 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
3Ol
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Thr(mdhjem 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 _ather property.
53.--EARL SVEIN'S DEATH.
Earl Svein went eastward with his forces to Russia,

and passed the summer (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 Hel-
singjaland, thence to Jamtaland, and so from the east over
the dividing ridge of the country to the Throudhjem dis-
trict, where they told all that had happened upon their
journey: and thus the truth of Earl Svein's death was
known (1016).
54.---OF THE THRONDHJ'EM PEOPLE.
Einar Tambaskelfer, and the people who had followed

him went in winter to the Swedish king, and were
302
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 Thrond-
hjem people, when they heard for certain that the earl was
dead, and could not be expected back to Norway, turned
alI 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
serve 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 (1016).
55.---OF KING OLAF'S ItOUSF_HOLD.
King Olaf built a king's hot/se 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 impor-
tance came to him, they also had a seat of honour. The
ale was drunk by the fire-light. He divided the service
3o3
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 outbuild-
ings, 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 morn-

ing, put on his clothes, wash his hands, and then go to the
church and hear the matins and morning mass. There-
after 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 Grimkel and
other learned priests; and bent his whole mind to uproot-
ing heathenism, and old customs which he thought con-
trary 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 Now gives one law for all the land--
His warlike ship through clashing A heavenly law, which long will
tides, stand."
304
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 par-
ticularly how Christianity was observed in Iceland, and it
appeared to him to be very far from what 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 car-
tied on by him ; or else he spoke about the taws and rights
of the country.
5tT.--KING OLAF'S MESSENGERS.
The same winter (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 seat
and duties upon account of the king of Sweden. But the
3o5
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 king-
3o6
dom. 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 be
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
307
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
told them not to let the messengers in. "I will not _peak
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 Gaul-
ardal 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 hess 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 (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 sum-
moned 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
3o8
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 threat-
ened the most violent proceedings against great or small,
who, after the king's message, would not adopt Chris-
tianity. 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 eaeh other about agreement together; but Erling
found something else than he expected in the conversa-
tion: for when he insisted on having all the fiefs which
3o9
THE HEIIdSKRINGLA
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 her-
itage, and I was obliged to buy your services with mani-
fold 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 condi-
tions 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
3Io
please. Thereafter they separated in some shape recon-

ciled, and Olaf went his way eastward along the coast
(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 (1016) in Viken. He then sailed east from
Tunsberg across the fjord, and all the way east to Svina-
sund. 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 Gant 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-bound-
aries 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
21 3 II
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 east-
ward, 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 dis-
cover 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 mes-
sages to him. People went between King Olaf and Eilif,
and they entreated each separately to hold a Thing-meet-
ing 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;
bat promised Eilif he should not want men. It was deter-
mined that they should come down from the high country,
and hold a thing with the bondes and the king. King Olaf
312
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 h_d 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 (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
313
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
the river. There the king ordered a rampart to be buiIt

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 (1016) he let every-
thing be gathered there that was useful for his winter
residence (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, so_etimes to
the Baltic, sometimes south to Flanders, and had e well-
armed cutter (snekkia) of twenty benches of rowers. He
had been also at Ncsjar, 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 (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,
314
which is a very large head-farm of the district. Brynjolf

composed a song about these gifts, of which the refrain
was--
"The song-fa_ed 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 (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 suc-
ceeded 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 Eng-
land, and Saxony, and Flanders, and Denmark; and some
had been on viking expeditions, and had had their winter
abode in Christian lands.
63.mltROE'S FALL.
About spring-time (1017) King Olaf sent a message

that Eyvind Urarhorn should come to him; and they
3_5
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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, tie often went east to
Gardarike (Russia), and therefore was called Gudleik
Gerske (the Russian). This spring (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 fhe 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,
3_6
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, wherehe 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
(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 cap-
tured 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
317
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
proceeding, and promised him anew his favour and friend-

ship. At this time Olaf had been three years king over
Norway (1015-1017).
65._MEETING OF OLAF AND RAGNVALD.
The same summer (1017) King Olaf ordered a levy,

and went out eastwardsto theGaut river,
where he laya
great part of the summer. Messages were passingbe-
tween King Olaf, Earl Ragnvald, and the earl'swife,
Ingebjorg,thedaughterof 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 pretence 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 Nor-
wegian and Swedish kings' relations with each other;
both agreeing, as was the truth also, that it was the great-
est 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

318
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 bondesin Viken spoke with each otherabout there

beingnothingforitbut thatthekingsshouldmake peace
and a leaguewith each other,and insisted upon itthat
they were badly used by the kings going to war; but
nobody was so boldas to bringthesemurmurs beforethe
king. At lastthey 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 him-
self 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
(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 imme-
diately between them.
Once, when King Olaf had assembled the people and
319
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 deter-
mined 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 coun-
tries, 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 there-
after went to table.
The following day Hjalte said to Bjorn, "Why art thou
320
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."
_JS.--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 mis-
sion, 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
32I
THE HE1MSKRINGLA
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
_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.
322
SAGA OF OLAF HARALVSON
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 hav-
ing 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 any-
thing he is angry at."
Then .]3jorn 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 kinK, 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."
3_3
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 for-
warding 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 carl's house.
69._CONVERSATION OF BJORN AND II_GI_BJORG.
Ingebjorg was particularly kind to them; and Bjorn

324
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 Gis-
sur 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
325
THE IIEIMSKRINGLA
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 every-
body. 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. I-Ie
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 :-
"Withthe king's marshals all have BJorn, thou oft hast ta'en my part_
I, Pleaded with art,
In days gone by, And touched the heart.
Lived Joyously,-- BJorn ! brave stalner of the sword,
With all who on the king attend, Thou art my frlend--I trust thy
And knee before him humbly bend, word."
While they were riding up to Gautland, Sigvat made

these verses :-
"Downthe Fjord sweep wind and And now our ship, so gay and grand,
rain, Glides past the green and lovely land,
Our stout ship's sails and tackle And at the isle
strain ; Moors for a while.
Wet to the skin, Our horse-hoofs now leave hasty
We're sound within, print ;
And gaily o'er the waves are danc- We ride--of ease there's scanty
lng, stint--
Our sea-steed o'er the waves high In heat and haste
prancing : O'er Gautland's waste :
Through Lister sea Though In a hurry to be married,
Flying all free; The king can't say that we have
Otr from the wind with swelling sail, tarried."
We merrily scud before the gale,
And reach the sound
Where we were bound. _
One evening late they were riding though Gautland,

and Sigvat made these verses :q
"The weary horse will at nightfall Far from the Danes, we now may
Gallop right well to reach his stall ; ride
When night meets day, with hasty Safely by stream or mountaln-side ;
hoof But, in this twilight, in some ditch
He plies the road to reach a roof. 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 Spur on !--that every pretty lass
high, May hear our horse-hoofs as We pass
In wonder peep at the sparks that fly Clatter upon the stones so hard,
From our horses' heels, as down the And echo round the paved court-
street yard."
Of the earl's town we ride so fleet.
71._HJALTE SKEGGJ'ASON 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 splen-
dour 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 you 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
22 327
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
pay them to out enemies. But I willthat thoushouldsttake

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 elo-
quence. 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 saluta-
tion from the carl'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 daugh-
ter 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
328
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 Thiek? I heard much in Norway, and in West Gaut-
land, of the general desire that this peace should have
taken place; and it has been told me for truth, as the Nor-
way king's words, that he earnestly desires to be recon-
ciled 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 rela-
tion, has been sole monarch over the Swedish, and many
329
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 Gaut-
land 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 consid-
eration than the Upsala kings, for our relation Styrbjorn
subdued him, and I-Iarald became his man; and yet Eirik
the Victorious, my father, rose over Styrbjorn's head
when it came to a trial between them. _Vhen 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
330
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 some-
thing else. When Hjalte, afterwards, came into discourse
with the king's daughter Ingegerd, he tells her his con-
versation 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 partic-
ularly 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, diffieult to come at, and the people dan-
gerous: for the men there will rather have any other for
their king than thee. If I might advise, thou wouldst let
go aI1 thoughts about Norway, and not desire Olaf's
heritage; and rather turn thyself to the kingdoms in the
33I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
East country, which thy forefathers the former Swedish

kings had, and which our relation Styrbjorn lately sub-
dued, 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 marraige to this thick Olaf.--No," says he, "some-
thing 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 expe-
dition, 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 per-
mitted, daughter of the king, to tell thee what lies in my
mind?"
"Speak freely," says she; "but so that I alone can
hear it."
332
"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 car-
ried 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 quali-
ties. 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.
1This seems the first notice we have in the sagas of written letter_
being sent instead of tokens and verbal messages.--L.
333
THE HEIMSKRtNGLA
7_,----OLAF'S JOURNEY TO THE UPLANDS,
When King Olaf had despatched Bjorn and his fol-

lowers to Gautland, he sent other people also to the Up-
lands, with the errand that they should have guest-quar-
ters prepared for him, as he intended that winter (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 sum-
moned to him all the men of the habitations who dwelt at
the greatest distance from the head-habitations of the dis-
trict; 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. I-Ie 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 800 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 every-
where in the same way, converting all the people to the
right faith, and severely punishing all who would not
listen to his word. 334
73._TREACHERY OF THE UPLAND KINGS.
Now when the king who at that time ruled in Rau-

marike hcard of this,he thought itwas a verybad affair;
forcvcryday came men tohim, both greatand small,who
told him what was doing. Thereforc this king re-
solvedto go up to Hcdemark, and consultKing Hrorek,
who was themost eminentforundcrstandingof thekings
who at thattime were in thecountry. Now when these
kingsspokewith eachother,theyagreedto senda message
to Gudrod, thevalley-kingnorth intheGudbrandsdal,and
likewiseto the king who was in Hadaland, and bid thcrn
to come to Hedcmark, to meet Hrorek and theotherkings
there. They did not sparetheirtravelling;forfivekings
met in Hedemark, at a place calledRingsaker. Ring,
King Hrorck'sbrothcr,was thefifthof thesekings. The
kings had firsta privateconfcrencctogether,in which he
who came from Raumarikc firsttook up the word, and
toldof King Olaf'sproceedings, and of the disturbance
he was causing both by killingand mutilatingpeople.
Some hc drove out of the country,some he deprivedof
theiroffices or propertyif they spoke anything against
him ;and,besides, he was travelling over thecountrywith
a greatarmy, not with thenumber of peoplefixedby 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 con-
sider together what resolution we shall take." When he
335
/
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 iri 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,
336
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 determina-
tion.
Then said Hrorek, "With regard to this determination,
it appears to rim necessary to make our agreement so
strong that no one shaU 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 alto-
gether 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 neces-
sary 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-
337
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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
(m_-360) 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.
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, leav-
ing 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
338
agreement, which he had come to the certain knowledge

of. When the king learnt this he called his people to-
gether, 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 peo-
ple enough to make resistance, but were all taken pris-
oners, 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 Nor-
way, 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 mu-
339
THE HEIMSKRINGL,4
tilated, and with others he made peace. Ottar Black tells

of this :-
"The giver of rings of gold, The king who dwelt most north
The army leader bold, Tongueless must wander forth :
In vengeance springs All fly away
On tl_e Hedemark kings. In great dmmay.
Olaf, the bold and great, King Olaf now rules o'er
Repays their foul deceit-- What five kings ruled before..
In full repaya To Eid's old bound
Their treacherous ways, Extends his ground.
He drives with steel-clad hand No king m days of yore
The small kings from the land,-- E'er won so much before :
Greater by far That this is so
In deed of war. All Noraemen 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 (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.
_5.--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 pre-
tended to be angry at them; at which the boys were
afraid. Then Asta brought her youngest son, called Har-
ald, 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,
340
KING OLAF AND HIS DOG VIGE.
(From a _c_nttng by Knut Ekwall.)
IKG Olaf possessed two valuable aid.% one of which wa_ a

hor_e of great strength and s_tftne_._, the other a shep-
herd-dog of extraordinary sagactty and faithfulness. The latter
be obtained from a peasant as a reward for restoring a herd nf
cows whteh Olaf'_ forces captvred in a foray in Ireland Thl-
dog proved himself valorous a_ well a_ faithful and on mr, re
than one occasion carried consternatJon into the ranks of the
King's enemies, who seem to have regarded the ammal super-
stittously. So affectionately was this dog, called Vige, attached
to King Olaf, that _hen he learned nf ht_ master'_ death it _
said the poor animal shed tears and repairing to a funeral mound
refused every temptation to remove therefrom and there re-
roamed whit_ing his wail of broken-hearted distress until he died
See p_ge 2C8.
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 tx_ol, 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 com-
mand 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."
34I
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
"That would be a great housekeeping," said the king;

"and therein ye take after your father."
Then the king says to Haraltd, "And what wouldst
thou like best to haveF'
"House-servants."
"And lg)w 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 J_
of them on this occasion.
76.--THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY.
In Svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathen-

ism prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took place in Goe
month at Upsala. Then sacrifice was offered fc_r 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 quar-
ters 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 king=
docn is so large, that the bishop who is set over it has
342
1100 churches under him. The other part is East Gaut-

land, where there is also a bishop's seat, to which the
islands 04 Gotland and Eyland belong; and fo_'ming 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, o.r bishop goes through the
country, and holds a Thing with the bondes, the lagrnen
reply on account o.f the bondes, and they all follow their
lagmen; so that even the most powerful men scarcely
dare to come to their Al-th]ng without regarding the
bondes' and Iagmen's law. And in all matters in which
the laws differ from each o_her, Upsala-law is the direct-
ing law; and the other lagmen are under _he lagman who
dwells in Tiundaland.
_._OP THE LAGMAN THORGNY.
In Tiundaland there was a lagrnan who was called

Thorgny, whose father was called Thorgny Thorgny-
Z3 343
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
son. His forefathers had for a long course of years,

and during many kings' times, been lagmen of Tiunda-
land. 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 relatio,n 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 hgegerd 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 passicm 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
were 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
344
SAGA OF OLAF HAR.'ILDSON
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 fortu-
nate 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 un-
derstanding 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 wc_uld contribute most
towards a settled peace if there was relationship estab-
lished between the kings; but I would not support such a
matter if it were against thy inclination."
345
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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 honr's time one morn-
ing had taken five kings prisoners, deprived them all of
their governments, and laid their kingdoms and proper-
ties 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 joy-
fully and kindly, and bade him go to the seat he was ac-
customed 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
346
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.
lie she>wed 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 mat-
ter; 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 opin-
ion it is not a less honourable condition to be in the num-
ber 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 eanst 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
347
4Ls
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
was a great assemblage of people at the Thing, and King

Olaf was there with his court.
8(_.---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 carl'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 ICing 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
348
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 when-
ever 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 In-
gegerd 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.
_I.--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 wl_t Lagman Thorgny
would say. At first there was a great din of people and
weapons; but when the noise was settled into silent lis-
349
THE HEIMSKRINGL,d
tening, Thorgny made his speech. "The disposition of

Swedish kings is different now from what it has been
formerly. My grandfather Thorgny could well remem-
ber the Upsala king Eirik Eymnndson, 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, Kirjala/and, Courland,
Esthouia, 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 life-
time 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 en-
larged 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 presutrue 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 daugh-
350
ter rngegerd to him. Wilt thou, however, reeonquer 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 to-
wards us. N_ow tell us, in all haste, what resolution thou
wilt take." Then the whole public approved, with clash
of arms and shouts, the lagrnan's speech.
The king stands up and says he will let things go ac-
cording 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 anaoug
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 mar-
ried to Olaf Haraldson. The king left it to the earl to
make the contract feast, and gave him full powers to con-
clude this marriage affair; and after this was settled at
the Thing, they separated. When the earl returned home-
wards, he and the king's daughter Ingegerd had a meet-
ing, 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
35x
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
returned to Gautland, and Bjorn with him; and after

staying with him a short time, Bjorn and his company re-
turned 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 favourable a
conclusion against such animosity.
82.--OF KING HROREK'S TREACI-IERY.
On the approach of spring (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 consid-
erable men in each district, and made the most splendid
preparations to meet his bride. The wedding-feast was
to be in axttumn, at the Gaut river, on the frontiers of the
two countries. King Olaf had with him the Mind 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 re-
spect worse 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
352
SAGA OF OL,4F HARALDSON
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 talk-
ative. He used to bring up many things which had hap-
pened 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 dis-
grace 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.
I-Irorek 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 him-
self 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 nmch persuasion he used that
$vein 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
353
THE HEIMSKRINGL.4
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. v' Svein threw down his cloak and
dagger, and fell at the king's feet, saying, "All is in
God's 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
conrt-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 wa_ 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, thatb 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 rna_ from the Uplands called Fin the

Little, and some said of him that he was of Finnish 1 race.
• -_The Laplsnders are called Fins in 1_orway anal SwllCkm.mL
354
He was a remarkable little man, but so swift of foot that

no horse could overtake him. He was a particularly
well-exercised 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 conversatio_
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 hapIxmed often, without any
one observing it particularly; for there were many such
hangers-on with the army.
8_:._MURDER OF OLAF'S COURT-MEN.
King Olaf came to Tunsberg before Easter (1018),

and remained there late in spring. Many merchant ves-
sels came to the town, both from Saxon-land and Den-
mark, and from Viken, and from the north parts of the
conntry. There was a great assemblage of people; and
as the times were good, there was many a drinking meet-
ing. It happened one evening that King Hrorek came
rather late to his lodging; and as he hakl drunk a great
deal, he was remarkably merry. Little Fin came to. him
355
. . o
_r _
THE HEIMSKRINGLA
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. Hrcrrek 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 pres-
ently 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. Sig'vat the skald
slept in King OlaFs 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 Sig-cat's
foot slipped, and he fell on ms 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 totter-
ing legs to-night." When they came into the house in "
which light was burning the footboy said, "Have ycm
hurt yourself that you are all over so bloody ?" He re-
plied, "I am not wounded, but something nmst have hap-
356
pened 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.
Sigv'at and Thord spoke together and agreed it was
highly necessary to let the king know of this without de-
lay. 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 o_t to the yard where the bodies were; but, how-
ever 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 much 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 warn_ 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, nam-
ing the men who were killed. The bell-ringcw did as he
357
THE HEIMSIf.RINGLA
was told. The kingawoke attheringing, satup inhis

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. Hrorck 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, or-
dered 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 Hrordc 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 Hrcvek 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 trans-
ported 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 reasorL be 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. 358

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OF THE

NoRRu,_i'Gl,,O_ AxON CI,,AI!_4_

(From a pa_nt_*g by Th. Wege_er_)

- _]ALDEMAR IL, known as the Victorious, was first married

THE NORSE KINGS

DONE INTO ENGLISH OUT OF THE ICELANDIC

SAMUEL LAING, EsQ.

HON. I_SMUS B. ANDERSON.

Frontispiece---Valdemar II. Receiving Dagmar at

Halfdan's Marriage ................................. 8

Fin Svase and King Harald ........................ 39

Death of Ragnvald Rettilbeine ...................... 51

Birth of Hakon the Good ............................ 55

Hauk's Jour_ley to England .......................... 57

Hakon's Embassy to Sweden ........................ 12_3

Earl Sigvald's Flight ............................... 165

King Harald Grenske's Death ....................... 169

Death of Erlend and Hakon .......................... 179

i ! ili i .iiii iiilili?i!?i!?i?iii?

Building of the Ship Crane ........ A ................ _0_.

Thangbrand Returns from Iceland ................... _16

Conspiracy _A_a,_ inst King Olaf ....................... _3

Earl Svein's Flight ..................................

Murder of Eilif of Gautland ........................... 311

_-_r'Ys °l_ErYd_irn, dHUrroaer'sh°Inali," "an_l""Christ'iam't_r""t'ro :31'

PREFACE OF SNORRE STURLASON.

IN thisbookI havehad oldstories writtendown,as

.............. . ......._ ' _!

reckoned up, and the death and burial-place of each are

ruled in Norway since his time; and we rest the founda-

OF THE PRIEST ARE FRODE.

The priest Are Frode (the learned), a son of Thorgils

Si&-ardson's fall. He wrote, as he himself says, the lives

PREFACE OF SNORRE STURLASON

a daughter of the gode Snorre. She was wise and intel-

Of this saga there are other versions found in Fo_rsktn_

1._HALFDAN FIGHTS WITH GANDALFAND SIGTRYG.

HALFDAN was a year old when his father was killed,

dued Raumarike before, having heard of this, came out

_._BATTLE BETWEEN HALFDAN AND EYSTEIN,

When King Halfdan heard of these disturbances in

for peace. On consideration of their relationship, King

Halfdan the Black got a wife called Ragnhild, a

4.--HALFDAN'$ STRIFE WITH GANDALF'S SONS.

In autumn, King Halfdan proceeded to Vingulmark.

5.--HALFDAN'$ I_ARRIAGE WITH H3ORT_S DAUGHTER.

Sigurd Hjort was the name of a king in Ringerike,

combattheber_rkHildebrand, and elevenothersof his

made his journey so that they came over the lake to

6.----OF RAGNHILD'$ DREAM.

Rsgnhfld, who was wise and inteUigent, dreamt great

in her herb-garden, and she took a thorn out of her shift;

_.----OF HALFDAN'S DREAM.

King Halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to

toldto Thorleif, who interpreted itthus:--Thereshould

8.---_,HALFDAN'S MEAT VANISHES AT A FEAST.

King Halfdan was at a Yule-feast in Hadeland, where

the great number of guests assembled were gomg to sit